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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries,
Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
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Ruth 2:15
When she
rose to
glean,
Boaz
commanded his
servants,
saying, "Let
her
glean
even
among the
sheaves, and do
not
insult her. |
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BBE:
And when she got ready to take up the grain, Boaz gave his young men
orders, saying, Let her take it even from among the cut grain, and say
nothing to her.
CEV: When Ruth got up to
start picking up grain, Boaz told his men, "Don't stop her, even if
she picks up grain from where it is stacked.
GWT:
When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his servants, "Let her
gather grain even among the bundles. Don't give her any problems.
KJV: And when she was risen up to
glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among
the sheaves, and reproach her not:
NLT:
When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, "Let
her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her.
Young's Literal: And
she riseth to glean, and Boaz chargeth his young men, saying, 'Even
between the sheaves she doth glean, and ye do not cause her to blush; |
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Septuagint (LXX):
kai
aneste (3SAAI)
tou
sullegein
(PAN)
kai
eneteilato
(3SAMI)
Boos
tois
paidariois
autou
legon (PAPMSN)
kai
ge
ana
meson
ton dragmaton
sullegeto
(3SAAM)
kai
me
kataischunete
(2PPAS)
auten
English of
Septuagint: And she rose
up to glean; and Booz charged his young men, saying, Let her
even glean among the sheaves, and reproach her not |
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WHEN SHE AROSE
TO
GLEAN BOAZ COMMANDED THE SERVANTS SAYING LET HER GLEAN EVEN AMONG THE SHEAVES:
This was more generous than the
command in (Lev 19:9
10)
because Boaz added the qualifier "among"
the effect being to allow Ruth greater access than one could by trailing
along after the workers as in (2:7). In
harvesting, the reapers would first, cut the barley stalks by the
handful. They were followed by others who bound 8-10 of these handfuls
into sheaves. Only after the sheaves were carted off were the poor
permitted to pass over the field. But now Boaz permits Ruth to glean
among
his harvesters and instructs them not to bind every handful but to even leave
some loose for her (2:15). The actions of Boaz clearly indicate he is
taking more than a passing interest in Ruth.
Spurgeon applies these truths to
prayer writing
"Ruth went to glean. She expected to get a few good
ears, but Boaz said, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and
reproach her not” (Ruth 2:15). Furthermore he said to her,
“At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel
in the vinegar” (Ruth 2:14). She found a husband where she
only expected to find a handful of barley. So in prayer for others, God
may give us such mercies that we will be astounded at them, since we
expected but little." (from "The Prayers of
Spurgeon", p1190)
Regarding the word glean (03950)
(laqat) which means to pick up or to gather (manna, lilies,
firewood, grapes, food etc),
the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge writes that...
The word glean comes from the French
glaner to gather ears or grains of corn. This was formerly a general
custom in England and Ireland: the poor went into the fields, and
collected the straggling ears of corn after the reapers; and it was long
supposed that this was their right, and that the law recognized it; but
although it has been an old custom, it is now settled by a solemn
judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, that a right to glean in the
harvest field cannot be claimed by any person at common law. Any person
may permit or prevent it on his own grounds. By the Irish Acts, 25 Henry
VIII. c. 1, and 28 Henry VIII. c. 24, gleaning and leasing are so
restricted as to be in fact prohibited in that part of the United
Kingdom.
AND DO NOT INSULT HER:
"do
not cause her to blush" (Young's)
"don't embarrass her"
(NIV)
"say nothing to her"
(BBE) "reproach her not" (ASV, Septuagint) "don't give her
any problems" (GWT) "put her not to shame",
(Jewish Pub Soc) "Don't chase her off."
(NET)
"Do not molest her"
(NJB) "don't say anything to stop her" (TEV) "don't tell her
to go away" (ICB, NCV) "...without stopping her" (NLT)
"without scolding her" (NAB). "Do
not insult her" (03637) (kalam)
refers to
disgrace which attends public humiliation. Do not taunt, humiliate,
dishonor, or disgrace her in front of everyone. Don't reduce her to a
lower position in others’ eyes.
Boaz was Ruth's PROTECTOR and thus sought to protect her emotions so that her spirit
was not wounded. His actions provide a lofty example for husbands to
emulate. Husbands, listen up...
do not embarrass your wives in public!
