The Little Gleaner Part 78

My 8, 5, 4, 11, one of the twelve tribes.

My 9, 3, 7, 6, a son of Issachar.

My 10, 5, 12, the son of Zephaniah.

My 11, 14, 2, 6, 5, 8, the surname of Jacob.

My 12, 3, 1, 10, a city threatened with a plague.

My 13, 11, 10, 3, 12, a river of Eden.

My 14, 11, 4, 6, 12, a Jewish month.

My whole is a precept given by an Apostle to a Christian Church.

THOMAS TYLER (Aged 13 years).

_Potton, Beds._

HOP PICKING.--THE LAST POLE.

(_Frontispiece to Volume._)

The LITTLE GLEANER no doubt is read and welcomed as well by the aged and middle-aged as the young, for whom it is especially intended. In the southern counties, the readers of the LITTLE GLEANER, of all ages, are more or less familiar with "the last pole." In the counties more north, where we hope the LITTLE GLEANER is read with equal interest, many dear children have never seen that lovely and charming sight of Nature in cultivation, the hop garden. To us who, by the hand of Providence, are located in these hop-growing districts, the hop gardens in the months of August and September are always interesting, and share largely in our love and admiration for the products of Nature and industry combined.

For the information of those not so familiar as ourselves with the hop plant under cultivation, we would say that many hundreds of poor people find employment for a few weeks in the autumn at hop picking, by which they are able to earn a little money, which is useful in helping them to pay their rent and provide the necessaries of life. This time is looked forward to, year by year, with deep interest by such.

Among the customs and ceremonies of the hop gardens, at the time of picking, or gathering, there is generally a little ceremony in pulling and picking the last pole. In September, 1886, the writer of these lines was one of the pickers in a very lovely hop garden in Kent, and witnessed the pulling down of many thousands of these heavily-laden hop poles, in all their fresh and lively beauty. But lo and behold! it came not only to the last day, and the last hill (or stool of three poles), but to the last pole, which was selected beforehand, and remained standing until all the others were picked. Then comes the master himself, and takes down this last pole, amid the waving of hats, and shouts of "Hurrah! Hurrah!" But was this all? No, no! There were sad hearts that sighed as they remembered the days of adversity endured by them, and as they wondered what was to be their next employment, and how their table was to be supplied during the coming winter, should it not be their turn to be gathered in like the poles that had pa.s.sed under their hands. But one poor, trembling heart among the rest could not help thinking of that last great day, when the last stone of that great temple not made with hands should be carried up with shouts of "Grace, grace unto it!" and the following lines came softly into the mind--

"The moon and stars shall lose their light; The sun shall sink in endless night; Both heaven and earth shall pa.s.s away; The works of Nature all decay.

"But they who in the Lord confide, And shelter in His wounded side, Shall see the danger overpast, Stand every storm, and live at last."

What! those poor bruised reeds who fear that they shall never hold up their heads again--shall they outlive the moon? Shall they outshine the sun?

However, let us return to our subject--the last pole--and reflect.

"We, like the crowded poles, all stand, And all are sure to fall; The dog and hook[13] are in G.o.d's hand, And soon will reach us all."

[13] In hop gardens these are instruments used by those who lift the poles.--ED.

Yes, my dear young readers, whatever may be those delightsome games of which you are so fond, the last game will soon come. Yea, how soon will be the end of all our earthly pleasures none of us can tell. If we look forward to any day or time of some kind of pleasure, it may seem to approach us very slowly, but how soon do we look behind us, and say, "Alas! that too has gone, never, never more to return."

In like manner also we miss a dear brother or dear sister, a friend, schoolmate, or teacher; perhaps a dear, loving mother or father. "Ah!"

we say, "they will never return again." Sometimes we reflect with sorrow upon some unkind words or actions towards them--some pain and grief that we caused them. Perhaps we were too proud or too stubborn to ask their forgiveness while they were with us, so we let the sun go down upon our wrath, and now we can never forgive ourselves. Though they are gone, we see them still--

"We see their smiles, we see their tears; The grave can never hide them; A few more days, or months, or years, A few more sighs, a few more tears, And we shall lie beside them."

Seeing that it is quite uncertain which of us will be the next to have our earthly ties cut, and all our bloom and beauty stripped off, may I ask my dear young friends what are their thoughts on the subject?

Whether it is pa.s.sed over with indifference, presuming you shall be as well off in the end as other people, or are there moments when thoughts arise like these--"Oh, if death should overtake me as I am--so careless, so unconcerned, so thoughtless, and yet unpardoned! Oh, if my name should be left out--and how can I expect anything else--so prayerless as I am, for the most part, and my performance so unlike prayer when I do make the attempt? Oh, if I could but know that the dear Lord had a favour towards me! Why, if all the world were mine, I would lay it all down this minute to be sure that Jesus died for me"? And is there sometimes a little thought stealing from thine heart, and a tear like a drop of the morning dew trickling from thine eye, which says, "Oh, if ever I should be able to say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul,' how I should leap for joy to be thus quite sure of being the Lord's"? Then, if this is your feeling after Christ Jesus, I will tell you how it will be with you some day. The Lord, who has said, "Seek, and ye shall find," will give you the desire of your heart, even pardon and peace through faith in His blood, and at last--

"When shivering in the arms of death, When friends shall watch thy parting breath, Though then thy lips can no more speak, Though deathly paleness clads thy cheek, Glory shall fill thy soul."

T. G.

OUR BIBLE CLa.s.s.

GLEANINGS FROM THE BOOK OF RUTH.

The Book of Ruth is supposed to have been written in the reign of her great-grandson, perhaps by his own pen. It is a beautifully interesting story. As a fragment of history, it is connected with the birth of David and of David's Lord. As a record of G.o.d's providence, it shows how "all things work together for good to them that love G.o.d, to them who are the called according to His purpose."

The two chief personages in this Book, the hero and heroine of the narrative, are Boaz, the near kinsman of Naomi, "the mighty man of wealth" in Bethlehem, and Ruth, the Moabitess, the stranger and foreigner, who left her own people and her father's false G.o.ds, and came to put her trust beneath the shadow of Jehovah's wings.

We will look at the hero first, because, though the Book is called by Ruth's name, all her honour was derived from her connection with Israel, the chosen nation, to which Boaz naturally belonged, and because, as we think of his riches, his faithfulness, and his kindness, we cannot help exclaiming, "Surely a Greater than Boaz is here!" He was the near kinsman of Naomi's husband, and the same Hebrew word is called "redeemer" (Job xix. 25). And how often we speak of Jesus as "the Redeemer," who "gave Himself a Ransom for many." The ancient "goel," or "near kinsman," had many important rights and responsibilities. Abraham was nearly related to Lot, and when the latter was taken prisoner, his uncle took all his servants with him and went to the rescue, because he was his near kinsman, and he redeemed him by conquest, through the help of G.o.d, in whom he trusted (Gen. xiv.).

If a man of Israel died, leaving no children to take his property, his "near kinsman," if unmarried, was expected to marry the widow, and the children that they might have afterwards were to be called by the name and take the lands of the first husband.

If a Hebrew became poor, and sold his land--or, still worse, sold himself for a slave--his kinsman was expected to redeem him and his possessions if he could (Lev. xxv. 25, 47-49).

Thus Boaz, as Naomi's kinsman, redeemed her inheritance, and married the childless widow of her son Chilion, the woman who was no longer to be called a stranger and a foreigner, but a fellow-subject of Israel's G.o.d and King.

So Jesus--who redeemed His Church, His bride, His people, and secured to them the rich inheritance they had lost by sin--was, and is, the Near Kinsman of His beloved ones. They were, and always will be, "a people near unto Him" (Psa. cxlviii. 14). His own kindred He called them when He came to redeem them (Matt. xii. 50). His Father loved them, and He loved them also, and the kindness of G.o.d the Saviour was shown when He came down from heaven for their sakes. "Kindness!" Sweet word! It means the act of a kinsman, and G.o.d's kindness is "loving-kindness," the sweetest description we can possibly have of the tender pity and grace of the Lord.

