2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
There is a concept that was introduced in the book of Leviticus which is termed the “kinsman-redeemer.” This series of messages will deal with this subject, but before I launch into it, I would like to share with you some information about the book of Leviticus itself. This is the book of the OT which contains regulations for worship and religious ceremonies in ancient Israel. The main theme of the book is the holiness of God and the ways people were to conduct both their secular and spiritual lives to maintain a close relationship with God. The very best known words from this book are found in LV 19: 18, “Do not take revenge on anyone or continue to hate him, but love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.” Jesus, Himself, referred to this concept as the Second Great Commandment in MT 22: 39. Like some other things in the Scriptures, some people underrate the importance of all these rules and regulations or consider them boring to read. As I have said so often before, not one single jot or tittle of what is included in the Bible is unimportant. Everything included within its precious pages matters.
One of the areas that Leviticus deals with is the retention of property within Jewish families. That is why God directed Moses to set up a rule that every fifty years there should be a Jubilee Year or Year of Restoration. This is discussed in LV 25: 8-17. LV 25: 10, “This fiftieth year is set apart to grant freedom to all the inhabitants of the land. During this year all property that has been sold shall be restored to its original owner or his descendants, and anyone who has been sold as a slave shall be returned to his family.” The basis for this is explained in LV 25: 23, “Your land must not be sold on a permanent basis, because you do not own it. It belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it.” There is a great lesson for us in this. Believers in Christ have citizenship in heaven; our residence on earth is a temporary thing, making us “tent-dwellers’” here with our permanent home to be in heaven with the Father. That is no excuse for us to disobey the laws of authorities here, but it is a reason for us to store our treasures in heaven [ MT 6: 19-21].
And now, let me share with you the verses that demonstrate what a kinsman-redeemer is. LV 25: 24-25, “When land is sold, the right of the original owner to buy it back must be recognized. If an Israelite becomes poor and is forced to sell his land, his closest relative is to buy it back.” Now, you might at this point be wondering why it’s important for us to know this. The answer lies in the relationship that we, as believers, have with Jesus Christ. He is our Kinsman-Redeemer. I will discuss that in greater detail in another message. For now, it is helpful to look at some of the OT citations that give us a better look at this concept of the kinsman-redeemer. In another series of messages I have planned for the future, I hope to discuss Israel-Land by Divine Right. Suffice it to say here that all the regulations for the disposition of land in ancient Israel were designed to keep the land in Jewish hands. That was God’s will, and I believe it still is.
We can learn a little more about the disposition of land and family responsibilities in ancient Israel from the section in DT 25 about the duty to a dead brother [verses 5-10]. LV 25: 5-6, “If two brothers live on the same property and one of them dies, leaving no son, then his widow is not to be married to someone outside the family; it is the duty of the dead man’s brother to marry her. The first son that they have will be considered the son of the dead man, so that his family line will continue in Israel.” When I discuss the book of Ruth, it will be seen that this regulation from God has huge implications in the family line of King David from whence comes our Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus Christ. This passage goes on to explain that if the brother refuses to marry his brother’s widow, she has the right to take that matter to the town leaders. “She is to say, ‘My husband’s brother will not do his duty; he refuses to his brother a descendant among the people of Israel.’ The town leaders are to summon him and speak to him. If he still refuses, his brother’s widow is to go up to him in the presence of the town leaders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face, and say, ‘This is what happens to the man who refuses to give his brother a descendant.’ His family will be known in Israel as ‘the family of the man who had his sandal pulled off’ “ (7-10).
With this background in mind, it is easier to have an understanding of the events of the book of Ruth. For those of you who haven’t read it yet, let me share some of the background of this story of a woman from Moab who married an Israelite. This story takes place in the violent times of the book of Judges. There had been a famine in Israel, so a man named Elimelech, who belonged to the clan of Ephrath and lived in Bethlehem in Judah, when with his wife Naomi and their two sons to live in Moab, a country located in what is now Jordan to the east of Israel. Elimelech died leaving Naomi alone with her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion who had both married girls from Moab. Then, Mahlon and Chilion died, leaving Naomi with her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi heard that that famine was over in Israel and determined that she wanted to go back there. In characteristically unselfish approach to things, Naomi expresses her will for Orpah and Ruth in RU 1: 8, “She said to them, ‘Go back home an stay with your mothers. May the Lord be as good to you as you have been to me and to those who have died.” Orpah went home to her mother in tears. But, Ruth did not. In (16-17) Ruth expresses her will. “Don’t ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the Lord’s worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!”
What a gorgeous demonstration of love this is! God’s hand is very evident in it. It has always been his will that families should be loving toward one another and loyal to each other. And yet, there is an even bigger issue to be seen in this extraordinary demonstration of love; that is Ruth’s expression of her desire to put aside the idolatry with which she had been raised from her Moabite culture and to take on the monotheistic belief in the one and only true God, Jehovah. God had called Ruth to an assignment, to be loyal to her mother-in-law, Naomi. From the limitations of her human perspective, that was all there was to it. Our hindsight, gained from studying the Scriptures, allows us to see that God had a God-sized assignment for Ruth with huge implications in continuing the ancestral line of our Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, in Your infinite compassion for us, You gave us a Kinsman-Redeemer in Jesus Christ. Our study of the regulations in Leviticus and Deuteronomy allow us to see the superb wisdom of them. Many times we don’t understand all the implications of every teaching You have for us. But, by studying the stories in the Scriptures of those before us, we can see why trusting in Your ultimate wisdom is always best. Thank You for the love You show us and the grace You impart to us. We adore, praise, honor, worship, and love You. We offer up our lives to Your glory. In Christ’s name, amen.
Be blessed, Dear Ones. I’ll more on the story of Ruth for you tomorrow. Peter and I send you our heartfelt love.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn