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The Son of Elohim – part 6
Our Kinsman Redeemer

B’midbar (Numbers) 27:11 
“And if his father has no brethren, then you shall give his inheritance to his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it; and it shall be to the children of Israel a statute and ordinance, as YHWH commanded Moshe.”

YHWH gave us each and every commandment of Torah for the express purpose of pointing us to Mashiach.  In some manner each commandment teaches us either about Mashiach Himself or something about our relationship to Him.  This is no less true concerning the commandment above.  In this case this commandment teaches both about Mashiach and about our relationship to Him.

According to Torah it is very important that one’s inheritance stays within the family.  This truth is prophetically significant concerning the family of Elohim.  For if one only understands the commandments of YHWH in a literal sense and does not also see the spiritual application, then such a person has missed a critical lesson.  The importance of this will be seen as we proceed through this study.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:5-6 
5 “If brethren dwell together, and one of them dies, and he has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married to an outside stranger; her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her for himself as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.
6 And it shall be, that the first-born that she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.”

One of the things that this commandment teaches us is that those of us within Israel are to be mindful that no woman within Israel is to be left without a seed; i.e., no woman is to be without a redeemer.  What this teaches us is that “the woman” Israel must have a kinsman redeemer in order to be secure in her relationship to her Creator.  In this case, that Kinsman Redeemer is Mashiach Himself.

It is not incidental that Miriam and Yoseph, the earthly parents of Yeshua, were both from the house of David of the tribe of Yehudah.  It was not against Torah for a man and a woman of different tribes to marry.  However, if a man had no sons to pass on his inheritance, then his inheritance would be passed on to his daughter(s), but only if she married within her own tribe.

In the days of Moshe there was a man named Zelophehad who had no sons.  YHWH brought this about to teach Israel this statute.  Let us consider it as it is an important component concerning the kinsman redeemer.

B’midbar (Numbers) 27:7-8 
7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right; you shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and you shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.
8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies, and he has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.’”

Zelophehad was of the tribe of Manasseh.  After the elders of this tribe had some time to consider this matter they also had a legitimate concern regarding the inheritance passing to the daughter of a man with no sons.  That concern was that if the daughter were to marry a man outside of her tribe, the land inheritance would then go to part of the tribe of the man she married, thus diminishing the land of the tribe the daughter was from.  So the elders approached Moshe and asked for a ruling in this matter and Moshe took it before YHWH in the same manner as he had done for the daughters of Zelophehad.  This is the answer that YHWH gave to Moshe for all of Israel.

B’midbar (Numbers) 36:6-7 
6 “This is the thing which YHWH commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.’
7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave everyone to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.”

Now some have wrongly understood this passage as being a command that a woman can only marry within her own tribe.  However, this is not what this passage is commanding at all.  It is only commanding this for the daughters of a man who has no sons in order to keep the tribal inheritance of land within the tribe to which YHWH allotted it.  Now if the daughter does not care to inherit her father’s land, then she is free to marry a man from another tribe.

Now Scripture is silent about the status of Miriam, the earthly mother of Yeshua as to whether her father had any sons.  However, the pattern fits the above commandments since both Miriam and Yoseph were of the tribe of Yehudah.  We know that Yoseph was a type of kinsman redeemer raising up a seed for another, for Yeshua was not his biological son.  While we do not know all the details in this case, the pieces fit and these commandments are fulfilled by the life of Mashiach, the only One who can truly keep all of Torah.  So we would expect that Mashiach would not only fulfill one side of these commandments, but the other side as well; for not only is He the promised Seed, but He is also the Kinsman Redeemer of “the woman” Israel, as well.

One of the things that this whole matter of redemption intimately involves is the matter of marriage.  We can rightly and succinctly state the matter thusly:  to be redeemed is to be married.  This is a prophetic picture of our Creator and His bride.  This prophetic picture is beautifully laid out in the book of Ruth in the life of Ruth and her kinsman redeemer Boaz.

Ruth 4:6 
And the near kinsman said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; you take my right of redemption on yourself; for I cannot redeem it.”

Now there are several things from this statement by the nearest kinsman of Naomi that we need to examine and understand.  First, for some reason he was not able to redeem the land, for redeeming the land from the hand of Naomi would have also meant marrying Ruth, and for some reason he was not eligible to do this.  Please note that he was willing and ready to redeem the land until he learned that the redemption of this piece of land involved marrying Ruth.  So why was he not eligible to do this without hindering his own inheritance?  This is a very important question!

