The lab was a mess! Last night the Professor had invited the kids’ group from Church to come over to watch a movie. MJ and Precious had helped the Professor move most of the furniture out of the lab so that they had a big open space on the floor. There was room for everyone to sit on the floor and watch the movie. It had been a good night, and everyone had a lot of fun, but now the floor was covered with chips, pizza crusts, popcorn, and broken cookies. It was a mess! The Professor looked at the mess and said, “Ooops!”
They should have spent some time and picked up the mess, but Precious was so excited to meet another of Jesus’ ancestors that she could not wait! So, they went to the time machine and turned the dial to the next name, which was Ruth. MJ and Precious did not know anything about Ruth, so they could hardly wait to meet her and to hear her story!
The Professor pushed the button on the time machine. Nothing happened for about 30 seconds, then the booth began to shake like a mosquito who had too much caffeine, there was the sound of thunder, and the air was filled with pieces of food! MJ opened the door of the booth, and a young woman walked out. The first thing they noticed about Ruth was that her clothes seemed tattered and worn, as if she did not have enough money to get better clothes. The second thing they noticed was that she was very thin and looked hungry. She saw all the food on the floor and began picking it up…and stuffing it into her mouth! Precious was shocked! She quietly asked the Professor why Ruth was eating food off the floor. The Professor thought for a moment and then whispered to Precious and MJ that he had no idea why Ruth was behaving like that and suggested that they ask her why she was acting like that.
They turned around and found that Ruth was gone! The outside door was open, and Ruth was nowhere in sight! Ruth had escaped! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The Professor, MJ and Precious ran outside, but they did not know which way Ruth had gone. They ran toward town and hoped that they could find her! They could not find Ruth! They looked all around town and there was no sign of her. They had to find Ruth, but where was she? They were going past a restaurant at the edge of town when they heard a noise! The noise came from behind the restaurant, so they ran behind the building to see what was making that noise! There was nothing behind the building except for a dumpster. Then they heard the noise again! There was someone in the dumpster! The person stood up and they saw that it was Ruth, she was dumpster diving! Ruth yelled, “There is so much food in here! I could supply our family for a week with this much food!”
They coaxed Ruth out of the dumpster and got her back to the lab. They all sat down, and the Professor asked Ruth to tell them her story. Ruth had a pile of food in front of her, and as she ate, she told them this story:
There was once a woman named Naomi who lived in Israel. There was a time when there was no rain and no food in the whole country. Naomi, her husband, and their two sons moved to the country of Moab because there was food there. They stayed there for more than 10 years. During that time the two sons got married, Ruth was the wife of one of Naomi’s sons. After a while, Naomi’s husband and both sons died. Naomi was going to move back to Israel because the famine was over. Naomi told the two young women who had married her sons to go back to their families, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi. Ruth said:
“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!” (from the Bible: Ruth 1:16-17)
Ruth told them that when she and Naomi got to Israel, they did not have anything except the clothes they were wearing. They did not have a home, and they did not have any food. Ruth was a foreigner, and she was homeless! They were able to find a place to stay, but they still did not have any food. It was the time of year to harvest the crops, and Naomi had an idea. She sent Ruth to the fields where they were harvesting grain. Ruth asked permission to follow the men who were harvesting the grain and to pick up any grain that was missed.
The owner of the field was named Boaz, and he was related to Naomi. Boaz had heard the story of Naomi’s hard life, and he had heard about how loyal Ruth was to Naomi. Boaz took pity on Ruth and Naomi, and he told Ruth to come to his fields every day to pick up grain. Boaz also told his workers to leave more grain laying the ground so that Ruth would find plenty to pick up.
Boaz showed kindness to Ruth and Naomi like God shows kindness to all of us. Boaz was the son of Rahab (from Jericho), and Rahab had told him the story of how she and the rest of her family were rescued from Jericho by the kindness of God. Eventually Boaz married Ruth, and they became ancestors of Jesus.
Ruth told them that ever since being homeless and hungry, she could not stand to see food wasted. She was grateful for every piece of food that God provided for her!
The Professor told them that the kindness of Boaz had saved the life of Naomi and Ruth, and when he showed kindness to Ruth by marrying her, he and Ruth became part of the great story of Jesus, the Son of God! Everyone who knows God should do everything they can to show kindness, it is very important!
In the Bible in Ephesians 4:31-32 it says:
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ (Jesus) has forgiven you.
It was time for Ruth to go back to her own time. Precious had a surprise for Ruth! Precious opened the freezer and gave Ruth a frozen pizza to take with her. Ruth immediately opened the box and tried to eat the frozen pizza, but it was frozen as hard as a rock! The Professor said, “Ooops!” MJ explained to Ruth that she needed to cook the pizza before she could eat it.
Ruth took her pizza and went into the booth. MJ pushed the button. Nothing happened for about 30 seconds, then the booth began to shake like a mosquito who had too much caffeine, there was the sound of thunder, and Ruth went back to her own time!