Glean On Me: The Story Of Ruth
Drama
My Way Or Thy Way
A Book Of "Choice" Bible Skits
This play is meant to be performed as simply as possible in one continuous act. It can be read as a "Reader's Theater" piece, or performed with minimal props and scenery, preferably in a sanctuary or stage with two levels.
Scenes: Stage left in front of stage steps is Moab with an easel holding a sleazy sign; center stage is Judah, with a basket of wheat sitting in Boaz's field; in front of center stage steps is Naomi's house in Judah; right stage is the threshing room floor with tent. Narrator stands at lectern with microphone.
Props: Easel with Moab sign, optional baskets or suitcases for Naomi and Ruth, basket of wheat, sticks for men to pound wheat, tent for threshing room floor, blankets to use as bedrolls
Characters:
Narrator -- reader
Elimelech -- Naomi's husband that dies in Judah
Naomi -- Ruth and Orpah's mother-in-law
Mahlon -- non-seaking
Kilion -- non-speaking
Ruth -- woman from Moab who moves to Judah with Naomi
Orpah -- woman from Moab who stays there
Townsperson -- resident of Judah
Boaz -- relative of Naomi's husband who owns fields in Judah
Harvester -- worker in Boaz's fields
Kinsman-Redeemer -- closer relative to Naomi than Boaz
Time: written sometime between 1375-1050 B.C.
Costumes: Biblical robes, scarves, and sandals for all characters except Narrator, who dresses in today's style
Narrator: When food became very scarce in Bethlehem in Judah, a man named Elimelech moved his wife, Naomi, and two sons to Moab. This was a bold step, as the Jews hated the Moabites so much that it was against Jewish law to marry a Moabite.
Elimelech: (Standing center stage in Judah with Naomi, Mahlon, and Kilion) Naomi, we must move our sons, Mahlon and Kilion, outside the Promised Land to Moab, or we'll all starve.
Naomi: Must we go to that sleezy, sinful town? It's full of -- Moabites -- who wouldn't even let the Jews pass through their lands during our escape from Egypt. Just promise me we'll return to Judah as soon as possible.
Elimelech: Cross my heart and hope to die. (Family walks down steps to left stage, Moab)
Narrator: That "hope to die" part proved to be a poor choice of words, for after about ten years, Elimelech died in Moab. (Elimelech exits) He left behind his widow, Naomi, and their two sons, who married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. (Orpah and Ruth enter)
Ruth: Thank you for accepting us as your daughters, Naomi. I know most Jewish women would rather die than have their sons marry Moabites.
Naomi: You have seen and heard much about my God in all the years that we have known each other, and have probably come to know him nearly as well as I. It is not up to me to judge you.
Narrator: Though Naomi made the best of her husband's death, more sorrow soon came her way. Both of her sons died, and she was left alone. She heard that there was food again in Judah so she decided to go back home with her two daughters-in-law. On the road back to Bethlehem, Naomi had a change of heart. (Naomi, Ruth, Orpah walk in front of center stage steps with suitcases/baskets)
Naomi: Stop! You girls should go back to your own mothers. Maybe then you could find new husbands.
Narrator: She kissed both girls and they had a big sob fest.
Orpah: No, we'll go back to Judah with you.
Narrator: More tears.
Naomi: Why would you want to come to a land of strangers? I'm too old to have any more sons, and the Jewish men would stick up their noses at Moabite women -- and widows to boot. No, you must go home, so you don't become an old maid like me. Oh, how the Lord has turned against me!
Narrator: Tear ducts now working serious overtime ...
Orpah: You're right, Naomi. Moab's the safer choice. Have a nice life, you two. Kiss, kiss. I'm out of here! (Orpah exits)
Naomi: Ruth, your sister in-law is going back to her own people and gods. Go with her.
Ruth: Don't tell me to turn my back on you. Wherever you go, I'm going. Your people and your God will be mine. End of story.
Naomi: Is that your final answer?
