LESSON OVERVIEW FOR ADULTS
The book of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges, when God’s people often struggled to follow Him. A famine caused Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons to leave Bethlehem and move to the country of Moab in search of food. While living there, Naomi’s husband died. Later, both of her sons also died, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law alone.
When Naomi heard that food was once again available in Bethlehem, she decided to return home. She encouraged her daughters-in-law to remain in Moab where they would have the best opportunity to begin new lives. Orpah stayed behind, but Ruth lovingly committed herself to Naomi, saying she would go wherever Naomi went and that Naomi’s God would become her God. Ruth willingly left her home, her family, and her old way of life because she loved Naomi and trusted the Lord.
When the two women arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth worked hard gathering leftover grain in the fields so she and Naomi would have food to eat. This practice, called gleaning, was part of God’s law to help provide for people in need. Ruth’s kindness, faithfulness, and willingness to work did not go unnoticed. Boaz, the owner of the field, admired how Ruth cared for Naomi and made sure she was safe while she worked.
This story reminds us God cares deeply for people who are hurting or in need. He also delights when His people show kindness, loyalty, and generosity to one another. Ruth’s love for Naomi points us toward God’s faithful love for His people and reminds us that even simple acts of kindness can make a big difference.
WELCOME CENTER | Ruth’s Kindness Heart
Items Needed
- Large heart cutouts (red or pink construction paper)
- Smaller heart cutouts (yellow, orange, green, blue)
- Glue sticks
- Crayons
- Grains
As children arrive, give each child one large heart. Invite them to decorate it by gluing on smaller hearts, drawing pictures, and adding “grain” pieces around the edge.
While they work, ask simple questions like:
“Who do you love?”
“Who helps you?”
“Who can you help?”
Let children know that today’s story is about a woman named Ruth who loved Naomi very much. Ruth showed her love by helping Naomi every day. God wants us to have kind hearts like Ruth.
BIBLE STORY
Where is today’s Bible story found? Ruth
Is Ruth in the Old Testament or the New Testament? Old Testament!
In our story today, we are going to learn about a woman named Naomi. Can you say, “Naomi.”
Naomi lived with her husband and her two sons. One year there was not enough food where they lived, so Naomi’s family moved to another country called Moab.
Can you say, “Moab.”
While they were living there, some very sad things happened. Naomi’s husband died. Later, her two sons died too. .
Naomi decided it was time to go back to Bethlehem. She had two daughters-in-law named Orpah and Ruth.
Both women started traveling with Naomi. After a while Naomi stopped. She loved Ruth and Orpah very much. Naomi wanted them to stay near their own families.
She told them, “You don’t have to come with me.”
Orpah hugged Naomi goodbye and went home.
Ruth wanted to help Naomi. She said, “I will go with you.” She wanted to care for Naomi.
God loves kind hearts.
So Naomi and Ruth walked all the way to Bethlehem together. When they arrived, people were happy to see Naomi.
Now Naomi and Ruth needed food. Nearby were fields filled with barley. Barley is a grain people could use to make bread.
Ruth asked, “May I go gather the grain that is left behind?”
Ruth carefully picked up the pieces that were left. This was called gleaning.
Can everyone pretend to pick up grain?
[Bend down and reach.]
Ruth worked very hard. She didn’t complain. She wanted Naomi to have food. Every day she gathered more grain.
One day the owner of the field came by. His name was Boaz.
Can you say “Boaz.”
Boaz noticed Ruth working hard. He asked, “Who is that woman?”
The workers answered, “She is taking care of Naomi.”
Boaz smiled. He saw Ruth’s kindness. He told Ruth, “You are welcome here.” He made sure she stayed safe while she worked. He even invited her to drink water and rest with the workers.
Can everyone pretend to drink a big cup of water?
“Ahhh!”
Every day Ruth carried grain home to Naomi. Naomi was thankful.
Ruth was happy because she had helped someone she loved.
Most of all, God was pleased with Ruth’s kind heart.
How can we help someone this week?
Maybe…
- Pick up our toys.
- Help Mommy cook.
- Hold the door.
- Give someone a hug.
- Share our crayons.
- Pray for someone who is sad.
Every time we choose kindness, we are showing God’s love.
OBJECT LESSON | Carrying the Load Together
Items Needed
- Two reusable grocery bags
- Several canned food items (or blocks)
- A stuffed animal
Place several canned goods inside one grocery bag until it becomes heavy. Ask for one volunteer to try carrying the bag across the room. Next, ask a second volunteer to help carry the same bag together. Finally, place the stuffed animal in the bag and explain that Naomi and Ruth cared for one another just like friends help carry something heavy together.
Say: “Wow! That bag was heavy! Sometimes life feels heavy too. Naomi was very sad and needed someone to help her. Ruth didn’t leave Naomi all alone. She stayed with Naomi. She worked hard. She gathered food. She helped every day. When we help someone, we make their load a little lighter. Ask:
- Who can you help this week?
