The Kinsman Redeemer, Scripture's hidden treasure. A member of your immediate family has just been murdered. The man who did it has been apprehended by the police, and they brought him to your home. You're expected to kill him, and you're given instructions on how to dispose of the body. The police leave, and there you are, standing in your living room with this man. Such is the plight of the Kinsman Redeemer. A kinsman-redeemer is simply a man's male relative, and he was required to carry out certain responsibilities for his kinsman. The Hebrew word for kinsman-redeemer is ga'al. Interestingly, the word is defined as both to redeem and to be the next of kin, describing both his job and his identity. Ga'al is one of three Hebrew words translated redeem. The other two are kopher and pada. Kopher has to do with atonement, whereas pada and ga'al both have to do with obtaining the release of a person or possession. When one party's goods or person is in the possession of a second party, and a third party purchases the release of those goods or that person, that purchase is called redemption. And that's what Ga'al and Padaw refer to. Ga'al is distinct from Padaw because it places the emphasis on the relationship of the Redeemer to the redeemed. He redeems because of that kinsman relationship. The word geol first appears in Genesis 9.5, where God requires of a man an accounting of his fellow man. But together with the next verse, which establishes the death penalty for murder, this verse gives a picture of the basic responsibilities of a geol. But nowhere in scripture are all the responsibilities described in a single passage. Although the technical definition of Gaal is a close male relative, the Bible emphasizes the Redeemer aspect more. In fact, the first three times the word appears, Genesis 48, Exodus 6, and Exodus 15, it refers to God. God is called the Geal and it's translated Redeemer. After that, it's next seen in Leviticus 25 and 27 where it's used 46 times. The first reference is in chapter 5, verse 24. God says, you must provide for the redemption, Geal, of the land. If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells his property, his nearest relative, Ga'al, is to come in and redeem, Ga'al, what his countryman has sold. So in that one sentence, it sometimes means redemption and other times means nearest relative. So the first responsibility that appears in scripture for the Kinsmen Redeemer is redemption of the land. If a man was forced to sell his land because of debt, his ga'al was expected to buy the land back, if he was able, in order to keep the land in the ownership of the clan. This way the wealth of the clan was not diminished and the man had the opportunity to eventually buy back his land. An example of this is seen in Jeremiah 32, 6-12, where Jeremiah redeems a field belonging to his cousin, Hanamel, who probably had to sell it because of poverty because the land was under siege. Although the command originally only required redemption of land in the event that it was sold to pay a debt, the law eventually required Gael to redeem the land of a man who had died. This happened as a result of the Hebrew culture combining the Law of Redemption with the Law of Leveret Marriage, which required the closest single male relative of a deceased man to marry the man's widow. An example of the combination of these originally separate laws is seen in Ruth 4. Leviticus 25 goes on to describe other regulations, but the main thrust of the chapter is that if a man or his land is in the possession of someone else, when the year of Jubilee comes, he's automatically redeemed. It's in verses 28 and 54. The third major responsibility of the Geal is to bring retribution on a murderer. I counted 12 times in NIV where Geal is translated, avenger of blood. The death penalty for murder had already been established back in Exodus 21, but in Deuteronomy 19.12, the method of execution was prescribed. He was to be put to death, the murderer was to be put to death by the ga'al of the murdered man. This command became so abused that God ended up commanding the building of cities of refuge to protect men who had committed involuntary manslaughter from the angry Gaal, Numbers 35, Joshua 20. Involuntary manslaughter was not a capital crime. Examples of the proper execution of this command are few, but as is characteristic of the record of Israel, examples of the abuse of the command abound. One such example is seen in 2 Samuel 3. Abner had killed Asahel, Joab's brother, in self-defense, not murder. Then Joab avenged Asahel's blood by murdering Abner. The very next chapter contains another abuse of the command. Some men murdered Ish-basheth to avenge the attempt of Ish-basheth's father to kill David. David distorted the law in a different way. He allowed for an exception, and that resulted in the death of Amnon, the loss of David's throne. For the Ga'al to fail to kill the murderer was a very serious sin. The land became polluted and atonement couldn't be made until the murderer's blood had been shed on the land, Numbers 35, 33, and 34. The last major responsibility of the Ga'al is levirate marriage. This required the brother of the man who died childless to marry the widow and produce children in the dead man's name so his line would continue. Leverett marriage was never connected to redemption in the Old Testament law, but the culture combined them. You see that again in Ruth 4, 1-7. Leverett marriage was only binding on the dead man's brother, not