audio Wee Ones' Bible Stories 3 Ruth and Naomi Free Audiobook Downloads Children's
chapter 3 of we wind's bible stories by anonymous this librivox recording is in the public domain ruth and naomi the story of ruth and naomi is one of the sweetest and most touching of all the bible stories it shows the beauty of unselfish devotion and constant love and the happiness which they brought and teaches a lesson which is very helpful to us all a long time ago in the days of the judges of israel there was a famine in the land of canaan and the man named elimelech whose home was in bethlehem went with his wife naomi and his two sons to live in moab after they had been there a while naomi's husband died leaving her with the two sons then by and by the sons married and their wives were very good to naomi and loved her but it was only 10 years before both of the sons died and naomi thought it was best for her to go back to her old home in canaan for she had been told that there was plenty in the land once more and she wanted to see her own people and the relatives of her husband who was dead so naomi told her daughters-in-law to return to their own homes because she could not expect them to be willing to leave everything for her sake go each of you to your mother's house she said the lord deal kindly with you as ye have dealt with the dead and with me but they both wept and clung to her saying surely we will return with thee into thy land naomi however thought they would be unhappy if they left their own country and she urged them to stay there and let her go alone so one of them kissed her over and over again and promised to do as she bet but the other who was named ruth would not leave her entreat me not to leave these she pleaded or to return from following after thee for whither thou goest i will go and where thou largest i will launch thy people shall be my people and thy god my god where they'll diest i will die and there will i be buried the lord do so to me and more also if ought but death part thee and me then naomi stopped urging her to return and they went together to bethlehem where the friends of naomi were very glad to welcome her and greeted her in a very friendly manner saying again and again is this naomi but she answered call me not naomi but call me mara for the almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me she said this because naomi means pleasant and mara means bitter and the sorrowing widow felt that her life was a bitter rather than a pleasant one since she had been bereaved of her husband and sons there lived in bethlehem a man named boaz who was a relative of naomi's husband and who was also very wealthy he had a large farm and many people both men and women worked in his fields and as it was about the beginning of the barley harvest when the two women came to bethlehem these fields presented a busy appearance ruth wished to do something to help support herself and her mother-in-law so she begged naomi to let her go into the fields and glean after the reapers that is to gather up the barley that was left after they had made up the sheaves and naomi told her that she might go ruth happened to choose the field of boaz to work in and when the wealthy man came into the field and saw her he said and lord bless thee but he did not know who she was as he went away he inquired of the head reaper about the young woman and afterward he said to ruth go not to glean in another field but keep here close to my maidens he also spoke to his young men about her telling them to be kind and courteous to her and he better go and drink of the water which they drew whenever she was thirsty when ruth wondered at his kindness and asked him why he was so good to a stranger he told her that he had heard of her love from naomi and her unselfish devotion and he said the lord reward thee and the full recompense will be given thee of the lord god of israel under whose wings thou art come to trust he invited her also to sit with his...