Left-overs: the blessing of the courageous
“Let me go to the fields and pick up leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Ruth 2:2
Sometimes we look for the blessing or provision to come as one great miracle when in fact it often comes in small tidbits. Gleanings, if you will, of God’s grace and love that affect our lives little by little gradually altering our actions, our words and most especially our hearts. So was the case with Ruth. It was over a period of days, weeks and months through the harvest seasons that she was devoted to her work and went day after day to glean from the fields of Boaz. Through the harvesting of first barley and then wheat, she returned and worked faithfully without complaint.
Knowing their need for provision, they would be hungry; Ruth offered to go glean to help provide for both herself and Naomi. “Let me go to the fields and pick up leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Although the Law gave her the right to glean, it did not guarantee permission. Ruth’s concern is evident in her exclamation in verse 2:2 “…in whose eyes I find favor.” She showed bravery and strength by going to a field pleading, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters”. Ruth did not shy away or show concern for her own safety; she did not exhibit shame or embarrassment. She did what she needed to do with pride and an excellent work ethic. She worked diligently and steadily day after day.
Gleaning by definition is “to gather what is left by reapers; to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit. To learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly”. This practice of gleaning has been a part of God’s plan from the beginning. A part of Jewish Law, God’s provision for the alien, the fatherless and the widow was first introduced in Leviticus 19:9, 23:22 and stated again in Deuteronomy 24:19 “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” The gleanings, the dropped sheaves of barley and wheat that Ruth picked up as she labored in the fields were in fact ‘left-overs’, ordained and commanded by God himself.
As each of us strives to grow and mature in our walk with Christ, we must look to the Living Word, God’s Word, the Bible. With each reading, we find new light to dispel our darkness. We find new wisdom and guidance upon which to make our daily decisions. I do not know about you but I have read some parts of Scripture many times and have been amazed when I discover and understand something new and afresh: Enlightening words that almost jump off the page at me as if I have never seen them before. I believe that is what makes the Word, living and active. As we travel life’s journey, each experience we have changes our outlook, our priorities and our opinions. Then when we go to God in prayer and through scripture, He reveals new understanding to us when that time is right, when we need that gleaning, slowly, little by little and bit by bit. God gives us what we need when we need it, just like Ruth.
