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 determined that things for Ruth were going to be easy. He commanded his young men that the blessings of the handfuls of purpose were to be for Ruth exclusively. The men were not to extend this favor to any others in the field. They may have known the other gleaners in the field longer than they had known Ruth. They may have even been related to some, but favoritism was not permitted as they dropped these handfuls of purpose.
Boaz’s command was not to be altered. He specified Ruth was to receive handfuls of purpose. His men would be in full disobedience if they chose to take their master’s bounty and place it into the hands of someone they liked better. They could not give it to someone they felt had a greater need. The men would be in error if they took the handfuls and used it for themselves. The men who received these orders knew that any other use of the bounty would leave them in jeopardy with Boaz.
The men in the field were to take the bounty of Boaz and place it before Ruth to be in obedience to Boaz and to provide for the needs in Ruth’s life. Boaz's men may have seen others with needs similar to Ruth, but Boaz had specified who was to receive the gift. Boaz declared the amount of the gift. Boaz even determined the frequency of the gift. Nothing was left for them to assume. Boaz had given his word.
Our Eternal Boaz has given a similar command for believers today. We are to take the bounty He places in our hands and give it away. We are not left without command as to where we are to give His bounty. As the reapers of Boaz were to give only to Ruth, so the believer is commanded to do all his giving in one place, his local church.
The men in Boaz’s field were to give to Ruth with regularity. The believer is under similar guidelines; we are to give as God has prospered us. We are not to choose when and where we will give, nor are we to choose how much we will give. Boaz told his reapers to use a measure of a handful. Our Eternal Boaz has given us specific command in the same way; we use not the measure of a handful, but rather of ten percent of our increase.
How foolish we believers can become in matters of giving! God gives to us everything we have, and yet many times we believe we can choose where we will give, how much we will give, and how often we will give. The amount, location, and frequency of our giving are given in Scripture. Our giving must be a priority not a preference.
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