WHAT LEFTOVER?

Ruth 2:1-4 AMPC

Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. [2] And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. Naomi said to her, Go, my daughter. [3] And [Ruth] went and gleaned in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. [4] And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you! And they answered him, The Lord bless you!

 

One man's mess is another man's message. One man's rubbish is another man's treasure. One man’s meat is another’s treasure. One man’s leftover is another’s gourmet meal. Nobody wants leftovers, even their own. Some people will not eat whatever is left from their previous meal. It goes straight to the bin when they’re full and satisfied, yet some deprived and hungry person will grab that meal and eat it so fast before you can blink. But some leftovers are better than you would imagine.

And nobody will intentionally go looking for leftovers. Some translations use “left behind” instead of leftover. The words "left" and "behind" are key to this message. Naomi sends out her daughter-in-law to a relative’s field to pick the grains left behind or leftover by the harvesters for them to have food.

There are people all over the world who rummage through bins in search of food, others go to food banks to pick up food parcels, while some more would probably buy on credit, all these just to put food in their belly. Yet, there are those who wouldn’t blink when pouring uneaten food or leftovers in the bin without considering that someone else might see what they are about to put in the bin as elixir.

The Lord does not like waste as we see Jesus state in John 6:12: “When the people had all they could eat, He told the disciples to gather the leftovers. Jesus: Go and collect the leftovers, so we are not wasteful.” If Jesus had been a mere man, He would never have bothered to think about the remaining fragments. Any man who can feed five thousand does not worry about a few leftover crumbs! But Jesus is God, and with God there must be no wasting of His bounties. He does not want us to squander the precious things He has given to us, and so He takes care to instruct that the broken pieces which remained should be gathered up so that nothing might be lost.

The amount of food wasted daily in our society is appalling and offensive to the Lord, from restaurants to events (social gatherings, parties, weddings), to supermarkets and then within homes. We buy food items for whatever reason, leave them unused and finally chuck them in the bin either because they go off, or we need the space for our next purchase.

Ruth didn’t have these luxuries. They were short of money and food and so were not too proud to collect the leftovers from Boaz’s field. Early in Leviticus 7:16, the Lord instructs that any leftover from a freewill offering should be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice, and the leftover should be eaten the next day.

Some of us may be too embarrassed to go to food banks, to the farm and pick leftovers, but if that’s where the Lord has placed your blessing, you might just miss it for not going where you should. Ruth could have missed her blessing if she had seen picking the leftovers as degrading. And she certainly wouldn’t have caught the eyes of Boaz, her future husband, nor made it into the lineage of Jesus Christ our Lord.

We must learn to humbly follow the instructions and leading of the Holy Spirit to wherever He has prepared for us. Ruth allowed herself to be instructed and led by her mother-in-law and Boaz, and she not only received physical and material reward, but she also gained royalty and eternal blessing.

Next time, before you throw away that leftover, think who might be blessed from receiving it. It may be food, clothing, or anything else that may be a treasure to someone.

The harvester’s rubbish was Ruth’s treasure. Be alert and don’t miss yours.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to be prudent and diligent in the way I manage what I have and to willingly go where you are send without wasting time and resources in Jesus’ name, amen.

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/womenoflight/episodes/WHAT-LEFTOVER-e30uull

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