="When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not
wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou
gather the gleaning of the harvest. And thou shalt not glean
thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of
thy vineyard. Thou shalt leave them for the poor and the
stranger."=

It was already the custom among the Canaanites to leave the grain in
the corners of the fields uncut, and not to pick up the scattered
gleanings, which fell from the arms of the harvesters, and to leave on
the ground the fruit that fell of itself from the vines and fruit
trees. With the Canaanites this was on account of a superstition; the
gleanings and the grain in the corners of the fields were for the
Baal, or god of the field. If they were taken he would be angry. The
Hebrews kept the old custom, but with a different aim--not to keep the
Baal in good humor, but to make life a bit easier for the poor and
unfortunate among their own neighbors. It was in accordance with this
law that Ruth, although a foreigner, was allowed to glean after the
reapers in the barley field of Boaz of Bethlehem, and thus obtained
food to keep herself and her mother alive. So among these lowly people
were being laid the foundations of that greater and better
civilization for which Moses had prepared the way, and of which
Abraham had dimly dreamed.


STUDY TOPICS

1. What parts of this chapter illustrate the special talent of the
Hebrews for discovering good in things partly evil?