by John O’Malley
“And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not" (Ruth 2:16).
Boaz’s words to his men left them with little doubt. His men were to purposely drop handfuls in Ruth’s path. They were to be careful that Ruth was the exclusive recipient. Each man would return to his row and return to his work. Each one knew the harvest belonged to Boaz. Boaz could choose to do with his harvest whatever he wanted. Each man knew Boaz would pay him a fair day’s wage. He would see to it that none of his workers would lack because they obeyed his word.
The men were to walk down each row and purposefully drop bundles of blessing for Ruth to retrieve. Imagine the delight Boaz’s workers would find as they not only chose the bundle of grain to drop but the precise location they would drop it. Traditionally, Ruth would be walking behind these men, picking up here and there the occasional stalk and stem for future threshing.
Boaz’s men were to leave the gift and continue with their work. They were not to linger with the gift and wait for Ruth’s arrival to identify themselves as the giver. The reapers were merely to leave them in a place anonymously and move on.
There is a valuable lesson for the believer determined to obey God’s commands. Clearly, we have been commanded to give by our Eternal Boaz. We have been commanded to give a tithe from our increase and offerings from our heart.
No doubt, delight surged through her body as she happened upon a bundle of barley. Delight would not only belong to Ruth, but there would be a contentment that would belong to the men as they dropped handfuls of purpose for Ruth. I am quite confident it was pleasurable to them as they saw contentment sweep across Ruth’s face with each retrieved bundle. These men learned it is more blessed to give than it is to receive (Acts 20:35).
When it came to giving, each man had within his heart the desire to follow the commands of Boaz. Do we? Have we learned the blessings that come only from obedient giving?