The Second Interview

Barclay F. Buxton was the father of Alfred Buxton, one of C. T. Studd's son-in-laws who went with him to the heart of Africa as a missionary. Barclay Buxton was cofounder, with A. Paget Wilkes, of the Japan Evangelistic Band, that remarkable group of missionaries that saw such wonderful works of God in Japan. The following is from chapter ten of Buxton's booklet The Book of Ruth: Its Message for Christians to-day:

"Now he [Boaz] gives her [Ruth] the second interview ([Ruth] ii. 14). I suppose there had been two or three hours' work between the thirteenth and fourteenth verses, and then Boaz says to her at meal time:

"Come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar."

"He now brings her to his table. She was just a poverty-stricken gleaner in the fields, but he has brought her to his table, to eat and drink with him.

"We read in 2 Samuel ix. 8 of another, Mephibosheth, who was brought to the table of his King.

"And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?"

"That is what he was in his own estimation; but the King promised him that he should

"Eat bread continually at his table."
"So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the King's table."

"In the same way Ruth is brought to the very table of Boaz, and shares with him as his guest and friend. And even more than that, for as her host

"He reached her parched corn."

"She is fed from his hand, in token of love and sympathy and grace. It reminds us of that time when the Lord Himself, seeking as a last resource to win Judas, reaches him the sop; and Judas received it, but hardened his heart, and hastened out. Boaz reaches to her the parched corn, and she is fed from his very hand. The Lord again and again would do that for us; bringing us to His very table that we may eat of His flesh and drink of His blood; and not only giving us the privilege but also showing us His personal love, that we may be satisfied and go forth.

"After the meal she rises up to glean. She never had such gleanings before. The Lord of the harvest commanded for her 'handfuls of purpose'. God commands blessing for us as we glean in His field, and so we get

"Deliverance. (Psalm xliv. 4.)
"Lovingkindness. (Psalm xlii. 8.)
"Strength. (Psalm lxviii. 28.)

"And she took it up, and went into the city."

"loaded with blessing.

"And she brought forth, and gave to Naomi that she had reserved, after that she was sufficed."

"That is to say, what Boaz had given her she shares with Naomi. Naomi says:

"Where hast thou gleaned to-day?"

"She is amazed at the gleaning Ruth has got, and enquires what is the reason. Ruth only knew that

"The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz."

"She knew his name and she knew his kindness, but she did not as yet know more.

"But Naomi tells her:

"The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen." "He has the right to redeem" (margin).

"Ruth had not known that before. She had seen and talked with Boaz; she had been fed from his hand; she had heard his voice; she knew something of the spirit of his harvest field; but she did not know that he was their kinsman, and that therefore he had a special responsibility to her, and she had a special claim upon him, that he was only too ready to fulfil. She did not know that.

"And there are many Christians who have not yet realized that they have a special claim on the Lord. They know Him as their Saviour, and their Friend. They have heard His voice. They have fed from His hand. They have received mercies from Him, and blessings and lovingkindnesses. They love Him and revere Him, but do not know Him as their Redeemer with all that is involved. That makes all the difference.

"If He is my Redeemer I have got a legal claim upon Him, a claim that He will gladly honour, and will gladly fulfil. As Ruth had a claim upon Boaz for the restoration of her land, and for the restoration of the name of her husband, and for all that she had lost, so I have a claim on my Redeemer to bring all back that I have lost by sin, and to bring me to oneness with Himself. He is my Redeemer.

"Oh! that we may know the height and depth and length and breadth of what that means, and indeed experience His Redemption. He is waiting for that.

"He is longing that our understanding should be enlightened to understand that. He is leading each one on, just as He was leading Ruth on, by tenderness, by mercy, and by grace, to a closer acquaintance with Him. But at last the revelation is given, He is her Redeemer; and she yields to Him in a bond that never should be broken. 'My beloved is mine, and I am His.'

"As we ponder these wonderful facts let us indeed wonder, and fall at His feet, completely yielding ourselves to Him, believing and asking Him to fulfil to us all that His great redemption means."