by John O’Malley
“So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley” (Ruth 2:17).
Boaz made it clear to this soon-to-be gem in the crown of the Messiah his intention to protect, provide, and perceive her every need. Just that morning Ruth, a recent widow and displaced Moabite, set out to find a place to glean for the day and found much more. She found a place to glean, but she found more. She discovered Boaz’s fields, his friendliness, his food, and a future.
Ruth quickly settled into her former position before sharing the noon meal with Boaz. The meal was certainly refreshing; however, it was not her meal that she reflected upon, but the provider of her meal and the words of comfort and charm that became her meditation as she returned to the field.
Ruth hardly noticed how quickly the minutes became hours. When the joy of Boaz is your strength, time is immeasurable. The Word of God indicates that she stayed in the field working until it was evening. Gleaning until evening sounds melodic in its expression. However, this work was not easy, nor was it effortless work; it was earnest work. Yet with her meditations upon Boaz’s grace, we understand her desire to give her all.
The efforts of the morning and the events of the noonday meal led to earnest working until the last ray of sunlight crossed the barrier between daylight and twilight. The night would soon arrive, when none could work. She knew what was going to be done could not wait.
Ruth’s zeal for Boaz’s harvest and his heart set a real standard for harvest workers. It is clear that if the workers of the Eternal Boaz would make His grace their meditation, their zeal for His work would increase exponentially. The Lord of the harvest Himself said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Ruth’s example and the Saviour’s edict must be our main concern.
Harvest worker, have you become weakened and lain aside yourself? Has the tint of the evening’s sunset on the horizon made your labors decrease? Do you work with the same inner zeal as you did the first day upon entering the family of the Eternal Boaz? Let the phrase from this verse spur you on to a newfound zeal.