Scriptural reading: Leviticus 25
25 For I know that my Redeemer
and Vindicator lives, and at
last He [the Last One] will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25
Beloved I want to give you a brief
context of what led to the above verse in the scripture. Job was expecting his visiting
friends to redeem him or act as his “kinsman redeemer” during his affliction. But he received the highest shock of his life!
They taunted him instead. Suddenly he realised that his redemption did not lie
in the hands of his friends but in God’s - who would surely come to his rescue.
4 Then Boaz went up to the city’s gate and sat down there,
and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken came by. He said to him, Ho!
Turn aside and sit down here. So he turned aside and sat down. 2 And Boaz took ten men of the
elders of the city and said, Sit down here. And they sat down. 3 And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has returned from the
country of Moab, has sold the parcel of land which belonged to our brother
Elimelech. 4 And I thought to let you hear of it,
saying, Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and before the elders of
my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it,
then say so, that I may know; for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and
I am [next of kin] after you. And he said, I will redeem it. 5 Then Boaz said, The day you buy the field of Naomi, you must
buy also Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the dead man, to restore the name of
the dead to his inheritance. 6 And the kinsman
said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest [by marrying a Moabitess] I endanger
my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem
it. 7 Now formerly in Israel this was the custom
concerning redeeming and exchanging. To confirm a transaction, a man pulled off
his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the way of attesting in Israel.
8 Therefore, when the kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for
yourself, he pulled off his sandal. 9 And Boaz
said to the elders and to all the people, You are witnesses this day that I
have bought all that was Elimelech’s and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s
from the hand of Naomi. 10 Also Ruth the
Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife to restore the name
of the dead to his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off
from among his brethren and from the gate of his birthplace. You are witnesses
this day. (Ruth 4:1-10)
Beloved, a careful
study of what happened here will help you understand that Ruth the Moabitess
had earlier asked Boaz to assume the role of kinsman-redeemer. Boaz was
delighted but there was a nearer kinsman who needed to stake a claim first – an
obstacle you would say! So Boaz decided to take it upon himself to invite the
nearer kinsman before the elders to sample his opinion. Upon the invitation, he
confronted the nearer kinsman with two basic issues which were the redemption
of the land lost by Naomi and taking Ruth as a wife. The man rejected the offer
which paved the way for him to fulfil the role of kinsman-redeemer.
Redeemer
is called Ga'al but pronounced gaw-al'
which is used in several contexts to mean “to redeem, act as
kinsman-redeemer, avenge, revenge, ransom, do the part of a kinsman”. But
Redeemer is most cases described in Hebrew as Haggá el.
In Israeli genealogy or a family tree
is what forms the basis of kith and kin or clan. So to be regarded as the
kinsman or kinsman-redeemer to any person you must be next in line by blood or
the closest relation. There are several duties conferred on you by Law that
must be performed for a brother; such as redeeming him from slavery, redeeming
his land, and marrying his widow in the event he dies without children, and to
avenge on his behalf. But if the deceased had children you are expected to take
good care of the children. However there are 2 other important criteria apart
from qualification by blood. The person must have the capacity to perform and
be willing as can be seen in Ruth 4.
In those days, one of the ways people
become slaves was through debt. The society then was not like today’s, where
one can file for bankruptcy or negotiate their way out of debt to be let off
the hook. Defaulters who could not find help in the form of a debt redeemer became
slaves.
In traditional African society, when
a woman divorces her husband and has not returned the bride-price or “Lebola”
paid for her to her husband, she is still regarded and considered as the lawful
and legal wife of her ex-hubby even though they are separated. If she bears
children outside the marriage the children are considered as those of her
ex-hubby. If her ex-hubby dies she is expected to go and mourn him. If another
man wants to marry her again he must first pay back the bride-price paid by her
former hubby or its equivalent and then pay a new bride price as demanded by
the woman’s family before the community or society will consider their marriage
legal or accord it recognition. Beloved what a heavy cost! The man who does
that is regarded as a redeemer.
Beloved to assume the position of
redeemer in whatever circumstance is a heavy burden and yoke. Thus, a redeemer
is one who buys back property or someone at a stated price or at a cost. The
price he pays is regarded as a sacrifice. Usually something precious and dear
to him or owned by him has to be forfeited in exchange. A redeemer is viewed as
a saviour because He saves where there is no one else who can; He is considered
as a rescuer who frees one who is held in bondage and a liberator who grants
freedom to the captive. He is the last hope of a commoner, a debtor, a criminal
and a slave. If he does not appear the debtor becomes indebted forever. If he
appears, the slave regains freedom. If he is not found the accused becomes a
convict.
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