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Naomi and Ruth went on together,
and came to Bethlehem. Bethlehem had been Naomi's home, and many of
her old friends still lived there. When they heard that Naomi was
come, they all ran to see her. But when they looked at her, they
said, "Is this Naomi?" Why did they ask? Because
Naomi was so very much altered. When she lived before at Bethlehem,
she was happy with her husband and her sons; but now, they were all gone,
and she was left alone. She told her friends the sad story, that God
had taken away her husband and her sons; and now she was a poor widow, and
had come home to die in her own country. When
Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem, it was harvest time, and the people were
all very busy reaping barley. It is pleasant to see the men reaping
the yellow corn, and binding it in sheaves; and then the poor people are
glad to follow them, and gather up the corn left on the ground. When
Ruth was living at home with Naomi, she did not wish to be idle.
Idleness is a great sin. The Bible tells us not to be slothful; and
all God's people must try to be industrious and useful. What work
did Ruth do? She said, "Let me go and glean in the
fields;" and Naomi answered, "Go, my daughter." All
the people in Bethlehem were strangers to Ruth; she had no friends there;
but when she went out to glean, God was with her, and He led her to the
right field. God is always near His people; and, if they trust to
Him, He will teach them where to go, and what to do. When we go out,
we ought to ask God to go with us, and to keep and bless us wherever we
are. Ruth gleaned in a
field which belonged to a man named Boaz. The reapers let her glean,
and Ruth was very industrious, and did not stand idle. Boaz soon
came to the field to see the reapers, and he said to them, "The Lord
be with you." And they answered, "The Lord bless
thee." Boaz was a servant of God; he loved and worshiped Him
himself, and he taught his people to serve Him too. When Boaz saw
his beautiful field, and his busy reapers, he remembered who gave him all
his possessions; and he wished his servants to think about God when they
were at work.
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