Ruth
Memory Verse:
“Don’t make me leave you, for I want to
go wherever you go, and to live wherever you live; your people shall be my
people, and your God shall be my God.”
Ruth 1:16
Facts about Ruth
Author: Unknown
Purpose: To show how
three people remained strong in character and true to God even when the society
around them was collapsing.
Date Written: Sometime after the period of the judges (1375-1050
B.C.)
Setting: A dark time
in
Overview
Lesson #1 Ruth 1:1-22 A Lesson of Faithfulness
Lesson #2 Ruth 2:1-23 A Lesson of Kindness
Lesson #3 Ruth
3:1-18 A Lesson of
Integrity
Lesson #4 Ruth
4:1-22 A
Lesson of Protection
Result of the lessons
were Prosperity/Blessing
Lesson #1: Ruth 1:1-22. A lesson of faithfulness
“Long ago when judges ruled in
These young men married girls of
But after they had begun their homeward journey, she
changed her mind and said to her two daughters-in-law ‘Why don’t you return to
your parents’ homes instead of coming with me?
And may the Lord reward you for
your faithfulness to your husbands and to me.
And may he bless you with another happy marriage.’ Then she kissed them and they all broke down
and cried.
‘No’ they said.
‘We want to go with you to your people.’
But Naomi replied. ‘It is better for you to return to
your own people. Do I have younger sons
who could grow up to be you husbands?
No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to
have a husband. And even if that were
possible, and I became pregnant tonight, and bore sons, would you wait for them
to grow up? No, of course not, my daughters; oh, how I grieve for you that the
Lord has punished me in a way that injures you.’ (Naomi’s comment here refers to levirate
marriage, the obligation of a dead man’s brother to care for his widow. This law kept the widow from poverty and it
provided a way for the family name of the dead husband to continue.)
And again they cried together, and Orpah, one of the
daughter-in-laws, kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, and returned to her
childhood home; but Ruth insisted on staying with Naomi.
‘See,’ Naomi said to her, ‘Your sister-in-law has gone
back to her people and to her gods; you should do the same.’
But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t make me leave you, for I want
to go wherever you go, and to live wherever you live; your people shall be my
people, and you God shall be my God; I want to die where you die, and be buried
there, May the Lord do a terrible thing to me if I allow anything but death to
separate us.’
When Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind and
could not be persuaded otherwise, she stopped urging her. So they both came to
‘Is it really Naomi?’ the women
asked.
But she told them, ‘Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, (Naomi means (pleasant”; Mara
means “bitter”) for Almighty God has dealt me bitter blows. I went out full and the Lord has brought me
home empty; why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has turned his back on
me and sent such calamity.” (Their return from,
Questions
1.
Why did Elimelech
leave
2.
Naomi was left
alone without her husband and two sons.
What did she decide to do? (She decided to go back to
3.
She decided to
take her two daughters-in-law with her.
Why did she decide this was the thing to do? (Naomi heard that the Lord had blessed His
people by giving them good crops.)
4.
Naomi changed her
mind after one day of travel. What did
she think was the best for the girls?
(She wanted them to return to the homes of their parents’. She hoped the Lord world provide them with
another happy marriage.)
5.
Ruth insisted on
staying with Naomi. Why? (Ruth replied don’t make me leave you, for I
want to go wherever you so, to live wherever you live; your people be my people
and your God shall be my God. May the
Lord do terrible things to me if I allow anything but death to separate us)
6.
They returned to
Remember relationships as
well as things.
Summary: Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi as a
daughter-in-law and friend is a great example of love and loyalty. Ruth’s life was guided by faithfulness toward
God and showed itself in loyalty toward the people she knew. To be loyal and loving in relationships, we
must imitate God’s faithfulness in our relationships with others.
Lesson 2: Ruth
2:1-23. A lesson of kindness
First we must understand what
it means to glean. When the wheat and
barley were ready to be harvested, reapers were hired to cut down the stalks
and tie them into bundles. Israelite law demanded that the corners of the
fields not be harvested. In addition,
any grain that was dropped was also to be left for the gleaners, poor people
who were free to pick up the leftover grain.
The purpose of this law was to provide food
for the poor and prevent the
owners from hoarding. This law served as
a type of welfare program in
“Now Naomi had an in-law there in
Boaz arrived from the city while she was there. After exchanging greetings with the reapers
he said to his foreman, ‘Hey, who’s that girl over there?’
The foreman replied ‘It’s that girl from the
Boaz went over and talked to her. ‘Listen, my child,’ he said to her. ‘Stay right here with us to glean; don’t
think of going to any other fields. Stay
right behind my women workers; I have warned the young men not to bother you;
when you are thirsty, go and help yourself to the water.’
She thanked him warmly. ‘How can you be so kind to me?’ she
asked. ‘You must know I am only a
foreigner.’
‘Yes, I know, Boaz replied,’ and I also know about all
the love and kindness you have shown your mother-in-law since the death of your
husband, and how you left you father and mother in you own land and have come
here to live among strangers. May the
Lord God of
‘Oh, thank you sir, she replies. ‘You are so good to me, and I’m not even one
of your workers!’
