We recently finished reading the book of Judges and started reading the book of Ruth again. Tonight we read the second chapter and I was challenged once again by Boaz. The book of Judges ended with the words “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Yet here in the book of Ruth we meet a noble and honorable man who does not do what is right in his eyes, but rather, demonstrates his character and righteousness by upholding the law of God regarding harvest, reaping and the providing for the stranger (Leviticus 19:9).
The example of Boaz has made Pamela and I consider ways that we could apply these laws from Leviticus in our own modern, non-agricultural lives.
One way we have applied this principle is in our own neighborhood which has a very large immigrant community from Mexico and other Latin American countries. There are trucks that drive up and down the alley picking metal objects from the trash to recycle as scrap (something like $.05 a pound) so a few years ago we began to purposely leave metal scrap for them to pickup (radiators, shelves, etc.) as well as other items that we know we could resell, but know that they would be of use to them (a working freezer and an old frig). When we were rehabbing the house, we tried to place all items that could be recycled in the alley, instead of the dumpster for this very reason.
On a recent blog for our church, Pamela put it this way:
Understanding that the farmer sows a field as an investment for both provision and profit, we see in Scripture that it is right that he not overly account for all his assets in an attempt to recoup each and every possible expense from sowing and gathering the harvest. At the end of the season, he has brought in more than he had put forth, and the surplus is a blessing to be shared.
So our way of leaving perfectly resalable items is one way of expressing, “We received from it what we had invested in it, and that is enough. Let someone glean it who needs it.”
And on several occasions we’ve had the opportunity to greet the scrap collectors, offering to help load it on the truck and expressing to them our gratitude; that they’re doing us a great favor by taking it even as we’re doing them a favor by setting it aside.
The strength of the gleaning principle is that the person who receives the blessing of the harvest also receives the blessing of being able to work for it. There is dignity in that.
It is our prayer that Boaz will continue to serve as a vivid reminder to our family of the scriptural mandate to be people of compassion as we become people of the book–because the LORD is our God.
From Leviticus 9
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
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