The Law of Gleaning and the Heart of Boaz

Observe the details. Boaz arrives and greets his workers in the Lord's name. He notices the newcomer and asks about her. When he learns her story he tells her to stay in his field, drink from the water his men have drawn, and glean without fear because he has ordered the men not to touch her. At mealtime he passes her roasted grain. Afterwards he instructs the harvesters to pull stalks from the bundles and leave them for her on purpose. She goes home with about an ephah of barley, far more than a gleaner would normally gather.

Interpret it against the background of the law. Leviticus 19:9-10 and Deuteronomy 24:19 commanded landowners to leave the edges of their fields and the dropped sheaves for the poor and the foreigner. Boaz was obliged to allow gleaning. He was not obliged to provide water, protection, lunch and deliberately dropped grain. The chapter shows a man who has taken the law into his heart and gone past its letter.

Apply it. The law set a floor. Love builds above the floor. Christians are called not merely to avoid injustice but to look for the Ruth at the edge of the field and to make room for her.

What are the minimum requirements of kindness in your workplace or neighbourhood, and where could you go past them? Who is gleaning at the edges of your life right now? How does Boaz's treatment of a foreign widow shape the way you think about strangers?