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Ruth and Naomi: Women of Faith

Summary:  this lesson set includes the following workshops:

  • Art: Wheat art project.
  • Games
  • Cooking: Make Barley Soup, take home with message to donate to local foodbank
  • Video: Watch the story on video (Ruth - Testament).

Background Information

Where, when and who?

The book of Ruth is found in the Old Testament in the books of history and is actually a historical short story. The author is unknown. The time of the story is believed by most scholars to be during the time of the judges, before kings ruled Israel. The book of Ruth was written to show that God wants everyone to love and care for one another and to live their lives in service and giving to others. It also addresses the issue of how Israel should relate to foreigners. Lastly, the book demonstrates the lineage of David and Jesus. Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David.

Ruth's best known verse

The book of Ruth is often seen as an inspiring story of friendship between Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth’s loyalty is commendable and her famous words “where you go, I will go…” are often repeated at weddings.

A Love Story

The book of Ruth is also often described as a love story. Certainly it is a love story between Ruth and Boaz, but it is also a love story of the many good people who love and care for each other. And perhaps most of all it is a love story about God. Through this story, God demonstrates his great love for all people, even the foreigner, something that was a different concept to the people of Israel at the time.

All things work together for good to those who love God

Alistair Begg, the Scottish Bible teacher, says that the book of Ruth should be studied with the template of Romans 8:28 over it at all times. “All things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” God is active in the world. He actively cares for people. God is behind all the good things that happen to us. “God is working for good even when the bad seems dominant” in our lives and our world.

The book of Ruth begins with a series of tragedies. Naomi and her husband Elimelech live in Bethlehem in the region of Judah. First we hear that a famine strikes the land. This is especially noteworthy, because Bethlehem means “House of Bread” and was known for its great provision. For a famine to strike Bethlehem is significant. Naomi and Elimelech travel to the region of Moab, on the southeastern side of the Dead Sea, seeking food. Now Moab was a pagan land, and much hated by Israel. In fact the Israelites had strict laws restricting intermarriage with foreigners and forbidding foreigners from participating fully in the Israelite community. Many Israelites believed God to be the God of Israel alone, and so foreigners were felt to be inferior and were rejected. But desperate for food, Naomi and Elimelech move to Moab.

There Elimelech dies leaving Naomi with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. The sons marry Moabite women and live in Moab for ten years, but then they too die leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah as widows.

Widows in these times were left with no means of support and were dependent upon their families to provide for them. Naomi decides she must return to Bethlehem in hopes that her family will help her. She is feeling totally lost and bereft. The name Naomi means “pleasant” or “agreeable,” but she now tells people to call her Mara which means “bitter.” She urges Ruth and Orpah to return to their families. Reluctantly, Orpah agrees, but Ruth insists that she will not leave Naomi. “Where you go I will go, where you stay, I will stay, your people will be my people, your God my God,” asserts Ruth. Ruth is willing to give up her family, her home, her faith to follow Naomi and to adopt her faith.

Ruth & Boaz

So Ruth and Naomi journey back to Bethlehem. Upon arriving, they create quite a stir. Naomi’s family is impressed with Ruth’s loyalty, and happy to see Naomi, but no one offers to take them in. Ruth is forced to go into the fields to glean for food. Fortunately, they have arrived at the time of the barley harvest (usually in late April). Ruth goes out to the field of Boaz and asks permission to glean. The concept of gleaning means to pick up any of the crops that were dropped during the harvest. Israelite law required all farmers to leave some grain in the fields for the poor. (see Deuteronomy 24:19-21) They were not permitted to do a second run at harvesting. Gleaning was a right for poor Israelites, but it did not extend to foreigners. Boaz demonstrates his kindness by allowing Ruth to glean in his fields. Boaz also shows extra kindness to Ruth, allowing her to eat and drink with his workers and making sure that she is safe while working. He gives Ruth extra grain to take home to Naomi.

Kinsman Redeemer

The story seems to indicate that Boaz is attracted to Ruth from the beginning. Certainly he is exceedingly kind to her, despite the fact that she is a foreigner. Then the plot thickens as it turns out Boaz is a relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband. Naomi decides to take action. She sets about a bit of match-making. Ruth must fix herself up and go to Boaz at night and ask for his protection as her kinsman redeemer.