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:6 
“And it shall be, that the first-born that she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.”

Please note this phrase from the above passage: “… the first-born that she bears…”  This statement implies several things.  First, that the first-born of this man belongs to his brother and will inherit his brother’s land.  The sons who come after this first-born son will inherit their own land.  This seems to indicate to us that in order for a man to be eligible to be a redeemer he cannot already be married.  This seems to be the case from the book of Ruth: that the nearest relative to Naomi was already married and already had a first-born son.  He was not eligible to marry Ruth and redeem the land.

Some would argue that a redeemer could have more than one wife.  But that logic does not fit with the rest of Scripture and the pattern set forth in Gan Eden.  In the pattern set forth by YHWH from the beginning He made them one man and one woman.  This pattern was then broken by Qayin (Cain) who was not obedient to YHWH, but lived in rebellion to Him and His ways and took more than one wife.  He was the first to do this.  So, does one want to follow the ways of Qayin?  Or, does one desire to follow the pattern of set-apart living that YHWH set down from the beginning?  Does one desire to live according to the flesh or according to the Spirit? 

It is important that we acknowledge that the nearest kinsman was not eligible to be a redeemer towards Ruth because he was not eligible to marry her.  The right of redemption had to pass on to Boaz.

Ruth 4:5 
Then said Boaz, “In the day you buy the field of the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also of Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.”

Boaz became a type of Mashiach by becoming a kinsman redeemer.  In order for him to be the kinsman redeemer of the land which belonged to Naomi, he had to marry Ruth in the process.  To be a redeemer is to marry one who needs to be redeemed. 

This is one of the essential truths concerning the work of Mashiach and why He came and what He did in our relationship to Him.  He is our Kinsman Redeemer.  However, He is more than just the Kinsman Redeemer of Israel.  He is also her first Husband.  When YHWH Tzava’ot brought Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and brought her to Sinai He betrothed her to Himself and gave her a marriage contract called a “ketuvah” which is Torah.  No sooner did she receive this ketuvah than Israel began playing the harlot and began the long progression of continually breaking the agreement which ultimately led to divorce.

However, YHWH did not need to divorce the whole of Israel.  So He divided Israel into two houses after the days of Sh’lomo (Solomon).  It was the northern house of Israel (ten tribes) which He divorced.

Yirmeyah (Jeremiah) 3:8 
“And I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement, yet treacherous Yehudah her sister feared not; but she also went and played the harlot.”

YHWH, speaking through the prophet Yirmeyah, says that He divorced the northern house of Israel because of her idolatry.  This bit of information is critical to understanding the work of Mashiach.  Please note this following Torah commandment.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 24:2-4 
2 “And when she has departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife;
3 And if the latter husband hates her, and writes her a bill of divorcement, and puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the latter husband dies, who took her to be his wife;
4 her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before YHWH; and you shall not cause the land to sin, which YHWH your Elohim gave you for an inheritance.”

When a man divorces his wife, she is then eligible to marry another man.  However, if that man dies or divorces her, while she can marry another man, she may not return to the first husband.  This is an abomination to YHWH.  Now if the woman were to remain unmarried, then she could return to her first husband.  But if she marries another man, then she cannot return to her first husband.

What we need to understand is that once YHWH divorced the northern kingdom of Israel and she attached (married) herself to another, she could not return to YHWH.  He would not accept her.

Hoshea 4:17 
“Ephrayim is joined to idols; let him alone.”

Ephrayim is another name for the northern kingdom of Israel.  The northern kingdom of Israel played the harlot and committed spiritual adultery with idols.  For this YHWH divorced the house of Israel.  And because the house of Israel joined herself to these idols, she was not eligible to return to YHWH.  YHWH still loved His people, but His own Torah commandments stood between Him and Israel returning to Him.

Hoshea 1:9 
And YHWH said, “Call his name Lo-ammi; for you are not My people, and I will not be your Elohim.”

YHWH sent the northern kingdom of Israel away out of His land.  They were no longer His people.

Yirmeyah (Jeremiah) 15:1 
Then YHWH said to me, “Though Moshe and Sh’muel stood before Me, yet My mind would not be toward this people; cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.”

