Ruth 2:15-16
When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
Charity to others is a gift God has given us to mirror His love and giving to us. God gave to us and we, therefore, ought to give to others. In the above story of Ruth and Boaz, we have this character carried out. Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi. She was from Moab and returned with Ruth when her husband, Naomi's son, had died. In fact, Naomi's husband and two sons had die on this fateful trip to Moab. Ruth had decided to return with Naomi and was now, alone, in a foreign land, no husband, no job, no money and no hope (Naomi had painted such a picture in chapter one of this book). Ruth, however, was an industrious women (see Proverbs 31) and, rather than sit on her pain and suffering, went out to work and, at the least, gather grain. Moses had given the Law much earlier and those who had land were instructed not to glean the outer edges of the land. The edges were to be left for the poor ... of which Ruth qualified. But, Boaz, the owner of the field Ruth "just happened to land upon," had already heard about Ruth and Naomi's plight and made sure she was well taken care of. He would eventually marry her, but note how, in the above passages he begins to take care of her. Boaz not only let her glean on the edges of the field, required by the Law to do so, he also made sure she had plenty to glean. He instructed the reapers of the main part of the land to actually "pull some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean." What is interesting here, is that Boaz doesn't pull her aside and just give her bundles and bundles of sheaves. Boaz, does show charity, but Ruth was still required to do the work. The gift that Boaz gave her was not only the gift of sheaves, but also the gift of work. Ruth would be able to return to Naomi with grain in the pouch of her dress, but also with soreness in her back and sweat on her brow. She would look like she worked for the grain, because she did. Boaz was a man of grace but also knew that a work ethic was just as important as the free gift. Boaz would eventually be drawn to Ruth and the two would produce an baby boy who would be King David's grandfather. But, the gift of giving and showing charity by Boaz is more than just the beginning of a love story. The example of Boaz is a truth all believers should learn. Giving something is an act of charity. But, Boaz gives more than the gift of food. He gives the gift of hard work and respect and appreciation for that effort. Today, in our society, we just give things to people based upon all the wrong criteria. We would do better if we followed Boaz's example and find a way that we can help out and help up, as well.
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