2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Lord has put it on my heart to remind each of you how much it means to me that you are interested and willing to read the messages He gives me to send to you each day. None of you are ever taken for granted, either by Him or by me. So, you have my deepest thanks. I am led today to continue our discussion of traits of a kinsman-redeemer. You’ll remember that the first five are: 1) He must be a blood relative; 2) He must be able to pay the price of redemption; 3) He must desire to redeem; 4) He must be willing to redeem; 5) He must serve as judicial executioner of his relative’s murderer. Today, I will continue looking into the fifth one.
The other day we examined the concept of cities of refuge in DT 19: 10-13. The nature of Deuteronomy is that it is usually a restatement of something said earlier in the Torah (first five books of Moses: GN, EX, LV, NU, and DT). In actuality, the Lord introduced His teaching on this earlier in NU 35. NU 35: 15-25 is a repeat of what was said in DT 19: 10-13 in yesterday’s message. NU 35: 21b, “The dead man’s nearest relative has the responsibility for putting the murderer to death. When he finds him, he is to kill him.” This applies to premeditated murder. Accidental murder, manslaughter, is handled in NU 35: 22-25, “But suppose a man accidentally kills someone he does not hate, whether by pushing him down or throwing something at him. Or suppose that, without looking, a man throws a stone that kills someone whom he did not intend to hurt and who was not his enemy. In such cases the community shall judge in favor of the man who caused the death and not in favor of the dead man’s relative who is seeking revenge. The community is to rescue the man guilty of manslaughter from the dead man’s relative, and they are to return him to the city of refuge to which he had escaped. He must live there until the death of the man who is then high priest.” The law on this is further illuminated in verses 30-31 and 33-34. “A man accused of murder may be found guilty and put to death only on the evidence of two or more witnesses; the evidence of one witness is not sufficient to support an accusation of murder. A murderer must be put to death. He cannot escape this penalty by the payment of money…If [he were allowed to make payment before the death of the high priest from a city of refuge], you would defile the land where you are living. Murder defiles the land, and except by the death of the murderer there is no way to perform the ritual of purification for the land where a man has been murdered. Do not defile the land where you are living, because I am the Lord and I live among the people of Israel.” This law, even though seemingly harsh by today’s standards is wholly consistent with God’s purpose for establishing the Jewish nation in the first place. It was to be a land where people lead lives of holiness with God worshipped alone at the center of them. God’s original plan is that the Jews would eventually carry the message of salvation to the rest of the world.
Remember that in Hebrew, the noun “goel” [pronounced go-el] means “kinsman-redeemer” and the verb “gaal” [pronounced gay-all] means “to redeem,” with an emphasis on the relationship between the redeemer and the redeemed. The concept of a kinsman-redeemer acting in accordance with the laws found in both DT and NU is not the same as a feud. The method of judicial execution is an orderly process used in ancient Israel, and has none of the unpredictable behavior and mean-spirited behavior that goes on in a feud. The kinsman-redeemer [“goel”] is a guiltless executioner and not to be murdered in turn.
As we proceed with the issue of judicial execution by the kinsman-redeemer, we must now look at what the law of ancient Israel foreshadowed. I have already mentioned many times that Christ is our Kinsman-redeemer, Who releases us from imprisonment to the sin brought upon us by Satan in the Garden of Eden. JN 8: 44, [Jesus speaking heatedly to the Pharisees] “You are the children of your father, the devil, and you want to follow your father’s desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.” What we learn from the citations above make it clear that the people had no right to crucify Jesus; they were murdering the Kinsman-Redeemer when that happened, even if that was in keeping with God’s plan. Christ had every right to take on Satan and his followers in the manner that He did. That is why God raised Him to rule in His Kingdom and to continue His work begun to bring all those who would potentially come to faith to eternal forgiveness and life. By the shedding of His blood, Christ sealed the Covenant of Grace [1 COR 11: 25] and began the demise of that murderer and father of all lies, Satan. Praise be to God!
PRAYER: O Lord, You have led us today to the subject of just punishment versus vigilante action (feuds). We must meditate upon that as it applies to our lives. You have made it clear when You charged us to live holy and pure lives what You will in these matters is. RO 12: 19 helps us to understand it. “Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God’s anger do it. For the Scripture [DT 32: 35] says, ‘I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord.’” Your rules are best, for they come out of wisdom of which we are not capable. There are times for us to be forgiving, although not in the case of proven premeditated murder. Then, it is Your will for us to submit to the authorities You have put in place and the judicial system that You have instituted [RO 13: 1]. When we do forgive what can be forgiven, “Satan can not get the upper hand over us; for we know what his plans are” [1 COR 2: 10-11]. Your way in our lives has never been for us to rely on man or to allow ungodly chaos in them. PR 3: 5-6 bears this out. You would not have instituted civil law, spent so much time passing on Your teaching, or given Your Son’s life on the cross had that not been the case. We must acknowledge Your supreme right and sovereignty to be the final Adjudicator of mankind’s behavior. There will be a Day when each of us will be judged by You according to the way we have lived our lives. We submit to that judgment with utmost reverence and respect for Your authority to carry it out through the Son. We acknowledge that You are always righteous and fair. We know that if we live our lives conforming to the example set by Christ [RO 12; 2], we have nothing to fear in that judgment. You are just and fair, always righteous and ever ready to bring goodness into our lives [PS 33: 5]. We offer You our worship, adoration, trust, obedience, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
The Spirit leads me to say even more about the subject of the kinsman-redeemer being a judicial executioner in tomorrow’s message. It is clear to me that our loving Abba wants us to have a very crystal clear understanding of the reasons why Christ is our Kinsman-Redeemer and what that means to our individual lives. I have learned that when the Spirit has a lot to say on a subject, it is because God thinks it’s important that there be no misunderstanding. This is particularly true for such an emotionally charged subject as murder. If we imagine what our lives would be like without the orderliness of God’s plan and our personal relationship with the Lord, we would then know real misery. God’s love is all over His history and relationship with us [PS 107: 43]. We are truly a blessed people because of this. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn