The Lord of the Harvest - Ruth 3:1-18

Naomi is now a different person. She’s put away her bitterness and her selfishness, and now she’s concerned for others, especially for her daughter-in-law Ruth. Naomi’s supreme desire now is that Ruth might have a happy future, and that means getting a husband and settling down. 

Ruth 3:1-7: Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have finished eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

Naomi knew that there was a way to solve their problems and to put their lives together, and the answer was Boaz. Naomi gave Ruth a plan, and in order for this plan to work, Ruth had to fulfill some definite conditions. Now if you want to put your life together, you’ve got to fulfill these same conditions in a spiritual way. What Ruth did that night physically, you and I have to do spiritually. 

First of all, we must have the right purpose. Now what was the purpose for all of this? To establish a lasting relationship with Boaz. You see, in Ruth 1, Ruth did not even know that Boaz existed. In Ruth 2, she met him, but she met him as her benefactor. He was feeding her and he was protecting her. Then she discovered at the end of Ruth 2 that Boaz was really a relative of hers, a near kinsman through her husband. Now she wants to establish a permanent relationship, not with a benefactor just to get his gifts, but with a bridegroom to share his life and his love. You see, too many Christians want to put their lives together just to escape problems. Too many Christians want to put their lives together just to get blessings and benefits. The right purpose that Naomi and Ruth had in mind is the purpose we must have: to establish a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just a friendship, not just receiving His blessings, His protection, and His provision—no, we want to establish a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, the thing that causes our trouble is our lack of relationship to Jesus Christ, not walking with Him as closely as we should walk. You see, Ruth in entering into this deeper relationship with Boaz gets not only the gifts, but she also gets the giver. Now that’s the important thing. If all you want are the gifts that God has for you, then you never will really put your life together. But if you want the giver, the giver of every good and perfect gift, then things can change. We must have the right purpose. 

Secondly, we must go to the right person. Now there were many other people that Ruth could have fallen in love with and could have married. In fact, there were some young men who were looking after her and they were interested in her. Ruth 3:10, we’re told that there were young men, rich and poor, who were interested in Ruth. She was young, she was attractive. She had trusted the God of Israel, so she was a believer, and others certainly would have liked to marry her. But only Boaz is the one that God had for her. Boaz was the redeemer. You see, he was a near kinsman. It was important that the redeemer be a near kinsman, that he be able to redeem. Not only Jesus Christ can redeem us. The right person to dedicate your life to is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our near kinsman. He came to this earth and took upon Himself a human body. He became man, He became a servant, then He became sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is able to redeem us because He can pay the price, and what is that price? His own precious blood. Is He willing to redeem us? Certainly He is. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And so Jesus Christ is the right person. 

There’s a third condition that we must meet: we must make the right preparation. Naomi told Ruth exactly how to prepare for this encounter. By the way, Ruth’s actions were not improper. Some people read into this all kinds of immorality and this is wrong. This was the custom in this day. She was not being improper in any way. I think that what Naomi told her to do in Ruth 3:3 has a spiritual application to us: Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor. What Naomi was saying to Ruth was to take off your widow’s garments. You’ve been wearing these widow’s garments long enough, now take them off. We’re not going to live in the past, we’re going to live in the future. Wash thyself. I have a reference written in the margin of my Bible to 2 Corinthians 7:1: Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, and let’s perfect holiness in the fear of God. Let us cleanse ourselves. It’s one thing to say "wash me," but it’s quite something else for us to wash ourselves. Let’s put the sin out of our lives. Let’s get rid of all of these things that are grieving God and let’s anoint ourselves with the fragrance of the Holy Spirit of God and present ourselves at the feet of Jesus. Put away things out of your library, out of your home, out of your life that don’t belong there, and then come and put yourself at the feet of your Boaz, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

And now condition number four: we must be at the right place. Four times in this passage we read "his feet": in Ruth 3:4, in Ruth 3:7, Ruth 3:8, and then down in Ruth 3:14. Where was she to go? At the feet of the kinsman-redeemer. This was the place of total submission. Now Ruth had been at his feet before when she met him in the field and he was so kind to her. She had been at his feet to thank him for his gifts, but now she’s going to come to his feet to present herself to him. This is Romans 12:1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. In Ruth 2, Boaz came to Ruth, but in Ruth 3, Ruth goes to Boaz. In Ruth 2, Ruth falls at his feet because he is so kind to her, but now in Ruth 3 she comes to his feet because she wants him, not his gifts. She wants him. She wants to blend her life with his life, and all that he is and all that he has would become hers. She had to come to the right place and put herself at the feet of the Lord of the harvest, Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer. And she had to do this by faith. Now she didn’t know what the future would hold. Naomi said to her in Ruth 3:4: uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. I imagine that evening it was rather chilly outside, and when she uncovered his feet, he began to notice it. But when it came to doing what was supposed to be done, he didn’t have cold feet at all. He took care of the matter and he did it rather swiftly. 

Now how is he going to respond? What is he going to do for her? This event, you see, was the turning point in the whole story. From this point out, it is Boaz who is busy. All Ruth has to do is wait to see what Boaz is going to do. She trusts his word. But Boaz suddenly awakened at midnight and he discovered there was a woman at his feet. 

