Part 3

But it was not only in the practical details of life that He honoured the law, but in the whole great work of redemption. Every part of that wonderful work was an act of homage to the law. Not only did He obey it when He was come, but in the act of coming, or in other words, even in His incarnation, He showed His obedience.

This will be easily seen if you study the law of redemption as laid down in this chapter. The law is here given respecting one who had sold himself to a stranger. How many are there who, like the bondsman, have sold themselves to sin! But we must not stop to dwell on that. The poor man had sold himself and was a slave. Till the year of jubilee nothing could release him but redemption. But who should pay the redemption price? that was the question. A stranger was not at liberty to do so. However kindly disposed he might feel, he had no right or power to interfere. According to this 48th verse, the Redeemer must be one of his brethren. ‘One of his brethren may redeem him: either his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family, may redeem him; or, if he be able, he may redeem himself.’ The slave himself might redeem himself if he had the power to do so. But what hope had that slave of procuring his own ransom when all his powers and all his time belonged to another? Who then could redeem him? Who could set him free?

The nearest of kin had the prior right, as we see in the case of Boaz and Ruth. But if he failed, the next in order of relationship might step in and take his place. But the redeemer must be a kinsman, and none but a kinsman could redeem. So closely are the two things identified, that redeemer and kinsman are both expressed by the same word in Hebrew. The same word stands for both, for the kinsman had the right of redemption, and the redeemer was obliged to have a blood relationship.

And now observe the manner in which our blessed Lord and Saviour obeyed the law.

We are all by nature in the position of the man that was sold. So St. Paul said of himself in his natural condition, ‘I am carnal, sold under sin,’ Rom. vii. 14; and therefore he described the law of evil within his nature warring against the law of his mind, ‘and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin which was in his members.’ There was therefore a captivity resulting from the sale.

But it is not only the original ruin of our human nature of which the expression is used in Scripture, for it is applied to the personal act of the individual sinner. Is there not an allusion to this very law in those passages which speak of persons having sold themselves? Ahab ‘sold himself to do evil.’ 1 Kings, xxi. 20. In 2 Kings, xvii. 17, the same is said of the children of Israel: ‘They sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord.’ In Isaiah, L. 1, there is a distinct reference to the sale to a creditor,—‘Which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.’ And in Isa. lii. 3, a clear allusion to the redemption of the slave, ‘Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.’ The sinner, therefore, is like the man who sold himself. He has yielded himself to be the servant of sin. He obeys it, and he does its work. If he wishes to get free he cannot. He may long for liberty, but he cannot attain it. He may think with bitter regret of past folly that has led to his ruin. But regret cannot restore. Remorse cannot set him free. A slave he is, and a slave, unless saved by redemption, he must remain.

How, then, can such an one be redeemed? That is the question. It must clearly be by a redemption price. There was no redemption under the law without a ransom. In the case of the man who had sold himself, the price was the value of his service until the year of jubilee. In our case it was infinitely higher, for the Lord Jesus gave Himself ‘a ransom for all.’ The sinner sold himself, and the Lord Jesus gave Himself as a ransom, and because He has done so, God said by the prophet, ‘Ye shall be redeemed without money.’

But my object is to consider, not the ransom, but the Redeemer, and to examine who, according to the law, was qualified to redeem.

(1.) We cannot redeem ourselves.

It is clear that according to ver. 49, the slave, if he were able, might redeem himself. But it must have been very difficult for a slave, who had sold himself because he was ruined, to accumulate sufficient for his own redemption; and it is perfectly clear that it would be utterly impossible for us to accomplish any such redemption for ourselves. Multitudes have endeavoured to do so. They have striven to gain a freedom by tears and toils, and fastings, and almsdeeds, proportioned to the sin committed. But the only effect has been that the chain has been riveted more firmly than ever on their soul. Instead of providing a ransom they have daily increased their debt. And so it will ever be so long as man struggles to redeem himself. ‘It cost more to redeem their souls, so they must let that alone for ever.’

