Gleaning: definition

glean verb ˈglēn : to gather or collect (something) in a gradual way ; to search (something) carefully; to gather grain or other material that is left after the main crop has been gathered.

According to Wikipedia, Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. It is a practice described in the Hebrew Bible that became a legally enforced entitlement of the poor in a number of Christian kingdoms.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter dedicated to the woman hard at work - doing God’s work - as a Part One. I hope the letter resonated with some of you. And, if you haven’t read the letter yet, you may do so here. 

Today, I’m going to do something differently. I’m going to tell a story. 

A story of a woman by whom you may already know, named Ruth, and the author of this story is none other than God Himself. 

Perhaps, you have already heard this story countless times. Maybe, you even know the story inside and out. I’ve done my fair share of studying on this book, too.

But I recently reread it, and something stood out to me that hadn’t before. A description that is clear as day, but quite often overlooked by many. 

So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”

And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

-Ruth 2: 2-3 NKJV

Now, we all know or have heard about Ruth’s past – was married into a household that worshiped God, lost her husband and father-in-law, and had the option to go back to her family but instead she decided to remain loyal to her mother-in-law, Naomi. We also know what happens afterwards – Naomi’s family member, Boaz, marries Ruth and they live happily ever after. This is a love story far better than any made-up Disney romance. 

But, before Ruth got her happily ever after, she worked. And, she worked hard and long. She didn’t give up despite not knowing what God’s will was for her. 

So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

-Ruth 2: 6-7 NKJV

There were so many stakes against her; she was a widow, had no money, no kids of her own, she was a foreigner with nothing. But, she did have everything; she had faith. She took the initiative to go out into the fields to take care of herself and Naomi. She was not afraid of admitting her need, nor working hard. 

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

-Ruth 2: 8-12 NKJV

Ruth went on to work diligently – she by no means knew what God had in store for her, but she pressed on. I’ve seen plenty of modern day Ruths do the same – working or studying long hours, spreading their time thin, not taking care of themselves, investing every part of themselves into their families, and so on. 

Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken [a]kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.” Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. And when she rose up to [b]glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not [c]reproach her. Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

-Ruth 2: 13-16 NKJV

Ruth found herself in the field of grace, and Boaz happened to be the vessel that God was using to take care of Ruth. But, in order for Ruth to glean, Boaz must have been receiving God’s blessings as well. Boaz allowed Ruth to glean because he recognized what God had sown in his life. This is a correlation of faith, and with faith comes generosity and love. Imagine if Ruth had entered Boaz’s field and there was nothing to glean – meaning Boaz’s heart was empty, the story would have taken a different turn. 

But this story is a prime example of what it means to be committed. Ruth was committed to remaining faithful despite her difficult circumstance, and Boaz was committed to being a faithful servant by providing for someone in need. 

We must do the same if we find ourselves on either side of the situation. If you are a modern day Ruth in need, continue to glean and remain faithful for the Lord will provide. If you are a modern day Boaz, help those who are in need, let others glean from your own field for God will also bless you for doing so. 

So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied. And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of [d]our close relatives.”

Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not [e]meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

-Ruth 2: 17-22 NKJV