Ruth 2 – 4

Lesson Aim

To understand that God works out his plan through the lives of people.

Hook 1:Ears of corn, baskets, a blanket and a sandal.

Scatter ears of corn around the edges of the room. If you cannot obtain real corn ears then draw an outline on paper and photocopy twenty or thirty examples. As you tell the story, pretend to be Ruth gathering ears of corn from the edges of the field into a basket. When you come to the part of Boaz sleeping, cover yourself up with a blanket and then reveal your feet.

When Boaz meets with the town elders, take off your shoe/sandal to show that an agreement has been made, that Boaz would become the kinsman redeemer.

It is a good idea to show the descent line from Boaz and Ruth through their son, Obed, his son Jesse and finally his son David. From David you can explain that Jesus was born into David’s royal family.

Either show this on hard copies displayed on a board or use PowerPoint.

Hook 2:PowerPoint

All of the objects in Hook 1 could be displayed on PowerPoint. Also include a sides showing people gathering corn by hand and 12 old men as the town elders.

Hook 3: Question

Last week lots of horrible things happened in our story. Can you remember what they were? Famine, death and having to move to another country. This week we shall see how God is wonderfully caring for his people.

Story tip

When telling the second part of the story of Ruth, I have sometimes set the children a challenge to find out who was descended from Ruth and Boaz. The first  child with the correct answer received a prize.

This encouraged the children to want to find out the answer and stimulates their interest.

Application

God worked through the lives of Ruth and Boaz to create a special family, a family into which Israel’s greatest king, David, was born. But someone even greater than David was also born into this family and that was Jesus. Jesus, God’s son, was born into this royal family. However Jesus did not want to be a king living in a castle, he wants to be the king of people’s hearts.

Language

Kinsman redeemer = saviour