Kinsman redeemers were common practices of the ancient Near East. Israelite law required that a widow without a son be cared for by the brother of her husband. He was required to marry her and provide her a son who would be credited to the line of the dead brother and receive his inheritance. This would continue the line of the dead brother and provide care for the widow. In Naomi’s case, the situation is stretched to include a relative (not a brother) of her husband. And Ruth is the one offered, rather than Naomi. Boaz was a close relative. He could be asked to be the kinsman redeemer for Ruth and Naomi.

Several times in the story, GOD is described as a "redeemer" as well. Boaz, like us, is acting in a godly way towards others.

So Ruth embarks on her night-time journey. What was she thinking and feeling as she approached the field? The end of the harvest was associated with fertility rites and celebration drinking in the pagan cultures and some of these activities seeped into Israelite culture. Certainly the threshing floor could be a wild and crazy place for a young single woman. Ruth waits until Boaz is asleep and then lies down at his feet, uncovering them. Boaz awoke to find Ruth at his feet. She asked that he “spread his wings” over her --- which is a scriptural allusion used many time to describe God's protection of his people. Ruth was asking Boaz to be her protector, which could be accomplished by marriage. Boaz accepted this offer but noted that there was one kinsman who was a nearer relative than he. Boaz kept her in safety that night and sent her on her way with some extra grain as a sign of his promise early in the morning. Then Boaz made good on his word, approaching the other kinsman who declined the opportunity (glad that Boaz was willing) and so the other kinsman clinched the deal by removing his sandal and handing it to Boaz. This custom was the traditional way business deals were sealed, just as today we sign a contract.

Lineage from Ruth to Jesus

So Ruth and Boaz were married and soon had a son, Obed. This brought Naomi much joy and happiness in her old age. Obed became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who was in Jesus’ family line. This lineage is included in the last verses of the book.

In this story, we see how God uses the humble and the weak to accomplish his plan. Ruth, the alien widow, is lifted up as a loyal and true person who becomes an ancestress of the Messiah, the kinsman redeemer of the entire human race! Here in the Old Testament we see the promise that God’s plan is for all the people of the world, not just the people of Israel.


Definitions to know:

  • Gleaning – the practice of picking up leftover grain from a field after harvesting, Israelite law required this to care for the poor
  • Redeem – buy back, ransom, reclaim
  • Kinsman Redeemer – a practice whereby a near relative married a widow, provided a son for her to continue to line and inheritance of the dead husband

Some possible Discussion Questions:

  1. Where were Naomi and her husband originally from? (Bethlehem)
  2. Why did they leave Bethlehem? (because of a famine)
  3. What does Bethlehem mean? (House of Bread)
  4. Where did the go? (Moab – show on map)
  5. Why did Naomi decide to leave Moab? (to return to her family in Bethlehem, because she had no means of support)
  6. How were widows supported in these times? (depended on the charity of friends and family – they had no way to support themselves – the kinsman redeemer practice)
  7. Ruth was willing to leave behind her family, her faith, her home. Why do you think Ruth decided to follow Naomi?
  8. How do you think Ruth felt about Naomi?
  9. What do you think it was like for Ruth to leave her family behind?
  10. Have you ever been away from your family? What was that like?
  11. How was Ruth a true friend to Naomi? What characteristics do you look for in a true friend?
  12. What kind of friend are you?
  13. How was God present with Ruth and Naomi in this story?
  14. Who was Boaz? (a relative of Naomi’s husband)
  15. Why was it so unusual for Boaz to be kind to Ruth in this story? (she was from Moab, a pagan land that the Israelites hated, she was a foreigner, he wasn’t required to help foreigners)
  16. What does God teach us about caring for others from this story? (God loves everyone, we should love and care for everyone, our differences don’t matter to God)
  17. How can we care for others as Boaz did?
  18. What do you think about the Israelite law of gleaning? Was that a good thing?

