Benjamin Franklin, who I don’t think ever professed a faith in Jesus, did have an appreciation for the Bible from a literary perspective. When he was the newly formed US government’s representative to France he indulged in a group of literary intellectuals. This group held no respect for the Bible and they would consistently make fun of it. One day, Ben, decided to read a book from the Bible but he changed the name of God and other names in the book to disguise the origin. After the reading of this short story to this group of literary scholars they sat shocked that they were unaware of such an interesting, well written, classic piece of literature. They asked Ben of his source for this story and Ben was pleased to say, “it comes from the book you so despise, the Bible.” The story Ben had read was the book of Ruth.
Dramatic Reading: in the Old Testament it was common practice for the Torah or law to be read in the assembly. Paul’s letters to the churches in the NT were designed to be read in their entirety to the church. So today we follow an ancient custom but with a modern twist.
(NOTE) pre-arrange readers for the dramatic reading, the script is included. Have fun with it...have the characters act out the parts, like Ruth sleeping at the feet of Boaz and the sandal swap are two parts that always bring laughs...have fun!
SCRIPT:
Narrator: In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. When they reached Moab, they settled there. Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, with only her daughters-in-law. Then Naomi heard that the LORD had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah. But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
Naomi: “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the LORD reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. May the LORD bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.
Ruth & Orpah: “No, We want to go with you to your people.”
Naomi: “Why should you go on with me? You must return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. I will not be able to provide for you. You must find husbands of your own, and you have a much better chance to be married in your own homeland.
Narrator: And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi.
Naomi: “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”
Ruth: “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”
Narrator: When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more. So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival.
A bunch of ladies: “Is it really Naomi?”
Naomi: “Don’t call me Naomi, Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
Narrator: Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband. One day Ruth said to Naomi,
Ruth: “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”
Naomi: “All right, my daughter, go ahead.”
Narrator: So Ruth went out to gather grain and as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz. While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters.
Boaz: “The LORD be with you!” he said.
A bunch of guys: “The LORD bless you!”
Narrator: Then Boaz asked his foreman,
Boaz: “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”
Foreman: “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”
Narrator: Boaz walked over and said to Ruth,
Boaz: “Why don’t you stay here with us and gather your grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”
Narrator: Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. (narrator can repeat this line until 'Ruth' complies)
Ruth: “What have I done to deserve such kindness? I am only a foreigner.”
Boaz: “Yes, I know, But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. May the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”
Ruth: “I hope I continue to please you, sir, You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”
Narrator: At mealtime Boaz called to her,
Boaz: “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.”
Narrator: So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over. When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men,
Boaz: “Let her gather grain and pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”
Narrator: So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket. She carried it back to town and showed it to her mother-in-law.
Naomi: “Where did you gather all this grain today? Where did you work? May the LORD bless the one who helped you!”
Ruth: “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
Naomi: “May the LORD bless him! He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband. That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”
Ruth: “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”
Naomi: “That’s AWESOME! You must do what he said, stay with the young women who are working for him through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe there.”
Narrator: So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.
One day Naomi said to Ruth,
Naomi: “It’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be separating barley at the threshing floor. Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”
Ruth: “I will do everything you say,”
Narrator: So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law. After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet!
Boaz: “Who are you?” he asked.
Ruth: “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.”
Boaz: “The LORD bless you! You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man. Don’t worry about a thing, I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, then he must marry you. But if he is not willing, then I will redeem you! Now lie down here until morning.”
Narrator: So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. Boaz then went to the town gate and took his seat. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him,
Boaz: “Come over here and sit down, I want to talk to you.”
Narrator: Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. And Boaz said to the family redeemer,
Boaz: “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”
The other guy: “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
Boaz: “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”
The other guy: “Then I can’t redeem it, because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
Narrator: Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz,
The other guy: “You buy the land.”
Narrator: Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around,
Boaz: “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. And with the land, I have acquired Ruth, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
Narrator: So Boaz took Ruth into his home, she became his wife and soon gave birth to a son. Then the women of the town said to Naomi,
A bunch of ladies: “Praise the LORD, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age.
Narrator: Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said,
A bunch of ladies: “Now at last Naomi has a son again!”
Narrator: And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. The End.
There are three themes from the book of Ruth
The First Theme is Surrender – Ruth surrenders her freedom and her life to the hands of her mother-in-law…yeah…think about that for a minute.
One of the most quoted and recognized Scripture is Ruth 1:16, “But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”
Christian artists like Nichole Nordeman, Amy Grant, and Chris Tomlin have made recent hits based on the verse, including one of our favorites, I Will Follow You. U2 also has a song called, “I Will Follow” that is based on this scripture.
The word surrender has a negative connotation. It could mean defeat and embarrassment. But there is a deeper Spiritual truth to the word surrender
James 4:7-10 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
In order to Surrender to God like Ruth did we must:
1. Turn our backs on the priorities and choices the world makes – 1 John 2:15-17
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
2. surrender our pride/selfishness to God. – James 4:7
John F. Kennedy said, “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.”
When it comes to our Spiritual nature though the one path we must choose is surrender or submission to God or we won’t enjoy His eternal Glory.
Matthew 26:39 - “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Acts 4:12 - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Philippians 2:5-8 - In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Ephesians 5:21 - Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ
Hebrews 5:7 – During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Second Theme
Sovereignty- Ruth shows us what surrendering to sovereignty looks like.
The dictionary defines sovereign as a supreme ruler: Matthew 28:18 Jesus tells us that he has been given all authority on heaven and earth.
When you’re on the road the driver is essentially the sovereign; for example If I’m driving I dictate when we stop, I’m in control. If someone tries to take control of the car while I’m driving the results will be disastrous. We must have the understanding the God is Sovereign, He is driving the car, He is in control.
“Boaz is a close relative—a kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 1:2). The Hebrew word refers to a relative who acted as a protector or guarantor of the family rights. What we might call the power of attorney today, this family redeemer had the power to make decisions for the whole family and he could be called upon to perform a number of duties the one that Ruth needed of Boaz was to provide an heir for a deceased family member by marrying that Ruth whose husband was a relative and producing a child with her, keeping the family line intact. The Scripture calls God the Redeemer or the 'close relative' of Israel (Is. 60:16), and Jesus the Redeemer of all believers (1 Pet. 1:18, 19)" Wordfocus: Close Relative," Nelson Study Bible, p. 446
Ruth submits to his sovereign position as we must submit to the authority of Christ.
John 3:35 - The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
Ephesians 1:20-22 – he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
Hebrews 1:2 - but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
Philippians 2:9-11 – Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Colossians 1:16-19 - For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
Third Theme:
Salvation –
Ruth 4:13-17 So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the LORD enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the LORD, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!” Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own.The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.
What Boaz did for Ruth Jesus has done for all of us
As Ruth drew near to Boaz and submitted herself to his authority as the redeemer of her family we do the same when we acknowledge our sinful nature and ask Jesus to save us. James 4 teaches us that when come close to God he will come close to us. He waits for our submission to His authority, because as long as we think that we hold any kind of control we will fail to ultimately surrender and acknowledge His Sovereign nature. Why do you need Jesus the redeemer?
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 - when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
Luke 1:68 –“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
Romans 3:24 – and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
Romans 5:8- But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us
Ephesians 1:7 - He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
1 Peter 1:3 – It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation
Colossians 2:12-15 - For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed[a] the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Romans 6:1-4 - Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Have you learned something from Ruth’s story?
Have you surrendered everything to Jesus? Do you understand that Jesus is the supreme authority in your life? Have you given yourself to Jesus your redeemer and been saved from an eternal death?
