Monday, May 18, 2009

Ruth 2

(1) Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named *Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.


*Boaz means in Him is strength. He is a type of the Lord of the harvest - Jesus Christ. Boaz was a "man of standing" (Hebrew: ’ish gibbor chail, implying Boaz was physically impressive and had noble character).


   During the famine, Elimelech took his whole family out of the Promised Land and went to Moab, but Boaz had stayed behind - and God provided for him. In fact, God made Boaz a man of great wealth. The people of Bethlehem had not perished from hunger. They were still there. And they were blessed more than Naomi’s family.


(2) One day Ruth *the Moabite said to Naomi, “**Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.” Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.”


*the Moabite - here to emphasize that she's a gentile just before we meet Boaz, the Jewish Kinsman-Redeemer.


**Let me: This must have been after discussion on how to get food and Naomi may have told Ruth about how God had provided in Leviticus the means for widows and the poor to lawfully get grain for food - but permission from the owner would have been required - especially a foreigner. This grain is barley - not the best grain (not wheat), but sufficient to prevent starvation. Barley bread was used by the poorer people (Judges 7:13; 2 Kings 4:42). Barley of the first crop was ready for the harvest by the time of the Passover, in the middle of April (Ruth 1:22; 2 Samuel 21:9). Jesus fed five thousand with "five barley loaves and two small fishes" (John 6:9).


Leviticus 23:22: “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”

This was the Israelite version of social security. The Law mandated that the leavings of the field reapers were to be left behind for the poor and the foreigner to take. Ruth fit into both of these categories. She had no other means of caring for herself and Naomi. Notice that it's Ruth that takes action, not Naomi. Naomi is, perhaps, still feeling sorry for herself. But, Ruth asks Naomi's permission - she views herself as under Naomi's authority.


Matthew 15:27: She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”


   The harvesting of grain involved the following steps:



  1. The ripened standing grain was cut (usually by men) with hand sickles.

  2. The grain was bound (by men and women) into sheaves.

  3. The stalks of grain left behind were gathered (called "gleaning"). The gleanings were to be left to the poor.

  4. The sheaves were transported to the threshing floor.

  5. The grain was loosened from the straw (called "threshing") by the treading of cattle, the wheels of carts or toothed threshing sledges.

  6. The grain was tossed into the air with winnowing forks (called "winnowing") so that the wind blew away the straw and chaff, leaving the grain at the winnower's feet. The time of winnowing was also a time for celebration, since the task indicated that a successful harvest had been brought in.

  7. The grain was sifted to remove any foreign matter.

  8. The grain was bagged for transportation and storage, usually in silos.

  9. Using millstones, women ground the harvested grain into flour.


(3) So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And *as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.


*as it happened: There's no such thing as a coincidence when God is fitting things into His purposes (Romans 8:28). Was it just a coincidence that Rebecca was at the well when Abraham's servant arrived looking for a relative-bride for Isaac? Things don’t happen just by chance. They happen because there is a divine design. Accidents do happen, but they are not just accidents, for they are a part of God’s providence. God was holding her by the hand, and directing her to that field. She was going out wondering, "Where in the world am I going to glean? I don't know anyone around here." God was just leading all the way along. The significant point of the story is that she happened to pick the field which belonged to Boaz. The Hebrew says that she "chanced a chance" or "her chance chanced." There is a lesson here. It is that chance is not blind - its path is directed under the eyes of the Lord. God is not only concerned with kings and princes and great battles. He is also concerned with the mundane and the everyday happenstances. They are all within the realm of His plan.


   God is working behind the scenes, hidden from the eye. He is working behind the scenes for the good of His people. Boaz and Ruth and Naomi can’t see all of this, but we can. God is at work in the tapestry of your life even though the bottom has fallen out and dreams have shattered. God is involved in the day to day events in your life to accomplish His dreams for your life. When things go south, loved ones die, or when relationships end, and it seems that maybe we have been abandoned by God, rest assured that God is still working in our lives.


   Someday we may very well get to see the "tape" of our lives in heaven. And in heaven we'll see our life story completely differently. We'll realize that a conversation that seemed innocuous at the moment would lead to a significant outcome. We'll know that because we'll know the end of the story then. But God knows the end of the story right now. He is orchestrating things for us now, knowing what is important and what isn't. The perspective of the narrator here is the perspective God has on our lives at the moment. There is somebody who knows the future, even though we don't know it.


(4) While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said. “The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.


   Now Boaz does show many characteristics of a godly man. Just remember it's a time of spiritual declension and apostasy, the period of the Judges. But here's a man who's walking with God, who comes out and greets his servants by saying, "The Lord be with you!"


