Ruth 2:14-19 (NIVUK)
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.’
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, ‘Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.’
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ‘Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!’
Boaz goes above and beyond what the letter of the Law dictates he must do in caring for Ruth, a stranger. He ensures she is safe and makes sure she is able to harvest far more than would normally be the case for someone gleaning in her situation (an ephah is about 13kg). As 2 Corinthains 9 reminds us, God loves a cheerful giver, not just one who gives the minimal amount out of duty!
Prayerfully think through the coming day – what would it look like for you to give generously in the situations and relationships you may find yourself in.
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