When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:9-10
Continuing from my last post, Ruth decides to glean in a field. We are introduced to the owner of the field: Boaz. Gleaning involves picking up leftover grain. God instructed his people to leave grain for those in need. This was God’s social security program. Rather than asking for a handout, they could work for their food.
When I was in Turkey 10 years ago, we saw a group in a wheat field harvesting by hand, not unlike Ruth and Boaz. It gave us an opportunity to see what harvesting looks like. The men go first, using a sickle to cut the stalks of grain. When they have enough in hand, they drop that on the ground and move on. Then the women follow, gathering that up into sheaves.
Later the sheaves are threshed, which breaks the stalks away from the coveted heads of grain. This is done using a threshing sledge, which has sharp stones or bones embedded underneath it. You place some heavy weights on top and drag it across your grain. Finally, you winnow the grain, throwing it in the air using a pitchfork. With the right amount of wind the lighter chaff is blow a little ways away and the heavier grain falls to the ground.
Ruth picked up the leftover grain and then threshed it at the end of the day. (Being a smaller job, she more likely threshed her grain by hitting it with a stick) When she returned to Naomi, her mother-in-law was amazed by how much she had brought back. Boaz had truly been a blessing to these two widows by enabling Ruth to pick up so much!
(Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv)
As I studied this passage, what jumped out at me was how God had given Boaz the blessing of a great harvest (after years of famine), and he passed it on to Ruth. Ruth was blessed by Boaz and in turn blessed Naomi with the grain and her companionship. Even when times are hard, it is important to recognize just how much God has blessed us. Count your blessings! And look for ways to be a blessing to others.