Ruth 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
Ruth did not just ‘ride easy’ on the care given to her. Instead we see her working hard until evening to gather grain for herself and Naomi. To glean <laqat> literally means to pick something up or to gather. Imagine yourself out in a field that is being harvested. There is perhaps dust flying everywhere, the sun is beating down and you have just done what feels like your 300th squat and bent over more times than you can count. This goes on all day. After collecting the stalks of grain, Ruth then had to separate the grain from the stalk by beating it with a stick. After all was said and done, she collected about 2/3 of a bushel or 23 liters, according to the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Notes by Keener and Walton. Some commentaries note she had gathered about a bushel. This amount was enough for five day’s food for the two women.
Ruth began a day’s work and finished a day’s work. She began early in the morning and finished at dusk. She did not stop because she was tired, although she must have been. She made good use of her time gleaning until evening. She did not abuse the kindness Boaz directed towards her, rather she showed her gratefulness by working hard. She made the most of what she had gathered by beating out the grain herself and collecting it.
Proverbs 12:27 says, “A slothful man does not roast his prey, but the precious possession of a man [is] diligence”. Notice the comparison in this verse between slothfulness [idleness] and diligence [perseverance].
Proverbs 31:27 addresses idleness, “She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness”.
Are you willing to work hard at whatever tasks God places before you? (Do you often find yourself saying ‘I can’t’ or ‘It’s too difficult’?)
Do you give up easily because something is uncomfortable or unenjoyable?
Do you choose to do what you would rather do above what you should do?
Do you seek to make the most of the blessings you are given?
Ruth 2:18 And she took [it] up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took [it] out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.
When Ruth had finished gathering and threshing her grain, she carried it back to town. A bushel is about eight gallons. The Standard Weight per Bushel for Agricultural Commodities, says that a bushel of barley weighs 48 pounds (Section 600, Table B). Imagine working from sunrise to sunset then walking home with a parcel weighing almost fifty pounds!
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible says, “She took it up herself, and carried it into the city, though, had she asked them, it is likely some of Boaz’s servants would have done that for her. We should study to be as little as possible troublesome to those which are kind to us. She did not think it either too hard or too mean a service to carry her corn herself into the city, but was rather pleased with what she had gotten by her own industry, and careful to secure it”.
You can almost feel Ruth’s excitement about her days work! She had left early in the morning hoping to secure a place in a field where she would be able to gather grain for herself and Naomi. The process of gleaning a field had been new to her and she was aware she was an ‘outsider’. Yet, in faith, she went ahead with the instruction of her mother-in-law and walked towards the fields that were being harvested. She not only was welcomed by the owner but shown considerable favor and kindness. Now, at the end of the day you can imagine Ruth is physically exhausted but also exhilarated by the outcome of her work.