    What is striking about him is the way in which he related to his subordinates, to the little people in his life. When he came to the field, his first act was not to count or command or take inventory or direct. His first act was to bless his workers, to long for their spiritual health, and he received a blessing in return. He cared about the spiritual condition of the people around him. He loved God and he wanted others to love him.


   To Boaz, it was an ordinary day. He had no notion that he would meet anybody new or that anything unusual would happen. When he walked out to his workers, the first thing he did was call for the blessing of God in their lives. Boaz didn't know that this was the day when he would see for the first time the person who would be the center of the rest of his life. But he had a lifestyle of expecting God to use him to do good, and that created the opportunity. Do you see how the fingers of God had fashioned this man? He had been made ready to become a good husband, to have a good wife. He had been matured, and sensitized, fitted for the gift.


(5) Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”


    Boaz paid enough attention to the people under him that he could recognize a newcomer gleaning in the field. A selfish businessman would not have noticed the gleaners; he probably would resent them. But Boaz cared enough about people so that when he looked out on the field to bless his workers he noticed a new gleaner there. We can tell from his statements that he is immediately interested in her.


   Ruth didn't know that the two men, off in the distance, were talking about her. Boaz said to his foreman: "Who's that?" Without either of them knowing it, everything in Ruth's and Boaz's lives was going to change in just a moment. My wife and I often marvel at what great lengths God went to to bring us together.


(6) And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi.


(7) She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”


   The sheaves were handfuls of grain left behind the reaper and then gathered and bound, usually by children or women. The foreman is impressed with how hard she's been working.


(8) Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field.


   Boaz refers to her as "my daughter," indicating that he was considerably older than she. The female workers would come along behind those who cut the grain and bundle it up. Staying close to the female workers allowed Ruth to collect more grain than would normally be the case


(9) See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the *water they have drawn from the well.”


*water: While she had the right to gather left behind stalks, she did not have the right to drink from their well. Remember, that water is often a type of the Holy Spirit:

Isaiah 55:1: “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!

 John 4:10;4:13-14: Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” ... Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

John 7:37: On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!

Revelation 22:17: The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.


   Boaz had heard the story of Naomi returning with Ruth. What's happening here is that God is acting as the "matchmaker". If you've seen the play or movie "Fiddler on the Roof", you understand what I'm talking about.


(10) Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”


   There is nothing in the Law that says Boaz has to go to the lengths which he has gone. Her question is a legitimate one.


(11) “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers.


(12) May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”


   The Hebrew word translated "wings" here, kenapayim, reads "skirt" in 3:9 (See Deuteronomy 32:11; Psalm 36:7; 57:1; 91:4).


(13) “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”


(14) At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.


   Ruth must have stood apart from them, knowing that she was not entitled to eat with them. Perhaps now, we see the first hint of a romance. Boaz showed great kindness and favor to Ruth at mealtime. It would be enough to have just invited her, but he also invited her to share fully in the meal, even the privileged dipping. I wonder what they talked about!


(15) When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her.


(16) And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”


(17) So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire *basket.


*basket: an ephah of barley, about 5.5 gallons - at least a two-week supply for the two women.


Matthew 14:20: They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.


(18) She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.


(19) “Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!” So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”


(20) “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband. That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our *family redeemers.”


*family redeemers or kinsman-redeemer: The phrase "That man is one of our closest relatives" is literally, "He is our redeemer clan." It means that Boaz was, by virtue of his relationship with Elimelech, in the position to redeem the estate of Elimelech and to fulfill the duty of a kinsman redeemer (the go'el) by marrying Ruth.


Numbers 27:8-11: “And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. But if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”


(21) Then Ruth said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”


(22) “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”


(23) So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.



Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation of the Bible.



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Sunday, May 10, 2009

Ruth 1

  The Book of Ruth was put in its final form
after David became king in Hebron in 1011 B.C. since he is recognized
as a very important figure in the genealogy (4:17, 22). The writer may have been
Samuel or one of Samuel's contemporaries. That Solomon is not mentioned indicates that Solomon
had not yet come to the throne.


   In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Ruth does not appear after Judges. Instead,
it is found in the Writings as one of the five Megiloth ("Scrolls"),
each of which was read at one of the feasts of the nation of Israel:



  • Passover: Song of Solomon

  • Pentecost: Ruth

  • 9th of Ab (destruction of the first and second Temples, expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492): Lamentations

  • Feast of Tabernacles: Ecclesiastes

  • Purim: Esther 


Purpose of the Book:



  • Illustrates the purpose and role of the Kinsman-Redeemer and is prophetic of Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer. It is also prophetic of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

  • Ruth is a book about loyalty and love. The heroine of the story is Ruth and it is her loyalty to her mother-in-law as well as to the Lord which is featured. The word "love" is completely absent from the book of Ruth, though it is a story of love on several levels.