In
fact be their PROTECTOR, their DEFENDER, because you are in covenant
(see study
Covenant: As It Relates to Marriage)
with them and as such are obligated to be their COVERING. There is
a parallel picture in Paul's definition of genuine love which he teaches
"bears all things" which is the interesting Greek verb
stego which literally means to cover over in a way that
protects the one who is covered. (1Cor
13:7) Peter
instructs husbands to
"live with your wives in an understanding way,
as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor
(NIV = "treat them with respect") as a fellow heir of the grace of
life, so that your prayers may not be hindered." (see note
1 Peter 3:7) Husbands
should treat their wives like precious jewels, a gift from God to be
treasured, reassured, protected, and loved, with every tender provision
being made for her. Boaz was already beginning to answer the very
prayer he had uttered that same day (see note
Ruth 2:12 "May
the LORD reward your work...")
As an aside, a "Boaz like" husband needs to know his wife’s moods, feelings, needs,
fears, and hopes. He needs to “listen with his heart” and share
meaningful communication with her. How can a husband show consideration
for his wife if he does not understand her needs or problems? To say, “I
never knew you felt that way!” is to confess that, at some point, one
mate excommunicated the other. When either mate is afraid to be open and
honest about a matter, then he or she is building walls and not bridges.
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Spiritual
Gleaning
Sermon on Ruth 2:15
by C. H. Spurgeon |
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Our country
cousins have been engaged recently in harvest occupations, and most of
them understand what is meant by gleaning. Perhaps they are not all of
them so wise as to understand the heavenly art of spiritual gleaning.
That is the subject which I have chosen for our meditation on this
occasion, my attention having been called to it while I have been
riding along through the country; and as I like to improve the seasons
of the year as they come and go, I shall give you a few homely remarks
with regard to spiritual gleaning. In the first place, we shall
observe, that there is a great Husbandman. It was Boaz in this case;
it is our Heavenly Father who is the Husbandman in the other case.
Secondly, we shall notice a humble gleaner. It was Ruth in this
instance; it is every believer who is represented by her; at least, we
shall so consider the subject. And, in the third place, here is a very
gracious permission given: “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and
reproach her not.”
I. In the first
place, then, we will consider something concerning The Great
Husbandman - God.
The God of the
whole earth is a great Husbandman; in fact, all farming operations are
really dependent on him. Man may plough the soil, and he may sow the
seed, but God alone gives the increase. It is he that sends the clouds
and the sunshine, it is he that directs the winds and the rain, and
so, by various processes of nature, he brings forth the food for man.
All the farming, however, which God does, he does for the benefit of
others, and never for himself. He has no need of any of those things
which are so necessary for us. Remember how he spoke to Israel of old:
“I will take no bullock out of thy house, no he goats out of thy
folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a
thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild
beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee:
for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” All things are
God’s, and all he does in creation, all the works of his providence,
are not done for himself, but for his creatures, out of the
benevolence of his loving heart.
And in spiritual
matters, also, God is a great Husbandman; and there, too, all his
works are done for his people, that they may be fed and satisfied, as
with marrow and fatness. Permit me, then, to refer you to the great
gospel fields which our Heavenly Father farms for the good of his
children. There is a great variety of them, but they are all on good
soil, for the words of Moses are true of the spiritual Israel: “The
fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his
heavens shall drop clown dew.” God, as the great spiritual Husbandman,
hath many fields, but they are all fertile, and there is always an
abundant harvest to be reaped in them.
One field is
called doctrine field. Oh, what large sheaves of blessed corn are to
be found there! He who does but glean in it will find very much
spiritual nutriment. There is the great sheaf of election, full,
indeed, of heavy ears of corn like Pharoah saw in his first dream,
“fat and good.” There is the great sheaf of preservation, wherein it
is promised to us that the work that God has begun he will assuredly
complete. And if we have not faith enough to partake of either of
these sheaves, there is the most blessed sheaf of all, — ay, it is
many sheaves in one, — the sheaf of redemption by the blood of Christ.
Many a poor soul, who could not feed on electing love, has found
satisfaction in the blood of Jesus. He could sit down, and rejoice
that redemption is finished, and that for every penitent soul there is
provided a great atonement, whereby he is reconciled to God.
I cannot stop to
tell you of all the sheaves in the doctrine field. Some say there are
only five; I believe the five great doctrines of Calvinism are, in
some degree, a summary of the rest; they are distinctive points
wherein we differ from those who “have erred from the faith, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” But there are many more
doctrines beside these five; and all are alike precious, and all are
alike valuable to the true believer’s soul, for he can feed upon them
to his heart’s content.
