As we continue our story of
Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, we are enjoying the special relationship that
is developing between Boaz and Ruth. Boaz has extended grace toward
Ruth, and Ruth has humbly and graciously accepted. Ruth continued her
work, and Boaz continued his protection and provision behind the
scenes. Let us not forget that Naomi is still at home and doesn't
even know about this engagement yet, and although it appears that
Boaz has doted upon Ruth, the half has not yet been told. We read in
chapter two and verse sixteen:
And let fall also
[some] of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave [them], that she
may glean [them], and rebuke her not.
Boaz
already instructed his young men to avoid stopping Ruth from gleaning
among the sheaves that had not been harvested, and he has given her
provision for hunger and thirst. Now Boaz says, “And let fall
also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them.”
In other words, he instructs his young men to drop some of the barley
they have harvested. Let's imagine this for a moment. The young men
notice that Ruth is following in their paths. They are working hard
drawing the sickle back and forth. Barley is falling, and they are
gathering it. As they grab it with their hands, they allow some of it
to drop behind them and leave it there for Ruth. Ruth continues to
gather and is reaping this bounty of non-gathered barley. The bag she
is carrying is getting full, and she doesn't even know she has
abundance. She may not have noticed that she has more than one
usually gathers. She just keeps working, and the young men keep
allowing handfuls of purpose to fall.
There is
a reason for these “handfuls of purpose”, and Boaz tells
why. He said, “that she may glean them.” It is interesting
to note that Ruth “may glean them.” She is not to sit back
on the sidelines in a cozy rocking chair with a cool glass of water
in her hand while waiting for the young men to serve her by bringing
the sheaves her way. No, she is to work. Boaz could have easily told
the young men to serve her in this manner, but he didn't. He allowed
her to work. She would glean. She would gather, and he would make
provision for her as she did.
Finally
Boaz instructed, “and rebuke her not.” Once again we
encounter the provision of protection that Boaz is extending toward
Ruth. Evidently those who gleaned after the initial harvesters would
often infringe upon areas they were not permitted to work. This would
illicit rebuke from the young men who were attending the fields.
However, Boaz eliminates this standard when it applies to Ruth. He
commands that no one rebuke her, and his sharp repeat of this phrase
shows a continued interest in her welfare.
Do we
not continue to see the parallels of this story to our kinsman
redeemer Jesus? Jesus is watching over us, and He has repeatedly
allowed certain unearned blessings within our lives. His “handfuls
of purpose” may or may not be in the form of barley, but from
His field of harvest He has commanded rewards, blessings, and
benefits of which we are sometimes totally unaware. We just gather.
We just glean, and sometimes we are not even thankful for His
benefits until we lose some of them. We are protected, and His
provision for our continuance to work is supplied every day. In other
words, His attention is upon us. He is caring for us even if we only
barely notice Him at all. As Boaz cared for Ruth, so our Savior Jesus
is caring for us. The key to this story will be to see what Ruth does
with Boaz' provision and protection, and the key to our story is to
see what we will do with what Jesus has given to us.
Next
time we will continue to watch as Ruth works and see the measure of
the barley she harvested, so read ahead, and we shall join together
then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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