If thy brother be waxen poor and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. Leviticus 25:25
Our text introduces the law of the redemption of the inheritance, and causes us to think about the book of Ruth, in which Boaz redeemed the possession of his relative Elimelech and married Ruth. That book gives us a lovely example of this law in practice, a law that God put in place in Israel to enable families to preserve their ancestral inheritance. As we consider the law, we can understand its purpose. As we consider its application, we can see God’s great purposes, not just for the Israelite of old, but for us in our day of Grace.
The brother who has become poor did so because of poor management or because of disobedience to God. The Lord had promised His people that if they obeyed, they would prosper in the land. So the poor brother was the man who had failed in his responsibilities to God and to his family. Only an obedient brother would be able to redeem the land that the poor brother was obliged to sell. Are we seeing a picture here? Who is the disobedient brother, and who is the obedient brother? We have no difficulty in seeing ourselves as the disobedient. In our unsaved days, we did not even attempt to obey. We disregarded God and His claims on us. And we lost our inheritance, earning nothing but punishment for our disobedience. But there is an obedient Brother who knew of our disgrace and loss, and was willing to redeem our inheritance. The Lord Jesus is indeed our redeemer.
Remember the story of Boaz… he was willing and able to redeem the possession of Elimelech. But there was something that came along with that inheritance: a Gentile bride. Boaz knew what was involved in this transaction, and he was willing to accept the responsibility. There is no doubt that he loved Ruth, despite her position as an poor outsider. This is a lovely picture to us of the love that the Lord Jesus had for us, to desire that we might be brought into the blessing of a relationship with Him. Like Ruth, we had no claim on God or any of His promises. We had no means of drawing near to Him. But He drew near to us, and paid the price of our redemption on the cross. And now we are His and share His blessings forever.
Our Kinsman Redeemer has paid a great price to provide for us an inheritance. Do we appreciate what He has done, and what He has provided? – Jim MacIntosh