Ruth 2:8 – So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls.”
Ruth, the Moabite woman is fortunately in the field of the rich Boaz to glean. She had no right to get any thing from Boaz who was a Jew. But she was budded into the Jewish community through her marriage to Mahlon. Though poor, she is now given the privilege to glean in the barley fields of the rich Boaz. She is granted sustenance and continuity through gleaning. Gleaning alone is sufficient for her and her mother-in-law to survive because Boaz had such vast fields for harvesting. Ruth is guaranteed protection and safety by Boaz and is put in the company of other girls in the field. Her refreshments are also provided for. It is amazing that we are all given the same privilege of gleaning from the field of the Lord even though we were once aliens to the family of God. We had no qualification or rights to enter the field of the Lord Jesus, but He showed grace to us. He welcomed us to His field and to all His goodness that He has in His presence. He will meet all our needs if we glean daily in His field. We will be refreshed by the Bread of Heaven and the Living Water to satisfy all our cravings. We are given the fellowship of others in the field which makes gleaning the most enjoyable thing to do. Our Lord has guaranteed our protection from all evil. He keeps us safe in His field. The awareness and enjoyment of the fullness of the goodness that is found in the field of the Lord will work as a buffer for us to prevent us from going into other fields which will pose spiritual dangers. In spite of being in the field of Boaz, if we do not glean there, it is to our loss.
Dear reader, are you looking for protection, provisions and fellowship today? You are invited to glean daily in the field of the Lord Jesus. There might be other fields around which seem to be attractive, but they are fields of thorns and thistles. What they offer will make you spiritually sick and stunt your spiritual growth. There is no safety for your spiritual life if you go to those fields. You will be lonely in such alien fields and will thwart you of your joy and peace. It has built-in spiritual, emotional and physical dangers. You will have threats from wild animal-like forces that will try to devour you and scare you and will take away your joy. But the field of the Lord Jesus is full of His goodness. It gives us satisfying experiences. It will help us to grow in our faith. As we glean day after day, we will be captivated by the grace and mercy shown to us by the Lord. The vastness of His wealth will expose us to His glory and greatness. There is encouragement and hope for the future in the field of the Lord. What we glean each day will be like manna and will be sufficient for that day. You can glean and give part of it to the members of your family. The grains that you collect each day will strengthen you in your soul. You will find peace and joy to meet all challenges of each day as you glean in His field. All your spiritual, emotional and social needs will be met if you glean in His field and there will be always leftovers. You will experience the green pastures and cool waters of your Shepherd when you glean form His field. If we do not make use of the opportunity, it will be an irrecoverable loss for us. When there is so much goodness in the Lord’s fields, why should we go hungry and thirsty? Let us today glean from His Word and feed our souls. Let us today live by the strength we derive from the Lord and His field.
Psalms 107:9 – He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Thought for Today
When the Lord’s fields are filled with His goodness, why should we go and glean in the field of the world?