I wonder why it
is that some of our ministers are so particular about locking the gate
of this doctrine field. They do not like God’s people to get in. I
believe it is because they are afraid Jeshurun would wax fat and kick,
if he had too much food; at least, that is what I must be charitable
enough to suppose. I fear that many are like the huge corn monopolist;
they buy the doctrine of election, but keep it to themselves; they
believe it is true, yet they never preach it. They say that all the
distinguishing doctrines of grace are true; but they never proclaim
them to others. There are Particular Baptists who are as sound in
doctrine as any of us; bat, unfortunately, they never make any sound
about it; and though they are very sound when alone, they are very
unsound when they come into their pulpits, for they never preach
doctrine there. I say, swing the gate wide open, and come in, all ye
children of God! I am sure there is no charlock in my Master’s field.
If the doctrine be a true one, it cannot hurt the child of God; and
so, as it is the truth, you may feast upon it till your soul is
satisfied, and no harm will come of it. The idea of reserve in
preaching, — keeping back some doctrines because they are not fit to
be preached! — I will repeat what I have said before, it is a piece of
most abominable impudence on the part of man, to say that anything
which God has revealed is unfit to be preached. If it is unfit to be
preached, I am sure the Almighty would never have revealed it to us.
No, like the old man described by Solomon, these preachers, who do not
proclaim good, sound doctrine, are “afraid of that which is high.” It
is a mark of their senility that they fear to talk of these great
things. God was not afraid to write them, and we, therefore, ought not
to be afraid to preach them. The doctrine field is a glorious field,
beloved; go often into it, and glean; you may find there more than an
ephah of the finest wheat every day.
Then, next, God
has a field called promise field; on that I need not dwell, for many
of you have often been there. But let us just take an ear or two out
of one of the sheaves, and show them to you, that you may be tempted
to go into the field to glean more for yourselves. Here is one: “The
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness
shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be
removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” There is a heavy ear
for you, now for another: “When thou passest through the waters, I
will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow
thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Here is another; it has a
short stalk, but there is a great deal of corn in it: “My grace is
sufficient for thee.” Here is another: “Fear thou not, for I am with
thee.” Here is another one: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye
believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be
also.” There is the promise of Christ’s glorious second coming; and is
not that a heavy ear of wheat for the Lord’s children to pick up? Yes,
beloved, we can say of the promise field what cannot be said of any
farmer’s field in England, namely, that it is so rich a field, it
cannot be richer, and has so many ears of corn in it, that you could
not put in another one. As the poet sings
“How firm a
foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for
your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can
he say than to you he hath said,
You who unto
Jesus for refuge have fled?”
Go and glean in
that field, Christian; it is all your own, every ear of it; pull great
handfuls out of the sheaves, if you like, for you are truly welcome to
all you can find.
Then there is
ordinance field; a great deal of corn grows in that field. One part of
it reminds us of the ordinance of believers’ baptism; and, verily,
God’s children are greatly profited even by the sight of the baptism
of others; it comforts and cheers them, and helps them to renew their
own dedication vow to the Lord Most High. But I must not detain you
long in this field, though it is to many of us very hallowed spot.
Some of my friends never go into this field at all, it is too damp a
soil for them; and though the corn is very fine, and very high, they
are afraid to go there. Let us leave that part of the field, and pass
on to the place of communion. Oh, it is sweet, divinely sweet, to sit
at the table of our Lord, to eat the bread and drink the wine! What
rich dainties are there provided for us! Hath not Jesus often given us
there “the kisses of his mouth,” and have we not there tasted his
love, and proved it to be “better than wine”? Beloved, go into that
ordinance field; walk in the ordinances of the Lord blameless, and do
not despise either of them. Keep his commandments, for so will you
find a great reward, and so will he fill your souls with marrow and
fatness.
But God has one
field on a hill which is as rich as any of the others; and, indeed,
you cannot really and truly go into any of the other fields unless you
go through this one, for the road to the other fields lies through
this one, which is called the field of fellowship and communion with
Christ. Ah! that is the field to glean in; some of you have only run
through it, you have not stopped in it; but he who ]mows how to abide
in it, and to walk about it, doth never lose anything, but gaineth
much. Beloved, it is only in proportion as we hold fellowship with
Christ, and commune with him, that either ordinances, or doctrines, or
promises, can profit us. All those other things are dry and barren
unless we have entered into the love of Christ, unless we have
realized our union with him, unless we have a sympathy with his heart,
unless we bear his likeness, unless we dwell continually with him, and
feel his love, and are ravished with his delights. I am sorry to say
that few Christians think as much as they ought of this field; it is
enough for them to be sound in doctrine, and tolerably correct in
practice; they do not think as much as they should about holding’
fellowship with Christ. I am sure, if they did, there would not be
half so many evil tempers as there are; nor half so much pride, and
not a tithe so much sloth, if our brethren went into that field
oftener. Oh, it is a blessed one; there is no such field as that I You
may go into it and revel in delights, for it is full of everything
good that the heart can wish, or the soul imagine, or the mind
conceive. Blessed, blessed field is that I And God leaves the gate of
that field wide open for every believer.
