2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
We continue today looking at traits of a kinsman-redeemer. Yesterday, I introduced the first one: 1) He must be a blood relative. Today, we’ll look at the second trait: 2) He must be able to pay the price of redemption. In the description of the law of the kinsman-redeemer found in LV 25, we find certain words that give us a deeper understanding of the concept. That’s why it’s useful here to do a word study from the original Greek and Hebrew languages. Since Greek is so accurate and was the language of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the original Hebrew texts, let’s start with that. The Greek word, “lutroo” [pronounced: loo-traw-o] means “to release on receipt of ransom; to redeem.” The Greek word, “exagorazo” [pronounced: ex-ag-gr-ad-zo] means “to improve opportunity; to buy up; to redeem.” Now, let’s look at their Hebrew counterparts used in LV 25. The Hebrew word, “Gaal” [pronounced: gaw-al with the stress on the last syllable] means “to be next of kin, to redeem.” The Hebrew word, “geullah” [pronounced: gheh-ool-law] means “redemption; kindred; redeem; right.”
This begins to allow us to see that there is a definite connection between being a relative to the person needing his freedom bought and the right to buy it. The next logical question that comes up is: What price buys mankind out of slavery to sin? God lays down some basic principles that we must understand. LV 17: 11, “The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people’s sins. Blood, which is life takes away sins.” HE 9: 22, “Indeed according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.” I am led to repeat those two verses so often, because that is so essential to our understanding and faith in the blood that Christ shed for us on the cross. Remember 1 COR 11: 25, [Christ speaking at the Last Supper] “In the same way, after the supper He took the cup and said, ‘This cup is God’s new covenant, sealed with My blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of Me.’” We also needed to understand why the blood of animals wouldn’t suffice to pay the redemption price for mankind’s sin. HE 10: 4-10 tells us the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins. That’s why Christ, about to come into the world, said to God, ‘You do not want animal sacrifices. Here I am to do Your will, Lord, just as it was written of Me in the body of the law.’ That is how Christ became the substitute sacrifice by obeying God’s will. His body became the once-for-all sufficient sin sacrifice for all.
This was a very costly sacrifice for both the Father and His Son. 1 PET 1: 18-19, “for you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as sliver or gold; it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, Who was like a lamb without defect or flaw.” This sacrifice was definitely a foreordained plan. 1 PET 1 : 20-21, “He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from death and gave Him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.” That is why Paul could make the statement he did in EPH 1: 7-8a with such confidence, “For by the death of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which He gave to us in such large measure!”
The direction of our focus in offering praise to God for this magnificent accomplishment is found in COL 1: 11-14. “May you be made strong with all the strength which comes from His glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with patience. And with joy give thanks to the Father, Who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for His people in the Kingdom of light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the Kingdom of His dear Son, by Whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.” Christ set the paradigm for what we should do. God understands the content of our hearts and our limitations due to our imperfection. He knows that we must each stretch our moral standard to come as close to Christ’s as is possible [RO 12: 2]. That is the only way we can become perfected, that is, sanctified to the extent that we are able to answer that call of the last trump to a meeting in the air with Christ Himself [1 THESS 4: 13-17]. We must not waste any of the blood that Christ shed for us, and time is of essence for us to get our spiritual houses in order. We do not know when that call will come, but must be ready for it at any time [MT 24 :36]; 2 THESS 5: 2]. Christ’s Atonement has paid the ransom price to buy us out of the marketplace of slavery to sin. Now we must do our part as God’s covenant partners.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have taught us the importance of Christ’s blood shed for us. There are times when our pain, sorrow, and loss make us want to be weak. We cannot do that. We must be emboldened by the examples of courage of faith set by the OT prophets, the writers of the NT and Christ Himself. They, who have come before us, have shown us that enduring in faith can and should be our way. God Himself has instructed these writers of the Scriptures to show us why our goal to rid our lives of sin and to obey our loving Abba matter so much. They have provided us sufficient motivation through Your word and our experience when we obey it, to stay the course with You in leadership in our lives. Through David’s PS 49: 13-17, we have been told how foolish it is to rely on mankind or on material riches to provide real salvation. “See what happens to those who trust in themselves, the fate of those who are satisfied with their wealth-they are doomed to die like sheep, and death will be their shepherd. the righteous will triumph over them, as their bodies quickly decay in the world of the dead far from their homes! But God will rescue me; He will save me from the power of death. Do not be upset when a man becomes rich, when his wealth grows even greater; he cannot take it with him when he dies; his wealth will not go with him to the grave.” Nothing material that man can supply compares to the spiritual blessings that come from You as a result of our enduring in faith. We must remember Your teaching in RO 5: 3-4, “We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God’s approval, and His approval creates hope.” Dearest Abba, You are the Source of salvation through the sacrifice of Your Son, knowledge of life-giving truth through the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us understand Your word, and our very faith itself. We confess our sins today and in humility, offer You our adoration, worship, glory, honor, trust, obedience, loyalty, diligence, willingness to endure in faith through adversity, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
Now that we know our Kinsman-Redeemer is a relative and that He was able to pay the costly price of redemption for us, we need to look into the third trait that qualifies Him to be Who He is in our lives. That will be the subject of tomorrow’s message. It doesn’t cost us anything but our time in prayer, willingness to study the word of God, and some courage to live according to its dictates to be showered with the blessings of God. He, through the Holy Spirit, provides faith for us, guidance, and sufficient encouragement to keep us from being swallowed up by flood of pain Satan sends us. We must remain resolute and never lose sight of God’s plan for us. That way, Satan is defeated, and we gain eternal joy and fellowship in heaven with the Father. His love for us reaches every facet of our lives and the life of every person who believes in Him. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn