This lesson teaches children that God takes care of people who are hungry, lonely, and far from home, even when they feel like strangers. A child can repeat it as: “God takes care of us, and He can use kind people to help us.” It works well for ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Big Idea
God sees people who need help and takes care of them. He often does this through the kindness of other people, and He wants us to be kind too.
Memory Verse
Ruth 2:12
May the LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
(WEB)
Put your hands together over your heart, then slowly open them out like a bird spreading its wings. Say the words as you move, so children can picture God sheltering Ruth like a bird covering its babies.
The Story: Ruth 2 for Kids
Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi had come back to Bethlehem after living far away in a land called Moab. They had no husband and no money, so they were very poor. Ruth decided to go into the fields and pick up the grain that the workers had dropped. This was a way for poor people to get food.
Ruth ended up in a field that belonged to a man named Boaz. Boaz was a good and kind man who was related to Naomi’s family. When he came to the field, he greeted his workers and asked, “Whose young woman is this?” His servant told him that Ruth was the one who had come back from Moab with Naomi, and that she had been working hard all morning.
Boaz walked over to Ruth and spoke kindly to her. He told her to stay close to his workers, to keep gathering in his field, and to drink water whenever she was thirsty. Ruth was surprised, and she asked him why he was being so kind to a foreigner. Boaz said he had heard how she had cared for Naomi, and he prayed that God would reward her.
At mealtime Boaz invited Ruth to sit with the workers and eat bread. He even told his workers to pull out extra grain from the bundles so that she could gather more. Ruth gathered grain until evening, and she had a large amount to take home.
When Ruth got home and showed Naomi all the grain, Naomi was happy. She asked where Ruth had worked, and Ruth told her that the man’s name was Boaz. Naomi said, “May he be blessed by the LORD,” because she saw that God had not forgotten them.
So Ruth kept working in Boaz’s fields until the harvest was finished, and she lived with Naomi. God had cared for both of them through the kindness of one good man.
Read It Together
Ruth 2:10
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”
(WEB)
Point out that Ruth was surprised at Boaz’s kindness and bowed down to thank him. Ask the children how they feel when someone is kind to them when they did not expect it.
Ruth 2:14
At meal time Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” She sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left some of it.
(WEB)
Show the children how Boaz invited Ruth to sit down and eat with his workers. Explain that this meal was a sign that Ruth was welcome, even though she was a stranger.
Ruth 2:20
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.”
(WEB)
Point out that Naomi praised God for His kindness, even in a hard season. Help the children see that God’s kindness continues in every situation, whether it feels easy or hard.
Talk About It
- Why do you think Ruth was willing to leave her home and go somewhere new with Naomi?
- How did Boaz show kindness to Ruth when she was a stranger?
- Who has helped you when you felt lonely or needed food, a place to stay, or a friend?
- What can you do this week to help someone who is new at church or school?
- How did God take care of Ruth and Naomi through Boaz?
Activity Ideas
Bird Wings Craft
You will need paper, crayons or markers, scissors, and glue. Have each child trace both hands on paper, cut them out, and glue them onto a folded sheet so the hands look like wings. Write the memory verse on the wings and let the children decorate them. Talk about how God covers and protects His people like a bird covering its young.
Gleaning Game
You will need a small bowl of dry beans or cereal pieces and a tray or paper plate for each child. Scatter the beans around the room, and let the children walk around and pick up as many as they can in one minute, just like Ruth gleaning in the field. Afterward, talk about how Boaz let Ruth gather food, and how God provides for us too.
Kindness Jar at Home
You will need an empty jar, paper strips, and a pen. Ask each family member to write one kind thing they did during the week on a paper strip and put it in the jar. At the end of the week, read the notes together and thank God for the ways people helped each other, just as Boaz helped Ruth and Naomi.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows that God cares for vulnerable people, including foreigners and widows, and that He often works through the generosity of others. Boaz is a picture of how God’s kindness shows up in ordinary people. Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi also points forward to God’s larger plan, which leads to King David and eventually to Jesus.
Avoid telling children that God will always make their lives easy or that kindness will always be repaid right away. Ruth and Naomi were still poor and working hard, and the story teaches trust in God’s care more than guaranteed rewards.
A Prayer to Close
Dear God, thank You for taking care of us and for showing us Your kindness. Help us to notice people who feel lonely or hungry, and help us to be kind to them like Boaz was. Thank You that You never forget us. Amen.
