Ruth 2:15-16
15When [Ruth] got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, ‘Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.’
When Ruth (the widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi) and Naomi return to Naomi’s homeland, they are in need of some assistance. While extended families would have had an obligation to help Naomi as a widow, Ruth also says, “Let me go into the field of your relative and glean” which is to say – pick up the grain that has fallen to the ground behind the reapers. It was common practice in those days not to pick the field spic-and-span, but to leave a bit behind for those in need who would come behind and pick it up. Maybe those pieces would simply not make it into the bundles, but they also might not have been the best grain that would fetch a better price at market.
Boaz, the owner of the field and Naomi’s relative, goes a step further for Ruth and Naomi. He says to his men that she should be allowed to glean where there might be even more grain, and that they should pull handfuls of the best grain from the bundles and leave it behind so that she can pick it up. They are not to reproach her nor rebuke her. The book of Ruth has many examples of kindness. This story is just one of them. Where do you see this sort of kindness happening in our world or your life today?
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
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