| RUTH AND NAOMI: A STORY OF REDEMPTION By Peter Cohen -- Pg. 4 |
| "If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan he retains the right of redemption after he has sold him-self. One of his relatives may redeem him: An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. He and his buyer are to count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price of his release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired man for that number of years. . Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee. For the Israelites be-long to Me as servants. They are My servants whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the L-RD your G-D." (Lev.25:47-54). Apart from the provision to redeem Israelites from slavery, the law also provided for the continuation of the family line to protect the inheritance in the event of a man dying without an heir. The prosperity of the people of G-D was not only measured by their worldy possessions - it was far more important that there always be an heir to continue the family name for prosperity and to provide continued security and shelter for their parents in their old age. Preserving the family name was of such importance that if a brother died without produced an heir the surving brother was expected to marry his brother's widow and father a son on behalf of the deceased. If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. However, - if a man does not want to marry his brother's wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to carry on his brother's name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me." Then the elders of his town shall summons him and talk to him: If he persists in saying, "I do not want to marry her, his brother's widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, "this is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line." That man's line shall be known in Israel as The Family of The Unsan-daled. (Deuteronomy 25.:5-10). Yeshua our Kinsman-Redeemer was subjected to the humiliation of being beaten and spat upon by those who mockingly said to him "Prophesy to us Messiah, Who hit you?" The people were awaiting a Messiah whom they thought would redeem them from Roman oppression, not to their slavery to sin. He was treated with the gesture of contempt reserved for one who was unwilling to redeem. After Ruth has been gleaning in Boaz's field for about three months, Naomi urges her to appeal to his duty to redeem a close rela-tive. Ruth goes to Boaz at the threshing floor although he is a wealthy landowner he is to be found working alongside his servants. In like manner Yeshua put aside His earthly glory and "made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (Phil. 2:7-8). Ruth approaches him quietly and lies down at his feet in a gesture of humility. Her appeal to his mercy and kindness rather than to the right of redemption. This reminds us of the woman who poured perfume on the feet of Yeshua as she wept, appealing to nothing but His mercy and forgiveness: When we come to Yeshua, we come with nothing to commend us and no bases to demand anything of Him, but we come with the quiet assurance of faith in His promise that "Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away." (John 6:37). Boaz does not delay in settling the matter. When we know what the L-rd requires of us we must not put it off. It is evident from the story of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38) that the obligation to continue the family line existed even before the Torah was given through Moses at Mount Sinai. Judah got a wife from Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the L-RD's sight; so the L-RD put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother." But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilt his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. The narrative goes on to describe how Onan also dies and how Tamar tricks Judah into sleeping with her in order to conceive an heir, by posing as a prostitute. When her pregnancy is discovered Judah is ready to have her burned to death until he realizes she is pregnant by him. Just as Judah was quick to judge Tamar and have her condemned only to find his own guilt exposed, Paul teaches that those who condemn others for breaking the law end up condemning themselves. "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who passed judgement do the same things." (Romans 2:1) It is interesting to note that there are exactly ten generations from Perez, who was born of a forbidden union between Judah and Tamar, to David. Although it was always stipulated that Judah was the royal line the first king came from Benjamin because the king could not emerge from Judah until ten generations had passed. "No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descen-dants may enter the assembly of the L-RD, even down to the tenth generation." (Deuteronomy 23:2). THE NEARER KINSMAN-REDEEMER The question is often asked, "If Boaz is a type of the Messiah, our Kinsman Redeemer, then what does the nearer kinsman-redeemer represent?" Some have suggested it is the Torah: "The Word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." (Deuteronomy 30:14). If anyone could live in perfect obedience to the Torah they would gain life, but everyone falls short (sins) and the wages of sin is death. The Jewish people take pride in having the Torah but it is that very Torah that condemns. Those who know the Law should know better than any other nation, that they are guilty of transgressing G-D's perfect law. The natural descendants of Israel were estranged from G-D through their own unfaithfulness to the covenants and it is impossible for them to restore the relationship by redeeming themselves. They, like Naomi, need to be redeemed by one born from among their own people, a kinsmen-redeemer. Those who rely on the Law as the means of redemption miss the real redemption in their Messiah and are cut off from the very Bread of Life. Israel, in her sinful state, is likened to all the other nations. The New Testament teaches that all men have been handed to disobedience so that G-D might have mercy on all. After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the L-RD said, "Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your G-D. Yet the Israelites will be like the sand of the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.In the place where it was said unto them, 'you are not My people,' they will be called 'sons of the living G-D."' (Hosea 1:8-10). The law although perfect is powerless to redeem because we are imperfect and sold as slaves to sin. Yeshua is the only One to have lived in perfect obedience to the Torah thereby securing the right to redeem His brethren. As it is written: "G-D sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, G-D sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit Who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave but a son; and since you are a son, G-D has made you also an heir." (Galations 4:5-7) Our great Redeemer has not only brought us out of slavery but has also brought us into His family and made us co-heirs fulfilling both the law of redemption and the law of inheritance. |