But the kindness shown by Boaz was only a dim shadow of the love of the "Great Redeemer from above." He did not make much sacrifice apparently when he purchased Naomi's inheritance and made Ruth his wife, but "ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich."

And more, far more, than this--He suffered scorn, and shame, and death itself--the bitterest of deaths. He gave Himself--He laid down the life that was so dear to Himself, so precious to His Father--that He might redeem, buy them back to G.o.d by His blood. He endured their punishment, He paid their debts, and then, since Satan had made them his slaves, like Abraham, Jesus fought for His kindred, only He fought alone. He conquered the strong one, and set the captives free, and Satan still must yield up his prey at Christ's command. The Redeemer ever proves Himself "mighty to save" those for whom He died.

Then Ruth furnishes us with a striking picture of one who is seeking Jesus.

She was not a native of the promised land--not born of Israelitish parents. She reminds us of what Paul says--we all are, as sinners, "children of disobedience," "children of wrath," "far from G.o.d by wicked works." But a change came over her mind and spirit. "The Lord opened her heart to attend unto the things spoken" by Naomi. A new, a heavenly light dawned upon her, and she saw the evil of idolatry and sin--the beauty of holiness and G.o.d--so that, like Moses, she "chose rather to suffer affliction with His people than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." She would sooner "lodge" with Naomi in poverty, than dwell in comfort among her former companions; and before she thought of being enriched and made happy by Boaz, she had "chosen that good part"

which shall never be taken away from those who seek and find it.

The diligent shall be made prosperous, and Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz before she knew anything of the relationship he bore to her late husband's family. She was not ashamed to labour as a poor and needy woman, and she gained a good supply of corn from her work by the special favour of Boaz.

There is a remarkable little word connected with her choice of that field. It was her "hap" to light upon it--a word not very often found in the Bible, which always traces everything, great or small, to the will and permission of G.o.d. Yet this syllable of three letters came "of purpose" into the record, and teaches us that all the "accidents" of our lives, pleasant as well as painful, are directed and overruled by the Lord. Things "come to pa.s.s," and we are filled with wonder, but it is because "He doeth all things well."

About thirty years ago, one Sabbath morning, a group of youths were starting from Clerkenwell, intending to spend the day gathering blackberries in Highgate Woods. It so happened that a dispute arose just outside the chapel where my late dear Pastor preached, and one lad refused to go any further with his companions. To while away the time he peeped into the chapel just as the hymn, "When Thou, my righteous Judge, shalt come," was being given out, and he ventured to slip into a seat in the gallery. He was so much impressed by what he heard that he came again, was savingly converted to G.o.d, was baptized, and remained for many years an honourable member of the Church. His "hap was to light upon" a field of Gospel corn, and he received a rich blessing, but his steps, like Ruth's, were directed by the Lord.[14]

[14] From the "Memoir of the late Mr. John Hazelton."

And we learn the benefit of wise, Christian counsel. Ruth needed Naomi very much, poor and lonely though she was. From her she learned the good news of the rich man's kinship; from her she received instructions how to act so as to ensure his protection and care. Her conduct, strange as it would be to-day, was in those early times quite in harmony with the behaviour of a virtuous, modest woman, but it has its chief charm when we see in it a picture of one who is seeking Jesus.

Some dear Christian friend, like Naomi, encourages and instructs the youthful seeker by telling of the love and grace of the Saviour, and saying, as a beloved minister once said to a young person, "I cannot give you the blessing; _He_ can." Naomi wanted the help of Boaz as well as Ruth, and all G.o.d's people, old or young, strong or weak, need and crave the loving care of Jesus, but it is a privilege and joy to commend one another to Him, and tell of His goodness and grace "who is rich unto all that call upon Him."

In seeking Ruth's happiness Naomi found her own great joy (see chap. iv.

14). In dutiful consideration for Naomi, Ruth obtained a hundred-fold more than she could ever have hoped to find, as an honoured wife and mother favoured with both earthly and heavenly prosperity. Those who honour G.o.d He will honour. Those who water others shall be watered themselves. May we receive from the Lord that spirit of love which seeks the welfare of others, and the glory of G.o.d, as well as our own happiness.