Leave Some Behind

Devotional

Day 1: Gleaning Hope in Barren Fields

Ruth stepped into a foreign field with empty hands and a hungry heart. Her story reminds us God often meets our deepest needs through ordinary obedience – a Moabite widow gathering scraps, a landowner honoring divine instructions. What seems like survival mode becomes sacred ground when we trust God’s provision. Boaz’s field wasn’t just a workplace but a proving ground for faith. Our “gleaning seasons” train us to recognize divine fingerprints in daily bread. [45:26]

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:9-10, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel like you’re merely surviving? How might God be using this season to teach you to gather His daily mercies?

Day 2: Intentional Scattering

Boaz didn’t just obey the law – he exceeded it. His workers pulled choice stalks from bundled sheaves, deliberately leaving abundance for Ruth. True generosity moves beyond obligation to joyful sacrifice. Our fields – whether time, resources, or influence – become holy ground when we scatter blessings for unseen harvesters. What we casually drop behind might become someone else’s miracle. [53:24]

“Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” (Ruth 2:15-16, ESV)

Reflection: What “bundled sheaves” has God given you? How could you intentionally leave more than required for those following behind?

Day 3: Redeeming the Broken Line

Naomi’s empty arms and Ruth’s barren womb seemed like dead ends. Yet God wove their story into Christ’s lineage through a kinsman-redeemer. Our apparent losses become redemption’s raw materials when surrendered to God. Boaz saw a destitute widow – God saw a grandmother of kings. Every faithful act echoes into eternity. [01:09:54]

“So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son... They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:13,17, ESV)

Reflection: What broken place in your story feels irredeemable? How might God use it to birth something eternal?

Day 4: Fields We Didn’t Plant

Ruth gathered from harvests she didn’t sow, just as we benefit from spiritual ancestors’ faithfulness. Every prayer we utter, every truth we cherish, was watered by someone’s tears. Now we tend fields for future gleaners. Our obedience today becomes someone else’s manna tomorrow. The test isn’t owning the field but stewarding its fruit. [01:00:28]

“I have given you a land for which you did not labor and cities that you did not build, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:13, ESV)

Reflection: Whose spiritual harvest are you currently gleaning from? What will future believers harvest from your faithfulness?

Day 5: The Ultimate Grain of Wheat

Boaz’s generosity foreshadowed Christ, the true Redeemer who left heaven’s riches to glean in our broken fields. Jesus became the fallen grain – buried to birth eternal harvest. Our small acts of leaving behind mirror His cosmic sacrifice. Every opened hand honors the One who spilled His life to feed the hungry. [01:19:46]

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24, ESV)

Reflection: How does Christ’s sacrifice reshape your view of what’s worth leaving behind? What “grain” is He asking you to bury today?

Sermon Summary

Ruth’s story begins in famine, loss, and an uncertain future. Naomi loses her husband and both sons, and Ruth loses her husband too. Ruth could go back to Moab, back to what she knew, but Ruth clings to Naomi and commits herself to Naomi’s God, Yahweh. Ruth walks into Bethlehem with no clear future, only the hope that there may be food.

God’s instruction in Leviticus makes room for Ruth before Ruth ever reaches the field. God tells His people not to harvest every last bit, not to reap all the way to the edges, and not to gather every piece that falls. God commands provision for the poor and the foreigner. Ruth enters that provision when she goes out to glean what others have left behind.

Boaz’s field becomes more than an ordinary field. Ruth “happened” to enter the portion belonging to Boaz, but God is working behind the scenes the whole time. Boaz sees Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi, protects her, gives her water, welcomes her to eat, and tells his workers to pull stalks from the bundles and leave them for her. Boaz does not merely do the bare minimum. Boaz gives favor. Boaz makes room. Boaz intentionally creates provision without humiliating the one receiving it.

The call to “leave some behind” reaches farther than grain and harvest. God places wisdom, time, encouragement, resources, testimony, skills, opportunities, and influence in people’s hands. Those gifts are not only there to help the person holding them keep going. God gives abundance so that somebody else can find what they need to keep going too. The field may look different for every person, but somebody is coming behind.

The church becomes a field when it invests in children, teenagers, leaders, missions, outreach, prayer, generosity, biblical truth, and love for people. The hard work of planting, pulling rocks, breaking barriers, serving, giving, and staying faithful can become a harvest for people not yet in the room. Future families, future leaders, and people not yet known may gather from what is faithfully left behind today.

Boaz cannot see where a few extra stalks will lead. God turns that provision into redemption, marriage, Obed, Jesse, David, and eventually the genealogy of Jesus. Faithfulness does not require seeing the whole harvest. Jesus, the greater Redeemer, enters broken stories, carries sin and shame, restores people to the Father, and gives everything rather than only what is required. The question remains simple: What will people find in the field left behind?