Children of God,
go into all these fields; do not despise one of them; but go and glean
in them all; for there is the richest gleaning in all creation.
II. Now, in the
second place, we have to think and speak of A Humble Gleaner.
Ruth was a
gleaner, and she may serve as an illustration of what every believer
should be in the fields of God.
He should be a
gleaner, and he may take a whole sheaf home if he likes; he may be
something more than a gleaner if he can be; but I use the figure of a
gleaner, because I believe that is the most a Christian ever is. Some
may ask, “Why does not the Christian go and reap all the field, and
take all the corn home with him?” So he may, if he can; if he likes to
take a whole sheaf on his back, and go home with it, he may do so. And
if he will bring a great wagon, and carry away all there is in the
field, he may have it all; but, generally, our faith is so small that
we can only glean, we take away but a little of the blessing which God
has prepared so abundantly; and though, sometimes, faith does take and
enjoy much, yet, when we compare it with what there is to be enjoyed,
a gleaner is the true picture of faith, and more especially of little
faith. All it can do is to glean; it cannot cart the wheat home, or
carry a sheaf on its shoulders; it can only take it up ear by ear.
Again, I may
remark, that the gleaner, in her business, has to endure much toil and
fatigue. She riseth early in the morning, and trudgeth off to a field;
if that be shut, she trudgeth to another; and if that be closed, or
the corn has all been gleaned, she goeth to another. All day long,
though the sun is shining on her, except when she sits down under a
tree, to rest and refresh herself a little, still she goes on
stooping, and gathering up her ears of corn; and she returns not home
till nightfall, for she desires, if the field is good, to pick up all
she can in the day, and she would not like to go back unless her arms
were full of the rich corn she so much desires to find.
Beloved, so let
it be with every believer; let him not be afraid of a little weariness
in his Master’s service. If the gleaning is good, the spiritual
gleaner will not mind fatigue in gathering it. One says, “I walk five
miles every Sunday to chapel;” another says, “I walk six or seven
miles.” Very well, if it is the gospel, it is worth, not only walking
six or seven miles, but sixty or seventy, for it will pay you well.
The gleaner must look for some toil and trouble; he must not expect
that everything will come to him very easily. We must not think that
it is always the field next our house that is to be gleaned; it may be
a field at the further end of the village. If so, let us go trudging
off to it, that we may get, our hands and arms full.
But I remark,
next, that the gleaner has to stoop for every ear she gets. Why is it
that proud people do not profit under the Word? Why is it that your
grand folk cannot get any good out of many gospel ministers? Why,
because they want the ministers to pick up the corn for them! And
beside that, many of the ministers hold it so high above their heads,
that they can scarcely see it. They say, “Here is something
wonderful;” and they admire the cleverness of the man who holds it up.
Now, I like to scatter the corn on the ground as much as ever I can; I
do not mean to hold it up so high that you cannot reach it. One reason
is that I cannot; I have not the talent to hold it up where you cannot
see it; my ability will only allow me just to throw the corn on the
ground, so that the people can pick it up; and if it is thrown on the
ground, then all can get it. If we preach only to the rich, they can
understand, but the poor cannot; but when we preach to the poor, the
rich can understand it if they like, and if they do not like it, they
can go somewhere else. I believe that the real gleaner, who gets any
spiritual food, will have to stoop to pick it up; and I would gladly
stoop to know and understand the gospel. It is worth while going
anywhere to hear the gospel; but, nowadays, people must have fine
steeples to their places of worship, fine gowns for their ministers,
and they must preach most eloquently. But that is not the way the Lord
ordained; he intended that there should be plain, simple, faithful
preaching; and it is by the foolishness of such preaching that he will
save them that believe. Beloved friends, remember that gleaners who
are to get anything must expect to stoop.
Note, in the
next place, that what a gleaner gather, she gets by ear. Sometimes, it
is true, she gets a handful; but that is the exception, not the rule.
In the case of Ruth, handfuls were let fall on purpose for her; but
the usual way is to glean ear by ear. The gleaner stoops, and picks up
first one ear, and then another, and then another; only one ear at a
time. Now, beloved, where there are handfuls to be got at once, there
is the place to go and glean; but if you cannot get handfuls, go and
get ear by ear. I have heard of certain people, who have been in the
habit of hearing a favorite minister in London, saying, when they go
to the sea-side,” We cannot hear anybody after him; we shall not go to
that chapel any more.” So they stay at home all day on the Sunday, I
suppose forgetting that passage, “not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as the manner of some is.” They cannot get a
handful, and therefore they will not pick up an ear. So the poor
creatures are starved: and they are glad enough to get back home
again. They should have gone, if they could get but one ear; and he is
a sorry minister who cannot gave them that; and if they got only one
ear, it would be worth having. If it be only six words of God, if we
think of them, they will do us good. Let us be content, then. to glean
ear by ear; let us take away a whole sheaf with us if we can; but if
we cannot do that, let us get the good corn an ear at a time.
