Bible Point

Bible Verse“It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).

Growing Closer to JesusChildren will n discover the importance of making promises they can keep,

n find out how to stand against the distractions that make it hard to keep promises, andn learn that when promises are broken, people can be hurt.

Teacher EnrichmentBible Basisn Boaz and Ruth are married.

Before Boaz could marry Ruth, he had to settle things with the kinsman-redeemer, the person who was first in line to marry the widowed Ruth. That’s the process that the first 12 verses of today’s passage describe. Boaz went to the town gate and waited. Why sit at the town gate? That’s where business was often conducted. And there were always people around who could act as witnesses.

Why was Naomi selling her husband’s land? If she still actually owned it, perhaps she needed to sell it because she had no money. Another possibility is that her husband had sold the land before moving the family to Moab. In that case, Naomi still had the right to redeem the land and purchase it back under Israel’s law. But if she had no money, she would need to have a kinsman-redeemer to buy it. Essentially then, she may have been selling the right to redeem her husband’s land.

It’s interesting that the first kinsman-redeemer was willing to buy the land but didn’t want the wife that came with it! Quite possibly he feared that if he married Ruth and had a son with her, that son would threaten the continuation of his own land down through his own family.

Boaz followed through on his commitment—his promise—to marry Ruth. And they became parents of a son…and ancestors to the yet-to-come King David and the Messiah, Jesus.

Prayer• Read Matthew 5:37.• Reflect on how true you are to your word. How good are you at keeping the promises you make?• Think of the children in your class. What promises do they need most from you? Pray that God helps

you follow through on those promises.

God wants us to keep our promises.

Ruth 4:1-15

Boaz and Ruth Are Married • Lesson 4

45Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 2

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 246

Lesson 4

What Children Will Do Classroom Supplies Learning Lab Supplies

Welcome Welcome!—Receive a warm welcome from the teacher, and make name tags.

“In the Fields Name Tags” (p. 22), scissors, markers, tape or safety pins

Module Review—Discuss how this module’s Bible Points apply to their lives.

Attention Grabber

Don’t Drop the Monkey—Play a game in which they can’t let a monkey drop, and learn that promises should always be kept.

BibleExploration &

Application

Boaz Marries Ruth—Act out the story from Ruth 4:1-15, and find out that Ruth and Boaz faithfully kept their promises.

Bible

Tall Tales—Write a tall tale and learn that not keeping a promise is like telling a lie or a tall tale, and then read in Ephesians 4:25 that God is displeased when we tell lies.

Bible, pen

Promise Bouquets—Make bouquets that represent the precious gift of a kept promise, and learn from Psalm 145:13b that God always keeps his promises.

Bible, scissors, glue or tape, markers, chenille wires

Closing Trust Me—Agree to be the kind of people who can be trusted to keep promises.

Tootsie Pop lollipops

Before the Lessonn Collect items for the activities you plan to use, referring to the Classroom Supplies and Learning Lab Supplies listed in the

chart.n Make photocopies of the “Growing Together” handout (at the end of this lesson) to send home with your children.n Pray for your students and for God’s direction as you teach the lesson.

This Lesson at a Glanc e

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 2 47

Boaz and Ruth Are Married

WelcomeSUPPLIES: “In the Fields Name Tags” (p. 22), scissors, markers, tape or safety pins

• Greet each child individually with an enthusiastic smile.• Thank each child for coming to class today.• As children arrive, ask them about last week’s lesson or take-home page.

Use questions such as “How did you share some good advice about Jesus?” and “What proverbs did you and your family write?”

• Say: Today we’re going to learn that God wants us to keep our promises.

• Hand out the name tags the children made during Lesson 1, and help them attach the name tags to their clothing. Have extra name tags on hand for children who were not in class last week or to replace damaged name tags.

• Tell the children that the attention-getting signal you’ll use during this lesson is the balloon squawker—blow into the balloon, and let the air squawk out. Ask children to respond to the sound by focusing their attention on you. Rehearse the signal with the children, telling them to respond quickly so you’ll have plenty of time for all the fun activities for this lesson.

n Module ReviewSUPPLIES: none

Use the casual interaction time at the beginning of class to ask children the following module-review questions:

• How have you been loyal to your family and friends lately? How are you loyal to God?

• What does it mean to be generous? What did you share with others since we learned that God wants us to be generous?