Sources

  • Ferguson, Barbara. Cokesbury Bible Commentary (Joshua, Judges and Ruth). Nashville: Graded Press, 1988.
  • Rust, Eric C. The Layman’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 6 (The Book of Judges, The Book of Ruth, The first and Second Books of Samuel). Richmond: John Knox Press, 1969.
  • Alistair Begg, The Billy Graham Training Center – “The Book of Ruth,” seminar, 2002.
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Ruth and Naomi – Women of Faith

Art Workshop

Summary:

The children will decorate a grapevine wreath with sheaves of wheat and a heart. The wheat is a symbol of God's goodness and sharing in this story. Ruth and Naomi had to glean grain from Boaz in order to survive, and just like Boaz, it is our duty to leave some of our abundance to others. Additionally, Bethlehem means “House of Bread” and would become a source of spiritual nourishment and salvation to the world through Ruth to David to Jesus. The heart represents the love that was shown to Ruth and Naomi, even though they were “outsiders.”

Scripture:

Ruth Chapters 1 and 2 featuring the journey to Bethlehem and Gleaning episode.

You may have student read from their Bibles, but it may take some time. We suggest you use a good storybook Bible that features chapter 2's gleaning episode.

Memory Verse:

“Where you go I’ll go. Where you stay I’ll stay. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.” Ruth 1:16

Theme:
Friendship, loyalty, courage, love for those who are different. God’s love for everyone.


Preparation and room set-up:

  • Review background information and lesson materials
  • Gather necessary supplies
  • Cut a piece of twine for each child approx. 8” long and secure it to a wreath as its hanger.
  • Write the memory verse on the board in the room


Time guidelines:

  • Welcome and introductions 5 minutes
  • Bible Study 10 minutes
  • Decorating wreaths 25 minutes
  • Journals/closing 5 minutes

Supply List:

  • 6” grapevine wreath, one for each child (craft store)
  • dried wheat, 8 or 9 stems per child (floral section at a craft store)
  • Raffia
  • Natural twine
  • 1 1/2” wooden heart, one per child
  • Dark crimson acrylic paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Glue gun/glue sticks
  • Black fine tipped pen
  • Scissors



Lesson Plan

Opening:

Welcome all children and introduce yourself. Give the children a simple one or two sentence synopsis of what you will be doing during the workshop and what you hope they will learn.

Present a stalk of wheat and ask them this questions:

  • What is this
  • How is it used
  • Can you live without it?
  • If you had a lot of it, what do you think God would want you to do with it?
  • What might wheat or bread mean in the Bible ?


If possible, have some "grape nut" (wheat) cereal or wheat kernels to munch on as you read chapters 1 and 2.

Bible Study:

Say: In this particular workshop, we will be reading about Ruth’s unselfishness and faithfulness to Naomi. While Ruth was born in Moab (a foreign city) she married into a family of Israelites. Her devotion to Naomi and to the Israelite people showed that through actions and faith, rather than birth we can participate in the kingdom of God. We also learn of the love Boaz showed to Ruth and Naomi, who were “foreigners.” The compassion he showed them sets an example of how we should treat others who might be different than we are.

Let’s find the book of Ruth in our Bibles now.

As and when they find it, mention that we're in the Old Testament about 1000 years before Jesus. This is the time of the Judges, and Ruth's grandson would one day become King David.

Art Activity: Decorating a Harvest Wreath

Supplies needed:

  • 6” grapevine wreath, one for each child (craft store)
  • dried wheat, 8 or 9 stemss per child (floral section at a craft store)
  • Raffia
  • Natural twine
  • 1 1/2” wooden heart, one per child
  • Dark crimson acrylic paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Glue gun/glue sticks
  • Black fine tipped pen

Scissors

Preparation:

  • Set out supplies
  • Plug in Glue Gun
  • Cover tables with old tablecloths to protect the surfaces of the tables

Create!
1. Have the children paint the heart crimson red, or they may choose to leave it the natural color.
2. The children should fan their wheat stalks (8 or 9) slightly, and tie them together with the raffia several inches down the stalk. Have the children secure the stalks so the height of the stalks is varied.
3. Thread a piece of raffia through the bottom of the wreath.
4. Place the cluster of wheat on top of the wreath with the tops pointing upward.
5. Hot glue the cluster of wheat to the wreath by gluing the part of the cluster that is tied with raffia on the bottom of the wreath where you have threaded another piece of raffia.
6. The children should then tie the extra piece of raffia around the cluster securing it at the same place that the cluster is tied together.
7. The children should write “Ruth 1:16” on the heart using the fine-tipped marker.
8. Glue the heart on the side of the wreath.

