2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
This morning, I was brought to JN 8: 36, and to thoughts of putting it’s message in the context of God’s plan. “If the Son set you free, then you will be really free.” The truth of that is hard to miss if we spend daily time in the Scriptures. We come face to face with the concept that God alone, through the Son and the Holy Spirit, really does unlock us from the manacles of sin that Satan put on us at the time of the original sin [GN 3: 6]. It is true that at that time, Satan became ruler of the earth and took possession of dominion over the earth. However, when God’s plan unfolds, and I truly believe it will just as it is described in His word, Satan will not be able to hold that mortgage represented by the scroll in REV 5 for dominion over the earth. When Christ died on the cross, the stage was set for Satan to gradually lose his ability to rule the earth as more and more people come to faith in the Son. This was the beginning of the New Covenant sealed with Christ’s blood [1 COR 11: 25]. People who come to faith learn that real freedom comes with living “in Christ.”
It is helpful for us to go back to some words in the original Hebrew found in LV 25: 8-17 & 23-28 (the rules for the Year of Restoration and who can do the restoring), for example, to have a greater understanding of just how Christ is able to be a Redeemer. I hope you will take the time to read these passages. Remember that doing word studies from the original Hebrew or Greek (if you’re studying the NT) are very necessary, so there can be no equivocation as to the meaning. The Hebrew word, “goel” [pronounced “go-eel”] is a noun and means “a person who had the right to redeem, to purchase, to buy back one’s inheritance if it had been lost through debt or death-either a blood relative or family member.” There are three verbs in Hebrew, which mean “to redeem”: 1) “koper” [pronouced “ko-pur”] from the noun for “ransom” [“kapar”], which means “to make atonement,” “to atone by making a substitutionary payment.” 2) “Padah” [pronounced “pay-dah”], which was originally used to indicate “transfer of ownership through payment or some equivalent transaction.” 3) “Gaal” [pronounced “gay-all”], which places an emphasis on the relationship between the redeemer and the redeemed. In each of the 118 times this word is used in the OT, we find one person in the power of another, whose person or possessions were held while he is unable to win release himself. Only a third person, his kinsman-redeemer, could release him.
LV 25: 47-55 is the law of the kinsman-redeemer, something very germane to an understanding of the culture in which Jesus Christ was raised. “Suppose a foreigner living with you becomes rich, while a fellow Israelite becomes poor and sells himself as a slave to that foreigner or to a member of his family. After he is sold, he still has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers or his uncle or his cousin or any other of his close relatives may buy him back; or if he himself earns enough, he may buy his own freedom. He must consult the one who bought him, and they must count the years from the time he sold himself until the next Year of Restoration and must set the price for his release on the basis of the wages paid a hired man. He must refund a part of the purchase price according to the number of years left, as if he had been hired on an annual basis. His master must not treat him harshly. If he is not set free in any of these way, he and his children must be set free in the next Year of Restoration. An Israelite cannot be a permanent slave, because the people of Israel are the Lord’s slaves. He brought them out of Egypt; He is the Lord their God.”
If you are wondering why I am going into all of this, I have given you the answer above; our Lord and Savior was raised in the Jewish culture to understand and abide by these laws. It also gives us insight into how He became our Kinsman-Redeemer, able to buy us out of the marketplace of slavery to Satan, with His death on the cross. In this, we see the nuts and bolts of how Satan is piece by piece going to lose dominion over the earth as a whole and individually over every person who repents and comes to faith in Christ. That is how Satan knows that he has only a short time to do evil and is angry because of that [REV 12: 12]. God’s plan and the gift of faith that He gives us are the greatest blessings anyone could ever have. They save us from conscious eternal torment in the lake of fire and sulfur, from spending eternity surrounded by the adversary and his followers who know nothing of God but only of evil. In our own lives, living “in Christ” with access to the Bible gives us a way to cope with all the arrows Satan sends and even allows us to join the Father in His work. The discernment we get from that is a precious pearl of great price.
PRAYER: O Lord, as early as Job’s time, You made him understand in JOB 19: 25, that his Redeemer lives. David also understood this when in PS 19: 14, he said, “May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to You, O Lord, my Refuge and my Redeemer.” Even though the Jews remembered that “God was their Protector, that the Almighty came to their aid” [PS 78: 35], their words were all lies and they didn’t remain loyal or obedient to Him. Even so, You chose Israel to one day be a “light to the nations” and haven’t given up on that promise [IS 49: 6]. You told Isaiah three hundred years before Christ’s birth in IS 49: 7, that You had chosen an eternal King. “Israel’s holy God and Savior says to the One Who is deeply despised, Who is hated by the nations and is the Servant of rulers, ‘Kings will see You released and will rise to show their respect; princes also will see it, and they will bow low to honor You.’” This will happen because the Lord has chosen His Servant; the holy God of Israel keeps His promises.” Today, You give us the comfort of knowing that the words of PS 62: 5-8 are true. “I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him. He alone protects and saves me; He is my Defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; He is my strong Protector, He is my Shelter. Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell Him all your troubles, for He is our Refuge.” We are truly a blessed people to have faith in You. Your history with us shows Your compassion and patience, the wisdom of Your guidance, and the precious nature of Your encouragement as we suffer Satan’s onslaughts. We confess our sins and humbly ask You to accept our adoration, worship, diligence, trust, obedience, loyalty, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will begin a new segment of this series of messages on spiritual warfare about the Kinsman-Redeemer. As we look at where Satan fits into this body of Scriptural prophesy and revelation, we can begin to see why he feels such frustration at the limited nature of what he can do and the time he has to do it. The more we believe and endure in our faith, the more we are able to receive the warm blessings that come from God’s love for us. Bask in the warm glow of these blessings by spending time getting to know the marvelous Deity Who is our God each day. Take pleasure in sharing the faith that it gives you, as I do. Know that God loves each of you and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn