Chapter 2 Ruth Works in Boaz’s Field

 This lesson is taken from Ruth chapter 2

Now there was a wealth and powerful man in Bethlehem whose name was Boaz.  He was a relative of Naomi’s husband.  One day Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the fields to gather the leftover grain behind anyone who will let me do it.”   So Naomi said to Ruth, “All right, my daughter, go ahead and pick-up the leftover grain.”

So Ruth went out to gather the grain behind the field workers.  As it happened, Ruth found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, which was a relative of her father-in-law.  While Ruth was in Boaz’s field, he arrived from Bethlehem at the field.  Boaz shouted a greeting to his workers, “May the Lord be with you!”  And the workers shouted back to Boaz, “May the Lord bless you!”

Then Boaz noticed Ruth, and he asked his foreman, “Who is that girl over there?”  His foreman told Boaz that the girl was the young woman that came from Moab with Naomi.  She asked this morning if she could pick-up grain behind the workers.  She has been hard at work ever since.  Except for the few minutes that she rested over in the shelter.

Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen my daughter.  Stay right here with us when you are picking-up grain, don’t go to any of the other fields.  See which part of the field my workers are harvesting, and then follow them.  I have warned the young men to leave you alone.  When you get thirsty, help yourself to the water that has been drawn from the well.”

Ruth fell at Boaz feet and thanked him warmly and she said to him, “Why are you being so kind to me?  I am only a foreigner here.”  But Boaz told her that he knew that, but that he also knew about the love and the kindness that she had shown to her mother-in-law since the death of both of their husbands.  Also he had heard about how she had left her father and mother and her own land to live in Bethlehem among complete strangers. Then he said to her,  “May the Lord, the God of Israel, reward you.”

Ruth told Boaz that she hope to continue to please him.  That he had given her comfort by speaking so kindly to her.  But his workers were more worthy than she was.

When it was lunchtime Boaz told Ruth to come over to where he was and help herself to some of the food.  Also if she wanted to she could dip her bread in the wine.   So Ruth sat down with Boaz’s worker and he gave her some food.  But, he gave her more food than she could eat.

When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz gave orders to his young men to let Ruth pick-up the grain that is among the cut and tied up stalks of grain without stopping her.  Boaz also told his men to pull out some of the heads of barley from the tied up stalks of grain and drop them on purpose.  That way Ruth could pick them up.  The men weren’t to give Ruth a hard time about picking the grain up either.

Ruth picked-up barley in the field all day and when she beat out the grain that evening, she saw that she had about a half of a bushel.  Ruth carried it back into town and showed the grain to her mother-in-law, Naomi.  Ruth also gave her mother-in-law the food that she had left over from her lunch.  And Naomi become excited and said, “So much food!  Where did you pick-up all this grain today?  Where did you work at?  May the Lord bless the one who helped you today.”

So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked, and that the man name was Boaz.  With that Naomi told Ruth, “May the Lord bless him!  He is showing kindness to us as well as to your dead husband.  That man is one of our closest relatives.”

Ruth then told Naomi that Boaz had told her to come back and work with his workers until the entire harvest was completed.  Naomi became very excited about that.  She told Ruth that is wonderful that Boaz told her that.  She should stay with Boaz’s workers through the whole harvest.  That it would be safe there for her, unlike it would be in other people fields.

Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and pick-up gain with them until the end of the barley harvest.  Then she worked with them through the wheat harvest, also.  But all the while she was working she lived with her mother-in-law.

 

Questions: 

Write the correct answer letter in the question block.

1.  What did Ruth do to bring food home?	a. With Naomi
2.  Whose field did Ruth work in?	b. Barley and wheat
3.  What did Boaz tell his workers to do?	c.  Boaz
4.  Ruth worked in Boaz’s fields for two harvest.  What is the name of the two harvests?	d.  Worked in the fields
5.  Where did Ruth live while she was working in the fields?	e.  Let Ruth pick-up the grain that is among the cut and tied up stalks of grain without stopping her.  Also they were to pull out some of the heads of barley from the tied up stalks of grain and drop them on purpose.

 

Activity Page

Unscramble the words

RAING     _________________

HURT     __________________

MIAON     _________________

AZOB     __________________

RLAEYB     __________________

HEATW     ___________________

 

Answer Sheet

Lesson Answers

Write the correct answer letter in the question block.

1.  What did Ruth do to bring food home?   D	a. With Naomi
2.  Whose field did Ruth work in?     C	b. Barley and wheat
3.  What did Boaz tell his workers to do?   E	c.  Boaz
4.  Ruth worked in Boaz’s fields for two harvests.  What is the name of the two harvests?   B	d.  Worked in the fields
5.  Where did Ruth live while she was working in the fields?     A	e.  Let Ruth pick-up the grain that is among the cut and tied up stalks of grain without stopping her.  Also they were to pull out some of the heads of barley from the tied up stalks of grain and drop them on purpose.

Unscramble the words

RAING     grain

HURT     Ruth

MIAON     Naomi

AZOB     Boaz

RLAEYB     barley

HEATW     wheat