by John O’Malley
“And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not” (Ruth 2:15).
Boaz cared deeply for this recent convert to the God of Israel. He had been fully shown Ruth’s importance to God’s plan. God had enlisted the resources, respect, and riches of Boaz to make a way for Ruth in Bethlehem-judah.
Boaz’s command to his men is punctuated by a unique phrase, “and reproach her not.” The young men may have found this request unusual. The command could easily have been a threat to their wages if they were paid in productivity payments. They also could have viewed Boaz’s command as a threat to their role as harvesters and to their harvesting.
Boaz’s instructions were clear to his men. The workers of Boaz were to lift the restriction on Ruth’s gleaning. Ruth, because of Boaz’s grace, could glean solely in the corners of the field. Boaz’s words granted her full access and gave her the needed authority to glean wherever there were grains that had fallen.
Boaz knew his men and he recognized their tendency to be hard on each other, not to speak of their treatment of the women. Previously he had cautioned the men about their behavior. Boaz knew because her birth was Moabite and her conversion to Jehovah might mean little to them, he sought to protect her by his words. The words Boaz used to admonish his men indicated they were not to taunt, torment, insult, or wound Ruth.
The average church member could learn a valuable lesson from Boaz’s command to his laborers. New laborers are not to be viewed as a threat to our own position on God’s team. Reproach should not come to the newest harvesters; but rather upon their arrival, unanimous rejoicing should be offered.
Many servants, absorbed in their pride, think their own positions in church are threatened when new people come along. Usually, they will begin to identify themselves by their length of service to the newcomer. Some church servants have been known to isolate newcomers with cynical statements and critical comments.
You were once a newcomer in our Eternal Boaz’s field. You needed the fellowship and friendship of the other workers in the field. Have you forgotten from whence you have come? Has time erased your memory of the peace and protection you sought? Have you drifted from how God expects you to serve? If you are not careful, your pride can elevate you to a position higher than you really have in God’s eyes. Take heed that pride does not replace humility in the service of our Eternal Boaz.
It is time we heed the earthly Boaz’s command. The fact remains that at one point in our existence we too were brought to the Eternal Boaz’s field by His grace. Too often, we who have been in the field for some time, offer reproach to our Eternal Boaz’s workers instead of rejoicing. May God forgive us for the reproach we have offered to the newcomers in God’s field!
Let us return in obedience to the commands of our Eternal Boaz and offer thanks and praise instead of taunting and tormenting. Let us encourage and welcome others and not insult or wound the newest members in the field. Let us be what God expects us to be!