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Ruth 1:1 tells us, "In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land." Bethlehem had run out of bread.
Now, a man named Elimelech, his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon, and Chilion, moved from Bethlehem to Moab. They lived in Moab for ten years.
Elimelech died in Moab. After he died, Naomi's two sons married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. But then her two sons also died. Naomi decided to go back to Bethlehem. She told her daughters-in-law to return to their own homes.
Ruth clung to Naomi, and said, "Wherever you go, I will go." The two of them returned to Bethlehem. It was the beginning of barley harvest.
God provided for Naomi and Ruth, as Ruth gleaned in the field after the reapers.
Ruth gleaned in a field that belonged to a man named Boaz. He told his reapers in Ruth 2: 16, "Let the grain from the bundles fall purposely for her. Leave it that she may glean."
Boaz fell in love with Ruth, and they became husband and wife. They had a son and called him Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, and the grandfather of King David.
Did you know Bethlehem means "House of Bread?" There was a famine in the "House of Bread" for ten years. Yet, God was faithful and provided for Naomi and Ruth. God will always provide for you, too.
Israel is the setting of our children's book, The Lamb, with its rugged mountains and olive trees.
Parent Tip: Study the above map with your child, and find Bethlehem and Moab. Ask your child, "What do you think is the best route from Bethlehem to Moab?"
Head over to my recipe blog and bake Fairy Cakes together. Talk about wheat and barley and how these grains are milled into flour for cakes and breads.