As the children are decorating their wreaths, discuss some of the following questions:

  • Where were Naomi and her husband originally from? (Bethlehem)
  • Why did they leave Bethlehem? (because of a famine)
  • What does Bethlehem mean? (House of Bread)
  • Where did the go? (Moab – show on map)
  • Why did Naomi decide to leave Moab? (to return to her family in Bethlehem, because she had no means of support)
  • How were widows supported in these times? (depended on the charity of friends and family – they had no way to support themselves – the kinsman redeemer practice)
  • Ruth was willing to leave behind her family, her faith, her home. Why do you think Ruth decided to follow Naomi?   Would YOU have followed Naomi??
  • How do you think Ruth felt about Naomi?
  • What do you think it was like for Ruth to leave her family behind?
  • Have you ever been away from your family? What was that like?
  • What do you have "in abundance" that you could let others "glean" from?  Is it just possessions?  What about your time? Your willingness to listen, be compassionate?   Your happy attitude?  Knowledge of a school subject? Your non-judgmental attitude. Your patience. Your faith. Certain skills.


Reflection and Journal Time:

Make a list or draw illustrations of several things God has blessed you with an abundance of that you could share with others.

Closing:

Gather all the children together in a circle. Review with them one word or concept that they learned during today’s session. Encourage them to come back next week for another workshop, and to invite their friends. Remind them to bring their Bibles. Ask for prayer requests.


A lesson posted by Jaymie Derden from: State Street UMC
Updated by a member of the Rotation.org Content Team

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Ruth & Naomi - Women of Faith

A Few "Ruth" Games

  • Picture Card Search and Match
  • Memory Verse Relay
  • Play-Doh sculpt
  • Ruth & Naomi Spinner Quiz Game



Picture Card Search and Match

Preparation:

Find images that represent the story of Ruth and Naomi. Use clip-art, coloring pages, old curriculum or do a search on the internet. (Use Google Images and do a search for Ruth and Naomi Bible)

Suggestions:
Ruth
Ruth gleaning
Famine – empty bowls
Map of Moab-Bethlehem
Suitcase
Baby
Wedding
Barley or wheat
Heart
Sandal
Best Friends
Tombstone
Bible
Bread
Boaz
Naomi


Copy the images and cut out. Glue to index cards or cardstock cut to size (3X5 is good) Make a duplicate set.
Hide the cards around the classroom.

To Play:
As children arrive show them a sample of the card you used. Have them look for all the cards. Once they have found the cards, have them put the matching pairs together.

Spread the matched pairs out on the floor or table so everyone can see.

Discuss how the cards fit in the story (or what "story" could each image be telling?)



Memory Verse Relay

Preparation:
Write out the words to the memory verse on index cards, one word per card. Make a duplicate set. Shuffle each set of cards together and place each set in a basket at one side of the room.

To Play:
Divide children into two teams and line them up opposite the two baskets.
First person in line must hop down to basket, pick up a card and hop back to line. Next person hops and picks up a card and hops back.
Continue like this until all the cards have been picked up. (After all children have hopped, try skipping, walking backwards, etc.)
Once all the cards are at the team line, have the children put the memory verse in order.
First team to finish is the winner!



Play-Doh Sculpt

Preparation:
Prepare a list of SCENES FROM THE STORY:

Ruth pledges to Naomi
"where you go I will go"
Ruth and Naomi's difficult journey together
Ruth gleans wheat from Boaz' field
Boaz gives extra wheat to Ruth
Ruth sleeps at Boaz' feet
Ruth and Boaz are King David's grandparents

Have fresh play-doh.

To Play:
Gather children together in a circle.
Oidest child goes first.
Choose a scene card and give it to the child.
Have the child take a ball of play-doh and sculpt the scene on the card.
Children in the circle must try to guess what the symbol is and tell how it relates to the story. Child who guesses correctly is the next “sculptor.”
Option: Pantomime the symbol rather than using play-doh.



