Leader Guide

Object Lesson

Read Ruth 1:16–18:

But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.

Select four volunteers. Have one volunteer hold the “world” card and stand several feet from you to your left side. Have another volunteer hold the “God” card and stand several feet from you on your right side. Have the other two volunteers stand with you in the middle: call one Orpah and one Ruth.

Naomi told Orpah and Ruth to return to their mother’s homes in Moab, where people didn’t worship the true God.

Have Orpah look back. Orpah looked back. Her old life in Moab looked better to her than moving to Bethlehem and serving the one true God. Have Orpah walk to the “world” card and stand.    

Ruth did not look back. She made a choice to stay with Naomi and with God even though they were sad and had lost everything. Ruth was committed to keep looking ahead to her future with God and Naomi. Have Ruth walk to the “God” card and stand.  

Boaz was a family redeemer and bought Naomi’s land. He provided for Ruth and Naomi. He married Ruth and they had a son who was an ancestor of Jesus!  The two women were set free from their emptiness and sorrow. They were filled with joy and lived a blessed life. Ruth was redeemed because she committed her life to serving Naomi and God—she did not look back!  

Walk to Orpah and stand beside the “world” card. To redeem means to buy or purchase something back. It was very costly for God to redeem us. He paid the price with Jesus’ death on the cross to bring us to Himself.

Walk to Ruth and stand beside the “God” card. God does not redeem us only to have us return to our old life again, like Orpah did. Jesus told a man in the Bible that anyone who chooses to look back is not fit for the kingdom of God! See Luke 9:62.

Paul said in Philippians 3:13:

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Paul said that He was not perfect as long as he was in the world. He would continue to look forward to what God had for him instead of what he left behind.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we will be tempted to disobey God’s Word. We will face pressure to be like others and to think and do as they do. At times it may look easier to return to things we did before we served God. But, like Ruth and Paul, we must choose to focus on what lies ahead and the blessings that await us!  

Perhaps if Orpah had known that God had a wonderful plan for her, she may have gone to Bethlehem with Naomi and Ruth. That’s why we want to tell others about what God has done for us—to encourage them to put their trust in Jesus, too!

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God redeems me.”