Ruth 2:4, Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the Lord be with you." And they said to him, "May the Lord bless you." 
	In this morning’s text, we see the greeting that was established by the Lord for the benefit of His people. It is one that might have been casually spoken in the course of many people’s habits. It was a customary statement of greeting or salutation. Many of us will use a great many word phrases, such as this, without any true consideration of what we are saying and what it means before the Lord. 
An example is when we say “God bless you” when people sneeze. Are we really asking the Lord to bless the one upon whom we have spoken this statement, or is it just what we are trained to say in response to such a happenstance? How much is really invoked in our customary and casually spoken words before man that should rather be a considered and measured statement of truth and reality in our heart before God? What has become merely habit or custom has brought low the full measure of the holiness and the awesomeness and the splendor and power of the Lord God Almighty. 
Let us follow the course of what this greeting between Boaz and the reapers entailed in the measured manner of what is before us this morning. Please turn back in our Bibles to Num 6:24-27. It is here that this greeting’s basis and fundamental reality is put before man by Jehovah in His instruction to Moses. This was to so bless the people whom God had rescued from slavery. 
They were being taught in the ways of the Lord as the nation of Israel was being prepared for entrance into the Promised Land. God was showing them the tremendous blessing that He was to them in all their care and feeding. He is Jehovah Jirah, the Only Living Lord God Almighty Who met their every need. 
Everything that they had, every step they took, every morsel of food that they ate, every refreshing sip of water they drank, every protection necessary, every victory over their enemies, every aspect of their journey was all the manifestation of the Hand of God in action on their behalf. His pillar of smoke and fire went before them in the course of showing them when to go forward and when to stay in their encampment. This was until the Lord was fully satisfied with their preparation in His perfect timing to conquer the land before them.
That is when God, Himself, taught them even the words that they were to speak and the blessing that they were to invoke upon those so honored. Num 6:24-27, The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.' "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them." 
	There is embedded in this declaration the fact that God will bless those upon whom this pronouncement is voiced. It is not just a ritualistic means of greeting a wanderer on the road. It is not just to be spoken carelessly and incautiously. It means something! It is not to be diminished or dismissed as just words that have no true basis of reality. 
	When the Lord’s name is invoked, it should be with honor and with reverence and with the full knowledge as to Whom we are regarding in the offering of His blessing unto another. This honor and reverence and consideration should become instilled as important. It is something that we do not just dandy around without regard and without the proper honor set into our heart for the use of the Lord’s working power and blessing to be forthcoming.
	It seems evident, in the course of our reading of this book of Ruth, that the greeting and the response were genuinely offered. The heart of Boaz is revealed in the manner of his faithful dealings with others. It is evident with the course of the required steps of honoring the Lord and His ordinances which indicate that Boaz was very concerned about how he dealt with others. He did not short cut anything. As we will see, he did all that was required in order to fulfill all the obligations that were necessary to eventually marry Ruth with the full blessing of the Lord’s provision and grace and mercy. 
There was an honest and reverent manner in Boaz that is on display throughout this Book. His attitude and demeanor declare that when He made the statement "May the Lord be with you", it meant something to him! He was fully intending that the Lord would be with those workers in his field. 
Their response of "May the Lord bless you" also seems to carry the full weight of their desire for the Lord to bless Boaz. It might have been selfish on their part because it meant that they would continually have work while the Lord’s blessing was upon Boaz, but it was meant nonetheless. 
Their response could also be that manner of indicating that they were very blessed to be working for Boaz. Again, his treatment of Ruth is indicative of how he treated others. He must have been a good man for whom to work. He took care of those in need and his heart was soft to the plight of others. It is probably not too far off the mark to think that Boaz treated his workers with kindness and with respect and with generosity. This would elicit an honest response from them when He so offered the beneficence of the Lord’s presence and blessing upon them.
We can see the honesty of his heart given in the manner of his choice of wording as it was directed to Ruth in Ruth 3:10. Ruth 3:10, Then he said, "May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 
He highlighted the virtues of this widow in the course of asking that the Lord would bless her. She was following in the manner of her adoption of Jehovah as her God. Accordingly, she was faithful to that which would honor God and would honor her love for Naomi. Not only did she live in agreement with the way in which she was directed by Naomi, as before the Lord, but she took care of her mother-in-law as if she were her very own mother. She did everything in the course of her strength and obedience and love to provide for Naomi with every fiber of her ability. 
Therefore, when Boaz pronounced this blessing upon her, it was as much for her faithfulness before God as it was for Boaz’s heart of caring for her. Ruth elicited this blessing in the course of the life that was being evidenced in her continuous concern and dedication to Jehovah. This was substantiated in how she was actively showing that she now belonged to the nation of the Lord God Almighty. 