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Key Takeaways

1. Leave some behind on purpose. Boaz does more than follow the command in the smallest possible way. He tells his workers to pull out bundles and leave them where Ruth can gather. Generosity becomes deeper when it is intentional, personal, and willing to give more than what is required. [54:15]
2. Somebody is coming behind you. Ruth gathers from a field she did not own and a harvest she did not produce. Somebody prayed, served, taught, sacrificed, and made room before others arrived. The gifts now held in hand can become provision for the people who come next. [60:28]
3. Build a field worth gathering from. Faith, prayer, generosity, biblical truth, and love for Jesus can be left in a church and in a life. Future people need more than a place with activity; they need a place where real provision has been prepared. A faithful life can leave room for people to move, grow, heal, and find Jesus. [64:58]
4. Faithfulness cannot see the whole harvest. Boaz sees grain, Ruth, and a need in front of him, but God sees David and the line of Jesus. A prayer, a conversation, a gift, or an investment may bear fruit far beyond what can be measured right now. God asks for faithfulness with what He has placed in hand. [71:15]
5. Jesus is the greater Redeemer. Boaz points beyond himself to Jesus, who steps into broken stories and restores what sin has broken. Jesus does not shame those who come needy; He gives grace, forgiveness, and a place in God’s family. Redemption is still available for those carrying sin, shame, fear, regret, or disappointment.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:06] - Ruth and the Simple Call
[40:34] - Naomi, Ruth, and the Famine
[42:57] - Ruth Chooses Yahweh
[45:06] - God’s Provision in the Harvest
[46:52] - Ruth Enters Boaz’s Field
[48:16] - Boaz Notices and Protects Ruth
[50:40] - Leave Some Behind
[55:14] - What Has God Placed in Hand?
[60:05] - Somebody Is Coming Behind
[64:58] - Building a Field for the Future
[67:04] - Boaz, Redemption, and David
[73:10] - Jesus the Greater Redeemer
[76:52] - What Are You Leaving Behind?

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Ruth 1:16-17
“But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.’” [43:43]

Leviticus 19:9-10
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” [45:30]

Ruth 2:14-16
“And at mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.’ So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, ‘Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.’” [50:50]

Observation questions

What commitments does Ruth make to Naomi, Naomi’s people, and Naomi’s God in Ruth 1:16-17? [43:43]
According to Leviticus 19:9-10, what were landowners specifically told not to gather, and who was meant to benefit from what was left?
What are the different ways Boaz provides for Ruth in Ruth 2:14-16, beyond simply allowing her to glean in his field? [50:50]
What instructions does Boaz give his workers about both Ruth’s provision and the way they are to treat her? [51:07]

Interpretation questions

Ruth leaves what is familiar in Moab and places her future in the hands of Yahweh. What does her choice show about faith when the outcome is still uncertain? [44:23]
God’s command to leave grain for the poor and the foreigner made room for people like Ruth before she arrived. What does this reveal about God’s heart for people who are vulnerable, needy, or new to a community? [46:05]
Boaz goes beyond the minimum command by having extra grain intentionally placed where Ruth can find it. What is the difference between meeting a need reluctantly and making generous provision with care and dignity? [52:45]
Boaz could see one hungry woman and one field, while God was working toward a much larger story of redemption. Why can faithfulness still matter deeply when a person cannot yet see the results? [01:11:20]

Application questions

Ruth’s words, “Your God will be my God,” came in a season when she had no clear picture of the future. Is there an uncertain area of life where God is inviting you to trust Him rather than return to what feels familiar? What would that trust look like this week? [44:33]
God has placed different things in each person’s hands—time, wisdom, encouragement, skills, resources, testimony, opportunities, or influence. Which of these has God especially given you, and who around you might need it right now? [55:40]
Boaz made provision for Ruth without humiliating her. How can you help someone in a way that protects their dignity rather than making them feel like a burden? [53:47]
Somebody has prayed, served, sacrificed, encouraged, or made room so that you could stand where you are today. Who comes to mind, and how does remembering their investment shape the way you view those coming behind you? [01:00:28]
What might it look like for your home, workplace, friendships, or church involvement to become a “field” where someone else can find faith, prayer, generosity, biblical truth, and love? [01:05:11]
Is there one practical way you can intentionally “leave some behind” this week—such as making time for a conversation, encouraging someone, giving generously, serving, mentoring, or praying for someone by name? [57:50]
Jesus is the greater Redeemer who enters broken stories with grace, forgiveness, and a place in God’s family. Is there any sin, shame, fear, disappointment, or regret that you need to bring honestly to Him today? [01:13:43]

Sermon Clips

70s

#JesusOurRedeemer

“But God had already prepared a redeemer who would step into her story. And Boaz becomes that redeemer for her and for Naomi, for their family. And when we see what Boaz does for Ruth, it paints us a bigger picture of a redeemer, the greater redeemer who came and entered our story, and that's Jesus. And that's where Ruth's story points us to is Jesus, is that Jesus is our redeemer. He stepped into our story, into our life, into our time of need. He stepped into our sin, and he gave himself for us and made a way for us to be with God. We were broken and our line was removed. But Jesus became our redeemer, restoring us back to father.”

42s

#FaithfulSeasons

“You might not know what being a a a teacher in in children's church means to them twenty years later. You might not know what it produces. You might never know what your generosity in a in a single moment, how it made a difference in in so many other people's lives that came after you. But faithfulness doesn't require us to see the entire harvest at the time that we are faithful. Our part is that we just need to be faithful with what God has placed in our hands. We just need to be faithful with what he has given us to leave some behind.”

47s

#GenerationalBlessing

“There is someone following you. Ruth was gathering from a field that she didn't own, and she was benefiting from a harvest that was Boaz's, but she did not produce it. Someone made room for her. And I think that as we get older, every generation and time begins to kinda understand that picture. Somebody came before us this morning. You're here in this room. Someone came before you. Someone prayed over your life before you knew how to pray. Someone taught you scripture before you knew scripture. Somebody encouraged you before you were encouraged. Somebody served you faithfully. Somebody sacrificed something so you could have an opportunity.”

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