“Oh!” says a
friend, “I cannot hear some ministers at all; they preach such a
mingle-mangle of truth and error.” I know they do; but it will be a
strange thing if you cannot get an ear or two of wheat even from them.
There is a great deal of straw, you are not required to take that
away; but it will be remarkable if you cannot pick up an ear or two of
good grain. You say, “The error that the man preaches distresses my
mind.” No doubt it does; but the best way is to leave the falsehood
alone, and pick out the sound truth; and if there is no sound truth in
the sermon, a good plan is to read it all backwards, and then it will
be sure to be sound. I heard a man of that kind once, and when he said
a thing was so-and-so, I said to myself that it was not; and when he
said such-and-such a thing would happen, I said it would not; and I
enjoyed the sermon then. He said that the people of God, through their
sin, would perish; I had only to put a “not” into his sentence, and
what a sweet and comforting message it was then! That is the way, when
you hear a bad sermon, just to qualify what the preacher says. Then,
after all, you can make his discourse suggest spiritual thoughts to
you, and do you good. But you must be content, whereever you go to
hear the Word, to pick up the corn ear by ear.
Note, next, that
what the gleaner picks up, she keeps in her hand; she does not pick it
up, and then drop it down, as some do in their spiritual gleaning.
There is a good thought at the beginning of the sermon; but you are
all agape to hear another, and you let the first go. Then, towards the
end of the discourse, there is another flash perhaps; and, in trying
to catch that, you have forgotten all the rest. So, when the sermon is
over, it is nearly all gone; and you are about as wise as a gleaner,
who should set out in the morning, and pick up one ear, then drop
that, and pick up another; then drop that, and pick up another; she
would find, at night, that she had got — ay, what? — that she had got
nothing for all her trouble. It is just the same in hearing a sermon:
some people pick up the ears, and drop them again as fast as they pick
them up.
But one says, “I
have kept nearly the whole of the sermon.” I am glad to hear it, my
friend; but just allow me to make a remark. Many a man, when he has
nearly the whole sermon, loses it on the way home. Very much depends
on our conduct on our way back from the house of God. I have heard of
a Christian man who was seen hurrying home, one Sunday, with all his
might. A friend asked him why he was in such haste. “Oh!” said he,
“two or three Sundays ago, our minister gave us a most blessed
discourse, and I greatly enjoyed it; but as soon as I was outside the
chapel, there were two deacons, and one pulled one way, and the other
pulled the other way, till they tore the sermon all to pieces; and
though it was a most blessed discourse, I did not remember a word of
it when I got home; all the savior and unction had Been taken out of
it by those deacons; so I thought I would hurry home to-night, and
pray over the sermon without speaking to them at all.” It is always
the best way, beloved, to go straight home from your places of
worship; if you begin your chit-chat about this thing and the other,
you lose all the savior and unction of the discourse; therefore I
would advise you to go home as quickly as you can after service;
possibly, you might then get more good than you usually do from the
sermon, and from the worship altogether.
Then, again, the
gleaner takes the wheat home, and threshes it. It is a blessed thing
to thresh a sermon when you have heard it. Many persons thrash the
preacher; but that is not half so good as threshing the sermon. They
begin finding this fault and the other with him, and they think that
is doing good; but it is not. Take the sermon, beloved, when you have
listened to it, lay it down on the floor of meditation, and beat it
with the flail of prayer; so you will get the corn out of it. But the
sermon is no good unless you thresh it. Why, that is as if a gleaner
should stow away her corn in the room, and the mice should find it; in
that case, it would be a nuisance to her rather than a benefit. So,
some people hear a sermon, and carry it home, and then allow their
sins to eat it all up; thus, it becomes an injury to them, rather than
a blessing. But he who knows how to flail a sermon well, to put it
into the threshing machine, and thresh it well, has learned a good
art, from which he shall profit much.
I have heard of
an aged Scotchman, who, one Sunday morning, returned from “kirk”
rather earlier than usual, and his wife, surprised to see him home so
soon, said to him, “Donald, is the sermon all done?” “No,” he
answered, “it is all said, but it is not all done by a long way.” We
ought to take the sermon home, to do what the preacher has said; that
is what I mean by threshing it. But some of you are content if you
carry the sermon home; you are willing enough, perhaps, to talk a
little about it; but there is no thorough threshing of it by
meditation and prayer.