• Where do you look for good advice?• What have you done differently in your life because of what we’ve

learned in our class?

Attention Grabbern Don’t Drop the MonkeySUPPLIES: none

Gather children around a small table. Have them stand fairly close to one another. Hold up a plastic monkey.

Ask: • What can you remember from the plastic monkeys from another activity when we put them in water? (They always float; even when there's a bunch of them, they stick together and don't sink.)

This activity helps children understand that keeping promises can be difficult sometimes. As they work hard, kids will feel frustrated, stressed, and maybe even a little light­headed! Help them realize that it can be hard to keep promises, but it’s worth it to not let others down.

Make sure children don’t feel so light­headed that they may pass out. Monitor children to make sure they take a break to let their brains get the oxygen they need.

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 248

Lesson 4

• What did the plastic monkeys help us learn? (There are some things we can count on; we learned what it means to be a loyal friend.)

If you have a cup of water handy, demonstrate the loyalty of the plastic monkey by dunking it in the water a couple of times. Then say: Today we’re going to talk about keeping promises. Because keeping promises is something that loyal people do, we’re going to use the plastic monkeys again. In this game, we will pretend the monkeys are promises. Put your mouth close to the table, and try to blow a “promise monkey” to someone else—you can’t use your hands at all. If you need to kneel down to get closer, that’s fine. We don’t want to let a monkey fall off the table because that would be like breaking our promises! Ready? Here we go.

Scatter the plastic monkeys on the table, and have the children start blowing. When a plastic monkey does fall off the table, pick it up and continue. Play for several minutes, making sure every child participates. After the game, get children’s attention with the balloon squawker. Wait for children to respond. Put the plastic monkeys aside. Then ask:

• What did you do when a monkey came to your side of the table? (I blew it back; I got scared that it would fall off.)

• Why didn’t you want to let the monkey fall? (Because we would have messed up; it would have been like breaking promises.)

• How easy or hard was it to keep the monkeys from falling? Why? (It was hard because we couldn't use our hands; it was so hard because I couldn’t blow hard enough; it was easy if I got it to flip over.)

Say: In this game we didn’t want to drop the monkeys because that would have let our friends down. Breaking promises lets our friends down, too. Plus, God wants us to keep our promises. Find a partner, and tell that person about a time you messed up and broke a promise.

Ask: • When has someone broken a promise to you? How did that make you feel? (My uncle promised he’d visit on my birthday, and I was sad when he couldn’t come; I was mad when my best friend broke her promise to keep a secret.)

Say: We know that Jesus will never break a promise to us because he loves us. When he was on earth, he was perfect. We know that he will always be perfect and will always keep his promises.

In this game, we were afraid of letting monkey fall—or, as the saying goes, “dropping the ball”—so we all blew hard to keep the monkeys on top of the table. Today we’re going to talk about the hard work of keeping promises. Sometimes it’s easy to keep our promises, and sometimes it’s hard. But no matter what, God wants us to keep our promises. Our Bible verse helps us remember that “It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it” (Ecclesiastes 5:5). That means that if we can’t keep our promise to someone, we shouldn't say anything at all, because when we break our promises, people can be hurt. We’re going to learn how to keep from dropping the ball when we make promises to others—and to God!

Tell children they don’t need to mention names of people during this discussion. We don’t want to single anyone out.

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 2 49

Boaz and Ruth Are Married

Bible Exploration & Applicationn Boaz Marries RuthSUPPLIES: Bible

Have children act out the story as you tell it. Assign the following roles, and have the actors follow the actions in the story.

• Boaz• Naomi• Ruth• close relative• city leadersTell Boaz and the close relative to make gestures to each other during their talking

parts.Say: Today’s story comes from Ruth 4:1-15. Show children the story in the

Bible. Keep your Bible open while you tell this story.Boaz promised Ruth that he would find out if her closer relative would

marry her. If the relative didn’t want to marry her, then Boaz had promised that he would marry Ruth. Either way, Ruth was promised a husband. The day after Boaz made the promise, he went and sat by the city gate to wait for the close relative to pass by. Pause.

As soon as the relative walked by the gate, Boaz called out, “Come here and sit by me, friend.” Pause. So the man came over and sat down by Boaz. Pause. Then Boaz gathered some of the city leaders and had them sit down, too. Pause.