  • The book also has something to say regarding the missionary ministry which Israel was to have to the world. Ruth, a Moabitess, became the recipient of special blessings as she came to believe in the God of Naomi. This book teaches us that God is no respecter of persons.

  • This book highlights the genealogy of King David.

  • It also shows the reversal of the curse which had been laid on the people of Moab in Deuteronomy 23:3. There was a ten-generation curse placed upon the people of Moab and Ammon during the days of Moses because of their inhospitality toward Israel. There is no record of a Moabite or an Ammonite being accepted into the assembly of God’s people for the next 10 generations. But this changes with Ruth. She not only enters the assembly of God’s people, but she is also included in the royal line of David. Indeed, she is mentioned in the Messianic line of Matthew 1. The Talmudic states that the language of the 10-generation law only applies to Moabite and Ammonite men (Hebrew, like all Semitic languages, is gendered).

  • This is one of two books in the Bible that is named after a woman. There is an interesting contrast between Ruth and Esther:


Ruth:



  • A Gentile girl who married an Israelite.

  • "Built the house of Israel".

  • Her descendant was David, the King of Israel.

  • Rural setting.


Esther:



  • An Israelite girl who married a Gentile.

  • Saved the people of Israel.

  • She was married to the King of Persia.

  • A Royal Palace.


Elimelech Moves His Family to Moab.


(1) In the days when the *judges ruled in Israel, a severe **famine came upon the land. So a man from ***Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of ****Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him.



*judges: A 400 year period of general anarchy and oppression when the Israelites were not ruled by kings, but by periodic deliverers whom God raised up when the nation sought Him again. Notable among the Judges were Gideon, Samson, and Deborah. Each of these were raised up by God, not to rule as kings, but to lead Israel during a specific challenge, and then to go back to obscurity. The days when the Judges ruled were actually dark days for Israel; the period was characterized by the phrase everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1 and 21:25).


**famine: God specifically promised there would always be plenty in the land if Israel were obedient. God had promised the Israelites that if they departed from Him, He would discipline them by sending famine on the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 28).


***Bethlehem was about five miles southwest of Jerusalem. This is the town where David would be born (1 Samuel 16:1) and Jesus would be born (Micah 5:2, Mt 2:1; Lk 2:4; Jn 7:42). Bethlehem means house of bread or food, which is ironic since there was a famine. There, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 35:19; 48:7). Micah 5:2: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.


****Moab was the land east of the Dead sea. It was one of the nations that oppressed Israel during the period of the Judges. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot through his incestuous relations with his oldest daughter. Moab had refused the Israelites permission to pass through their land in the days of Moses. During the days of the Judges, the Moabites had invaded the territory of Israel until being driven out by Ehud. There is a lesson here. It is that God can use anyone. He loves to confuse the orthodox by using the kind of people we wouldn’t use. He brings a Messiah out of Nazareth, a King out of Bethlehem, disciples from a fishing boat and the Son of God from a rough-hewn cross.


(2) The man’s name was *Elimelech, and his wife was **Naomi. Their two sons were ***Mahlon and ****Kilion. They were *****Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.


*Elimelech means My God is king.


**Naomi means My pleasant one or my lovely one.


***Mahlon means sick.


****Kilion (Chilion) means pining or frail. Mahlon and Kilion may have been sickly because of the famine.


*****Ephrathites: Ephrath was the ancient name of Bethlehem.


(3) Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons.


   The two sons would have been able to support her. We're not told how old the sons were when they moved to Edom.


(4) The two sons *married Moabite women. One married a woman named **Orpah, and the other a woman named ***Ruth. But about ten years later,


*married Moabite women: Canaanite wives forbidden (Deuteronomy 7:3), but not Moabite wives. But, Moabite men were not allowed to worship at the Tabernacle because they didn't let the Israelites pass through their land during the Exodus from Egypt.


**Orpah: Probably Hind or Fawn.


***Ruth: Probably friend or companion. Not a Hebrew name.


(5) both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi *alone, without her two sons or her husband.


*alone: Even after ten years, her sons had no children! To be a childless widow was to be among the lowest, most disadvantaged classes in the ancient world. There was no one to support you, and you had to live on the generosity of strangers. Naomi had no family in Moab, and no one else to help her. It was a desperate situation. At least, in Israel, was some provision for widows.


   Here was a woman who had lost it all. People may have looked at her and said, "Your God must be judging you." But not all bad things happen as a result of punishment. God is working silently in the background to bring about His great purpose.


Naomi and Ruth Return


(6) Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland.


(7) With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.


(8) But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me.


   Naomi incorrectly believed that there was more hope for her daughters-in-law by staying in Moab than there was by going with her to God's chosen people.


(9) May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.


(10) “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.”


(11) But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands?