And then, once
more, the good woman, after threshing the corn, no doubt afterwards
winnowed it. Ruth did this in the field; but you can scarcely do so
with the sermons you hear; some of the winnowing must be done at home.
Observe, too, that Ruth did not take the chaff home; she left that
behind her in the field. It is an important thing to winnow every
sermon that you hear. My dear friends, I would not’ wish you to be
spongy hearers, who suck up everything that is poured into their ears.
I would have you all to be winnowers, to separate the precious from
the vile. With all ministers, there is a certain quantity of chaff
mixed with the corn; but I have noticed in some hearers a sad
predilection to take all the chaff, and leave the corn behind. 0ne
exclaims, when he gets out of the building, or even before, “That was
a curious story that the preacher told; won’t it make a good anecdote
for me at the next party I attend?” Another says,” Mr. Spurgeon used
such-and-such an expression.” If you hear a man talk in that way, do
you know what you should say to him? You should say, “Stop, friend; we
all have our faults, and perhaps you have as many as anybody else;
cannot you tell us something Mr. Spurgeon said that was good?” “Oh, I
don’t recollect that; that is all gone!” Just so; people are ready to
remember what is bad, but they soon forget anything that is good. Let
me advise you to winnow the sermon, to meditate upon it, to pray over
it, to separate the chaff from the wheat, and to take care of that
which is good. That is the true art of heavenly gleaning; may the Lord
teach us it, that we may become “rich to all the intents of bliss,”
that we may be filled and satisfied with the favor and goodness of the
Lord!
III. Now, in
the last place, here is A Gracious Permission Given:
“Let her glean
even among the sheaves, and reproach her not.”
Ruth had no
right to go among the sheaves to glean, but Boaz gave her a right to
go there by saying, “Let her do it.” For her to be allowed to go
amongst the sheaves, in that part of the field where the wheat was not
already carted, was a special favor; but to go among the sheaves, and
to have handfuls of corn dropped on purpose for her, was a further
proof of the kindness of Boaz.
Shall I tell you
the reasons that moved the heart of Boaz to let Ruth go and glean
among the sheaves? One reason was, became he loved her. He would have
her go there, because he had conceived a great affection for her,
which he afterwards displayed in due time. So the Lord lets his people
come and glean among the sheaves, because he loves them. Didst thou
have a rich gleaning amongst the sheaves, the other Sabbath? Didst
thou carry home thy sack, filled like the sacks of Benjamin’s
brothers, when they went back from Egypt? Didst thou have an abundance
of the good corn of the land? Wast thou satisfied with favor, and
filled with the blessing of the Lord? That was all owing to thy
Master’s goodness; it was because he loved thee that he dealt so
bountifully with thee. Look, I beseech thee, on all thy mercies as
proofs of his love; especially, look on all thy spiritual blessings as
being tokens of his grace. It will make thy corn grind all the better,
and taste all the sweeter, if thou thinkest that it is a proof of love
that thy sweet seasons, thy high enjoyments, thy blessed ravishments
of spirit, are so many proofs of thy Lord’s affection to thee. Boaz
allowed Ruth to go and glean among the sheaves because of his love to
her; so, beloved, it is God’s free grace that lets us go among his
sheaves, and that lets us lay hold of doctrinal blessings, promise
blessings, or experience blessings. We have no right to be there of
ourselves; it is all the Lord’s free and sovereign grace that lets us
go there.
There was
another reason why Boaz let Ruth glean amongst the sheaves,-that was,
because he was related to her. And that is why the Lord sometimes
gives us such sweet mercies, and takes us into his banqueting house,
because he is related to us. He is our Brother, our Kinsman, nearly
allied to us by ties of blood; ay, more than that, he is the Husband
of his Church, and he may well let his wife go and glean among the
sheaves, for all she gets is not lost to him; it is only putting it
out of one hand into the other, since her interests and his are all
one. So he may well say, “Beloved, take all thou pleasest; I am none
the poorer, for thou art mine. Thou art my partner, thou art my chosen
one, thou art my bride; so, take it, take it all, for it is still in
the family, and there is none the less, when thou hast taken all that
thou canst.”
What more shall
I say to you, my beloved brethren and sisters? Go a-gleaning,
spiritually, as much as ever you can. Never lose an opportunity of
getting a blessing. Glean at the mercy-seat; glean in the house of
God; glean in private meditation; glean in reading pious books; glean
in associating with gracious men and women; glean everywhere —
wherever you go; and if you can pick up only an ear a day, you who are
so much engaged in business, and so much penned up by cares, if you
can only spare five minutes, go a-gleaning a little; and if you cannot
carry away a sheaf, get an ear; or if you cannot get an ear, make sure
of at least one grain. Take care to glean a little; if you cannot find
much, get as much as ever you can.