(2.) Then again, angels could not redeem us. Even if there had been any mighty archangel of such majesty as to produce a sufficient ransom, he would have been disqualified for the office, for the simple reason that he would not have been a kinsman. We know but little of the nature of angels, and we cannot realize a mighty spirit perfectly independent of the flesh. But this we know, that there is a clear and marked distinction between the nature of angels and the nature of man, for we read of our blessed Saviour, ‘He took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.’ Heb. ii. 16. The angels, therefore, are not our brethren. They are not kinsmen, and therefore were not qualified to redeem. Whatever benevolence they may have felt, and whatever compassion for us in our captivity, and whatever joy in our salvation, the whole host of angels and archangels were utterly disqualified to act as redeemers, and, whatever they offered, according to the law, they were unable to redeem.

(3.) But still more. Even the Son of God Himself, in His eternal Godhead, could not redeem, for there lay against Him the same disqualification. He was eternal, above man, and of a nature altogether different. As the heaven is high above the earth, so is His nature above ours. It is high, we cannot attain unto it. In His divine nature, therefore, our blessed Lord Himself was not a kinsman, and therefore by law He could not be a Redeemer. He was not one of the brethren of the bondsmen, and therefore could not redeem; and, whatever love He felt for us, He was excluded, according to the law, from showing it in redeeming mercy.

And now you see the homage paid to the law in His incarnation. When He took on Him our nature He became a kinsman, and could redeem. See how clearly this is put in Heb. ii. 14. ‘Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.’ He identified Himself with them in nature in order that, being their kinsman, He might have the right of redemption. He took not on Him the nature of angels, for that would not have established a relationship with man, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham, and so became one with the great human family. The Levitical law, ver. 48, was, ‘One of his brethren may redeem him.’ So to carry out His own most gracious purpose of mercy, He took our nature, He made Himself a brother, and according to the 11th verse of that chapter in the Hebrews, ‘He is not ashamed to call us brethren.’

Just the same truth is taught us in Gal. iv. In ver. 3, we are described as bondsmen: ‘We were in bondage under the elements of the world.’ And when our Heavenly Father in boundless love undertook to save, what did He do? He first prepared a qualified Redeemer, and then that Redeemer redeemed us by His blood. ‘He sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law,’ qualified therefore in all respects, because He was of the same family ‘to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.’ He became a brother, and, being a brother, redeemed us by His blood. There was a double act of love and mercy: first, in assuming the relationship, and next, in availing himself of that relationship in stepping forth to pay the ransom for our release. Oh! who can tell the love of Christ? Who can sufficiently exalt His grace?

But now what is the position of all those that are in Him? What is the position of all you who have redemption through His blood? You were bondsmen once; sold under sin: sold by the act of Adam, and sold by your own conduct afterwards. As St. Paul says, Rom. vi. 17, ‘Ye were the servants’ or the slaves ‘of sin.’ But what are you now? Are you still slaves? No. Those only who are strangers to salvation in Christ Jesus are slaves. But you are not, for you are free. Your kinsman has appeared and paid the redemption price; so you are free: as completely free as if you had never been in bondage. The moment that the kinsman paid the ransom, the slave was free. He was not required to stop and inquire whether he deserved it or no. He was not obliged to wait and look into his feelings, and ascertain whether he felt it or no. The ransom was paid, and he was free, so that he might go home with a thankful heart to show his deep gratitude to the kinsman who had paid it. So it is with you if you be in Christ Jesus. The creditor has no hold on you, for your kinsman has come forward, and the whole ransom is paid. You are as completely free as you will be if you wait a hundred years. You cannot add anything to the ransom, and there is no need that you should do so, for all is paid, and paid in full. You may dwell therefore in perfect peace in your Father’s home, and with a thankful heart gather round your Father’s table, in the peaceful enjoyment of your Father’s fellowship, and your Father’s love.