Ruth: Yes. Let's get going.
Narrator: So the two women went to Bethlehem, where they caused quite a stir. (Naomi and Ruth walk up stairs to Judah, center stage. Townsperson enters with basket of wheat)
Townsperson: Can this be the same Naomi who left us so many years ago?
Naomi: Don't call me Naomi any more. The old Naomi had a husband, two sons, and a life. That Naomi's gone. (Dramatically) Call me Mara, because my life has become bitter. The Lord has brought me great troubles.
Townsperson: Why don't you tell us how you really feel, Naomi?
Narrator: Anyway, the two got to Bethlehem just as the spring barley harvest was beginning. Since Naomi's husband had a relative named Boaz in the area, Ruth went to his fields to glean. (Gleaning was a Jewish custom in which land owners left some of the grain in the fields behind for poor people and widows to pick up.) (Townsperson gives Ruth her basket and exits. Ruth stoops and pretends to pick up wheat and put in her basket. Harvester enters, supervising workers)
Boaz: (Enters) Greetings, harvesters. The Lord be with you.
Harvester: And also with you!
Boaz: Foreman, who is that young woman?
Harvester: She came back from Moab with Naomi. Nice person -- and a hard worker. She asked if she could glean after us, and has been working since morning.
Narrator: Boaz went to Ruth.
Boaz: Daughter, stay here with my servant girls and glean only in this field where you'll be safe. Help yourself to the water from those jars over there, and feel free to "glean on me" anytime you like.
Ruth: Thank you. But why are you being so kind to a foreigner?
Boaz: I heard about all the things you've done for your mother-in-law, and how you left your own people and came to a strange land. May God reward your kindness.
Narrator: At dinner, Boaz let her dip her bread in the wine with the other harvesters, and gave her roasted grain (half of which she pocketed to take home to Naomi). After she went back to work, he told his men to leave extra stalks for her to pick up, so she returned home with quite an armload. (Boaz, Harvester exit to threshing floor, stage right and pretend to thresh/pound wheat, then freeze. Naomi enters and stands in front of steps center stage. Ruth walks down steps to greet her)
Naomi: Wow, you're loaded. Where did you get all that? Tell me about your day.
Ruth: I worked in the field of a man named Boaz who said that I could glean on him.
Naomi: Bless him! Wait, did you say Boaz? He's our relative. That means he's our kinsman-redeemer. That means that, according to Jewish custom, he could volunteer to take care of his extended family, being us. That means he could marry the widow of his relative.
Narrator: So Ruth worked with the girls in Boaz's field until the fall wheat harvest was over and lived with Naomi, who had thought of a plan.
Naomi: Ruth, tonight Boaz will stay by the threshing room floor where the wheat is crushed, to protect his crop. Get yourself cleaned up, put on some perfume and your best robe. Then, creep up to his bedroll after dinner, uncover his feet and lay down, but don't let anyone see you. He'll tell you what to do next.
Narrator: This may sound like a strange plan, but in Jewish tradition, the servant often slept at the master's feet, sometimes even sharing his blanket. This would signal Boaz that he could be her kinsman-redeemer. So Ruth did as her mother-in-law advised -- no questions asked. (Naomi freezes. Boaz and Harvester lay down; Ruth walks right stage and curls up at Boaz's feet)
Boaz: Who are you?
Ruth: Your servant, Ruth. Please share some of your cover with me because you're my kinsman-redeemer.
Boaz: God bless you, daughter. You're a noble person, as everyone in Judah knows. I'll be happy to help you, but there's one man that is a closer relative than I. He has first dibs on taking care of you. I'll talk to him in the morning. Meanwhile, just take this barley home to Naomi and sneak away so no one sees that you were on the threshing room floor.
Narrator: (Ruth walks down steps in front of center stage) Naomi, of course, wanted all the details.
Naomi: Oh, Ruth. I have a good feeling about this man. He won't rest until he settles this matter today.
