“Then he said to the redeeming kinsman, ‘The parcel of land which used to belong to our relative Elimelekh is being offered for sale by Naomi, who has returned from the plain of Mo’av.'”-Ruth 4:3
I don’t like the way the Complete Jewish Bible translated one word in verse 3 of Ruth Chapter 4.
I’m talking about the word “relative”.
The Hebrew word here is actually ACH or אָח…
And it more specifically means “brother”…
Or it can refer to any MALE family member no matter how distant the relationship may be.
So it’s not really accurate to translate ACH as “relative” because a relative can be either a male or female.
The word ACH is also a term of affection and endearment…
Like how we refer to our close buddies as brothers even if there isn’t any existing blood relationship.
In this case, the other family redeemer was NOT literally Elimelech’s brother.
He was just some unnamed member who belonged to Elimelech’s clan.
So there’s a strong takeaway to be extracted from all of this.
Notice how the Hebrews considered themselves to be part of one big family.
It was so back then and remains so today.
In fact, no where was this reality made more clear to me than when I visited the Holy Land a couple of years ago.
It was an amazing experience.
Beautiful Hebrews of all different colors and backgrounds who had returned to the Land of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to live out their lives bonded by their devotion and allegiance to the ONE true God, the Creator of the Universe.
There’s sort of this dynamic energy or holy electricity in the air that you can only experience when you visit Israel.
So remember, when you declare allegiance to the Jewish Messiah, you are grafted into his family as well.
And those whom Yeshua referred to as his brothers (obviously only the Hebrews) become your brothers as well.
In fact, when you are grafted in, the opposite occurs as well.
Those who were once your brothers (and your sisters and mothers and fathers) are no longer your brothers or sister or mother or father.
And those who were not your brothers become your brothers.
That’s the SEPARATION that occurs when you are grafted into the family of God.
It is a separation that God wants and declares for His People.
See ya all next time.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Whoever does what my
Father in heaven wants,
that person is my brother
and sister and mother.”
-Matthew 12:50
“Then the people who have done
what God wants will reply,
‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you
something to drink?
When did we see you a
stranger and make
you our guest,
or needing clothes
and provide them?
When did we see you sick
or in prison, and visit you?’
The King will say to them,
‘Yes! I tell you that whenever
you did these things for
one of the least important
of these brothers of mine,
you did them for me!’”
-Matthew 25:37-40
I would go as far as to say that the reason this happens is because it all started with God seeing Israel as one entity.
To God, as is eveident throughout the Tanakh, Israel is a single unit, his son- an entity all to itself.
When the leaders are sinful, they lead everyone into sin and the entire nation is punished. If someone is found dead and the murderer isn’t known, the entire town must make amends to avoid having blood-guilt on their heads (this is all in the Torah)
So, if God sees all Israeli’s as one, it makes sense, doesn’t it, that we would see each other as family?
Of course, this is a brother-sister relationship that is a spiritual one, not an actual one, and God let’s us know that, too, when he tells the Cohen he may make himself unclean for a dead parent or brother or sister (the sister has to be living with the father), but not for anyone else. God clearly wants us to know the difference between spiritual relationships and physical ones.
So should we- personally, I do not like being called “brother” by strangers.
I think it’s as you said: “this is a brother-sister relationship that is a spiritual one”.
“Strangers” cease to be strangers when they become your brothers (and sisters) in Messiah.
Shalom.