THE KINSMAN REDEEMER: GOD’S PLAN FOR OUR REDEMPTION
In the Old Testament, the concept of the “kinsman redeemer” was an important part of Israelite culture.
This kinsman redeemer was responsible for preserving the family name, property, and lineage of a family member who became impoverished or of a woman who lost her husband.
This theme ultimately points to Jesus Christ as the Kinsman Redeemer sent by God to be our redeemer as described in the New Testament of the Bible.
THE KINSMAN REDEEMER IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
In ancient Israelite society, several laws described the responsibilities of the kinsman redeemer.
As outlined in Leviticus 25, God required the redeemer to buy back family land, carry on the name of a deceased relative, and free relatives sold into slavery.
This was not a law created by men. God gave this law to the nation of Israel.
If an Israelite man became poor and had to sell his land, his nearest relative was responsible for buying it back so that the land stayed in the family.
If a woman was widowed without having a son, it was the duty of the dead husband’s brother to marry her and provide an heir in the name of the deceased.
The story of Ruth and Boaz in the book of Ruth gives us an illustration of the kinsman-redeemer concept found in the Old Testament.
When Naomi and Ruth’s husbands died, they were left poor and without a way to provide food and shelter for themselves.
Boaz became their redeemer by showing kindness to Ruth when he allowed her to glean grain in his field, and later by marrying her in order to carry on the family name of Ruth’s deceased husband.
THE KINSMAN REDEEMER IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Just as the kinsman redeemer in the Old Testament preserved families, Jesus became the redeemer of all humanity through His life, death, and resurrection.
Jesus fulfilled the role of redeemer in several key ways:
1) He redeemed us from the curse of sin.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they brought death and separation from God.
But Christ’s death paid the penalty for sin and opened the way for all people to be reconciled to God
1PETER 1:18–19 NLT
1PETER 1:18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
1 PETER 1:19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
2) He defeated Satan and stripped him of his power and authority that he had gained through Adam’s sin.
Through His victory over sin and death, Jesus reclaimed what Satan had stolen from humanity
COLOSSIANS 2:13–15 NLT
COLOSSIANS 2:13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
COLOSSIANS 2:14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
COLOSSIANS 2:15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
3) He reversed the effects of the Fall.
Though Adam’s sin brought curses like sickness, poverty, rejection, and unrighteousness, Jesus endured these on our behalf so that we could be adopted as God’s children, and made righteous before God.
4) Jesus Christ restored humanity’s broken relationship with God.
Adam’s sin separated us from God, but Jesus’ redemptive work removed the barriers between God and man and enabled us to know God intimately as our Father.
The kinsman redeemer of the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the future Messiah, Jesus Christ, in the New Testament. Jesus Christ would provide a means of redemption for the entire human race.
JESUS PAID THE PRICE TO FREE US FROM OUR SINS
Jesus paid the price to free us from the curse and consequence of the Fall, and he restored us to a right relationship with God the Father.
Just as Boaz selflessly acted to preserve the line of Naomi’s deceased son, Christ our Redeemer gave His life to make us adopted members of God’s eternal family and heirs with Him.
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