any relative. The law is spelled out in Deuteronomy 25, 5 and 6, but we know it was enforced before that. Back in Genesis 38, God killed Onan when he refused to produce children for his dead brother. The responsibility was a serious one. If anyone refused to do it, he was to be punished with public humiliation, Deuteronomy 25, 7 to 10. Leverant marriage became such an integral part of Jewish society that the Sadducees used it as an argument against the resurrection in Matthew 22. Like all of God's commands, it was abused. However, when practiced the way God intended, it was a beautiful thing. An example of that is in Ruth 4. The man Ahimelech died and left his wife, Naomi, with his land, his two sons, and their wives. The sons and one of the wives died, leaving Naomi and the other wife, Ruth. A man named Boaz wanted to marry Ruth. At this time, Leverett marriage and the redemption of the land were combined, which presented a problem for Boaz. Boaz was a Ga'al, but Ahimelech had a closer Ga'al. Boaz got that man to give up his right to redemption and therefore inherited the right himself. Technically, Boaz was then to marry Naomi, but Naomi allowed him to marry Ruth instead because Naomi could no longer bear children. The reason the first Gaal was not required to redeem the land was probably because he had already married in chapter 4 verse 6. Leverant marriage was only required of single men. God never required polygamy. In Ruth 4, 7, and 8, the first Gaal gives his shoe to Boaz. Among the Hebrews, land was taken by throwing a sandal on it. You see that in Psalm 60, verse 8, and Psalm 108, verse 9. Transfer of land was symbolized by taking off the sandal and giving it to the new owner, and you see that in Ruth 4, 7. The taking off of the shoe symbolized the inability on the part of the former owner to walk on the land anymore. So the institution of Ga'al provided to Cain's question, am I my brother's keeper, an emphatic yes. God set up a system in which the concept of the kinsman redeemer was deeply ingrained into Jewish thinking in all kinds of different categories. And the result was Israel's looking to God as their Gaal after the exile. And if you understand that, the book of Isaiah really comes alive. Of the 33 times the word Gaal is used for God in the Old Testament, 19 are found in Isaiah. He is our Redeemer, our Geol. And each duty of the Geol has a specific relation to the work of Christ. First, the kinsman's need for redemption arose from the debt that the kinsman could not pay. Similarly, we owe a debt we cannot pay. We have sinned against God and because of that we owe our lives, Romans 6.23. We are sold as a slave to sin, Romans 7.14, and we were utterly incapable of purchasing our own freedom. Secondly, the Gaal acts because of his relationship to the kinsmen. In Jesus' case, the relationship is created by His action of redemption, making us His brothers. He paid the price for our sin, Isaiah 53.3, and bought us back, 1 Corinthians 7.23. Thirdly, with regard to the avenger aspect, the Lord fulfills that for us as well. In Psalm 105.15, God delivers a command to all people for all ages, do not touch my holy ones. And that statement thunders with authority, and God enforces it. The hope of God as our avenger was what gave Job the encouragement he needed to endure the scorn he received from men. Job 19.25, I know that my Redeemer, Gaal, lives and in the end he will stand upon the earth. Philippians 1.28 says the very fact that men oppose Christians is a sign that they will be destroyed. God is our great avenger. The entire book of Ruth is an example of the institution of kinsmen redemption. The term gaal is used over 20 times in four chapters. The main idea of the book, however, is not the redemption aspect, but the leverant marriage aspect. In fact, the Greek translation in the Septuagint avoids the word redeemer as a translation for gaal and uses kinsmen instead. But the reason Boaz is such a clear picture of Christ is he was in no way obligated to redeem because there was a closer gaol. He did it out of love. This idea is taken to the infinite extreme with God's redemption of us. God is a debtor to no man. He is in no way obligated to do anything for man except damn him. And yet, instead of damning us, he chose us to be his bride. Isaiah 41.14 says, I myself will help you, declares the Lord your God, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. So in the same statement, God refers to himself as the Holy One and the Redeemer. Holiness requires absolute separation from and destruction of sin or the sinner. And the Redeemer pays the penalty for sin. All who place their faith in Christ will be redeemed, Romans 3.21-24, and to everyone who has been redeemed will come a greater manifestation of redemption. Our souls are redeemed now and soon our bodies will also be redeemed, Romans 8.23. This will be such a colossal event that right now the whole creation is awaiting it in eager expectation, Romans 8.19. God's anointed will enter his dwelling place. 2 Timothy 3.16 assures us that all Scripture is useful for training in righteousness. This truth is never more clear than in the instruction about the kinsman-redeemer. Hidden in the pages of books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy is the greatest truth anyone could ever know, God's redemption of his created. What joy and praise this should bring to our lips. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, oh Lord, my rock, my gaal, my redeemer. Psalm 1914.