At lunch time Boaz called to her, ‘Come and eat with
us.’
So she sat with his reapers and he gave her food, more
than she could eat.
When she went back to work again, Boaz told his young
men to let her glean right among the sheaves without stopping her, and to snap
off some heads of barley and drop them on purpose for her to glean, and not to
make any remarks. So she gleaned, it
came to a whole bushel! She carried it
back into the city and gave it to her mother-in-law, with what was left of her
lunch.
‘So much!’ Naomi exclaimed ‘Where in the world did you
glean today? Praise the Lord for whoever
was so kind to you. ‘So Ruth told her mother-in law all about it, and mentioned
that the owner of the field was Boaz.
Praise the Lord for a man like that!
God has continued his kindness to us as well as to your dead
husband!’ Naomi cried excitedly. ‘Why,
that man is one of our closest relatives!’
‘Well’ Ruth told her, ‘he said to come back and stay
close behind his reapers until the entire field is harvested.’
‘This is wonderful!!’ Naomi exclaimed. ‘Do as he has said. Stay behind his girls through the whole harvest; you will be safer
there than in any other field!’
So Ruth did, and gleaned with them until the end of
the barley harvest, and the wheat harvest, too.”
Questions:
1.
What does it mean
to glean a field? (You are free to pick
up the left over grain.)
2.
Why was this
important to Naomi and Ruth? (They had
no other means of getting food. They
were poor.)
3.
What do you think
they did with the grain? (Answers will vary but some might be grinding it into
flour, cooking it whole for barley soup, etc.)
4.
Whose field did
Ruth glean in? ( Boaz)
5.
What form of
kindness did Boaz show Ruth and Naomi?
(He told Ruth to stay in his field, he said stay right behind by women
workers, warned the young men not to bother her, fed her lunch, told his
reapers to snap off some heads of barley
and drop them on purpose.)
6.
Who did Naomi
give thanks to? (Praise the Lord for
whoever was so kind and Praise the Lord for a man like that.)
7.
Let the girls
think of all of the ways Boaz had shown kindness to Naomi and Ruth, and the
ways Ruth has shown kindness to Naomi. Discuss ways they can show kindness to
others. Discuss ways others have shown
kindness to them.
Summary: Ruth showed great kindness to Naomi. In turn, Boaz showed kindness to Ruth- a
despised Moabite woman with no money.
God showed his kindness to Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz by bringing them
together for his purposes.
Lesson 3: Ruth
3:1-18. A lesson of integrity
The dictionary states the
meaning of integrity as complete moral principles; honesty; soundness; the
quality of being whole or undivided. We will
see how Ruth and Boaz exhibit these qualities.
“One day Naomi said to Ruth, ‘My dear, isn’t it time
that I try to find a husband for you, and get you happily married again? The man I’m thinking of is Boaz! He has been so kind to us, and is a close
relative. I happen to know that he will
be winnowing (to free the grain from the chaff by force, wind or beating it
against the floor) barley tonight out on the threshing floor. Now do what I tell you---bathe and put on
some perfume and some nice clothes and go on down to the threshing-floor, but
don’t let him see you until he has finished his supper. Notice where he lies down to sleep; then go
and lift the cover off his feet and lie down there, and he will tell you what
to do concerning marriage.’ Ruth replied, ‘All right. I’ll do what ever you say.’
So she went down to the threshing-floor that night and
followed her mother-in-law’s instructions.
After Boaz had finished a good meal, he lay down very contentedly beside
a heap of grain and went to sleep. Then
Ruth came quietly and lifted the covering off his feet and lay there. Suddenly, around midnight he wakened and sat
up, startled. There was a woman lying at
his feet!
‘Who are you?’ he demanded.
‘It’s I, sir-Ruth,’ she replied. Make me your wife according to God’s law, for
you are my close relative.’
‘Thank God for a girl like you!’ he exclaimed. ‘For
you are being even kinder to Naomi now than before. Naturally you’d prefer a younger man, even
though poor. But you have put aside your
personal desires. Now don’t worry about
a thing, my child; I’ll handle all the details, for everyone knows what a
wonderful person you are. But there is
one problem. It’s true that I am a close
relative, but there is someone else who is more closely related to you than I
am. Stay here tonight, and in the
morning I’ll talk to him, and if he will marry you, fine: let him do his duty;
but if he won’t, then I will, I swear by Jehovah; lie down until the morning.’
So she lay at his feet until the morning and was up
early before daybreak, for he had said to her, ‘Don’t let it be known that a
woman was here at the threshing-floor.’
Bring your shawl,’ he told her. Then he tied up a bushel and a half of barley
in it as a present for her mother-in-law, and laid it on her back. Then she returned to the city.
‘Well, what happened, dear?’ Naomi asked her when she
arrived home. She told Naomi everything
and gave her the barley from Boaz, and mentioned his remark that she mustn’t go
home without a present.
Then Naomi said to her, ‘Just be patient until we hear
what happens, for Boaz won’t rest until he has followed through on this. He’ll settle it today.’
Questions:
1.
