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THE STORY OF RUTH, THE GLEANER
In the time of the Judges in Israel, a man named Elimelech was living in
the town of Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah, about six miles south of
Jerusalem. His wife's name was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and
Chilion. For some years the crops were poor, and food was scarce in
Judah; and Elimelech with his family went to live in the land of Moab,
which was on the east of the Dead Sea, as Judah was on the west.
There they stayed ten years, and in that time Elimelech died. His two
sons married women of the country of Moab, one named Orpah, the other
named Ruth. But the two young men also died in the land of Moab; so that
Naomi and her two daughters-in-law were all left widows.
Naomi heard that God had again given good harvests and bread to the land
of Judah, and she rose up to go from Moab back to her own land and her
own town of Bethlehem. The two daughters-in-law loved her, and both
would have gone with her, though the land of Judah was a strange land to
them, for they were of the Moabite people.
Naomi said to them: "Go back, my daughters, to your own mothers' homes.
May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have been kind to your
husbands and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you may yet find
another husband and a happy home."
Then Naomi kissed them in farewell, and the three women all wept
together. The two young widows said to her:
"You have been a good mother to us, and we will go with you, and live
among your people."
"No, no," said Naomi. "You are young, and I am old. Go back and be happy
among your own people."
Then Orpah kissed Naomi, and went back to her people; but Ruth would not
leave her. She said:
"Do not ask me to leave you, for I never will. Where you go, I will go;
where you live, I will live; your people shall be my people; and your
God shall be my God. Where you die, I will die, and be buried. Nothing
but death itself shall part you and me."
When Naomi saw that Ruth was firm in her purpose, she ceased trying to
persuade her; so the two women went on together. They walked around the
Dead Sea, and crossed the river Jordan, and climbed the mountains of
Judah, and came to Bethlehem.
Naomi had been absent from Bethlehem for ten years, but her friends
were all glad to see her again. They said:
"Is this Naomi, whom we knew years ago?"
Now the name Naomi means "pleasant." And Naomi said:
"Call me not Naomi; call me Mara, for the Lord has made my life bitter.
I went out full, with my husband and two sons; now I come home empty,
without them. Do not call me 'Pleasant,' call me 'Bitter.'"
The name "Mara," by which Naomi wished to be called means "bitter." But
Naomi learned later that "Pleasant" was the right name after all.
There was living in Bethlehem at that time a very rich man named Boaz.
He owned large fields that were abundant in their harvests; and he was
related to the family of Elimelech, Naomi's husband, who had died.
It was the custom in Israel when they reaped the grain not to gather all
the stalks, but to leave some for the poor people, who followed after
the reapers with their sickles, and gathered what was left. When Naomi
and Ruth came to Bethlehem, it was the time of the barley harvest; and
Ruth went out into the fields to glean the grain which the reapers had
left. It so happened that she was gleaning in the field that belonged to
Boaz, this rich man.
Boaz came out from the town to see his men reaping, and he said to
them, "The Lord be with you"; and they answered him, "The Lord bless
you."
And Boaz said to his master of the reapers: "Who is this young woman
that I see gleaning in the field?"
The man answered: "It is the young woman from the land of Moab, who came
with Naomi. She asked leave to glean after the reapers, and has been
here gathering grain since yesterday."
Then Boaz said to Ruth: "Listen to me, my daughter. Do not go to any
other field, but stay here with my young women. No one shall harm you;
and when you are thirsty, go and drink at our vessels of water."
Then Ruth bowed to Boaz, and thanked him for his kindness, all the more
kind because she was a stranger in Israel. Boaz said: "I have heard how
true you have been to your mother-in-law Naomi, in leaving your own
land and coming with her to this land. May the Lord, under whose wings
you have come, give you a reward!"
And at noon, when they sat down to rest and to eat, Boaz gave her some
of the food. And he said to the reapers:
"When you are reaping, leave some of the sheaves for her; and drop out
some sheaves from the bundles, where she may gather them."
That evening, Ruth showed Naomi how much she had gleaned, and told her
of the rich man Boaz, who had been so kind to her. And Naomi said:
"This man is a near relation of ours. Stay in his fields, as long as the
harvest lasts." And so Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz until the
harvest had been gathered.
At the end of the harvest, Boaz held a feast on the threshing-floor. And
after the feast, by the advice of Naomi, Ruth went to him, and said to
him:
"You are a near relation of my husband and of his father, Elimelech. Now
will you not do good to us for his sake?"
And when Boaz saw Ruth, he loved her; and soon after this he took her as
his wife. And Naomi and Ruth went to live in his home; so that Naomi's
life was no more bitter, but pleasant. And Boaz and Ruth had a son,
whom they named Obed; and later Obed had a son named Jesse; and Jesse
was the father of David, the shepherd boy who became king. So Ruth, the
young woman of Moab, who chose the people and the God of Israel, became
the mother of kings.
Next
page |
THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE
THE STORY OF NOAH AND THE ARK
THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC
THE STORY OF JACOB
THE SALE OF A BIRTHRIGHT
THE STORY OF THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN
THE STORY OF JOSEPH
THE COAT OF MANY COLORS
THE DREAMS OF A KING
THE STORY OF THE MONEY IN THE SACKS
THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST BROTHER
THE STORY OF MOSES, THE CHILD WHO WAS FOUND IN THE RIVER
THE STORY OF THE GRAPES FROM CANAAN
THE STORY OF GIDEON AND HIS THREE HUNDRED SOLDIERS
THE STORY OF SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN
THE STORY OF RUTH, THE GLEANER
THE STORY OF DAVID
THE SHEPHERD BOY
THE STORY OF THE FIGHT WITH THE GIANT
THE STORY OF THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
THE STORY OF SOLOMON AND HIS TEMPLE
THE STORY OF ELIJAH, THE PROPHET
THE STORY OF JONAH AND THE WHALE
THE STORY OF THE FIERY FURNACE
THE STORY OF DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN
THE STORY OF THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR
THE STORY OF JESUS
THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM
THE STORY OF THE STAR AND THE WISE MEN
THE STORY OF THE CHILD IN THE TEMPLE
THE STORY OF THE WATER THAT WAS TURNED INTO WINE
THE STORY OF THE STRANGER AT THE WELL
THE STORY OF THE FISHERMEN
THE STORY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
THE STORY OF THE MIRACLE WORKER
THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN
THE STORY OF THE PALM BRANCHES
THE STORY OF THE BETRAYAL
THE STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB
THE STORY OF THE MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE
THE STORY OF STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR
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