Advent Day 23.....The Wise Men Part 2

The Magi had seen the star of the King of the Jews in the East and had come to worship Him.

[Mat 2:1-3 KJV] 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

When the wise men arrived, they created quite a stir in Jerusalem. We always make the assumption that there were only three wise men because there were three gifts mentioned. However, this is not in the Scriptures. We don't even know how many gifts they gave the King. We know of the three specific gifts because of their significance to the roles of Jesus as we discussed yesterday.

We often read these verses that tell of the Magi's visit and picture them following the star on a journey across lands to reach Jerusalem where once they reach the capital of  Judah, they get lost. But that is not what the text says. The Magi reported seeing the King of the Jews' star in the east, so they had come to Jerusalem, where the seat of power was for the Jews at that time. They had made the journey to come and worship the newborn king. They went to the place they expected the King to be - in the palace. However, it was Herod sitting on the throne.

The Magi arrived at the palace and asked Herod a question that would have been a slap in the face to him. "Where is He who has been BORN King of the Jews?" Herod was not the King of the Jews by birth. Herod was king because of his loyalty and alliance to Caesar. He was a friend of Rome, and being the Roman procurator in Judah was his reward, as was the title King of the Jews. But Herod was not even a Jew by birth. He was an Idumean, which is to say he was of Edomite ancestry. The Edomites were descended from the family of Esau, Jacob's twin brother. So, imagine what Herod must have thought or felt when the Magi arrived in his palace looking for the One who had a rightful claim to the throne of the Jews.

But how did they know to look for the King? How did they know there would even be a King of the Jews? How would they know to look for His star? The term translated "wise men" or "magi" in scripture comes from the word "magos." It was a name given by the Babylonians and Chaldeans for their wise men, teachers, astrologers, and interpreters of dreams. So how would this group of magi from the east even know about the King of the Jews? For the answer to that, we need to take a trip to the Old Testament to the book of Daniel. Daniel had been taken into captivity, but was being trained in all things of the literature and language of the Chaldeans. When in Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar has a dream he can't understand he calls for the following:

[Dan 2:2 NASB] 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

But they could not help Nebuchadnezzar, which infuriated the king. As the king is ordering the death of all the wise men, Daniel finds out what is going on. You can read the full account in Daniel 2. For our purpose, Daniel by the power of the Holy Spirit is able to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue.  Nebuchadnezzar rewards Daniel because of this:

[Dan 2:48 NASB] 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

The definition for wise men in this verse is magi. Daniel the prophet was made the chief ruler over the magi of the Babylonians and Chaldean astrologers. What does this have to do with the coming of the wise men you may ask. Daniel is also the prophet who was given the exact timeline of the arrival of the King of the Jews. He was given a "when to start the clock" event and then the number of days it would be after this event. If someone knew the initiating event, they would know when to begin looking for the arrival of the King. That initiating event happened to be a decree the ruler of Babylon would make. Daniel 9 gives the prophecy of the coming Messiah, the timeline for His arrival and death.

With all of this in mind, is it surprising that there was a group of Magi who knew to look for the coming King? Is it any surprise that they passed this on from generation to generation in anticipation of this event? How like God it is bring the knowledge to the Gentiles of His coming Son by the mouth of a Hebrew prophet! This is exactly how God revealed everything to do with His Son's coming.

I love how God made sure the rulers in authority and the people of Israel knew the King of the Jews had been born by having the Magi go to Jerusalem and deliver the news and inquire of where He would be. The specific place of birth was not part of the prophecy Daniel was given. Herod found out where it was to be by inquiring of those who should have been watching for the King's arrival:

[Mat 2:4-6 NASB] 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'"

Herod did not find out the location with good intentions in mind. He he was hatching an evil plan, but we will save that for another day.

[Mat 2:7-10 NASB] 7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him." 9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

These men had, upon seeing the star of the King of the Jews making its appearance, traveled to bow down and worship Him. They took a journey that would have been wrought with dangers and unknowns, but this did not deter them. They wanted to bring Him gifts and worship Him. I love how scripture tells us they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. I love how they fell to the ground to worship the King of ALL kings.

[Mat 2:11 NASB] 11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

What a beautiful picture for us this Christmas season. Do we rejoice with exceedingly great joy because our King was born in Bethlehem? Do we fall down and worship Him? Do we offer up the sweet incense of our prayers to the One Who, by His precious mercy, paid it all for us? Do we offer our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to Him in worship?

[Rom 12:1 NASB] 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

[Rev 4:11 NASB] 11 "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

[Rev 5:13 NASB] 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."

Praying you feel the presence of our Lord and King this Christmas season and throughout the year. I pray we continue to focus on Him and put Him first in all that we do today and every day. Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!

Advent Day 22......The Wise Men Part 1

The visit of the Wise Men seeking He who was born King of the Jews was not just some random occurrence or interesting event in the early life of the Messiah. Like every other detail regarding His coming, the visit was to fulfill prophecies given of the coming King in the Old Testament. 

Here is the account Matthew gives of their visit:
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'" 7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him." 9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. [Mat 2:1-11 NASB] 1 


In Isaiah 60 and Psalm 72 our King's visitors are foretold:

"Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. ...... A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD. [Isa 60:1-3, 6 NASB] 

[Psa 72:10 NASB] 10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

I love the the magnitude and beauty of the Isaiah passage. What a precious promise of the coming Light to the Nations. In the midst of a dark world THE LIGHT of the world would arrive!! The LIGHT would have visitors who would come to His light, His star the wise men saw in the east. How appropriate that the road sign for the wise men would be A LIGHT for THE LIGHT. They saw His light and came to the brightness of His coming. They bowed down and worshiped the King of kings and Lord of lords! They knew exactly who they were visiting. We will talk more about this tomorrow. The magi did not arrive empty-handed for their visit.They came prepared for an audience with the king.

We are told in Matthew of the magi bringing gifts to the Messiah; gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Isaiah and Psalm foretell of the kings bringing the gifts of gold and frankincense, but the myrrh is not mentioned. Why not?

Each gift the wise men gave represented an office Jesus would fill. In scripture and in ancient times, gold was representative of kingship. It would be given or used as a tribute to a king. Think of the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10 giving King Solomon 120 talents of gold. Jesus is the King of kings. The gold represented His role as King. Frankincense was used by the priests in their offerings and sacrifices. Jesus is our High Priest. The frankincense represented His role as High Priest. Myrrh was used in preparing a body for burial. Jesus would become our Passover Lamb and lay down His life for us. Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. The gifts are a beautiful foretelling picture of Who this Child was they had come to worship. Gold, frankincense and myrrh are the perfect picture of our LORD. 

Now why wasn't the myrrh mentioned? This prophecy of the kings visiting and bringing gifts was fulfilled in part with the first coming of Jesus. But it will also have a future and complete fulfillments with the second coming of the King. When He returns and is sitting on the throne of David, kings will come from all over to worship Him, and they will know exactly WHO He is. They will bring gifts to Him, bow down and worship. How incredible is that?! But, when our King comes the second time, there will be no need for myrrh. His death and resurrection is already complete. It was once and for all.There will be no need of spices for burial, only gifts for our living King and High Priest. 

[Heb 10:10-12 NASB] 10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,


There is another reason for the visit of the wise men. It is a beautiful, comforting picture for us of the plan of redemption. It is a picture of the plan for the ministry of Christ Jesus. He came for both Jew and Gentile. First He came to the house of Israel and then to the Gentiles. The Jews were given the announcement and introduction first. Then the Gentiles came to Him. Upon His arrival, first the Jewish shepherds were given the announcement and introduction. Then the Gentile wise men were called to come. His coming was for all who would come to Him. 

Jesus is the Light of the World!  He is the only way out of the darkness of sin and death and into the LIGHT of redemption and eternal life with Him. Just as the wise men and shepherds responded to the call and saw for themselves the truth and goodness of the promised Messiah, so we must come for ourselves to partake in the promises of our Redeemer. He loves us so much!! I am so thankful for His lovingkindness!! Praise you, Jesus!! 

Advent Foretold Day 11: The Davidic Covenant....the Promise of the Son....

  "Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness..." Neh 9:32a

Our God is a covenant God. He is a maker and keeper of covenants. He makes promises and keeps those promises. There are everlasting covenants God enters into on His own, where the actions of another person or persons have nothing to do with the outcome. He establishes what He is going to do, He declares it, and fulfills it in His time. God's Covenant with Abraham is an example of this. Then there are conditional covenants that God enters into WITH another party. The other party does have a part to play in the outcome. They enter into a promise and as long as they do their part, God does His part. The Mosaic Covenant is an example of this. 

The Davidic Covenant, found in 1 Chronicles 17, is God making an everlasting covenant with David. David's actions will have no impact on the outcome. It will be brought about no matter what David or his descendants do. 