Then Boaz said to the relative, “Naomi wants to sell some land that belonged to her husband. If you want it, buy it now. If you don’t want it, tell me, because I’d like to buy it and I’m next in line for it after you.”

The relative said, “I’d like to buy the land.”Then Boaz said, “If you buy the land, you also have to marry Ruth,

Naomi’s daughter-in-law. That way the land will stay in their family.”The relative answered, “Then I can’t buy back the land. If I spend my

money on it but it still belongs to Ruth and Naomi’s family, then I won’t have enough left for my own family. You’ll have to buy it yourself.”

Then the relative took off his shoe and gave it to Boaz. Pause. In Bible times, that meant he was giving the land to Boaz to buy.

Then Boaz said to the city leaders, “You are witnesses that I’m buying this land and will marry Ruth so the land stays in her family.”

Boaz and Ruth were married (pause to have Boaz and Ruth stand next to each other), and soon afterward they had a baby boy. Naomi, the baby’s grandma, held the baby in her arms. Pause to have Naomi pretend to hold a baby. Everyone said, “Praise God. Ruth is a good daughter-in-law because she has given birth to a grandson for Naomi.” Ruth had fulfilled her promise to take care of Naomi, because from then on, Boaz and Ruth provided everything Naomi needed.

Ask: • Sometimes people make promises without meaning to keep them. What would have happened if Boaz had promised to marry Ruth but never

If you have more than 10 children, have some of the children repre­sent the city gate by standing across from each other and joining hands above their heads as if they are playing “London Bridge.”

Several possible answers are given for each question listed for debriefing. Resist the temptation to provide these responses to kids who don’t answer right away. True learning comes when kids discover for themselves the truth God is placing on their hearts.

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 250

Lesson 4

intended to do it? (God would have been unhappy; Ruth would have been mad; Ruth wouldn’t have been able to take care of Naomi.)

• Sometimes people make promises, and then they forget to keep them. What would have happened if Boaz had forgotten his promise to marry Ruth or if Ruth had forgotten her promise to stay with Naomi? (They would have disappointed God; it would have still been a broken promise; Naomi would have had no one to take care of her.)

Say: Listen to what the Bible says about promises. Listen for what you should do when you make a promise. Open your Bible to Ecclesiastes 5:5, and read it to the children. “It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.”

Ask: • What would happen if you broke a promise? (You may hurt others; you might disappoint God.)

Say: Promises are important. Boaz and Ruth knew that, and they were careful to keep the promises they made. That made God happy because

God wants us to keep our promises. In fact, the Bible says it’s better not to make a promise if we won’t be able to keep it. A promise is a promise, and we should always keep our promises, just as Boaz and Ruth did.

n Tall TalesSUPPLIES: Bible, pen

Say: Now we’re going to write a tall tale—a story that is so ridiculous that it couldn’t possibly be true. I’m going to ask you for several words. Then I’ll read the story that we’ve written.

Ask children to supply the story words for the box on the following page. Then write the words in the appropriate blanks in “The Adventure” (p. 52). When all the blanks are filled in, read “The Adventure” to the children.

After the story, say: That was a pretty silly story. No one would believe that a boy could meet [animals] in the woods that were as big as [something really big]. Tall tales are funny because we know they can’t possibly be true. Sometimes, though, people make promises that are like tall tales.

Ask: • What could someone promise that they couldn’t possibly do? (To turn the sun purple; to drink the whole ocean; to grow another head.)

To increase participation and enhance the experience, give each volunteer a chance to read a part of the story. This will give kids more opportunity to be involved, experience the story, and develop their reading skills. It might even make the story funnier!

HANDS-ON BIBLE Have kids form pairs and turn to Ruth 4 in their Hands-On Bibles.

Say: Ruth had a pretty neat family! One of her grandsons became king. Ruth was even related to Jesus. When we look at who all our relatives are, we call that a family tree. See if you can complete some of the family tree for your family in Ruth 4 of the Hands-On Bible.

Help children find “God’s Big Plan” near Ruth 4:14-22. Have pairs work together to write names of people in their families and one word to describe each person. Encourage children to ask their parents and relatives to help them finish their family trees.

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 2 51

Boaz and Ruth Are Married

Say: Everyone knows not to believe those kinds of promises, and no one would make a promise like that and expect to be able to keep it. But sometimes we make promises that we should keep, but we don’t really mean to keep them.

