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SOUNDING OUT:
Boaz As a Type of Christ
Boaz, the kinsman redeemer
in Ruth, is a type of our true and faithful kinsman-redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
I Peter 1:18-20:
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your
vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot:
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of
the world, but was manifest in these last times for
you,
Boaz paid the price of
the redemption of Naomi and Ruth outside the gate of
the city. Hundreds of years later our kinsman-redeemer
would pay the price for us. The price he paid could
not be counted in dollars and cents. It was far greater.
He paid the price of his blood. He qualified as the
perfect sacrifice and was therefore “able to perform.”
Ephesians 1:7:
In whom [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace
Just like Boaz, Jesus
was willing to perform. He did not have to give his
life. He laid it down freely. What kept him on the cross
was his great love, that’s the riches of his grace
and kindness toward us.
Colossians
1:14:
In whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
As with the kinsman-redeemer
of the Old Testament, Jesus fulfilled all the qualifications
of the goel. First, the goel had to
be a kinsman, and Jesus was a man. Second he had to
be able to perform, as God’s only begotten son
with perfect, unpolluted blood, he had the wherewithal
that was necessary. He was able to perform our redemption.
Third, he had to be willing to perform, and of Jesus
it was written in Psalms 40:7-8 and Hebrews 10:9, “Lo,
I come to do thy will, O God.” Lastly, he would
be obliged to assume all the obligations of those he
redeemed.
Just as Boaz assumed all that was contrary to
Naomi and Ruth, Jesus Christ assumed all the responsibility
of our sin and made full restitution. Isaiah tells us
how it happened.
Isaiah 53:4-6:
Surely he [Jesus, the Messiah] hath borne our griefs
[sicknesses], and carried our sorrows [pains]: yet we
did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was
upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all.
God laid it on Jesus Christ.
He paid the price. Jesus Christ bore our sicknesses
and pain. He took our sin and everything else that was
against us. He redeemed our weaknesses. He redeemed
our mistakes.
Colossians
2:14:
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross;
This refers to the paying
off the debts of another, which was another thing the
kinsman-redeemer would do. The same truth is disclosed
in Isaiah.
Isaiah 40:1,2:
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her,
that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S
hand double for all her sins.
“Double” in
Isaiah 40:2, does not mean twice as much. Where would
the comfort be in that? If one had exceeding great debt
a list of indebtedness was written out and posted on
the gate. Everyone would see it and not do business
with the person. They would extend no more credit to
him until his debts were fully paid for. Often a benefactor
would see the notice and want to remove the shame and
disgrace associated with it. The benefactor would graciously
make full restitution, and then the elders at the gate
would take the list and fold it in half, doubling it.
Those things that were against the man have been fully
paid for.
Bishop Pillai translated Isaiah 40:2 as:
Speak comfort to the heart
of Jerusalem, and declare unto her, that the appointed
time is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned;
for she hath received of the Lord’s hand a fully
paid up receipt for all her sins.
Jesus assumed the responsibility
for our sin and became sin for us, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him. All the sin and
iniquity that was against us were eradicated. Jesus
Christ paid our debts of sin in full. He paid in full
for our release from the bondage of the law. He was
subjected to pain, sickness, suffering, and death for
us. By taking these things upon himself, he "blotted
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us...
nailing it to his cross."
The kinsman-redeemer had three major responsibilities
in the Old Testament.
- To redeem land that was forfeited
and return it to the original owner. (Leviticus 25:23-28)
- To redeem a kinsman from bondage
to a foreigner. (Leviticus 25:47-49)
- To avenge the death of a slain
kinsman as a point of honor. (Numbers 37:12,19,21; Deuteronomy
19:6,12)
The same word translated
kinsman redeemer is translated avenger of blood depending
on the context. If somebody killed my brother it was
my responsibility as the avenger of blood to avenge
his death. That’s how justice was executed back
then. If my brother was murdered I, as an avenger of
blood, would have the right to go find that person and
execute him. Execute the judgment: eye for an eye, tooth
for a tooth, life for a life. This is part of Jesus
Christ’s responsibility as our kinsman redeemer.
The Book of Ruth foretells of the kinsman-redeemer’s
accomplishment of the first two of these responsibilities
on the Day of Pentecost at the beginning of this administration
of the mystery. He redeemed our inheritance. Our inheritance
is no longer over seas. It’s not in the Middle
East. It doesn’t have boundaries of lakes and
lands. Our inheritance is what we have in Christ Jesus.
Our inheritance is the holy spirit that we have…
the ability to operate manifestations and walk with
God. That’s our inheritance. That’s our
right. Everything this Word of God says, this is our
inheritance. Our inheritance isn’t in land it’s
in the Word that we are more than conquerors; that we
can do all things through Christ; that we can do whatever
this Word says. He redeemed our inheritance this is
our right.
The second responsibility was to redeem a kinsman
from bondage to a foreigner. We used to belong to the
adversary. We used to only be body and soul people,
but He delivered us from the power of darkness and translated
us into the kingdom of His dear son. We no longer belong
to the adversary. He’s bought us back. He doesn’t
have any right over us. He’s not our master anymore!
We are new people. We are a new creation. He’s
brought us back. He’s taken us to God’s
kingdom with him. Both of those were accomplished on
the day of Pentecost for us. We have an inheritance.
We no longer belong to the adversary.
However, the third responsibility, as an avenger
of blood is yet to be fulfilled. Just as surely as he
accomplished the first two, he will accomplish the third.
Remember the opening of the public ministry of Jesus
Christ in Luke 4?
Luke 4:16-20:
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up:
and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on
the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet
Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the
place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me
to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to
the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. [Note
the period!]
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the
minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Jesus read from the scroll
of Isaiah that day. He was reading the pericope for
that Sabbath. This was not by accident either. This
was divine design, as we will see as we read from Isaiah
ourselves.
Isaiah 61:1,2:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison
to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD [This is
where Jesus stopped.], and the day of vengeance of our
God; to comfort all that mourn;
The reason Jesus did not
finish reading the rest of the verse was so that He
could say, “This day is this scripture fulfilled
in your ears.” Jesus Christ has a warrior role,
as the avenger of blood. The day of vengeance of our
God has not yet come, but it is coming. Our goel
will complete our redemption when the author of death
is destroyed in the lake of fire. We have the earnest
now that guarantees the full redemption when the last
enemy, death, is destroyed.
Isaiah 61:3:
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto
them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that
they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting
of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Naomi certainly was comforted
and received of the Lord, “beauty for ashes.”
What a beautiful phrase for the restoration of life
Naomi received and which we also receive being brought
from death unto life.
Ephesians 1:13,14:
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy
Spirit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his
glory.
I Corinthians 15:26:
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
The book of Job is thought
by many to be the first book of the Bible to be written.
In it, Job laments that he had no “physical”
kinsman-redeemer and prophesies of the redemption he
knew was coming. Job walked in the light of what God
had revealed to him and anticipated the redeemer centuries
before he came. He knew that his redeemer lived and
anticipated the hope of his bodily resurrection.
Job 19:25,26:
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth:
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet
in my flesh shall I see God:
Job knew that there was
going to be a resurrection of the just, and he was going
to be in it. God redeemed Job and gave him double of
what he had before. From the very first book of the
Bible written, God has declared His story of redemption,
the greatest thing He has ever done.
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