May 30, 2012 – Ruth 2

I guess the first thing we have to understand is what gleaning is.  It means to o gather (grain) left behind by reapers.  It was put into the commands of God that harvesters were not supposed to be picky about getting every single scrap from their fields during harvesting.  They were supposed to make their pass and if any was left behind, it was to stay left behind.  This was allowed so that the poor and the widows could come through afterwards and gather food for them.  That is what Ruth was doing.  She received so much because Boaz not only told them to not harass her and let her gather, but also to actually leave more behind so that she could gather more.  Boaz instructs her not to go to other fields but to only follow his reapers.  It may seem like a odd thing that he doesn’t just make her a reaper and give her a job, but maybe that was not something appropriate.  Instead, he allows her to go about what she is doing and helps in the best way he can, by not allowing her to be abused and leaving extra for her.

The way he talks about not letting her be abused makes it seem that the poor that would come to get the leftovers were often abused.  This takes away from the notion that what is left behind is for the poor if they are abused in the process of trying to gather it. 

We see a brief notion that could be seen as supporting the purgatory.  Verse 20, Naomi says “May he be blessed by the Lord, who is ever merciful to the living and to the dead”.  There is only one situation in which the dead need mercy.  If they are in hell, mercy does them no good, if they are in Heaven, they do not need God’s mercy.  Only if there is a place besides Heaven and Hell for the dead would God’s mercy do them any good.