Ruth 2 Gleaning

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Ruth 2:Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.”

Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.​

This is from the Blueletterbible.org site.

Leviticus 19:9-10 commanded farmers in Israel that they should not completely harvest their fields. They were commanded to "cut corners" in harvesting, and always leave some behind. Also, if they happened to drop a bundle of grain, they were commanded to leave it on the ground and to not pick it up.

This was one of the social assistance programs in Israel. Farmers were not to completely harvest their fields, so the poor and needy could come and glean the remains for themselves.

This is a wonderful way of helping the poor. It commanded the farmers to have a generous heart, and it commanded the poor to be active and work for their food - and a way for them to provide for their own needs with dignity.

So Ruth, on her own initiative, set out to glean in the fields to support her and her mother-in-law Naomi. This showed a wonderfully hard-working spirit in Ruth, and it was spiritual also - she would not have been more spiritual to sit back at home and pray for food.​

I found this at a site called theologyofwork.org.

The gleaning laws provided a remarkable support network for poor and marginalized people, at least to the extent they were actually practiced. We have already seen that God’s intention is for people to receive his fruitfulness by working. Gleaning did exactly this. It provided an opportunity for productive work for those who otherwise would have to depend on begging, slavery, prostitution or other forms of degradation. Gleaners maintained the skills, self-respect, physical conditioning and work habits that would make them productive in ordinary farming, should the opportunity of marriage, adoption, or return to their country of origin arise. Landowners provided opportunities but did not gain an opportunity for exploitation. There was no forced labor. The benefit was available locally everywhere in the nation without the need for a cumbersome and corruption-prone bureaucracy. It did, however, depend on the character formation of every landowner to fulfill the gleaning law, and we should not romanticize the circumstances poor people faced in ancient Israel.

A lot of people have memorized the beautiful sentiment Ruth expressed when she won the right to stay with Naomi. IMHO, I don't think the majority of those people realize the situation they were in. Naomi and Ruth were essentially homeless. There were no homeless shelters. There were no food banks. People who could not get out in the fields to glean their own food had to sit in the city with a cup begging for money to buy food.

ruth.jpg

So we know that the great great great whatever grandmother of Jesus Christ was determined and hard working.

:coffee:
 
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