Narrator: And Boaz did settle it. The closer kin gave Boaz the right to care for Naomi and Ruth, and Boaz married her. They loved and respected each other, and of course, took good care of Naomi in her old age.
Naomi: I knew that everything would turn out just fine for you in Bethlehem.
Ruth: The perfect place for our new baby to be born.
Naomi: What? You're having a baby? Thank you, Lord. This is a job for Nana Naomi. Of course it'll be a boy. I'll care for him and raise him up properly in the eyes of the Lord.
Ruth: First Naomi, then, Mara, "the bitter one," now Nana. You sure change names a lot.
Narrator: Hug and kiss. Ruth and Boaz did have a child, named Obed. As it turns out, he wasn't the only outstanding baby in the family to be born in Bethlehem. His grandson would be David, a direct ancestor of Jesus. Those Moab genes sure made for one perfect Savior!
Discussion Questions
1.
What choices did Ruth make in this story? What were the consequences?
2.
How do you think Boaz's neighbors might react to him marrying a Moabitess (woman from Moab)?
3.
Why do you think God might choose a Moabitess to be one of Jesus' ancestors?
4.
How did Naomi and Ruth help each other?
5.
Do you think it pleases God when young people listen to older ones?
Related Activities
1.
Make props/scenery for the play:
a.
A flashy sign for Moab that shows that it is a sinful place (The Slee-Zee Saloon, Open 24 hours, Free Drinks, Dog Fights, Girls, girls, girls ...)
b.
Make a tent from a blanket thrown over some type of frame -- some easels, coat racks, or upended tables.
2.
Read how the transfer of property became final in Ruth 4:7-8. Draw a cartoon of two people today making a deal at the bank, car lot, store, White House, or school using this biblical method.
3.
Read Genesis 19:30-37 to find out who the Moabs were descended from. Read 2 Kings 3:21- 27 to find out why the Moabs may have hated the Jews.
4.
Look up this key verse in Ruth 1:16. Make a class mural showing the main scenes from Ruth's story, using words from this verse as a title.
5.
Add Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz to your master chart of Character(s), Choice(s), Consequence(s), and Message Learned.
Scenes: Stage left in front of stage steps is Moab with an easel holding a sleazy sign; center stage is Judah, with a basket of wheat sitting in Boaz's field; in front of center stage steps is Naomi's house in Judah; right stage is the threshing room floor with tent. Narrator stands at lectern with microphone.
Props: Easel with Moab sign, optional baskets or suitcases for Naomi and Ruth, basket of wheat, sticks for men to pound wheat, tent for threshing room floor, blankets to use as bedrolls
Characters:
Narrator -- reader
Elimelech -- Naomi's husband that dies in Judah
Naomi -- Ruth and Orpah's mother-in-law
Mahlon -- non-seaking
Kilion -- non-speaking
Ruth -- woman from Moab who moves to Judah with Naomi
Orpah -- woman from Moab who stays there
Townsperson -- resident of Judah
Boaz -- relative of Naomi's husband who owns fields in Judah
Harvester -- worker in Boaz's fields
Kinsman-Redeemer -- closer relative to Naomi than Boaz
Time: written sometime between 1375-1050 B.C.
Costumes: Biblical robes, scarves, and sandals for all characters except Narrator, who dresses in today's style
Narrator: When food became very scarce in Bethlehem in Judah, a man named Elimelech moved his wife, Naomi, and two sons to Moab. This was a bold step, as the Jews hated the Moabites so much that it was against Jewish law to marry a Moabite.
Elimelech: (Standing center stage in Judah with Naomi, Mahlon, and Kilion) Naomi, we must move our sons, Mahlon and Kilion, outside the Promised Land to Moab, or we'll all starve.
Naomi: Must we go to that sleezy, sinful town? It's full of -- Moabites -- who wouldn't even let the Jews pass through their lands during our escape from Egypt. Just promise me we'll return to Judah as soon as possible.