Just one other
remark, and then I will close. O child of God, never be afraid to
glean! All there is in all thy Lord’s fields is thine. Never think
that your Master will be angry with you because you carry away so much
of the good corn of the kingdom; the only thing he is likely to be
offended with you for is, because you do not take enough. “There it
is,” he says; “take it, take it, and eat it; eat abundantly; drink,
yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!” If thou findest a sweet promise,
suck all the honey out of the comb. And if thou gettest hold of some
blessed sheaf, do not be afraid to carry it away rejoicing. Thou hast
a right to it; let not Satan cheat thee out of it. Sharpen up the
sickle of thy faith, and go harvesting; for thou mayest, if thou wilt;
and if thou canst, thou mayest take a whole sheaf, and carry it away
for spiritual food. But if thou canst not take a whole sheaf, the Lord
teach thee how to glean among the sheaves, even as Ruth did in the
fields of Boaz; and may he, in the greatness of his grace, let fall a
few handfuls on purpose for thee, for his dear Son’s sake! Amen. |
|
Ruth
2:16
Also you shall
purposely
pull out for
her some grain from the
bundles and
leave it that
she may
glean, and do
not
rebuke her. (NASB:
Lockman) |
|
BBE: And let some heads of grain be
pulled out of what has been corded up, and dropped for her to take,
and let no sharp word be said to her.
CEV: Be sure to pull out
some stalks of grain from the bundles and leave them on the ground for
her. And don't speak harshly to her!" (CEV)
GWT:
Even pull some grain out of the bundles and leave it for her to
gather. Don't give her a hard time about it." (GWT)
KJV: And let fall also some of
the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean
them, and rebuke her not.
NLT:
And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on
purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don't give her a hard
time!" (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Young's Literal: and
also ye do surely cast to her of the handfuls -- and have left, and
she hath gleaned, and ye do not push against her.' |
|
Septuagint (LXX):
kai
bastazontes
(PAPMPN)
bastazate
(2PAAM)
aute
kai
ge
paraballontes
(PAPMPN)
parabaleite
(2PFAI)
aute
ek
ton bebounismenon
(RPNPG)
kai aphete
(2PAAM)
kai
sullexei
(3PFAI)
kai
ouk
epitimesete
(2PFAI)
aute
English of
Septuagint: And do ye by all
means carry it for her, and ye shall surely let fall for her
some of that which is heaped up; and let her eat, and glean, and
rebuke her not |
|
|
AND
ALSO YOU SHALL PURPOSELY PULL OUT FOR HER SOME GRAIN FROM THE BUNDLES
AND LEAVE IT THAT SHE MAY GLEAN AND DO NOT REBUKE HER:(Dt
24:19-21;
Ps 112:9;
Pr 19:17;
Mt 25:40;
Ro 12:13;
2Co 8:5-11;
Phile 1:7;
Heb 6:10;
1Jn 3:17
3:18)
"don't give her a hard time" (NLT)
"let no sharp word be said to her" (BBE)
"don't speak harshly to her" (CEV)
"do
not push against her" (Young's Literal)
"Don't yell at her." (NET)
"Do
not scold her." (NJB)
"don't
speak harshly to her" (CEV)
"not
to make any remarks"
(TLB)
"don't
give her a hard time about it" (GWT)
"don't
rebuke her" (NIV)
"Purposely pull out"
(07997) is the Hebrew verb shalal which elsewhere refers to
taking of spoil or plunder. Boaz is saying in effect to his servants,
"Grab from the bundles of sheaves as though you were taking a spoil
for her." Furthermore Ruth was not to know that this was Boaz'
gift to her, and she would assume she was gleaning it on her own.