Ask: • How did you feel when someone let you down by not keeping a promise to you? (I felt bad because the person didn’t like me enough to keep a promise; I felt that I wasn’t very important or she would’ve kept her promise.)

• What are some things we can do to make sure we keep our promises? (Write a note to remember what we promised; pray; make sure we don’t make promises we won’t keep.)

Say: When people make promises they don’t keep, it’s like telling a lie. Listen to what the Bible says about telling lies. Read Ephesians 4:25 aloud. God wants us to tell the truth, and God wants us to keep our promises.

name for a pet

kind of animal

something really big

game

something else really big

girl’s name

three kinds of food

number

another number

Story Words

Today’s topic on keeping promises may trigger mixed emotions in children from broken homes where promises were not kept. As children share their answers with the class, keep in mind that each answer voiced is a real issue that a child may be struggling with. This is a good time to show love for your children by affirming and comforting them. Place a hand on a shoulder or give a hug when needed.

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 252

Lesson 4

The Adventure

Once upon a time, Zachary and his dog ___________________ went into the

woods near their home to explore and to play. They came across a family of

_______________ , who were as big as ____________________ . The ___________

loved to play _________________ . When Zachary and __________________ saw the

___________________, they stood still, and their mouths dropped open.

The ________________ were outside playing their favorite game, ________________ .

When the __________________ looked up from their game and saw Zachary and

________________ , they jumped up from their game and ran to hide behind the trees even

though they were as big as ______________________________ . Zachary could clearly see

them shaking in fear. So Zachary said, “Don’t be scared. We want to be friends.”

Finally the __________________ crept out from behind the trees. One of them

came close to Zachary and ___________________. The ____________________ shyly

said, “How do you do? I’m ______________________. Would you like to come inside

our home? It’s almost time for tea.”

Zachary agreed because he was very hungry after his hike into the woods. So Zachary,

________________________ , and the _________________ all went inside for tea.

Teatime was very joyous for the __________________. They loved to eat, and they’d

worked up quite an appetite playing __________________ . The _________________

served _______________________ along with the tea. They were all so hungry that

they ate __________ tons of food and drank _______________ gallons of tea.

Then Zachary said, “Thank you so much. It’s time for us to go home now.” And he and

________________________ shook hands with everyone and walked home. As they

walked home, they decided to keep their adventure a secret.

(name for a pet)

(kind of animal)(something really big)

(something else really big)

(same animals)

(game)

(dog’s name)

(animals)

(animals)

(animals)

(animals)

(animals)

(animals)

(game)

(game)

(animals)

(animal)

(dog’s name)

(dog’s name)

(dog’s name)

(dog’s name)

(girl’s name)

(three kinds of food)

(number)(another number)

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 2 53

Boaz and Ruth Are Married

n Promise BouquetsSUPPLIES: Bible, scissors, glue or tape, markers, chenille wires

Before class place a sheet of the flower foam on a photocopier, and make a photocopy for each child. Each child should get a sheet with nine flowers on it.

Say: When we keep our promises to others, it makes them feel special and cared for. Let’s make bouquets of promises to make others feel good.

Hand out the photocopies, and have the children cut out the flowers and think of promises they can make. They can

think of several promises for one person, or they can think of promises they can make to different people. Help children write one word or draw a picture on each flower to represent a promise. Then have each child glue or tape the flowers to the tops of chenille wires to make a bouquet with stems.

While the children are working, ask:• What can you do to make sure you keep your promises? (Write them

down; only make promises I know I can keep; ask someone to help me remember.)• Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we break a promise. What can

we do when we break a promise? (Say we’re sorry; explain what happened; do something nice to make it up to the person.)

When children complete their promise bouquets, have them share their promises with the rest of the class.

Say: Jesus is someone who never breaks a promise, but we break promises sometimes. Jesus promised to forgive us and love us no matter what we do, even if we break promises!

Let’s pray to thank Jesus for being here for us, loving us, and always keeping his promises.

Pray: Dear Jesus, thank you for the promises you made to us to always be with us and to love us. Help us remember to keep our promises just as you have

kept yours. We love you, Jesus. Amen.Say: Each one of you can keep the promises you make. But

everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes we break our promises. If that happens to us, we can say, “I’m sorry,” because we know that breaking promises hurts others. Take your flowers home, and put them where you’ll see them often. This bouquet is for you.