Ruth and Naomi Spinner Quiz Game

Preparations:
Set out Game Wheel spinner
Copy question list

To Play:
1. Divide children into two teams.
2. Give each team a Bible.
3. Let one person from first team spin the wheel.
4. Give the team a question. TEAMS MUST CONFER TOGETHER BEFORE ANSWERING. IF THEY DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER, THEY MAY USE THEIR BIBLES FOR HELP.
5. If team answers correctly, they get the number of points indicated on the spinner.
6. Team with most points wins!

Questions:
1. Where is the story of Ruth and Naomi found in the Bible – New or Old Testament? (Old)
2. In what book of the Old Testament is this story found? (Ruth)
3. Where was Naomi and her husband Elimelech originally from? (Bethlehem) ** 10 points extra if team can find it on the map!
4. Where did Naomi and Elimelech travel to after leaving Bethlehem? (Moah)
5. Why did they leave Bethlehem? (because there was a famine)
6. Naomi and Elimelech had how many sons? (two)
7. Who did the sons marry? (Moabite women – Orpah and Ruth)
8. What happened to Elimelech and the two sons? (they died)
9. What did Naomi tell Ruth and Orpah to do? (stay in Moab while she traveled back to Bethlehem)
10. What did Ruth say to Naomi? (our memory verse, “Where you go, I’ll go, Where you stay, I’ll stay. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.
11. What is gleaning? (picking up the grain that drops during the harvest)
12. Why did Israelites allow gleaning? (to provide for the poor and widowed)
13. Gleaning helped provide for the poor and widowed Israelites. Were Israelites required to allow foreigners to glean also? (No!)
14. Whose field did Ruth glean from? (Boaz)
15. How did Boaz treat Ruth? (kindly, gave her extra grain, protected her)
16. Why did Naomi want Boaz to marry Ruth? (he was her kinsman)
17. What did Ruth ask Boaz to do when she went to see him at night? (to be her kinsman redeemer, to marry her)
18. What did Boaz say? (Yes, but first he had to check with a closer relative)
19. Why did the other relative take off his sandal when he was with Boaz? (to show that they had made an agreement for Boaz to marry Ruth)
20. Ruth and Boaz got married and had a baby boy. What was his name? (Obed)
21. Ruth was the great-grandmother of whom? (King David)
22. Ruth was a member of whose family tree? (Jesus) ** 10 points extra if you can name the special name of Jesus’ family tree – Jesse Tree)
23. The Messiah was prophesied to come from the line of whom? (King David)
24. Name one way God provided for Ruth and Naomi.
25. Boaz treated Ruth kindly even though she was a foreigner. How does God want us to treat others who are different than us?
26. Why do you think Ruth was willing to leave her family, friends and home?



Ruth and Naomi Concentration

Preparation:
Copy images from the story with titles onto cardstock or cut out and glue to index cards.
Make a duplicate set so you have two of each image.

To Play:
Shuffle the cards.
Lay out the cards, face down on a table or floor – in rows and columns resembling a Concentration board.
Divide the children into two teams.
First team turns over two cards – if they match, the team takes up the pair and plays again.
If they do not match, turn the cards back over and play passes to next team.
Continue play until all the cards are matched.
Team with the most matches is the winner.
Discuss with the children how the symbols help to tell the story.


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Ruth and Naomi - Women of Faith

Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Making Boaz Barley Soup to enjoy and take home. The soup will be put into a paper/disposable soup container that the children have decorated as a story reminder and with a prompt for families to drop off canned goods at your local pantry.

Disposable 16 ounce soup containers are inexpensively available in quantity at your favorite online retailer.

Supplies:

  • 16 ounce soup containers, paper.
  • Crayons to decorate the soup containers (not markers)
  • 2 cans beef broth
  • 2/3 cup quick cook barley
  • 2 cans water
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic and oregano
  • 1 large package of frozen vegetables (or small packages of individual frozen vegetables such as corn, peas, carrots, green beans, etc.)
  • 1 chopped onion
  • several stalks celery sliced
  • Crock pot
  • Spoon
  • Can opener
  • Measuring cup
  • Cutting board
  • Knives for chopping/slicing
  • Several different types of grains (barley, millet, buckwheat, flax, oatmeal, etc.)
  • 2-3 large paving stones
  • smooth stones (about 3-4 inches in diameter) – one per child
  • Ziploc baggies

Preparation and Room Set Up:

  • Read the Background Information and Lesson plan. Review the Behavioral Covenant and Teaching Tips.
  • Gather all necessary supplies for activities.
  • Identify a local food pantry that children can draw/write about on their soup container.