- Can you help clean up?
- Can you help someone carry something?
- Can you share a toy?
- Can you pray for someone?
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- Who always loves us, even when we are sad? (God.)
- Does God want us to help other people? (Yes.)
- Was God happy that Ruth cared for Naomi? (Yes.)
- Who gives us kind hearts to love others? (God.)
- Can God use our kindness to help others? (Yes.)
Bible Story Questions
- Why did Naomi leave her home? (There wasn’t enough food, so her family moved to Moab.)
- Which daughter-in-law stayed with Naomi? (Ruth.)
- Where did Naomi and Ruth travel together? (Bethlehem.)
- What did Ruth gather in the fields? (Grain/barley.)
- Who owned the field where Ruth worked? (Boaz.)
Life Application Questions
- Who can you help this week? (Answers will vary.)
- How can you show kindness at home? (Answers will vary.)
- How can you help a friend at church or school? (Answers will vary.)
- How do you think Naomi felt when Ruth stayed with her? (Loved, happy, thankful.)
- What is one kind thing you can do today? (Answers will vary.)
CLOSING PRAYER
“Dear God, Thank You for loving us every day. Thank You for the story of Ruth and Naomi. Thank You for showing us how to be kind and help others. Please help us notice when someone needs a friend or a helping hand. Help us show Your love with our words and our actions. We love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
WORSHIP MUSIC
GROUP PRAYER
Gather the children into a circle.
“Today we learned that Ruth cared for Naomi. We can care for people too. Let’s think of someone we can pray for.”
Invite children to quietly name someone they love or someone who needs help. If they are comfortable, they may say the person’s name aloud.
BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY | Help Naomi’s Basket
Items Needed
- One small basket, bucket, or paper bag for each team
- Yellow pom-poms, paper “grain,” cotton balls dyed yellow, or small yellow craft pieces
- Plastic cones, masking tape, or chairs to mark a path
- Optional: Toy vegetables or loaves of play food
Instructions
Scatter the “grain” around one end of the room. Divide the children into two or three small groups. Explain that today they are pretending to help Ruth gather grain for Naomi.
One child at a time:
- Walks to the field.
- Picks up one piece of grain.
- Carries it back to the team’s basket.
- Tags the next helper.
Continue until all the grain has been collected. When finished, gather everyone around the baskets and count how much grain each team collected. Celebrate everyone’s hard work instead of announcing a winner.
Say:
Ruth worked hard every day to help Naomi. Today we worked together too!” Ruth didn’t gather grain because it was easy. She gathered grain because she loved Naomi and wanted to care for her. Helping others sometimes takes work, but God is pleased when we choose kindness.
SNACK TIME & BIBLE STORY VIDEO
Pass out snacks and allow children to enjoy them while watching a Bible story video related to today’s lesson.
BONUS STEM ACTIVITY | Can You Separate the Grain?
Items Needed
- Bowl of dry oats
- Rice
- Popcorn kernels
- Small beans
- Muffin tins or bowls
- Tweezers
- Small scoops
Tell the children that fields sometimes contain different plants, rocks, and sticks. Farmers sort what they harvest. Mix all the items together. Challenge children to sort everything into separate bowls using tweezers or fingers. Afterward, compare which items were easiest and hardest to separate.
Teaching Connection
Ruth spent many hours picking up grain one piece at a time. Gathering food took patience and careful work. God helped Ruth provide for Naomi through her faithful work.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE | Ruth 1:1-2:13,Ruth 4:13-17
1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Naomi and Ruth Return
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi;[a] call me Mara,[b] for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth Meets Boaz
2 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”[c]
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
PARENT TAKE-HOME SHEET
Today’s Takeaway: God wants us to care for others with kindness and love.
What We Learned Today
Today we learned about Ruth and Naomi. Naomi was sad after losing members of her family, but Ruth chose to stay with her and help care for her. Ruth worked hard gathering grain so they would have food to eat, and God blessed her kindness. Children learned that God is pleased when we help others, show kindness, and put others before ourselves, just as Ruth did.
Questions to Ask Me
- Who stayed with Naomi when she returned to Bethlehem? (Ruth.)
- Where did Ruth and Naomi travel? (Bethlehem.)
- What did Ruth gather in the fields? (Grain/barley.)
- Who owned the field where Ruth worked? (Boaz.)
- Why did Ruth work so hard? (To help care for Naomi.)
- Who can you help this week? (Answers will vary.)
- How can you show kindness at home? (Answers will vary.)
- What is something nice you can do for a friend? (Answers will vary.)
- How do you feel when someone helps you? (Answers will vary.)
- How can our family show God’s love this week? (Answers will vary.)