Ruth 2:8
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: 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:
The verse belongs to the beautiful short story of Ruth told in four brief chapters, a little pastoral tale from the time of the judges that closes with the ancestry of the Lord Jesus, into which a Moabite woman is brought. In it Boaz welcomes Ruth to glean in his field and tells her not to go to another field but to stay there with his maidens. He also protects her and has her share the workers' meal, thereby providing for her practical needs with kind and respectful treatment of those who work for him.
Ruth is an example of humble diligence, teaching people to go and gather what they can rather than linger idly and to keep working through hardship. Her gleaning in Boaz's field shows that gathering overlooked people through small acts of service is worthwhile work for God, with Ruth exemplifying willingness to gather even a handful for the harvest.
The harvest-field of Boaz teaches that cutting down the grain is not enough without binding the sheaves. The cutting is conviction of sin and the binding is gathering loose followers of Christ together and organizing them in Sabbath-schools, prayer-meetings, missionary associations, and churches. God's army is to be divided into companies, regiments, battalions, and active workers rather than left idle in reserve, so that all the troops in action may take the castles of sin for King Immanuel.