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own heathen kindred, forsook "Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites," and embraced the worship of the God of Israel, of whom her husband and her mother-in-law had taught her. She chose poverty and widowhood with the pure worship of the LORD JEHOVAH rather than prosperity and marriage with the foul rites of Chemosh. [If she were chiefly moved by filial affection, that is God's chosen way of leading us higher still; and thus it was that, like the Gentile Church, she came out from among the heathen, and united herself to the chosen seed; thus it was that like Rahab, the believing woman of Jericho, Ruth of Moab is mentioned in the genealogy of the Messiah.] So the two women went on together across the fords of Jordan and the plain of Jericho, and reached Bethlehem in the spring-time, during the months of barley harvest.

From the expression that all the city was moved at seeing them, and from Naomi's answer to their words of surprise, it is evident that her condition was greatly altered, and that she was reduced from prosperity to poverty. But the God of the fatherless and widow was with her.

LESSON XXXIII.

THE HARVEST AT BETHLEHEM.

RUTH ii.

And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech and his name was Boaz.

And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap* was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the

* Chance.

Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab :

And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them : have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity,* and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

The LORD recompense + thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.

And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. +

And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:

And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned : and it was about an ephah § of barley.

And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. ||

And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where wroughtest ¶ thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz.

And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter,

+ Reward.

Had enough and some over.

• Birth.
The parched corn remaining from what Boaz had given her.

§ About four gallons, ¶ Worked.

that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.

So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.

COMMENT.-The name of Bethlehem means "the place of bread," and the corn-fields were waving along its slopes. Twice over had the command been given in advance, while as yet Israel knew only manna: "And when ye shall reap the harvest of your land, ye shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and the fatherless. I am the LORD" (Lev. xix. 9, 10).

Of this beautiful, merciful law the two widows gladly availed themselves. Barley harvest began with the offering of the wavesheaf at the Passover, wheat harvest with the presenting the loaf at the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, and therefore, in the Jewish synagogues, the Book of Ruth is appointed to be read after the Feast of Weeks. And Bethlehem is a Christian village, and still very like what it was 3,000 years ago. Let us see what a traveller in our own day says:

"The reapers were in the fields cutting barley, and after every company were women and children gleaning, just as Ruth did when Boaz came to look at his labourers. Yes, and in the evening you might see some poor woman or maiden that had been permitted to glean on her own account, sitting by the roadside and beating out with a stick or a stone what she had gathered, as Ruth did. I have often watched this process in various parts of the country." The traveller adds, that still the master salutes his reapers with “Allah el éikum,” i.e. “The Lord be with you," and they reply, "The Lord bless thee." He also adds that harvesters collect from a distance to these fertile fields, and are apt to be rude to lonely women, now as then, when Boaz, seeing the stranger, bade her keep among his own people, to secure her from having her poverty and alien blood cast up to her. The meals, too, are the same. The vinegar into which Ruth was invited to dip her morsel is strong wine turned sour, nauseous as a draught, but as a sop in small quantities refreshing to a thirsty mouth in the middle of the toil of a summer's day, when all

noon.

sit down under a shed to eat and rest during the burning hour of The parched corn is thus prepared: "A quantity of the best ears, not too ripe, are plucked with the stalks attached. These are tied into small parcels, a blazing fire is kindled with dry grass and thorn bushes, and the corn heads are held in it till the chaff is mostly burnt off. The grain is thus sufficiently roasted to be eaten, and it is a favourite article all over the country. After it has been roasted it is rubbed out in the hand, and eaten as there is occasion."

How much an ephah is we cannot be quite sure, whether four gallons or eight, but it was certainly ten times as much as the single Israelite's daily portion of manna, so that one day's gleaning had laid in provision for five days. Well might Naomi's heart be cheered and thankful, and when she heard the name of Boaz she was the more struck, for Boaz was of the kinsmen of her husband, one of the goals, or redeemers, whose duty it was to take to himself the wife of the deceased, if he left no child; to redeem or buy back his lands, that they might not go out of the family; and to avenge his death if he were slain. Providence had led Ruth to her rightful protector, and all unwittingly, in the kindness of his heart, he had guarded her; and in this Naomi verily saw the hand of the Lord.

[Thus the Gentile Church, coming to glean the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table, is brought in to be partaker with His own children, and to share in His overflowing benefits.]

LESSON XXXIV.

THE THRESHING-FLOOR OF BOAZ.

RUTH iii.

Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in and uncover his feet; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.

And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn; and she came softly unto his feet.

And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself:

And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid spread therefore thy skirt* over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous

woman.

And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then I will do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning. And early in the morning she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.

Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her and she went into the city.

And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.

Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

COMMENT.-Threshing-floors in Palestine are spaces of rock on hill-tops, sometimes natural, sometimes paved with large stones. As rain never comes but in its own due seasons, there is no need to stack the corn, but the sheaves are carried to the rocky floor, and there a sort of slab or raft made of wood, with rough stones or iron teeth on the under-side, is dragged over them by oxen, which are driven by a man either standing or seated on a kind of chair fixed

* Take under thy protection.

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