  This is the way in which we are all called to so honor our commitment and our consecration as the people of God. The Psalmist brought this to the forefront of what is before us in this calling forth for the Lord to bless those who belong to Him. Please turn to Ps 118:24-29
	Ps 118:24-29, This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O Lord, do save, we beseech Thee; O Lord, we beseech Thee, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I give thanks to Thee; Thou art my God, I extol Thee. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 
	Notice the reverence and the awe of the Lord that is inherent within the heart of the Psalmist. This should be the core of the worship and the adoration and the praise of the people of God. There is also that reality in which we gather together for the express purpose of blessing the Lord as He has so blessed us. We are not to be lax or lazy in the means of our worship. We are to be prepared and purposeful as we come before Yahweh. We will receive His blessing upon us, but it will be the reciprocal measure of the blessing with which He is blessed in the lives and the hearts of those who so cherish and adore Him.
	The Psalmist further proclaims this as in Ps 144. No matter how much trial and tribulation and persecution we face on this earth, as did the people of God over and over and over again, there is that surety of the Lord having His hand upon us. In that, we are fully blessed! The whole world may be in turmoil around us, but we have the Omnipotent and Omnipresent and Omniscient Lord of Hosts as our Defender and Keeper. Accordingly we are to bless Him with all our hearts as He so blesses us with all the bounty of Heaven.
Ps 144, Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer; My shield and He in whom I take refuge; Who subdues my people under me. O Lord, what is man, that Thou dost take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that Thou dost think of him? Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow. Bow Thy heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains, that they may smoke. Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Send out Thine arrows and confuse them. Stretch forth Thy hand from on high; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, Out of the hand of aliens Whose mouths speak deceit, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. I will sing a new song to Thee, O God; Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to Thee, Who dost give salvation to kings; Who dost rescue David His servant from the evil sword. Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hand of aliens, Whose mouth speaks deceit, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace; Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce, And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; Let our cattle bear, Without mishap and without loss, Let there be no outcry in our streets! How blessed are the people who are so situated; How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! 
	The Prophet Jeremiah, as in Jer 31:23, then picks up the refrain of how we are to fully consider the manner in which we proclaim the blessing of the Lord upon others. There is to be a sovereign solemnity in terms of knowing that what we speak upon the heads of others is for the good work of the Lord to be manifested in their lives. As the Lord reveals the goodness of Himself, we will so respond with the desire that others come to know Him in the manner in which we are learning to know Him.
	Jer 31:23, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes, 'The Lord bless you, O abode of righteousness, O holy hill!' 
	We must keep in mind that this calling forth of the blessing of God upon another is far more than just a greeting. It is the manner in which the angelic host so bless the descendents of Adam. It is dealt with in the heavenly sphere with all the majesty with which the One invoked is clothed in glory and splendor and praise. Consider how the angel, Gabriel, so greeted and offered the blessing of the Lord upon the young maiden, Mary. This is recounted in Luke 1:26-33. The angel quite literally meant the Lord is with you, as he declared the great plan of God coming to fruition within her womb.
	Luke 1:26-33, Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end." 
	This declaration of the very presence of God being with us is now the reality of the fact that we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. All of us, born again into the newness of life through the salvation of Jesus Christ, are fully partakers of this glorious blessing. It is not a sentiment to so declare this blessing upon those who are now the new creation. It is a fact! It is the truth of Who is now our every source of life and essence! When we read of the blessings proclaimed by the writers of the books of the Bible, there should be a corresponding leaping forth of our spiritual essence as the Holy Spirit validates His presence within each believer! 
	The Apostle Paul is a wonderful example of one who called forth the knowledge that this blessing is not just a custom or a ritualistic voicing of memorized and expected words of greeting or salutation. When we read, in his letters, the encouragement given, as in Rom 15:29-33, it means something real! It is vital! It is valuable! And it is awesome! He really means that the God of peace is with us and in us! 
	Rom 15:29-33, And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ. Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. 
	And furthermore, as we face all that this world throws at us, we can know the truth of the reason that the Apostle can make the declaration of 2 Thess 3:16. 2 Thess 3:16, Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! 
The Lord is with us! He is in us with all His peace and comfort and grace and mercy and love!
	Our prayer is that we will all know and acknowledge the fact that these are not platitudes! They are not just words of non-consequence! As was lived forth by Boaz, by Ruth, by the Psalmist, by the Prophets, by the Apostles and expressed by the Angelic hosts, The Lord is with you. 
He is with you! He is with me! He is truly and majestically and sovereignly dealing within our beings to bring forth the blessing of knowing Who He is and all that He is doing! This is in the perfection of that which He has ordained from before He even created anything! 
	This is something that needs to be instilled into the manifold framework of our understanding and our conscious walk on this earth. It is necessary, through every manner of the handiwork of God, to cause us to know Him! This is that fellowship with Him through all that must be done to make us realize that we are His and He is ours. 
	As the Apostle so declared to Timothy, in 2 Tim 4:22, he needed to recognize that the Lord was with him through all that was required for the ministry to go forth in power and in the knowledge of the Triune God-head’s glory and praise and majesty. 
2 Tim 4:22, The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. 
So it needs to be in our lives that we learn that these blessings and these words of invoking the name of the Lord do mean so much more than eternity will ever be able to manifest. Our lives are completely wrapped up in the reality that God is with us! He is blessing us, as we so declare, in the lives that we live as a blessing unto Him. So be it!
Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the Lord be with you." And they said to him, "May the Lord bless you." Amen.

This morning’s benediction is 2 Chron 7:14. and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Amen.