Our Kinsman-Redeemer

Our Kinsman Redeemer
Read Ruth 3
“I will redeem you.”

In a society without social programs for protecting and helping people who face adversity, the responsibility rests upon the family to provide the care and support that people might need. This is especially true for widows. In Leviticus 25, we find the law protecting people who were confronted with a financial disaster that resulted in the loss of their family property. The land was more than just a source of income; it was also a sign and validation of the individual’s inclusion in the Jewish people and participation in the Abrahamic covenant. For the Jewish people, the land ultimately belonged to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and was given to the Israelites to serve as his tenants. By giving the gift of the land to his people, God was providing his blessing to them and his care for their needs in life. Because God gave it, the Israelites were prohibited from permanently selling the land outside the family. However, if an Israelite experienced a financial disaster and was forced to sell the land or themselves into slavery because of debt, a kinsman-redeemer was responsible for redeeming the person or the land back (see Leviticus 25) by paying the debt.  

However, there were requirements to be a kinsman-redeemer. According to the Mosaic Law, it had to be a close male relative from the same clan. The closer the relative, the greater the obligation to fulfill their role. If an immediate family member (brother, father) could not purchase the land back, any blood relative from the clan could serve as a kinsman-redeemer.
By “chance,” Ruth found her way to the field of not only someone sympathetic to a foreign woman’s plight but also in line as a kinsman redeemer. In chapter 24, we find there was one closer in line, but he could not perform the duties as a kinsman-redeemer. So Boaz willingly stepped in to fulfill the role by redeeming the property for Elimelech's (Naomi’s Husband) lineage. By being willing to act as a kinsman-redeemer, Boaz not only revealed his desire to fulfill his covenantal responsibilities by restoring the family’s property but also providing for the well-being of Ruth and Naomi.

The concept of the kinsman-redeemer illustrated in the book of Ruth also served as a type (an Old Testament event that provides a picture and illustration of a spiritual truth) pointing us forward to God as the kinsman-redeemer of his people. The concept of the kinsman-redeemer pointed to God as the kinsman-redeemer of his people from the bondage of sin and its consequences (see Job 19:25; Prov 23:11; Ps. 31:4-5; Psa. 49:15, see also Isa. 54:5; 63:16). As the kinsman-redeemer to his people, God protects his people and takes vengeance upon their enemies to deliver them. This is grounded in his steadfast love because of the covenant he made with his people. God, as the kinsman-redeemer, acted to redeem his people from slavery to the Egyptians in Exodus 6:6.

The concept of God as our kinsman-redeemer was ultimately fulfilled in Christ. When Christ took on human nature, he identified with us as our kinsman-redeemer to redeem us from our enslavement to sin. Just as God, in the Old Testament, was the kinsman-redeemer for Israel, Christ becomes our kinsman-redeemer who delivered us from our enslavement to sin (Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 1:18). He identifies with us and promises to protect and provide for us. When it seems as if the world has abandoned us and there is no hope of escaping the bondage to sin and its terrible effects, we have Christ as our Kinsman-Redeemer, and he is without equal.  Just as the kinsman-redeemer delivered, protected, and provided for his near relative, Christ delivers, protects, and provides for us by redeeming us from our enslavement to sin and giving us an inheritance in his kingdom.  Just as God was faithful in providing for his people in the Old Testament, so he is also faithful in providing for our lives today. Christ is our Kinsman-Redeemer today, offering deliverance from the effects of a broken world.