YHWH gave northern Israel a writ of divorce.  They were no longer known as His people.  However, He stilled loved them and He still wanted Israel, all of Israel, to be in a right relationship with Him.

Hoshea 1:10 
“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, “You are not My people, it shall be said to them, ‘You are the sons of El Chay.’”

YHWH says that one day in the future He would bring them back to the land where He divorced them.  It was in the land that He said to them that they were no longer His people.  It will be in that same place where He will say that we are the “sons of El Chay.” 

However, considering there are several Torah commandments standing between YHWH and divorced northern Israel, how then could this come about?  YHWH could not take northern Israel back as His wife because she had attached herself to another lover.

Romans 7:2 
For the woman that has a husband is bound by law to the husband while he lives; but if the husband dies, she is discharged from the law of the husband.

In order to release northern Israel from the barrier of this Torah commandment the Husband had to die.  This is one of the major things Mashiach came to do.  He came to release northern Israel and free her so that she would once again be eligible to marry her first love, YHWH our Elohim.

Romans 7:3 
So then if, while the husband lives, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she is joined to another man.

It was for this very purpose that YHWH fashioned for Himself a fleshly body in order that He might die and release northern Israel and give her the opportunity to return to Him.  Without this she could not and would not have been able to return to Him.

Romans 7:4 
Therefore, my brethren, you also were made dead to the law through the body of Mashiach; that you should be joined to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit to Elohim.

However, the good news is that death and the grave did not have the power to hold Him. 

Yochanan (John) 10:17 
“Therefore does the Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it again.”

But because Mashiach, who was YHWH dwelling in the fleshly body of Yeshua, died, He released the house of Israel from the former relationship and set them free to come into a new relationship with Him.

Romans 7:6 
But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.

Not only did Mashiach die, but He also calls those who are willing to lay down their lives for Him in order to completely fulfill the law of righteousness.  Simply put, death releases one from the obligations of this life, including marriage.  Once dead, there are no more obligations.  So, when one dies to the desires of this life and lives only for Him as He has called us to do, then we are completely free in Mashiach to be in a relationship with Him.

We are free to come back into a marriage relationship with Him, for not only did He die, but we too must die.

Romans 8:13 
for if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live.

Each individual must make this choice for himself.  One man cannot make this choice for another.  This choice must be made to begin this relationship.  However, it is not just a one time choice.

Qorintyah Aleph (1st Corinthians) 15:31b 
I die daily.

Each person must not only begin the process of dying to self and selfishness, but he must make this choice continually.

Matithyah (Matthew) 10:39 
“He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.”

Only in this way will one be able to walk the path of righteousness and be in an intimate relationship with Mashiach Yeshua and become part of His bride.  As Israel left her first love before, there is always this possibility again.  It is something that each one of us must guard against.

Gilyana (Revelation) 2:4 
“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

Many today are hearing the call of the Spirit of YHWH to come back to Him, the first love of Israel.  If you are hearing that call today, do not hesitate to turn your face fully and completely towards Him.

Hoshea 2:23 
“And I will sow her unto Me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them that were not My people, ‘You are My people’; and they shall say, ‘You are My Elohim.’”

Israel played the harlot and went and attached herself to another.  The result of this was divorce.  No wonder Scripture teaches us that YHWH hates divorce.  It is because His bride left Him no alternative and He divorced her.  But this did not change the reality that YHWH still loved her.  So, He scattered her seed throughout all the earth.  He caused her to forget who she was.  Now, after a sufficient amount of time has passed, He is sending out the call to those who will have ears to hear, “Return to your first love!”  If those hearing will forsake all others and return to Him, He will receive them. 

Hoshea 2:19-20
19 “And I will betroth you to Me forever; yea, I will betroth you unto Me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth you unto Me in faithfulness; and you shall know YHWH.”

He will take those who will follow once again into the wilderness to betroth them to Himself.  Are you willing to follow Him in this manner?  It will not be an easy path to follow.  However, the rewards are eternal.

This is the work that Mashiach Yeshua has done and is doing.  Mashiach Yeshua is our Kinsman Redeemer.  He has done His work to fully release all the descendants of Israel from the former ketuvah that we might freely and willingly enter into another ketuvah with YHWH our Elohim.

ABBA YHWH, this is wonderful in our sight; bring it to pass quickly; in the name of Mashiach Yeshua.  Amein and Amein.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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