The Story of Naomi and Ruth
By: Rainu, Aleesha, Ashley, Ivy, Christina
Introduction
-The Bible introduces Naomi and Ruth in the book of Ruth Chapter 1 saying, “The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion...Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth....”
-Ruth 1:16-17- “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I wil go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
-Ruth 2:11-12- “Boaz Replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband--how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
-Ruth 4:13-16- “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The woman said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman- redeemer may he become famous throughout Israel. He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For you daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.”
So why did we choose them?
They show characteristics that a friend should have. The point of these two are to show how we God gives us friends when we need them, and we should treat them like a gift from God. Just like in the story, Naomi could have insisted the women come with her, but she unselfish and wanted them to be free to go home to be with their families. And Ruth had such a good attitude and wanted to help, she moved away from everyone she knew and went to work to help Naomi. She didn't tell everyone what a good friend she was, she knew that she should be a friend like God wanted her to be.