But think how strange it would have been in olden times, if, when the kinsman had come forward and most kindly paid the redemption price, the poor bondsman had preferred captivity, and refused the liberty thus freely purchased for him by his brother. Such things apparently did happen sometimes, though they appear to us almost impossible; for, in Exod. xxi. 5, the servant is described as plainly saying, ‘I love my master . . . I will not go out free,’ and, when he said that he was taken to the door-post, and his ear was bored through in token that he was a slave for life. I do not know whether that often happened in ancient days, but I fear it is a very common occurrence now. The Son of God has become a kinsman on purpose to redeem, and as a kinsman has redeemed us by His blood. He has come to the master, and having broken all his legal power, has proclaimed liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; but there sits the slave, content in his slavery, and plainly says, ‘I love my master; I will not go out free.’ How many are there even amongst ourselves thus indifferent to liberty! They know there is a deliverer; they have heard it: they have read it: they believe it. They know their kinsman has paid the ransom, so that, according to the covenant, they may be free. But they love the old sins, and the old ways, and the old habits, and they have no wish to be set free. They like the old associations, and a change of heart might cause a separation from their wives and their children, so they had rather go on as they are, the slaves of sin, the bondsmen of their own corruption. Is it unjust that such persons should never be set free? If the bondsman of old deliberately went to the door-post that his ear should be bored, was it unjust that he should be bound a slave for ever? and if any one of us with the grand offer of the freedom of the Gospel fully before him, prefers his bondage and will not accept the purchased freedom, is it unjust that that man should remain a miserable slave? Oh, that I could persuade those who have thus far been sitting still content with their captivity, to accept the freedom which their kinsman now offers them, so that henceforth we may change our note, and instead of saying, ‘The ransom is paid, come home and enjoy your freedom,’ we may say to them in the full enjoyment of their Father’s loving home, ‘Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free.’

V. RUTH.

‘And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.’—RUTH, iv. 6.

IT has been my sacred privilege to speak lately more than once on the great subject of redemption as taught in the Old Testament, and the last time I did so I directed your attention to the law of redemption, as laid down in the book of Leviticus. But that law conveys a very imperfect idea of the redemption by our Lord and Saviour. In some respects there is a remarkable agreement, but the type falls utterly short of the reality. Let me mention a single instance. If the kinsman came forward to redeem either the person or property of the debtor, the effect of that redemption was to restore the ruined man to his liberty and his home. The forfeited property was restored, and the bondman became free; but there it stopped. The poor man was no better off after redemption than he was before he was sold. All that redemption did for him was to restore him to his original position. Here, then, you see in a moment the enormous difference between this Levitical redemption and the blessed work of our most blessed Saviour. He raises man by redemption to a position far above his position before the fall. Adam in Paradise had nothing to compare with the sacred inheritance of the saints of God in the kingdom of our Lord. Man, as represented in Adam, was far below the angels; but as redeemed in Christ Jesus, the second Adam, is high above them. Man in Adam had his inheritance on earth, but redeemed man in Christ Jesus is made heir to an ‘inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him.’

This point is very well illustrated by the case of Ruth. The history of Ruth is not unlike that of Joseph—a remarkable illustration, though never declared to be a type. We may, therefore, accept the illustration, though we must not ascribe to it a divine, or typical, authority.

Turning to chapter i., we find that Elimelech, a man of Bethlehem, had property in Bethlehem-judah, and in consequence of famine and subsequent poverty, had emigrated with his wife and two sons to Moab. When there, both his sons married, but before there was any family born to either of them, both they and their father died. The three women, therefore, were left widows, and the famine having abated, Naomi decided to return. She appears to have gone back to the old home at Bethlehem, but said that her name should be no more Naomi (pleasant), but Marah (bitter), for the old house had lost its joy. After her return she struggled on, with Ruth as her companion. At length Boaz, the great man of the neighbourhood, ‘a mighty man of wealth,’ became acquainted with their circumstances, and most kindly interested himself in their condition. Being related to Elimelech, he was prepared to step in, and act the part of a kinsman, by redeeming the property from sale. But in this there was a difficulty, for he was not the next of kin, and therefore had no right to redeem (ch. iii. 12). But when he who was next of kin heard of it, he declined to act, as he could not undertake the burden. Boaz, therefore, undertook to pay the redemption price himself. Is there not a remarkable illustration there of the sacred work of our Kinsman, for when all others failed, though bound by no responsibility, He freely undertook to redeem us Himself? Thus the price was paid, the property was redeemed, the family inheritance was preserved, and it is not at all improbable that it was in that very farm that Jesse lived, and David spent his boyhood.

But I do not want to dwell on the property, but rather to draw your attention to the case of Ruth. It was the stipulation of the covenant that Boaz should redeem all that belonged to Elimelech and his sons, and therefore he was to receive with the property the widow of the deceased Mahlon. It was a strange law that gave him such a power, or rather imposed on him such a duty. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has raised the marriage-tie to a sacred position, which would render any such regulation quite impossible now. But it was the law in the time of Boaz, and he acted on it when he redeemed the land.

