Level 1
Lesson 8: Giving Thanks

Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, had come to a new home to live.

Ruth wondered how they would find enough to eat in this new country. One day she saw some fields of barley. In the top of each stalk there were little seeds which people used for food. Now that the barley grains were ripe enough to eat, the stalks turned yellow, and then people would soon come to cut down the barley. Ruth wished she could get some for Naomi and herself.

One day she saw men coming to cut the ripe, yellow barley. Other men followed to tie it into bundles. As they worked some pieces fell to the ground. In that country whatever fell to the ground was left for anyone who needed it. As Ruth saw other girls go to pick up what was left, she said to Naomi, ”Let me go into the fields to pick up barley that falls to the ground.”

Naomi said,”Go daughter.”

Ruth went to one of the fields and asked the head man to let her follow the workers to pick up the barley.

“Yes, you may,” said the head man. Ruth was happy to be in the field with the other girls, gathering barley for her mother-in-law and herself.

She worked hard in the hot sun, bending over and picking up the barley.

After a while the owner of the field came to see how his workers were getting along. He was a kind man and spoke pleasantly to his workmen. As he watched the girls gathering what had dropped he noticed Ruth. He knew that he had never seen her before. “Who is she?” he asked the head man.

“That is Ruth,” the man answered. “She has been working all morning to gather barley for her mother-in-law Naomi and herself.”

“I have heard about her before,” said the owner of the field. “I have heard how hard she works to help her mother-in-law Naomi. You can help Ruth by dropping some bundles in her way where she will find them. I will tell Ruth to come here every day.”

Then the owner of the field went to Ruth and spoke kindly to her. “You may come to this field every day,” he said.

“You are very kind,” said Ruth, as she thanked him.

“I have heard how kind you are to Naomi,” he answered, “and how hard you are working for her. When our workers eat their lunch, come here and eat with them, and drink from the water jars our young men have filled.”

At noon Ruth ate her dinner with the other workers. She had all she wished to eat. When she started to work again she did not know why she found so much barley. She did not know the men had been told to drop it on purpose for her.

When evening came, Ruth took a stick and beat out the barley. Out flew the little round grains until there was a big pile of them. Then she gathered them up and carried them home to Naomi.

Each morning after this Ruth went out into the barley field and came back in the evening. Each night she gave Naomi the seeds she had beaten out of the barley she found. Ruth and Naomi were happy now and thanked God that they had all they needed to eat.