HOMILETICS. . Vers. 1-9.--:T~ harvest-field.. R~~~ WAS EAGER TO WORK (see ver. 2). 1. Work 1s honourable; 1t 1s wholesome; mspmtmg too; the best antidote to ennui. If not imm?de~ate, nothing is so effi_cacious in gi:ing full development to man's physi,que; nothmg 1s so potent to put rems upon pass10ns, and a curb on the tendency to morbid imaginations. All great men and women have been diligent workers. Jesus worked. He v.-ho is his Father and ours "worketh hitherto." 2. Ruth did not hesitate to stoop to Yery lowly work. She was willing and wishful to glean in the harvest-fields (see ver. 2). She humbled herself, and was free from the pride which goes before a fall. She "descended ascendingly." It was in the school of adversity that she had been taught. All honest work is honourable. Dignity is lent to the humblest labours when they are undertaken in a spirit of magnanimity. 3. Ruth expressed her wish to her mother-in-law, and solicited her approval. "Let me go, I pray thee, to the cornfields, that I may glean among the ears after whosoever shall show me fa'Vour" (ver. 2). The request was put in a beautifully deferential way. Nowhere is courtesy so precious as in the home. It is comely when displayed by juniors to seniors. It is charming when displayed by seniors to juniors. 4. Naomi yielded to Ruth's request, and said, " Go, my daughter." But we may be sure that it would cost her a pang to give her consent. The tears would start as she turned aside and said. " Is it come to this?" of it. 5. "A Divinity" was "shaping Ruth's ends," and leading her by a way she knew not. She was nnconsciously led, as if by a guardian angel sent forth to minister, until she lighted on a field belonging to Boaz, a near kinsman of her own. " And she went forth, and came to the cornfields, and gleaned, and it so happened that it was the portion of the fields that belonged to Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech" ( ver. 3). While the Divinity was thus "shaping her ends" for her, she was herself, to the utmost of her little ability, bllBy in" rough-hewing them." God's agency does not supersede man's, nor does man's supersede God's. Each of us should be able to say, " My Father worketh hitherto, and so do I." BoAz ENTERS ON THE SCENE. 1. He had some preparation fo.r the part he was about to act in the nearness of his relationship to Elimelech. In the absence of infinite comprehensiveness, it is right, as well as natural, for friends to take a special interest in friends. 2. Though not a" husband," he was a" husbandman." He had a house, and was a lwuse-band. He was likewise conspicuous for good husbandry. He was in some respects a model husbandman. Note his habit of personal inspec- tion and superintendence (see ver. 4, and eh. iii. 3 j. Note his courtesy to his workers as Le passed along: "Yahveh be with you I '' (ver. 4). Note the hearty response which his courtesy elicited from his men: "Yahveh bless thee/" Note his habit of making inquiries of his overseer in reference to the state of his affairs (ver. 5). 3. In position he was a substantial yeoman (ver. 1). Stout in person, we may s~ppose. Stout in principle. Substantial in those resources that make v1ealth contnbute to weal,. 4. The reason of his loneliness at home is not hinted at. Perhaps some great sorrow lay buried in his breast; perhaps some bright, sylph-like form lay buried in the grave. 5. He was now, as regards years, an _elder in Beth_leh~m. ~ost likely a]l hopes of a brightened home had been for long lymg dormant m his spmt. As to his age, it may be inferred from the fatherly way in which he addressed Ruth:" Hearest thou, my dauuhter 7" (ver. 8). OH, II, 1-9.] TllE BOOK OF RUTH. 33
IloAZ AND RUTH. 1. Scnrcely had Boaz entered his field, when his eye was arrested by the vision of an elegant and beautiful gleaner, altogether unlike all the rest whom he saw in his field, or had ever seen before. He Baid to hill steward 11 Whose young woman is this? " 2. His question was answered, and other inform~ ation of a highly satisfactory description was communicated. The young woman was a Moabite, who had accompanied home Naomi, her unfortunate mother-in-law (ver. 6). She had, with unwanted respectfulness, solicited liberty to glean. "She £aid, Let me glean, I pray thee, and gather in bundles, after the reapers" (ver. 7). She had been peculiarly diligent since early morning. " She came, and haB rnmained ever since the morning, till just now" (ver. 7). Nor had she availed herself much of the siesta-booth. "Her resting .i.t the hut has been little" (ver. 7). She seemed to grudge every moment that was not devoted to work. 3. Having obtained this information, Boaz wended his way to Ruth, speaking to the young men as he passed. When he came up to her, he was at once thrilled with admiration. He expressed to her his desire that she should continue on his fields all through the harvest season. "Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean on other fields." He showed her, moreover, where she could glean to the best advantage. " Pass not on hence ; keep close by my young women." He informed her that, in passing along, he had enjoined the young men not to annoy her. "Have I not charged the young men not to touch thee ? " He added that she was to be sure to make full use of the water that was drawn by the young men, and carried to the field by the maidens. " When thou art thirsty, go to the jars, and drink of what the young men have drawn '' (ver. 9). In all this we see the beginning-of the reward which was, in the providence of God, conferred on noble, self-surrendering, self-sacrificing Ruth. The heart of Boaz was moving toward her. The blessing of the Most High was descending on her. So, in one form or another, will it descend on all who, in their different spheres, carry with them, according to the measure of their capacity, the spirit that, in beau- tiful activity, stirred and heaved within the heart of the Moabitish gleaner.