After presenting the Bible story and discussing key points, students will make Boaz’s Barley Soup, and also decorate their own "take home" soup container.


Preparation:
Gather necessary supplies
Have the children wash their hands.
Have children put on aprons.

Let’s Cook!
1. Let all the children participate!
2. Older children may slice or chop the vegetables with supervision by the shepherd.
3. Have younger children measure out the frozen vegetables and other ingredients, open the cans and bags and pour into the pot.
4. Put all ingredients into the crock pot.
5. Turn the crockpot on “high” and cook for 30 minutes to one hour until vegetables are tender. (The soup will be taken home and frozen until our July 27 field trip – so don’t worry if it doesn’t get completely cooked)

Discuss while preparing soup:

  • Where were Naomi and her husband originally from? (Bethlehem)
  • Why did they leave Bethlehem? (because of a famine)
  • Where did they go? (Moab – show on map)
  • Why did Naomi decide to leave Moab? (to return to her family in Bethlehem, because she had no means of support)
  • How were widows supported in these times? (depended on the charity of friends and family – they had no way to support themselves – the kinsman redeemer practice)
  • Where did Ruth go when she and Naomi returned to Bethlehem? (to glean grain in a field)
  • Describe what “gleaning” is… (picking up leftover grain in the fields, an Israelite law to help the poor)


While the soup is simmering… Grinding Barley:

Supplies:

  • Large flat stones (paving stone or block works well) 2-3
  • Small smooth stones (about 3-4 inches across) – one per child.
  • Ziploc baggies
  • Selection of different types of grains (wheat, millet, flax, buckwheat, oatmeal, etc.)

Preparation:
Set out the paving stones on the tables.

Explain that Ruth was gleaning during the barley harvest – let the children examine the barley.
Explain that women in Bible times ground the grain between two stones. As they crushed the grains it turned into powder -- to make it into flour. Then they used the flour to make bread. If they had a larger millstone, they used that for grinding grain. (Show the children the millstone grinder that we used during Marketplace VBS) was done in Bible times. Place a few tablespoons of the barley onto the paving stone and let the children grind it into flour. The barley that is ground would be made into barley bread.

What types of bread do you know about? (wheat, whole wheat, white, banana, oat, 5 grain, etc.)

Explain that all bread is made using flour. Flour comes from grinding grain.

Place a few tablespoons of the different grains on the paving stones. Let the children grind the grains into flour.If desired, put some of the ground flour into Ziploc baggies for the children to take home.

Discuss as children are grinding the grain:
Remind the children that gleaning in Bible tunes helped to take care of the poor and hungry. We have hungry people in our communities too.
What are ways we help the hungry? (food pantry, meals on wheels, Sharing Christ ministry, etc.)
Discuss with the children ways that they have helped in the past. (many of them have brought food to give to the food pantry, collected money, etc.)
Tell the children that we are going to save our soup and freeze it when it’s cooked. Then on July 27 when we take our field trip we will take our soup to the Haven of Rest (a mission that helps homeless people).

Illustrate your Take Home Soup Container

Include a scene of Ruth gleaning, memory verse, and name/location of nearest food pantry

Include their name on lid.

Taste the soup, the pour and seal in take-home container.

If you have worship AFTER Sunday School, place their containers on a table in the worship space such near or o the Communion Table! as an offering so they are reminded to take it home.

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Ruth and Naomi - Women of Faith
Video Workshop

Summary:

Video: Ruth (Testament: The Bible in Animation, Diamond Entertainment Corporation)
Running Time: 25 minutes

See other possible videos listed in the Ruth Videos topic.

