“So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to
glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest.” Ruth 2:23
To glean means to extract information from various sources, to obtain, to get, to take,
to draw. Gleaning was the process by which reapers let some grain fall to
the ground so that the poor may come by and gather it up for their provision.
In the case of Ruth, she gleaned all day as she gathered the grain that was
left behind.
We too glean, but not wheat… we glean from
the scripture. We gather information and we take it away, and what we gather
becomes our provision. This is what we will live off of, what will sustain us,
and it’s how we’ll grow. We can only be sustained as long as we are being fed.
We need to gather our grain on a daily basis. Notice that Ruth gathered for the
whole harvesting season. The harvesting season for barley was March through May
and wheat was May through July. So that means that Ruth was in the fields of Boaz
harvesting the barley and wheat for 4 months along side the other more
experienced women. She was instructed by her mother in law to stay close by these
women in Boaz’s field and she obeyed.
This is a key point, and one that we can
easily skip right over (I did!). There is a season in each of our lives, when
we are just beginning to serve our greater then Boaz, the Lord Jesus, that it’s
absolutely necessary that we plant ourselves in a safe and healthy field. One
that is rich with love, care and wisdom. This environment is often found among
the people who have walked with the Lord longer then we have, those who have
many years under their belt and whose roots have sunken deeply into the Lord. I
know for me, this was a crucial part of my maturity in the Lord. I was plopped
into a good healthy field of older, more experienced, godly women and gleaned
there for 3 years. This is where I matured leaps and bounds as I received and
obeyed godly counsel.
Boaz
and Naomi both instructed Ruth in this way for several reasons. First, she
would be safer with the women then with the men. When we are first coming out
of the world we are vulnerable and an easy target for the enemy. Second, she
would learn from the women as they instructed her in the ways of gleaning. When we begin to walk with the Lord we need
constant instruction, and prayer support from older godly women who can point
us to Jesus, pray with us and instruct us in the Word. The final reason was to
test Ruth’s obedience. Was she open to being taught? Would she obey her elders
and those who had more experience then her? Or would she try it her own way?
What we want to take away from this story is
that zeal and maturity working together is what brings about a beautiful godly
Christian women. I believe this is where many young women go wrong…they never
get plugged into a good church where they can glean in the fields of Jesus.
They are undernourished and under cared for because they never obeyed. Ladies,
there are older godly women just waiting to pour into you…go into the fields
and stay by the women. Watch them and learn form them. The Lord would say to
you what Boaz said to Ruth; “Listen my
daughter, do not go and glean in any other field, and do not go away from here,
but stay close by my maidens.” Ruth 2:8