If we’re gonna really understand the true Biblical meaning of the “Kinsman Redeemer”, we’ve gotta know the difference between a Biblical family and what we consider to be a family today.
In our day and age, when we say “family”, basically we mean a mother, a father and a couple of kids all living under the same roof.
That single household is defined as a family (at least in the western world).
However, I’d say that over time, even that basic social unit has changed due to divorce and the multitude of children born out of wedlock.
In our day and age, it’s not unusual for a kid to have a mother and a step-mother or a father and a step-father.
So again, this was totally different than the Biblical model.
In the Biblical world, families were whole communities.
They didn’t just include grandparents and aunts and uncles.
A Biblical family included ALL related members of a family who were connected to the son of the original tribe’s founder.
We’re talking about hundreds, and in some cases, even thousands of family members.
So yeah, a family was basically a clan.
And even if a clan got really big and broke off into two separate clans, they still recognized their common blood ties that bonded them together as a family.
Heck, one could say the entire Hebrew race is one big God-ordained family.
So from this perspective, we can see why Naomi said Boaz was her “redeemed kinsman”.
It’s because he was part of her family in the clan-like sense…
Even though that relationship was very distant.
Some of the Jewish sages have said that Boaz was really Elimelech’s nephew…
But that’s just fanciful speculation because there ain’t no record of such a familial connection existing.
And you know what?
It’s not important to this story anyway.
The only thing that matters is that Boaz was of the same family or clan so to speak…
EVEN IF it wasn’t a close kinship as we view it from our Western perspective.
So how does this all tie back to the Biblical role of a GO’EL which is usually translated as “Kinsman Redeemer”?
Simple…
It was the GO’EL’s responsibility to protect and defend the members of his clan or tribe at all costs.
And this responsibility was hierarchically based.
In other words, if a man due to uncontrollable circumstances such as financial hardship or illness was in danger of losing his rights because of failure to fulfill his obligations, those obligations fell on the next of kin.
This next of kin was responsible for picking up the slack and performing the duties he was unable to.
This kind of gives us fresh perspective on what our Kinsman Redeemer Yeshua did for us, doesn’t it?
Because we failed to pay off our “sin debt” to God, he stepped in and took care of that for us.
And let’s not overlook the word “kinsman” folks…
Yeshua came ONLY for his kinsman which by definition is the children of Israel.
So unless you’re grafted into the commonwealth of Israel or the “family” so to speak, how can you benefit from Yeshua’s sacrifice?
The answer is you can’t because you’re not one of his kin.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“He himself bore our sins
in his body on the tree,
that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness.
By his wounds
you have been healed.”
-1 Peter 2:24
“For our sake he made him
to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God.”
-2 Corinthians 5:21
“…who gave himself for us
to redeem us from all lawlessness
and to purify for himself
a people for his own possession
who are zealous for good works.”
-Titus 2:14
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