The full Ruth video from the Testament series is on YouTube:



Scripture References:

Ruth

Memory Verse:

“Where you go I’ll go. Where you stay I’ll stay. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.” Ruth 1:16

Theme:
Friendship, loyalty, courage, stewardship, leftovers, love for those who are different. God loves everyone!

Lesson Objectives and Life Application:

  • Children will locate the story in the Bible.
  • Children will define Ruth as a book of history in the Old Testament.
  • Children will retell the story in their own words.
  • Children will define: gleaning.
  • Children will identify the following characters in the story: Ruth, Naomi, Boaz, Obed.
  • Children will recognize that Ruth was a member of the family tree of David and Jesus.
  • Children will explain some of the Old Testament customs of gleaning, treatment of foreigners and kinsman redeemer.
  • Children will recognize God’s love for everyone.
  • Children will understand that God is with us and will use even difficult or bad situations to bring about good. (Romans 8:28 connection)
  • Children will memorize Ruth 1:16
  • Children will watch a video about the story.

Preparation:

  • Video - Ruth (Testament series) and a means to show it. If using the YouTube version, make sure you have a good internet connection in the classroom.
  • Age appropriate Bibles
  • Read the Background Information and lesson plan. Review the teaching guide and Behavioral Covenant.
  • Preview the video.
  • Prepare the popcorn before the children arrive and have it bagged and ready to distribute so your attention can be given to the children.


Important Note for Video Workshop Leaders:
Children love this workshop! Often the video is a direct correlation with the Bible story and creates a concrete, visual image in the children’s minds. They refer to this image over and over throughout the rotation as they visit other workshops. Some videos may take some liberties with the story-you may need to point out these discrepancies. As much as possible sit down with the children and watch the video together. Feel free to pause the video to discuss something that you especially want them to note. Please ensure that the children treat the room with respect-no standing, jumping, or otherwise abusing the seats.

Time Guidelines:

  • Welcome/Introduction 5 minutes
  • Video 25 minutes
  • Bible Study & Discussion 10 minutes
  • Journal/Closing 5 minutes


Lesson Plan

Opening:
Welcome the children and introduce yourself.

Tell the children that today we will learn about the loyalty and friendship between two women. We will talk about how our faith in God strengthens us, and how God can bring about good even in difficult times.

Bring the children to the theater seats. Seat the smaller up front so everyone can see. Begin the video and distribute the popcorn once children are seated and you've done a short "review" of Ruth in the Bible with them

Review the Story:

Say: The story of Ruth and Naomi is one of the most famous love stories in the Bible. How many of you have heard this story before? This story is found in the Old Testament of our Bibles – a long time before Jesus was born. It has only four chapters. The story took place when Israel was ruled by Judges. Judges were leaders similar to our presidents, with God as their king.

For 3-6 graders say: If you look in your Table of Contents of your Bible you will see that the book right before Ruth is the Book of Judges. So Ruth comes right after that in our Bibles.
Let’s find the book of Ruth in our Bibles now.

1-2 Grades: Show them where Ruth is in their Bible and help them find it.

Tell them what they'll be seeing today, the write several QUESTIONS on the board for them to "watch for the answers to in the video:"

  • What was different about Ruth?
  • How did Naomi treat her?  Others?
  • Why do you think God chose Ruth and Boaz to become the grandparents of King David?

    After the video is finished, bring the children back to the center tables with their Bibles for the Bible study and discussion.

Bible Study:

Ask them to summarize the story of Ruth. Write down what they say for all to see and ask questions that help fill in the gaps.

Ask them to answer the questions you wrote on the board before the video began.

Ask them to find the memory verse in Ruth 1:16 and read it out loud.
Then, have them say it out loud as YOU read it.
Then, see if they can say it out loud without you reading it.


Reflection and Journal Time:
The last 10 minutes should be reserved for Journal Reflection time or a reflection activity if you don't use "journaling."  For example, have them write and illustrate the memory verse.

For journaling: 
Have students imagine themselves as Ruth and write a short story of WHO THEY can depend on to always include and look out for them. Invite them to share this short story if they wish.

Close with a prayer thanking God for the Naomi and Boaz' in our life.


A lesson written by Jaymie Derden from: State Streem UMC

Updated by a member of the Rotation.org Content Team

Last edited by Wormy the Helpful Worm

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