As widows, Ruth
and Naomi could only look forward to difficult times. Typical of Naomi’s character she thought of
Ruth’s happiness first. She wanted to
see if Boaz would take the responsibility of being a kinsman-redeemer to
Ruth. A kinsman-redeemer was a relative
who volunteered to take responsibility for the extended family. Why did Naomi pick Boaz to be Ruth’s
husband? (He had been kind to them and
he was a close relative.
2.
Naomi gave Ruth
specific instructions that she was to follow.
What were they? (bathe, put on
perfume, put on nice clothes, go to the threshing floor. When she got there she was not to be seen
until Boaz had finished his dinner. She
was then to go to him, lift the cover off his feet and lie down, at his feet.)
This seems very strange to us. Remember
our lesson is integrity. Ruth will
remain morally pure.
3.
What did Boaz do
when he discovered her? (He wanted to
know who she was)
4.
What was Ruth’s response? (It is I sir, Ruth. Make me your wife according to God’s law, for
you are my close relative.)
5.
What (The barley
was for Naomi because she couldn’t go home without a present.
We have a kinsman-redeemer in Jesus Christ, did Boaz think of Ruth’s
character? (Thank God for a girl like
you. You are even kinder to Naomi than
before.)
6.
We don’t know how old Boaz is but we do know
Boaz feels she’d probably prefer a younger man even if he were poor. Boaz will take care of all the details. However, there is one little problem, what
was it? (There is a closer relative to
her than Boaz. He has the first choice
to marry her.)
7.
Boaz gave Ruth a bushel and a half of barley. Who was she to give it to and why?
Who
though He was God he came to earth as a man in order to save us. By His death on the cross, He has redeemed us
from sin. This guarantees our eternal
inheritance.
Summary: Ruth showed high moral character by being
loyal to Naomi, by her clean break from her former land and customs, and by her
hard work in the fields. Boaz showed
integrity in his moral standards, his honesty, and by following through on his
commitments.
Lesson 4: Ruth 4:1-11, 13, 17. A lesson of protection
Ruth 1-11
“Boaz went down to the marketplace and found the
relative he had mentioned. ‘Say, come
over here,’ he called to him. ‘I want to
talk to you a minute.’ So they sat down
together. Then Boaz called for ten of
the chief men of the village, and asked them to sit as witnesses. (Boaz cleverly presented his case to the
relative. First he brought in new
information not yet mentioned in the story- Elimelech, Naomi’s former husband
still had some property in the area that was now for sale. As the nearest relative, this man had the
first right to buy the land.) Boaz said
to his relative, ‘You know Naomi, who came back to us from
The man replied, ‘All right, I’ buy it.’
Then Boaz told him, ‘Your purchase of the land from
Naomi requires your marriage to Ruth so that she can have children to carry on
her husband’s name, and to inherit the land.’
‘Then I can’t do it,’ the man replied. ‘For her son would become an heir to my
property, too; you buy it.’
In those days it was the custom in
Then Boaz said to the witnesses and to the crowd
standing around, ‘You have seen that today I have bought all the property of
Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahon, from Naomi, and that with it I have purchased
Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife, so that she can have a
son to carry on the family name of her dead husband.’
All the people standing there, and the witnesses
replied, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord
make this woman, who has come into your home, be as fertile as Rachel and Leah,
from whom all the nation of
4:13
So Boaz married Ruth.
4:17
She
had a son they named Obed. He became the
father of Jesse and grandfather of King David.
She was the great grandmother of King David. This is how a Moabite lady became part of the
family tree from which Jesus was born.
The
events recorded in Ruth were part of God’s preparations for the birth of King
David and for Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. Just as Ruth was unaware of this larger
purpose in her life, we will never know the full purpose and importance of our
lives until we are able to look back on the whole picture from the perspective
of eternity. We must make our choices
with God’s eternal values in mind.
Because of Ruth’s faithful obedience, her life and legacy carried great
significance even though she couldn’t see the end result. Live in faithfulness to God, knowing that the
significance of your life will extend beyond your lifetime.
Questions:
1.
Boaz went to the
marketplace and told the relative he wanted to talk to him. He asked ten of the village chief men to sit
with them. Why? (To be witnesses to what Boaz was doing.)
Explain that they didn’t have legal papers written by attorneys at that
time.
2.
The relative
wanted the property at first. What made
him change his mind. (Any child born to
them would inherit the relatives land and he didn’t want that to happen.)
3.
How did they show
the deal was final? (Boaz pulled off his
shoe and handed it to the other relative.)
This
also showed what else? (Boaz had
purchased Ruth as his wife.
4.
Ruth and Boaz
married. They had a son. What was important about who his grandchild was? (He was grandfather to King
David. This made Ruth the great
grandmother in the family tree of Jesus.)
Summary: We see God’s care and protection over the
lives of Naomi and Ruth. His supreme
control over circumstances brings them safety and security. He guides the minds and activities of people
to fulfill His purpose.
Lessons of
Prosperity/Blessing: Ruth and Naomi came to
*The scriptures used for this
study were taken from Life Application Bible (1988), Tyndale House,
