by Kevin Burton
Today we present what for me is a new thought concerning the Old Testament book of Ruth.
This comes from Alistair Begg, speaker on the national Truth For Life radio ministry and deals with patience and consistency in learning God’s ways from God’s word.
Ruth is a Moabite woman who travels with her mother-in-law Naomi from Moab to Naomi’s native land of Judah, after both their husbands died. To make a living for herself and Naomi, Ruth gathers leftover grain from a field, according to the custom of reapers to leave some of the grain behind for the poor.
“The Hebrew word for “glean” is laqat, and it means “to collect, gather up, pick up.” Gleaning is the gathering of grain or other harvested material left behind by reapers,” reads a passage on www.gotquestions.org.
“ In the Bible, the Israelites were commanded to allow the poor to follow behind reapers and pick up leftover spears of grain and fallen grapes. In this way, the Law of Moses provided food for the poor, orphans, widows, and resident aliens. The law specified that land owners must leave some of the harvest for gleaners: “
“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 foreigner. I am the LORD your God,” Leviticus 19:9-10.
Here is Begg’s gleaning analogy:
“Let me learn from Ruth, the gleaner,” Begg writes. “As she went out to gather the ears of corn, so must I set out for the fields of prayer, meditation, the ordinances, and hearing the Word to gather spiritual food.”
“The gleaner gathers her portion ear by ear; her gains are little by little: So I must be content to search for single truths, if they come just one at a time. Every ear helps to make a bundle, and every gospel lesson assists in making us wise for salvation.”
“The gleaner keeps her eyes open: If she stumbled dreamlike among the stubble, she would have no load to carry home rejoicingly at evening. I must be careful in religious exercises in case they become unprofitable to me; I fear I have lost quite a bit already. I need to estimate my opportunities properly and glean with greater diligence.”
“The gleaner stoops for all she finds, and I must do the same. Proud minds criticize and object, but humble minds glean and receive benefit. A lowly heart is the key to profitably hearing the Gospel,” Begg wrote.
“The soul-saving Word is not received except with meekness. A stiff back makes for a bad gleaner. Pride is a vile robber and must not be tolerated for a moment.”
“What the gleaner gathers, she keeps: If she dropped one ear to find another, the result of her day’s work would be but meager; she is as careful to retain as to obtain, and so at last she makes great gains,” Begg wrote.
“How often do I forget all that I hear; the second truth pushes the first out of my head, and so my reading and hearing end in much ado about nothing! Do I understand the importance of storing up the truth?”
“Hunger helps to make the gleaner wise; if she has no corn in her hand, there will be no bread on her table; she works under a sense of necessity, and consequently she moves swiftly and her grasp is firm. My need is even greater, Lord; help me to feel it, that it may urge me onward to glean in fields that yield to diligence a plenteous reward.”
The book of Ruth as a whole is a love story with lessons about God’s plan, His timing, guidance and provision, about family and integrity. It’s one of the shorter books of the bible, only four chapters. I urge you to read (or re-read) it to get the full story.
But I love the lessons Begg brings to this study, especially when he talks of hunger for God’s word, meekness and keeping one’s spiritual eyes open.
This is the way to study God’s word. My prayer for you and for myself, is that we will stop racing through life, long enough to glean what God has for us and be spiritually nourished by it.
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