When you see this bouquet, remember that God wants us to keep our promises. The Bible says in Psalm 145:13b, “The Lord always keeps his promises.” You can follow God’s good example. You can pretend that you’re giving someone a beautiful bouquet of flowers each time you keep a promise.

Hands-On Bible Curriculum—Grades 1 & 254

Lesson 4

Closingn Trust MeSUPPLIES: Tootsie Pop lollipops

Ask: • What did you learn today? (I learned that promises are special; I learned to keep my promises; I learned that God wants me to keep promises.)

Give each child a Tootsie Pop lollipop. Say: When you unwrap your lollipop, you can’t see into the middle to know that there’s Tootsie Roll candy in the middle, but the company that makes them promises there’s that Tootsie Roll center in every lollipop.

Ask: • When you trust people to keep their promises, how is that like trusting there really is something in your lollipop? (You can’t see it; you just have to believe it; we just have to trust them.)

Say: You can’t look inside people to know for sure if they’re promise keepers. You have to trust that people will keep their promises. Let’s agree to be the kind of people who can be trusted to keep their promises, because God wants us to keep our promises.

Have children form a circle. Say: In our story, Boaz took off his shoe to show that he promised to buy Naomi’s land and marry Ruth. Let’s each take off one of our shoes and put it in the center of the circle to show that we want to keep our promises.

Have each child place one shoe in the middle of the circle. Then have children, one by one, pick up someone else’s shoe and return it to the owner. As each shoe is returned, lead the class in praying, “God, help [name of child] keep promises.”

Growing closer to Jesus extends beyond the classroom.Photocopy the “Growing Together” handout (at the end of this lesson) for this week, and send it home with your children. Encourage children and parents to use the handout to plan meaningful activities on this week’s topic. Follow up the “Growing Together” activities next week by asking children what their families did together.

Ruth 4:God wants us to keep our promises.

Bible Verse“It is better to say nothing than to make a

promise and not keep it” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).

Today your child learned that God is pleased when we keep our promises. The children learned to be careful not to make promises they can’t keep because we show others how much we care for them when we keep our promises. The children also learned that a broken promise is like a lie. Use these activities at home to teach your child the importance of keeping promises.

Bible StoryBoaz and Ruth are married.

(Ruth 4:1-15)

A Joint PromiseMake a promise with your child this week, and keep it faithfully. For example, you might promise each other to pray together before you leave the house in the morning. Or you might promise to spend a half-hour together each evening reading, talking, or exercising. At the end of the week, celebrate your faithfulness by watching a movie together or going out for frozen yogurt. Give your child another promise—tell your child that your love for him or her will last forever.

A Perfect ExampleTake turns thinking of promises that God has made. For example, God promised Noah to never again destroy the earth in a flood (Genesis 9:8-11), and God promised to give Abraham and Sarah a child (Genesis 15:4-5). Also think of promises that God has made that haven’t come true yet. For example, Jesus promised to come again (Mark 13:26-27). See if you can come up with three promises each night this week. Every night, thank God for being a perfect example of a promise keeper. Tell God you trust that all of his promises will come true. Promise God to be faithful in keeping your promises.

Forgotten CookiesSet out 3 egg whites until they reach room temperature. To the egg whites, add 1/4 teaspoon mint extract, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and a dash of salt. Beat to soft peaks. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Gently fold in 1 cup mini-chocolate chips and green food coloring (optional). Cover a baking sheet with plain, ungreased brown paper. Drop the meringue by teaspoonfuls onto the paper. Bake at 275° for 1 hour. Then turn off the heat, and let the cookies dry in the oven (with the door closed) for at least 2 hours. Take them out of the oven, and store them in an airtight container. While you enjoy the treats, talk about how God wants us to keep our promises even when no one’s looking—just as the cookies kept baking even though you didn’t see them for three hours!

Broken PromisesPlace two toothpicks side by side in a bowl of water. Dip the tip of a third toothpick in liquid dishwashing detergent. Then touch the water between the sticks with the third toothpick. The two floating toothpicks will quickly move away from each other. Talk about the trouble that broken promises can cause between friends just like “breaking” the water between the toothpicks caused them to move.Refer to these verses with your family throughout the week:• Psalm 146:6. What can you learn from God’s example?• Matthew 5:37. How can you work to keep your

promises this week?• Hebrews 10:23. How can you keep from breaking

your promises?

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