Conversation Group #1:

“Which one is Ruth? You’re kidding, right? She’s one who doesn’t look at all like the rest of us.”

“Can you believe that accent—you can’t understand a word she’s saying, and she walks around Bethlehem as if she thinks she belongs here. I don’t like it.”

“Poor Naomi—to have a woman like that marry her son, and then he dies, and she’s stuck with her. Surely Naomi could have found some way to leave Ruth in her own country—she didn’t have to drag her here.”

“You know what Moabites are like…and you know what women like them are after…”

Conversation Group #2:

“It’s a miracle that Naomi made it back to Bethlehem safely—I don’t know if she would have made it here without her daughter-in-law Ruth.”

“Naomi’s so sad now. It’s hard to see her like this—she’s not herself. Sometimes when you talk to her, she doesn’t even know you are there, and her old house is a wreck. How can they live there?

“That young woman Ruth never stops working. If she’s not rebuilding a roof, she’s off in the hills gathering wild herbs and plants to eat, bringing home broom plants for the fire, and toting water from the well. They can’t live that way for long.”

Conversation Group #3:

Knock, knock.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s just me. I’m going over to see Naomi this afternoon and thought I’d see if you had any food you could spare to send along. I’ve gathered a little olive oil, some leaven for bread, and a little barley already.…”

“Ruth, I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to tell you that I have seen your love for Naomi and how you care for her—it’s wonderful that she has you when she has lost so much.”

“I wasn’t sure if you would be interested, Ruth, but I wanted to tell you about the Hebrew practice of gleaning. It’s hard work and can be a little dangerous, but if you know who the generous field owners are, you can glean enough to feed yourself and Naomi for a while. Are you interested?”

Question:

If you were a Bethlehem resident 2000 years ago, which conversation group would you be in?