   See levirate marriage Genesis 38:8-11, Deuteronomy 25:5-10, Matthew 22:23-26. Levirate marriage was the practice of a single brother marrying his deceased brother's widow to father children who would carry on the dead brother's name.


(12) No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what?


(13) Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the *Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”


*Lord himself has raised his fist against me: Possibly, she felt that the calamity which came upon her family came because they were disobedient in leaving the Promised Land of Israel and marrying their sons to Moabite women.


(14) And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth *clung tightly to Naomi.


*clung: The Hebrew word for "clung to" is dabaq, which elsewhere refers to the ideal closeness that can be experienced in a marriage relationship. Ruth determined to stick to her mother-in-law as closely as a husband would cleave to his wife.


(15) “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her *gods. You should do the same.”


*gods: Chemosh was the god of the Moabites, the demon god who was worshipped by burning children in his honor.


(16) But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.


   Naomi’s relationship with God made an impact on Ruth. This is striking, because Naomi did not have an easy life. She had been widowed, had lost both her sons, and believed that she had caused each calamity by her husband's disobedience. Yet she still honored and loved the Lord. People should be able to look at your life, just as Ruth looked at Naomi’s, and say “I want your God to be my God.” Your trust in God, and turning towards Him in tough times, will often be the thing that draws others to the Lord.


   Ruth discovered in marrying into the family of Elimelech that there was one God in heaven, the Creator of all, who had made a covenant with his people, who loved them, who gave laws that were honorable and brought out the best in human beings. And Ruth went from darkness to light. She is grateful enough to have heard the truth about God that nothing else is as important as that. All of her conviction in life is that this truth is so valuable that she will not lose it under any circumstances, and her only life line is Naomi. So she says to her, "If you are going back to your people, I am going with you!"


(17) Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”


   The place of a person's grave in ancient Near Eastern life was very significant (See Genesis 23; 25:9-10; 50:1-14, 24-25; Joshua 24:32). It identified the area he or she considered his or her true home. So when Ruth said she wanted to die and be buried where Naomi was, she was voicing her strong commitment to the people, land, and God of Naomi.


(18) When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.


(19) So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.


   It was a long walk from Moab to Bethlehem, and the trip was mostly uphill.


(20) “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me *Mara, for the **Almighty has made life very bitter for me.


*Mara: Naomi means pleasant; Mara means bitter. Naomi used this to tell the people of Bethlehem that her time away from Israel, her time away from the God of Israel, had not been pleasant - it was bitter.


**Almighty: Shaddai. She blames the tragedy on God. We tend to blame God for our tragedies. For some Christians, through their suffering, there has been a depth of character developed that is unparalleled by others who have never experienced suffering or sorrow. Out of suffering, out of sorrow, the roots can go deep into God and the life can become beautiful, and strong, and powerful. Or you can root into bitterness and your life becomes bitter and tight, and tense. It's tragic when a person gives himself over to bitterness. It's all in how you look at the situation. I can look at it and I can become bitter and say, "If God loved me then why did He allow that to happen to me?" Or I can say, "Well, the Lord has given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord! All things work together for good, and God has a plan and He loves me, and I know that He's watching over me. It is God working out His plan for my life.


(21) I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”


   Naomi knew that the tragedy that came into her life was not because of fate, chance, or blind fortune. She felt the tragedies were an example of God’s affliction because she could not see the end of His plan. But she knew there was a sovereign God of heaven, and didn’t think she had just run into a string of “bad luck.” We can imagine one of the villagers asking, “Naomi, if God has dealt very bitterly with you, if the Lord has brought you home empty, if the Lord has testified against you, then why have you come back?” And she would have said, “Because I want to get right with Him again. Things have been terrible, and the answer isn’t in going further from God, but in drawing closer to Him.”


(22) So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the *barley harvest.


*barley harvest - therefore, at the Feast of Pentecost. Barley is typically harvested a month prior to the wheat harvest. Barley was cheaper than wheat. It was used for the feeding of animals. It was also eaten by the poor.


   It would have been easy for Naomi to focus on what she had lost. She had lost a husband, two sons, and one daughter-in-law. She had lost all kinds of material possessions. All she had left was one daughter-in-law, Ruth. But through that one thing she had left, God was going to bring unbelievable blessing into her life. It will make a difference not only in her life, but in the life of Ruth - and in the destiny of the nation Israel - and in our eternal salvation.


   This summary verse not only concludes chapter 1 but also prepares the reader for the remaining scenes of the story. Naomi had left Bethlehem pleasant but returned bitter. She had left with Elimelech, one source of blessing in her life, but returned with Ruth who would become another source of blessing for her. She had left during a famine, but she returned to Bethlehem (lit. house of bread, the place of blessing) at the beginning of harvest.



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