Handfuls of Purpose

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.

Ruth 2:15-16

In the Old Testament days, when the farmers went out to harvest their fields, they were told not to get every last ear of corn or piece of grain.  They were to leave some for the poor people to glean.  Ruth, who was a widow from Moab who had come back to Israel with her mother in law, was one of these poor people who was gleaning the corn in the field of Boaz. 

Boaz was kind to her and had a generous heart and told the reapers to not bother her.  But, to me , his greatest kindness came in verse 16 when he tells his men to “let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her”.  Ruth was just out trying to get enough scraps to keep her and her mother in law from starving.  But Boaz told men not only to let her have the “scraps”, but also to drop some of the good ears of corn for her have.  These “handfuls of purpose” may have seemed to Ruth to be mere accidents and good fortune, but they were the direct result of the kindness of Boaz.

In the Bible, Boaz is a type of Christ.  How many times in our lives has Jesus given us some “handfuls of purpose”?  How often have we needed something; sometimes just a little encouragement?  And how often has the Lord come through with exactly what we need, even though to an outsider it may just seem like a small thing?  An outsider might just think we’ve “gotten lucky”, but we know that it is the Lord giving us another “handful of purpose”.  We should watch for these little blessings from the Lord in our lives and thank Him accordingly.