Elimelech: Cross my heart and hope to die. (Family walks down steps to left stage, Moab)
Narrator: That "hope to die" part proved to be a poor choice of words, for after about ten years, Elimelech died in Moab. (Elimelech exits) He left behind his widow, Naomi, and their two sons, who married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. (Orpah and Ruth enter)
Ruth: Thank you for accepting us as your daughters, Naomi. I know most Jewish women would rather die than have their sons marry Moabites.
Naomi: You have seen and heard much about my God in all the years that we have known each other, and have probably come to know him nearly as well as I. It is not up to me to judge you.
Narrator: Though Naomi made the best of her husband's death, more sorrow soon came her way. Both of her sons died, and she was left alone. She heard that there was food again in Judah so she decided to go back home with her two daughters-in-law. On the road back to Bethlehem, Naomi had a change of heart. (Naomi, Ruth, Orpah walk in front of center stage steps with suitcases/baskets)
Naomi: Stop! You girls should go back to your own mothers. Maybe then you could find new husbands.
Narrator: She kissed both girls and they had a big sob fest.
Orpah: No, we'll go back to Judah with you.
Narrator: More tears.
Naomi: Why would you want to come to a land of strangers? I'm too old to have any more sons, and the Jewish men would stick up their noses at Moabite women -- and widows to boot. No, you must go home, so you don't become an old maid like me. Oh, how the Lord has turned against me!
Narrator: Tear ducts now working serious overtime ...
Orpah: You're right, Naomi. Moab's the safer choice. Have a nice life, you two. Kiss, kiss. I'm out of here! (Orpah exits)
Naomi: Ruth, your sister in-law is going back to her own people and gods. Go with her.
Ruth: Don't tell me to turn my back on you. Wherever you go, I'm going. Your people and your God will be mine. End of story.
Naomi: Is that your final answer?
Ruth: Yes. Let's get going.
Narrator: So the two women went to Bethlehem, where they caused quite a stir. (Naomi and Ruth walk up stairs to Judah, center stage. Townsperson enters with basket of wheat)
Townsperson: Can this be the same Naomi who left us so many years ago?
Naomi: Don't call me Naomi any more. The old Naomi had a husband, two sons, and a life. That Naomi's gone. (Dramatically) Call me Mara, because my life has become bitter. The Lord has brought me great troubles.
Townsperson: Why don't you tell us how you really feel, Naomi?
Narrator: Anyway, the two got to Bethlehem just as the spring barley harvest was beginning. Since Naomi's husband had a relative named Boaz in the area, Ruth went to his fields to glean. (Gleaning was a Jewish custom in which land owners left some of the grain in the fields behind for poor people and widows to pick up.) (Townsperson gives Ruth her basket and exits. Ruth stoops and pretends to pick up wheat and put in her basket. Harvester enters, supervising workers)
Boaz: (Enters) Greetings, harvesters. The Lord be with you.
Harvester: And also with you!
Boaz: Foreman, who is that young woman?
Harvester: She came back from Moab with Naomi. Nice person -- and a hard worker. She asked if she could glean after us, and has been working since morning.
Narrator: Boaz went to Ruth.
Boaz: Daughter, stay here with my servant girls and glean only in this field where you'll be safe. Help yourself to the water from those jars over there, and feel free to "glean on me" anytime you like.
Ruth: Thank you. But why are you being so kind to a foreigner?
Boaz: I heard about all the things you've done for your mother-in-law, and how you left your own people and came to a strange land. May God reward your kindness.
Narrator: At dinner, Boaz let her dip her bread in the wine with the other harvesters, and gave her roasted grain (half of which she pocketed to take home to Naomi). After she went back to work, he told his men to leave extra stalks for her to pick up, so she returned home with quite an armload. (Boaz, Harvester exit to threshing floor, stage right and pretend to thresh/pound wheat, then freeze. Naomi enters and stands in front of steps center stage. Ruth walks down steps to greet her)
Naomi: Wow, you're loaded. Where did you get all that? Tell me about your day.
