The mystery of gleaning

The awesome Old Covenant story of fidelity of one Moabite woman is more than a story and even more than human faithfulness, but God’s own faithfulness towards His own elect Bride in times of severe famine and world wide adversity.

The story of Ruth is a model for covenant’s made between men and also between a faithful God and His own people, even in the face of great trials and scarcity.

To some interpreters of the scripture is a promise to the bride for the future marriage being consummated in heaven, yet being recognized by faithfulness while in this tent of our temporal state of being. With Naomi representing the guidance of God to a Kinsman Redeemer and Ruth being the gentile bride and Christ being a Jewish Kinsman Redeemer.

A beautiful fresh look upon this amazing story is a heart warming encouragement for us in these final days.

Ruth chapter 2 is the subject of our discussion. In this unfathomable story of grace and predestined favor we could see many miraculous insights in to the spiritual realm of an elect’s promises in Christ.

It is the amazing grace that gives us such depth’s of God’s glorious truth wrapped in the story of this gentile woman in the years of the severe famine in Israel’s history.

Let us start from the beginning of chapter 2 and rediscover God’s promises for us through this glorious scripture. The punch word being “ Gleaning After” .

The 2nd verse of chapter 2 of the Book of Ruth says it this way…

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 “go my daughter.”

Verse 3…

Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers….

Today our attention should shift from all the other precious points of this story on the word gleaning after the reapers in whose sight I might find favor. You see the law required that the harvesters leave the corners of the plots to be gathered by the poor. ( Lev. 19:9, 23:22., Deut. 24:19).

The important aspect of this practice was that they were not the owners of the field neither the original harvesters, but the poor who would be granted favor to collect or glean after the main harvesters in complete favor.

The owner of the right *field was Boaz and He was the one who send the original harvesters in it’s right season and he was the one to take notice of the gleaning poor. Wow ; And the favor came because of prior show of faithfulness by Ruth which made her famous with the owner of the whole town and the owner of the field.

These are amazing spiritual clues.

You see initial election by grace is a complete prerequisite , yet personal acts of faithfulness to God’s people are counted as faithfulness to the true God Himself. Previously Ruth in chapter one had said “ Your God will be my God and your people my people and where ever you go I’ll go and where you die I will die”. This sort of faithful commitment is a rare commodity and a grace from God and defiantly waiting to rewarded by God through men and God Himself.

Ruth sought favor, yet she did not know who’s and though she was a stranger in the famish land of another her faithfulness was heard by the right man. Secondly she asked to be sent to the filed not to stay idle in the land and she gave herself to God in trust.

Yes the scripture says she sought favor of a field owner and that God’s sovereignty directed her to the right *field. Boaz the picture of Christ had a filed as the Lord does His own, and the poor in the spirit will glean after the original harvesters. Yes the law also designates a certain portion to be allotted to the poor and all they do is to gather the favor bestowed upon them.

Jesus said I send you to gather what you have not sown and to gather what you have not planted. It is pure act of grace in behalf of elect. Yes the faithful will be gathering what it is allotted to them by the *Filed Owner’s command and not only that they would find refuge while trusting the Right Filed Owner.

The scripture says that Ruth was gleaning after the reapers, which means she was not choosing to reap, but to just trust the reapers in following them. This too needs insight from the Lord, since many who are not reapers are reaping what they should only glean after.

Unfortunately in the Body of The Messiah many have placed themselves in the wrong position instead of doing what they are just called to do.

From the 4th verse to the 7th we hear that the owner of the *Field returns to notice the elect in their service and asks the reapers about the woman. Well the Bible says the reapers are the angels in one setting, and even if in this case too they are God’s angels, they see how we glean and they have on records all of our faith based faithful acts. What a divine setup?

Verse 8 is another awe inspiring verse when the Owner of The *Filed speaks to the young woman saying “ You will listen, my daughter, will you not?” what a gentle way to grab her attention? A woman who’s ancestry was birth from fornication and once was married to another man, yet young enough to be called daughter. What a personification of Christ and His Church.

Now the words of The Owner of the Field after a loving wooing in persuasion of love.

“ Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women.”

How much more prophet can this get for us today? Christ persuading us to stay in His * Filed and with His Young virgin Church to do His work even though the hour is very tense and the famine so sever. It is almost a tear breaking revelation for us the co-laborers with Him in His kingdom pursuit to stay in His *field and with His virgin engaged daughter to be married soon, and not to turn to another’s field.

Oh what an invitation to endurance while many are leaving *The Filed.

As many seeing the famish land of our Lord The Church are turning to another, seeking another field, The Lord is pleading with you and me to wait a little longer in assurance of great protection and reward.

In verse 9 it gets even deeper and better when Boaz says…. “Let your eyes be on The *Field which they reap, and go after them. “Have I not commanded the young men no to touch you?”

Wow, Wow; What an assurance of protection from the enemy when our eyes is after the heavens and the heavenly reapers and remain The *Filed being reaped and not to look else where? This means while faithful in serving Him no weapon that is form against us shall prosper, since The owner of The Filed has commanded them not to harm us?

Now it get’s even better when he says…. “ And when you are thirsty go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn…” Isn’t this too much folks? Can’t you see the spiritual significance of such divine faithfulness.

Servants this is for you and me, a divine act of faithfulness in these final hours.

Now in verse 11 a beautiful dialog is taking place between Boaz and the Moabites Ruth of her prior acts of faith towards Naomi and her people and that her place of refuge is recognized not as merely the man Boaz, but The God of Israel, praise be to His Name.

Yes and we see her plea for favor after she was granted favor and this too speaks of our own lack of complete faith in God’s favor sometimes, yet Boaz assures her of all kinds of favor in provision through communion and even protection during personal times of doubt and unbeleif.

And

As though all these were not enough Boaz commands the reapers for more favor in verse 16 &17 to the point of collecting from among the sheaves and asked that she should not be reproached and even to have some extra be poured out for her as means and signs of mercy and un common favor that the faithful get in their faithfulness.

Well the Verses 18 through 23 is another awesome indication of not only God’s grace, but God’s own faithfulness to vessels of His own glory. The amazing grace shown to this gentile bride was God’s own faithfulness to even the dead whom they left living survivals.

The words of Naomi or by her choice called Mara now was a complete turn of defiled prospective of God’s unfathomable mercy in faithfulness.

In verse 20 she utters these words to Ruth

“ Blessed be of the Lord , who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!”

And in the end a command of more faithfulness is given to Ruth by staying with the young woman of Boaz, which means to stay in faithfulness to the elect until the time of the final harvest is completely done and the marital favor would follow.

Amen and Last but not least in the beginning of chapter 3 Naomi speaks this way…. “My daughter *shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?” Which some see as the final work of the Holy Spirit for the virgin bride of Christ in consummating eternal security through marriage with Christ.

Here Ruth the gentile Moabites is persuaded by her mother in law to go to the threshing floor where the Redeemer sleeps, and lie under His feet seeking to be covered by His Bridal Robe.

Oh yes the threshing floor is where our Master Savior dwells and those who have past the test of faithfulness are sent there of their final sifting through His eternal love for the consummation of their eternal security called the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Are you and I ready Church to receive in our bosom ( The Shawl) meaning the fullness of our redemption, the six ephahs of our barley to lead us into The Eternal City?