LESSON FOR THE JUNIOR CLASSES
STUDY SCRIPTURE:
RUTH 4:9-17; LUKE 3:23, 31-32
Key Verse
“The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David”.
Ruth 4:17
INTRODUCTION
Family connections are very important. God seeks families that are obedient to His word and who will love Him and their fellow-men and commit themselves to do His will. When families are committed to following God they will pass on this way of life to their children and they in turn will pass on the correct way to live to their children and grandchildren. When the family lives right, all the descendants will then live as God wishes.
God has to put the right people in families and He expects them to live according to His direction and His commandments. Sometimes these people go through many difficulties in life but as they will stick to God, things will turn out right.
In our Study we read in the book of Ruth of a family that left the land of Israel when there was a famine there sent by God to discipline the nation for their disobedience. They moved to the land of Moab despite the instruction of God not to leave the land and go to live among pagan people who worshipped idols and false gods. There the two sons married women from Moab. Soon the father in the family died and the two sons died. The widow named Naomi was left alone with her two daughters-in-law Ruth and Orpah. She decided to go back home to Bethlehem in Judah. She encouraged Ruth and Orpah to go back to their mother’s house and their old gods. Orpah did not like that idea but she left Naomi to go back to her old home. But Ruth refused to leave Naomi. She was determined to remain committed to the God of Israel. She had turned completely away from the false gods of the land of Moab. When Naomi reached her old home in Bethlehem she told the women living there that God had turned against her. She was very bitter.
But Ruth was not bitter against God. She went out to collect food from the farmers’ field because God had instructed farmers not to reap all the produce but to leave some so that the poor in the land would have food. The people called this practice “gleaning’. That was part of the welfare system to help the poor.
When Ruth went to glean she happened to go to the field of a man named Boaz who unknown to her was a close relative of Naomi. The bitter Naomi tried to get Ruth to have this man Boaz attracted to her because he had the right to pay back the debts on the land otherwise called “redeem” the land that Naomi’s husband had left behind.
Boaz knew that Ruth was a hard worker, who loved Naomi and was working to take care of her. He knew Ruth had come to love the God of Israel and had refused to back to worship the false gods of Moab. Ruth had chosen to stay with Naomi even though she knew Naomi was poor and destitute and could not work to support herself. So Boaz was impressed and being a godly man God moved his heart to try to take care of Naomi and marry Ruth. But first he had to get another man who had the first right to the land Naomi’s husband had owned to say he did not want the land and did not want to marry Ruth. The man turned down his first right and Boaz then married Ruth, took care of Naomi, and soon a son was born to them.
Everyone of the women and men in the village of Bethlehem was overjoyed for now Naomi had the grandson she always wanted and she now had security and someone to look after her. The women blessed Naomi and showed her how God had turned around her bitterness and her frustration in her life. God had made her happy even though for a long time she blamed God for her troubles and did not trust God.
Note that Ruth had a different personality. Once she learned about the God of Israel she committed herself to Him and would not turn away from Him. She vowed to look after Naomi and to wait on God to remove their hardships and suffering.
God blessed Ruth and Boaz. The son they had grew up and had a son named Jesse. He grew up and had a son who was the famous King David, the best King the land of Israel would ever have.
The book of Luke and the book of Matthew listed all the descendants from Adam down to Jesus Christ, and in that list of descendants were Rahab, Boaz’s mother who had saved the spies that had been sent from the people of Israel when they came into the land of Canaan, Boaz, Ruth, and their children and grandchildren.
So we know that families are important. God made sure the people David descended from were good and obedient persons. So make sure you follow the ways of God. You might not know what work and position God intends for you to have. When you are faithful like Ruth and Boaz you will be blest by God.