Ruth: I worked in the field of a man named Boaz who said that I could glean on him.
Naomi: Bless him! Wait, did you say Boaz? He's our relative. That means he's our kinsman-redeemer. That means that, according to Jewish custom, he could volunteer to take care of his extended family, being us. That means he could marry the widow of his relative.
Narrator: So Ruth worked with the girls in Boaz's field until the fall wheat harvest was over and lived with Naomi, who had thought of a plan.
Naomi: Ruth, tonight Boaz will stay by the threshing room floor where the wheat is crushed, to protect his crop. Get yourself cleaned up, put on some perfume and your best robe. Then, creep up to his bedroll after dinner, uncover his feet and lay down, but don't let anyone see you. He'll tell you what to do next.
Narrator: This may sound like a strange plan, but in Jewish tradition, the servant often slept at the master's feet, sometimes even sharing his blanket. This would signal Boaz that he could be her kinsman-redeemer. So Ruth did as her mother-in-law advised -- no questions asked. (Naomi freezes. Boaz and Harvester lay down; Ruth walks right stage and curls up at Boaz's feet)
Boaz: Who are you?
Ruth: Your servant, Ruth. Please share some of your cover with me because you're my kinsman-redeemer.
Boaz: God bless you, daughter. You're a noble person, as everyone in Judah knows. I'll be happy to help you, but there's one man that is a closer relative than I. He has first dibs on taking care of you. I'll talk to him in the morning. Meanwhile, just take this barley home to Naomi and sneak away so no one sees that you were on the threshing room floor.
Narrator: (Ruth walks down steps in front of center stage) Naomi, of course, wanted all the details.
Naomi: Oh, Ruth. I have a good feeling about this man. He won't rest until he settles this matter today.
Narrator: And Boaz did settle it. The closer kin gave Boaz the right to care for Naomi and Ruth, and Boaz married her. They loved and respected each other, and of course, took good care of Naomi in her old age.
Naomi: I knew that everything would turn out just fine for you in Bethlehem.
Ruth: The perfect place for our new baby to be born.
Naomi: What? You're having a baby? Thank you, Lord. This is a job for Nana Naomi. Of course it'll be a boy. I'll care for him and raise him up properly in the eyes of the Lord.
Ruth: First Naomi, then, Mara, "the bitter one," now Nana. You sure change names a lot.
Narrator: Hug and kiss. Ruth and Boaz did have a child, named Obed. As it turns out, he wasn't the only outstanding baby in the family to be born in Bethlehem. His grandson would be David, a direct ancestor of Jesus. Those Moab genes sure made for one perfect Savior!
Discussion Questions
1.
What choices did Ruth make in this story? What were the consequences?
2.
How do you think Boaz's neighbors might react to him marrying a Moabitess (woman from Moab)?
3.
Why do you think God might choose a Moabitess to be one of Jesus' ancestors?
4.
How did Naomi and Ruth help each other?
5.
Do you think it pleases God when young people listen to older ones?
Related Activities
1.
Make props/scenery for the play:
a.
A flashy sign for Moab that shows that it is a sinful place (The Slee-Zee Saloon, Open 24 hours, Free Drinks, Dog Fights, Girls, girls, girls ...)
b.
Make a tent from a blanket thrown over some type of frame -- some easels, coat racks, or upended tables.
2.
Read how the transfer of property became final in Ruth 4:7-8. Draw a cartoon of two people today making a deal at the bank, car lot, store, White House, or school using this biblical method.
3.
Read Genesis 19:30-37 to find out who the Moabs were descended from. Read 2 Kings 3:21- 27 to find out why the Moabs may have hated the Jews.
4.
Look up this key verse in Ruth 1:16. Make a class mural showing the main scenes from Ruth's story, using words from this verse as a title.
5.
Add Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz to your master chart of Character(s), Choice(s), Consequence(s), and Message Learned.
