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The Book of RUTH
No.4.
Summary.
pp. 13 - 18
The tiny Book of Ruth so clearly illustrates how a forfeited inheritance can be
redeemed by the next of kin; that only the nearest kinsman (redeemer) can do this, and
that it involves perpetuating the dead man's name in Israel. The question that arises in
our minds is "how does that affect you and I?" The answer to that is that redemption can
only be understood when we come to know two things:--
(1) the nature of sin
(2) the character of God.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command and ate of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, they had to be prevented from eating of the tree of life, for if they did do
this, they would be preserved in their sinful state. So a guard was set upon it, and they
were expelled from the garden, and God's plan for their redemption was put into effect.
Sin had entered His perfect creation, and man could no longer communicate direct with
his creator.
We see therefore that sin separated man from God, and involved the forfeiture of an
inheritance. As the result of Adam and Eve's sin God's creation was affected, the ground
was cursed, and the sentence of death was pronounced.
In the provision of clothes for the fallen man and woman an animal was slain. So
through the shed blood of that sacrifice God provided protection and covering, and this
indicates to us at the very beginning His plan and His purpose for the salvation of
mankind.
In the Book of Ruth, we find that only the kinsman-redeemer, the next of kin, had the
right to redeem and to raise up an inheritance in Israel. In Isaiah however, we read of this
title "Kinsman-Redeemer" used of Jehovah Himself.
"Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and
thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Isa. 41: 14).
"Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have
sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is
in the ships" (Isa. 43: 14).
"Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the
first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God" (Isa. 44: 6).
When we remember that the same Hebrew word "GAAL" means not only redeemer,
but also "the kinsman who has the right to redeem", these titles become doubly
important.
If Jehovah, the Creator, the God of the whole earth is to be also the
Kinsman-Redeemer of the sons of Adam, then God Himself must become man.