We read the account in Ruth 3 beginning at Ruth 3:8: And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was startled, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning. And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could recognize another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. Also he said, Bring the cloak that thou hast upon thee, and hold it out. And when she had held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, How hast thou fared, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law. Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

What Ruth did that night she did by faith, trusting in the grace of God. And what Boaz did he did by grace and in love, because grace always responds to faith and love always responds to submission. Boaz is, of course, a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so what Boaz did for Ruth illustrates what our Lord does for us when we put ourselves at His feet. 

There are three responses recorded here. When you yield yourself to the Lord and put yourself at His feet, these are the responses that you can expect. First, He accepts you. You see, Ruth was an outsider. And according to Ephesians 2, she had absolutely no claim on any of the promises that God had given to Israel. She was a Gentile. Worse than that, a hated Moabite. She was an alien. She had no claim to the covenants that God had given to Israel. But what did she do? She trusted the God of Israel. She put her faith in the Lord. "Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God," she said in Ruth 1:16. Ruth 2:12, Boaz said to her, "The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust." Where are these wings? In the Tabernacle. Because there in the Holy of Holies you had the cherubim with their overshadowing wings. And so when Ruth put her faith in the living God, she moved into the Holy of Holies, and now she knew the God of Israel. It’s interesting to note in Ruth 3:9 when she said, "spread therefore thy skirt over me," she was saying to him, actually, "spread therefore thy wing over me." It’s the same word that is used back in Ruth 2:12. In other words, if he accepts all of this arrangement, he would just put his cloak over her. This was his way of saying, "I am accepting you." He not only accepted her, but he blessed her. Ruth 3:10: "Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter." Now when you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, when you put yourself at His feet, He accepted you. He put His wing over you. You are no longer an outsider, an alien, a stranger. You are no longer living without hope and without God. When you trust Him, when you put yourself at His feet, He responds by accepting you. You are accepted in Jesus Christ. You’re not accepted in your own merit, your own works, your own character. The Lord Jesus Christ accepts you when you yield yourself to Him. 

There’s a second response that He gives. He not only accepts you, but He assures you. In Ruth 3:11: "And now, my daughter, fear not." That’s one of the great statements. Fear not. Here she has put herself at the feet of the Lord of the harvest and he says to her, "now don’t be afraid." If today you find yourself fearing, then the only thing to do is to start falling—falling at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you put yourself at His feet, you grow in this loving relationship that takes away fear. How do we know that we don’t have to be afraid? Because we have His promises. The word of God drives out the fear that’s in our hearts. And so He calms our fears. 

Now the Lord sometimes works for us and sometimes He works in us and sometimes He works through us to solve our problems. This was a problem Ruth could not solve herself. Naomi could not solve it. Only Boaz could solve it. He says, "I will keep my promises, I will solve your problems, and I will meet your needs." He said don’t go back to Naomi empty-handed. I think there’s a little bit of humor here, because Naomi had complained that she’d come home empty. And the word had gotten out that Naomi’s name was now Mara—bitter. And she was bitter because her hands were empty. And I think that Boaz smiled a little bit when he said, "Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law." In other words, here’s a down payment on all of the wealth you are going to have. Don’t worry about a thing because I am going to meet all of your needs. 

And so when you yield yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, He accepts you and He assures you. And thirdly, He assists you. Now we find Boaz working for Ruth. You see, in Ruth 2, Ruth was working for Naomi. And in Ruth 3, Ruth is working for Boaz, but now Boaz is going to start working for Ruth. Ruth has been out there in that field and she’s been gleaning and picking up the grain. And now he says to her, "you just calm down because I am going to go work for you." You know our Boaz in heaven is working for us. On the cross He finished the work of salvation, and now up in heaven He is working on our behalf. He intercedes for us. He’s praying for us. He’s building our lives. He’s working in us and working for us. In all of His praying, in all of His providence, He’s building a home for us. He is preparing tomorrow for you. He assists us when we put ourselves at His feet. 

The Lord Jesus finishes whatever He starts. "Being confident of this very thing, that he that hath begun a good work in you will perform it," complete it, "until the day of Jesus Christ." Now Boaz was faithful to keep his word. Boaz had all of the resources necessary to do what needed to be done. And just as soon as it was daylight, he found his way to the city gate. He waited for the people to show up, he waited for the other kinsman to arrive, and he began the proceedings to do two things: number one, to redeem the property and number two, to redeem Ruth. 

So don’t be afraid to put yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t be afraid to yield yourself to Him. He is the Lord of the harvest. He is the wealthy Boaz, the mighty man, who has all of the resources necessary to put your life back together again. When that sun came up that morning, it was the dawning of a new day for Ruth. And she went back home with ten days' supply of grain. She starts off her career by picking up the leftovers, by gleaning in the field, and then they start giving to her handfuls on purpose. But now the Lord of the harvest gave her about two bushels of grain—a heavy burden she was able to carry it. He was simply saying to her, "don’t be afraid, don’t worry. I have accepted you, I have assured you, and now I am going to assist you." 

That’s the message you need today. Put yourself at the feet of the Lord of the harvest. You see, in Ruth 1, Ruth and Naomi were reaping what they had sowed, and that’s a sad thing. Now she’s starting to reap what Boaz has sown and that’s a blessed thing. Do you want to reap what you have sown or what He has prepared for you? All of us are in the harvest field—everyone of us—either reaping what we have sown and paying for our sin, or reaping what He has planted for us. Put yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will accept you—the past is gone. He will assure you—no need to be afraid in the present. He will assist you—the future is under His control. He is the Lord of the harvest. Put yourself at His feet and trust in Him.