Guzik adds
"How
beautiful! Boaz wants to bless Ruth, but he doesn’t want to dishonor
her dignity by making her a “charity” case. So he will let some grain
“accidentally” fall, so she can pick it up." (Ruth 2)
"Rebuke"
(01605) (ga'ar) refers to a check applied to a person by giving
them a
strong admonition. The
Septuagint translates ga'ar with
the Greek verb epitimao (2208) which describes a sharp rebuke
(stern adverse criticism)
or censure (a judgment involving condemnation). See the above
translations and paraphrases for nuances. |
|
A Sermon for
Gleaners
on Ruth 2:15,16
by C. H. Spurgeon |
All the world dependeth upon the
labor of the field, and the king himself is served of the plow and of
the sickle. The dwellers in the country who watch the up-springing
blade through all its perils, who mark the ear as it bursts from its
sheath, and who anxiously observe it until it hangeth downward through
ripeness, and becometh yellow in the sun—these, being brought
constantly into contact wit clods and crops, are not able to forget
their entire dependence upon “the staff of life.” One can hardly
live where the operations of husbandry are carried on, without often
looking up to the God of Providence in anxious prayer, and anon,
lifting up the heart in grateful praise. But the most of us are
condemned to live in this huge wilderness of bricks, where scarcely a
green thing salutes our eyes; where, if we try to rear a plant, it is
but a sickly thing, neither tempting for beauty, nor fragrant with
perfume. In the absence of the bright-eyed flowers, it is small wonder
if we grow a little blind towards our mother earth. We are too apt to
think that we are independent of the operations of the country; that
our trade, our commerce, our manufacturers are sufficient to support
us; forgetting all the while, that in vain is yonder forest of masts
unless the earth shall yield her fruit; in vain the emporium, the
exchange, and the places of merchandise, unless the land be plowed and
harrowed, and at last yield to the husbandman his reward.
I would that I could recall to your memories, O ye dwellers in the
city, how much ye depend upon the Lord God of the earth for your daily
bread. Doth your food fall like manna from the skies? Do ye create it
at the forge, or fashion it in the loom or on the wheel? Cometh it not
of the earth, and is it not the Lord who giveth to the fertile womb of
earth the power to yield its harvests? Cometh now the dew from heaven,
and the sunshine from above, and do not these bring to us our bread as
well as to those who abide in the midst of the fields? Let us not
forget this time of the harvest, nor be unthankful for the bounty of
the wheatsheaf; let us not forget to plead with God that he would be
pleased to give us suitable weather for the ingathering of the
precious grain, and when it shall be ingathered, let us not sullenly
keep silence, but with the toiling swains who, well-pleased, behold
the waving yellow crop, let us lift up the shout of harvest-home, and
thank the God who covereth the valleys with corn, and crowneth the
year with his goodness.
Tell me not that this is not a proper theme for the Sabbath day. I wot
ye know not what ye say. Did not the disciples of Jesus walk though
the cornfields on the Sabbath, and did not the Master make the fields
themselves the subjects of his sermons? I fear not his disapprobation
when I say, on this hallowed day, “Lift up now your eyes, and behold
the fields are ripe already unto the harvest.” Do you think that the
outward creation is sinful, and that God would be worshiped on
Sabbaths with closed eyes, and vacant faces, which must not look on
flowers and fields? There is no impurity in green grass, or flowers,
or sailing-clouds, or rippling waves, or ripening corn. To the
believing ear, the footsteps of the Bountiful Father are everywhere
audible, and the revolving seasons do but reveal the varied attributes
of God. We may gather from every rustling ear a son, and listen in
every harvest-field to a sermon which angels might stoop to hear.
’Tis no unhallowed theme. Come with me to the harvest-field—may the
Master come with us—and let us talk awhile of other things than
harvests, though the harvest shall be the metaphor on which we will
fashion our speech.
I have now to invite you to other fields than these. I would bring you
to the field of Gospel truth. My Master is the Boaz. See here, in this
precious book is a field full of truthful promises, of blessings rich
and ripe. The Master standeth at the gate, and affords us welcome.
Strong men, full of faith, like reapers, reap their sheaves and gather
in their armfuls. Would you were all reapers, for the harvest truly is
plenteous. But if not reapers, may ye be as the maidens of Boaz. I see
some servants who do not so much reap themselves as partake of that
which others have reaped; I know we have many in this Church who are
glad to eat the sweets and feed upon the fat things of the kingdom
when they are brought forth each Sabbath-day, in the ministry of the
Word. But I see trembling yonder, outside the gate, a little company
to whom I am to address myself today; they are not reapers, they have
not strength enough of faith to take the big sheaves; they are not as
yet like household servants; they are not peaceful enough in their
consciences to sit down and eat, and dip their morsel in the vinegar
and be satisfied; but they are gleaners, and they are saying as they
stand at the gate, “Would that I might find favor in the sight of my
Lord, that I might even glean in this field, for I should then be
content if I might gather here and there an ear of gospel grace.” I
am sent to you. My Master sendeth me as one of his young men, and thus
he biddeth me say unto you, “Come into the field and glean
wheresoever you will, and if in the gleaning you should grow strong
and become reapers, reap and carry home the sheaves for yourselves.”
First then, like Boaz, I shall ask the question, “ who is this
damsel?” in order that I may find out who these gleaners are who are
inv | | |