God's timing in revealing the Davidic covenant was when David was in the middle of deciding what he "needs to do" for God. It had occurred to David that he was living in a house of cedar, while the Lord's Ark of the Covenant was in a tent. The reality of this hits him, and he talks to Nathan the prophet about it. Nathan immediately encourages David to do what is in his heart (building a House for the Lord) for the Lord is with David. The Lord was with David, but He was not with this plan and He tells Nathan as much that night. 

"Go and tell David My servant, 'Thus says the LORD, "You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, 'Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?' Now, therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth......Moreover, I tell you that the LORD will build a house for you. When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. 1Ch 17:4-8, 9-10b, 11-15

This passage is so packed full of truths, promises and revelations! It is so rich and awesome!!! We could spend ages on this passage. But to keep the focus of our Advent, we have been following the scarlet thread of the Promised Messiah, and here the genealogy narrows yet again. It has already been revealed that He would be of the seed of woman, through the line of Abraham, Jacob, and Judah. It is revealed from Judah's family line, He will be of the House of David. Not only that, but He will be eternal and have an everlasting kingdom.  God also reveals it will be His Son sitting on the throne of David, His Son will come from the line of David, and  it would be His Son Who would build a house for God and have an everlasting  kingdom!!!! 

Often prophecies given in scripture foretold  future events that were not meant for that prophet's lifetime. But God had a validation system built in for people to know if the prophet and the prophecy given were from Him. 

"When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him." [Deu 18:22 NASB] 

Even if the fullness of the prophecy was meant for a later time, there would need to be a near fulfillment of that same prophecy to validate the faithfulness of God and that the prophecy was truly from Him. This is a consistent pattern God uses throughout scripture, one of types and near/far fulfillment of prophecy. 

The near fulfillment of this prophecy in Nathan the prophet's lifetime was there would be a son born to David, Solomon, and he would build a house for the Lord. But the house he built the Lord was out of wood and stone.  And this near fulfillment would be a flawed man, who would sin, not one of perfection and righteousness. In the parallel passage of this covenant given in 2 Samuel 7, there is a piece of the prophecy that only pertains to the near fulfillment, not the Messiah:

".....when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.  [2Sa 7:14b-15 NASB]
 
Unlike the Messiah, Who is perfect and without sin, Solomon would commit iniquity as would his descendants after him, some so very grievously. In spite of this, God promised He would not remove the kingdom from David's line, as He did with King Saul. The Messiah WOULD come through the line of David. God had made a covenant with David and He would keep His promise in spite of the actions of David's descendants after him. 

The far fulfillment of this prophetic covenant would be the coming of the King, an actual descendant of David someday coming, ruling and reigning forever. The far fulfillment would be the coming of a Son, a descendant of David, God's Son, and He would build an eternal House for God.  

The Lord has sworn a truth to David, A truth from which He will not turn back: "Of the fruit of your body I will set up your throne." Psalm 132:11

"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth." Jeremiah 23:5

David had a picture of what he was going to do for the Lord. He was going to build a house for the Lord, but instead God was going to build a house for David. God's Son would be the one building the house without hands. God was going to establish the kingdom of this Son forever! God's promise did not rely on David in any way. There were no works of David's hands that could make this promise any more or less true. This promise could be counted on to be completely fulfilled, because it depended on God, not man. The promise, protection for, and fulfillment of, were all for God to do, not man.

This does not mean Satan did not try to thwart God's plan. He has been trying to upset God's plan from the beginning.  Knowing the specific line the seed of the woman would come through put Satan into attack and destroy mode against the line of David. All you have to do is pick up your Bible and read the history of David, Solomon, and the Kings of Judah after them. Adultery, murder, rape, and idolatry, are just few of the methods used to try and wipe out the line of David and upset the plan of God's redemption for mankind. At one point in the history of Judah, the royal line of David is wiped out by a wicked queen, save one little baby, who is hidden away for seven years by his aunt and her husband, the faithful high priest of the time. (2 Kings 11)

But God's plan and purpose will not be thwarted. He is God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Lord of all!! There is none who can thwart Him or upset His holy plan. He has no equal. There is such awesome security and confidence knowing Who is in charge and knowing we are His.

For us, being IN His perfect plan is the absolute best place to be. Seeking His will and purpose for our lives is the most secure, steadfast place for us. He does have a plan and a purpose for each of our lives. Asking Him what He would have us do, and how He would have us going about doing it should be a part of our daily talking to Him. We should not be getting ahead of ourselves, thinking we know what it is. Doing so, may make us miss out on such blessings and intimacy with Him. Be still, seek His face, listen to His promptings in our lives. See the things He has established and laid out before you to do. It may be in the daily ministry to your family and. It may be in the mission field of your job, whatever that job may be. It may be being called into circumstances or situations we could never have imagined. Whatever it is, let it be what He has ordained for us, not what we ordain for ourselves. 

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. [Heb 13:20-21 NASB] 

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. [Luk 9:23 NASB] 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. [Eph 2:10 NASB] 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. [Pro 3:5-6 NASB] 

Advent Foretold Day 9...The Kinsman Redeemer

What do the Law of Redemption and the Law of the Levirate marriage have to do with the coming Messiah? Why do we need to understand what a ga’al is? Who is our ga’al?

The next stop in our Advent is during the time of the Judges. We visit the book of Ruth, one of the most beautiful historical accounts in the Bible, but it does not begin that way.  It begins with a time of famine, loss, and uncertainty. Ruth, a Moabitess, had married into the family of Naomi and Elimelech while the family was living in Moab. They had moved there to escape a famine that was devastating the land of Israel. Elimelech (who was of the line of Ephrathath of Judah) died in Moab. Shortly thereafter, the two sons die as well.  Naomi, hearing things are better in Israel, moves home to Bethlehem of Ephrathath. But she does not return home alone. In an act of total love and sacrifice, Ruth, her devoted daughter-in-law goes with her. Ruth leaves behind her family and all that she knows to go to a foreign land where she would be a complete outsider and with no wealth. Naomi tries to warn her, But listen to Ruth's reply to Naomi. They are some of the most poignant verses in Scripture:

"Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me." Ruth 1:16-17

Upon arriving in Israel, Ruth had to find a way to feed her mother-in-law and herself.  In Israel, the needy were taken care of with a law God had given to Moses in Leviticus 23:22. The land owners were not allowed to reap the very corners of their fields, and the harvesters were only allowed to pass through the field once. Whatever was left was for the needy and the alien. They would follow behind the harvesters to gather up food for themselves and their families. This is exactly what Ruth did. She went to glean in the fields. But she did not work in just any fields. Ruth happened into the fields of a man of great wealth, of the family of Elemelech, Naomi's relative. His name was Boaz.

When Boaz came out to inspect his fields, he saw Ruth working in the fields and was immediately taken with her . The reputation of this foreign woman, what she had done for her mother-in-law, her kindness and hard work, had been widely spoken of in Bethlehem.  Boaz begins to take care of Ruth...not because he has to, but because he wants to. Boaz has his men watch over her.  He has his servants leave extra food for her in the fields. He tells Ruth to stay in his fields and only glean from them. He also instructs her to stay close to his maidservants where she will be safe from harm. At mealtime, he serves her from his own portion and gives her more food to take home. Boaz is a obviously a man in love.

When Ruth came home from the fields that first day, it was clear to Naomi something was up! From the amount of food alone, it was obvious that Ruth had found favor with the owner of the field. When Ruth tells Naomi it was Boaz' field, Naomi tells Ruth who he is, that he is one of their closest kinsmen. Naomi instructs Ruth to stay in Boaz' field, which Ruth does. After a time, Naomi sees she might be able to help Ruth make a match for herself, so she gives Ruth the following instructions:

[Rth 3:1-5 NASB] 1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do." She said to her, "All that you say I will do."

In ancient times, the winnowing was done at the threshing floor and was like a pioneer days barn raising. The people would gather to get the work done, and then have a merry feast with plenty of food, drink, and fun. That night the men would sleep at the threshing floor with the freshly winnowed crop in the middle of the group. They would lay with their heads by the crop and their feet facing outward...picture a sunburst pattern. The evening of the barley winnowing arrives, and Ruth follows Naomi's directions to the letter....almost.

At the end of a wonderful evening, Boaz lays down by the barley to sleep. Once he is asleep, Ruth comes in, uncovers his feet, and lays down by them. During the night Boaz is startled awake and  realizes there is a woman lying at his feet, but he does not recognize her because of the darkness, so he asks her identity.

[Rth 3:9 NASB] 9 He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative."

Naomi had told Ruth to wait for Boaz to tell her what to do, but instead of waiting, Ruth asks Boaz to marry her, to be her covering, to be the wing under which she takes refuge because he is a close relative. The word translated as covering in this verse is the Hebrew word kanaph. It means wing, extremity, skirt. In ancient times, the skirt hem was the symbol of authority. It would be used to make a mark in a seal on documents, much like a signet ring. And the wing was the part of a man's garment on the arm that during a wedding ceremony he would use to cover his bride's shoulders in a show a symbolic protection.

The word Ruth used to call Boaz a close relative is ga'al. This means REDEEMER. She wanted Boaz to take on the role of kinsman redeemer for her.  In Leviticus 25:25 God instructs, "If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold [some] of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold." However, not just anyone qualified to be a kinsman redeemer. A ga'al had to meet certain requirements. He must be a near kinsman and a blood relative. He must be free himself. He must be able to pay the price of redemption required. And most importantly, he must be willing to pay the price.

 Ruth had made a twofold requests with her simple sentence; "Please redeem me and marry me." Boaz met the qualifications, but he was under no obligation whatsoever to be the Kinsman Redeemer for Ruth or to marry her to fulfill the law of the levirate marriage, for there was actually a closer relative than him. But Boaz was thrilled to be asked by Ruth to take on these roles. He wanted to be her ga'al and husband BECAUSE HE LOVED HER!

By the way, I believe God had been preparing Boaz's heart to love Ruth from the time he was born. Boaz's own mother had a been an foreigner, an outsider. His mother was Rahab, the harlot. If anyone could understand the difficulties an outsider might face, it would be Boaz. I love the compassion and love in God's planning, not just for the people in the lineage to the birth of the Messiah, but for each and every one of us.

Even though Boaz was thrilled with Ruth's proposal, the closer kinsman that had the right of first refusal and had to be given the opportunity to redeem Ruth. The last chapter of Ruth tells of Boaz's meeting with the other man at the city gate. The other relative is very eager to redeem the land. Who wouldn't want to add some rich real estate to their portfolio? UNTIL Boaz adds the caveat: Ruth, the MOABITESS, is part of the package. The man would not just have to pay to redeem the land. He would have to marry Ruth and perform the role of the Levirate Marriage. This would mean their firstborn child would be considered Ruth's dead husband's child. The child would inherit in the dead man's name. The nearer kinsman would pay to redeem something he would never get to pass on to his namesake, and his own inheritance would be in jeopardy of going to the other man's namesake. Much to Boaz and Ruth's relief, the closer kinsman says he is not able to redeem Ruth.

Boaz, not by obligation but out of love, becomes the kinsman redeemer for Ruth. Boaz takes Ruth as his wife. He redeems and pays the debts for Naomi and Ruth, an Israelite and a Gentile. He redeems the land for them. Ruth and Boaz are blessed with a son named Obed, and Boaz allows his own son to be raised up as the legal son of a dead man in order to have the legal right to redeem Naomi. Why would Boaz do this?? To put it simply....LOVE.

[Rth 4:14-16 NASB] 14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."

Obed's name did become famous. He is in the geneology of the Messiah. Obed became the father of Jesse, who became the father of King David who was the forefather of his Lord, Christ Jesus. Like Rahab, Ruth receives the honor of being one of five women listed  in the genealogy of Jesus given in the book of Matthew.

The book of Ruth is so full of lessons, types and truths, it would take years to plumb the depths of it. For our Christmas Advent, it is continuing to follow the Scarlet Thread to the birth of the promised Redeemer. It is a picture of a God Who loves us so much, that before we were even aware of His goodness, He was providing for us, watching over us, and protecting us. It is the picture of a God who loves us so much that not out of obligation or need, but out of complete love was willing to have His only begotten Son become the legal son of man so that He could be our Redeemer. It is a picture of a love so pure, so strong, so beautiful. It is a picture of a Son being born with the express purpose of being our own Kinsman Redeemer, Who by becoming the Son of Man....in human flesh, had the legal right  to take on our debt to sin, to pay that debt for us...and bring us the gift of freedom  and eternal life.

God is holy, perfect, and just, and He loves us so much.  He provided a way for us to be redeemed from our debt to sin. Jesus paid the debt for us. When He entered into His creation, it was as a human being. He became man so that He could take our place. Our Ga'al, our Redeemer, our Kinsman......Jesus, being born in the flesh, is able to be our Kinsman Redeemer. Jesus, Who owed nothing and was free from sin and death was willing and able to pay the price for our debt. He had the price of redemption....His precious blood that He was willing to shed for us. At great cost, a cost we cannot fathom, Jesus was willing to pay for our debt to sin on the cross with His precious blood. He willingly laid down His life for us that we might be free. But, just like Ruth, we have to ask Him to be that for us. We have to ask Him to cover us with His wing.  We had to ask Him to be our ga'al, our Redeemer. And when we have, He joyously covers us with His wing of safety, authority, and love.