But now I want you to observe carefully the result.

If the famine had not reduced Elimelech to poverty, and so compelled him to emigrate to Moab, he and his sons would have remained in humble life on their property at Bethlehem, and as for Ruth she would have dwelt unknown in the mountains of Moab. The famine, therefore, was the first link in the chain. God’s links are often very different to man’s plans. But after Naomi’s return, it is clear that she and her daughter led a struggling life, and were reduced so low that their property was advertised for sale. If all had gone well with them, they would apparently have been just able to live, and as it was, they were very glad of kind and generous help. But now observe the effect of redemption, and see how it raised Ruth above the position which either she herself, or the family of Elimelech, had occupied before the time of their distress.

There are two things to be noticed.

(1.) She became the bride of the man who had redeemed her. Before the redemption he was kind to her, and gave her six measures of barley into her veil. But by virtue of the redemption he made her his own, received her to a share of all he had, and bound himself to her by the sacred tie of a life-long affection. Now have we not here a remarkable illustration of the blessed truth that by redemption we are raised to a position incomparably higher than that from which man originally fell? The Church of God is not like the young gleaner receiving a few shekels of barley as a generous gift; but by redeeming blood it is raised into the position of the Bride of the Lamb, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Look at the description of this union as the result of redemption in Eph. v. 25: ‘Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.’ If, therefore, we have redemption through His blood, we are not merely permitted to glean behind His reapers, but we are brought into a relationship the most sacred and intimate that it is possible for the human heart to imagine. We live in His presence, we are made partakers of His kingdom, we may rest in His love. His promise is, ‘As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.’ And even when we are most deeply and painfully humbled at our own shortcomings, and at the sad coldness of our own hearts, we may think of Him not only loving us, but rejoicing in His love, admitting us to the most sacred confidence, and permitting us with the holy intimacy of a reverent affection to pour out our whole heart before Him. If, then, it were an elevation to Ruth to become the bride of the ‘mighty man of wealth,’ oh, what an honour is it for such as we are to be clothed with the white robe of His spotless righteousness, to be called by His grace into fellowship with Himself, to be loved by Him with an everlasting love; and, finally, presented to Him in spotless holiness to be one with Him for ever! How infinitely higher this is than anything enjoyed by Adam before the fall!

(2.) But this was not all, for by the act of redemption Ruth was brought into a special relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In the genealogy of our blessed Saviour there are only three women mentioned, one of whom was Ruth. I have no doubt in my own mind that this narrative was written, and preserved in the canon of Scripture, to prepare the way for that mention of Ruth in the genealogy; for I believe that the great object of the Old Testament is to trace the sacred line that terminated in the birth of the promised seed. The whole history follows that line, and all collateral branches are passed by without any special record. By the act of redemption, Ruth was bought into that sacred or royal line: she became the one woman of her generation that was lineally connected with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesse, the father of David, was her grandson, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was her seed. She was therefore brought by the act of redemption into union with Him, and so are we. Of course there is a vast difference between the two forms of union. She was the mother, we the children. He drew His human life from her, we receive our divine life from Him. In her case it was the tie of parentage or motherhood; in ours that of sonship. He was the promised Seed in which all nations of the earth are blessed; and as such He was her seed, and our Saviour. But though there was this marked distinction, in both cases redemption led to union; and if it were an honour to Ruth to be in the chosen line from which He sprang, is it not indeed an honour to such as we are to be admitted amongst the chosen family who are blessed in Him? Remember the words of the Apostle connecting sonship with redemption, Gal. iv. 4: ‘When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.’ The effect of redemption therefore is so to identify us with the Son of God that we ourselves in Him become sons. We are redeemed from the curse and made one with the Son of God, so that we may go in before the God of glory, and there cry Abba, Father. Ye then, who have redemption through His blood, accept your position, and be not afraid of claiming your union. As Ruth was brought into the same line of parentage, so are you into that of sonship. Act, therefore, as sons. Speak to your Father as your Father. Abide in Him: walk in Him: live in Him: trust in Him: undertake nothing independently of Him; and God grant that you may be preserved in Him till the great presentation day, when in Him you will be presented spotless before His throne!