At His Feet

So she lay at his feet until the morning but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. Ruth 3: 14-15(ESV)

There was Ruth, once married but now widowed. Once provided for but now on her own. Once protected but now exposed. And where we enter into God’s story in Ruth’s life, we have a front-row seat to observe faith lived out, ones will be surrendered, and a sacredness that comes as burdens are laid at the Redeemer’s feet. In Ruth’s life, there is a beautiful story of redemption, rescue, and rest. It is so rich that you may just want to go grab a cup of tea, find a comfortable chair, and relax into the love story between one redeemer and one who needs redemption.

The first six words, “So she lay at his feet,” (Ruth 3:14) captured my attention. Ruth’s journey to his feet was one of hardship, pain, and suffering. The uncertainty of her future stared at her daily but in the story, we do not see Ruth fretting, nor weeping out of despair or anxious about tomorrow. Rather we watch her hard at work in the fields gleaning the grain left behind from the harvesters and then we watch as she lays surrendered at her future redeemer’s feet in total submission. The more I learned about Ruth the more in awe I became of not only the woman she was but of how God was so faithful in her life. Ruth was known to be a woman of noble character (Ruth 3:11). She demonstrated steadfast loyalty towards Naomi (Ruth 1). We watch her walk by faith and not by sight as she journeyed to a foreign land and people with Naomi (Ruth 1). Ruth did not let pride or possible criticism get in her way from gleaning the leftovers from the harvesters. Nor did she shy away from following the directions of Naomi to go and lay at Boaz’s feet to seek redemption through marriage.

I personally love puzzles, and in the story of Ruth, we see various puzzle pieces come into place as the Lord places them in order one piece at a time. The first piece is about how Ruth finds herself working in one of Boaz’s fields (Ruth 2:3). The next piece was about being noticed and known in Boaz’s fields, as the widowed Moabite who followed Naomi back to Bethlehem (Ruth 2:5-6). Another piece was in how Boaz greeted the harvesters (including Ruth) with a message of “The Lord be with you.” And as the puzzle slowly takes form, we see sections of provision through the gleaning of gain (Ruth 2:8-9) coming into clarity. We see compassion extended as her redeemer invites her to come dine with him (Ruth 2:14). And through it all, the ultimate Redeemer was working the final parts of the puzzle by bringing the pieces of not only Ruth’s current needs for food but for her future needs of redemption and protection.

In the end when all the puzzle pieces were in place what we see is a picture of what is true for us all, a picture of one Redeemer who came to this earth to rescue, redeem, and set free His children. The story of Ruth and Boaz gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to live a life of unforced rhythm of grace with our Redeemer.

Maybe your life story is similar to Ruth’s where you are grieving the loss of your spouse and trying to pick up the pieces of life. Or maybe your story is far from Ruth’s story and is well-taken care of but feel lost, and a foreigner in your own land seeking to be known and noticed. No matter your story, your Redeemer has a message for you. Are you ready to come to His feet and lay down your life, your will, your burdens and receive the message from your Redeemer that you are accepted, known, and loved as His royal daughter?