Lesson 5

LET’S STUDY

LET’S STUDY

This biblical narrative brings us to one of the most fascinating themes in the Scriptures that we started to study on our previous lesson: the Go’el. Once we understand this concept, present from Genesis to Revelation, we will start to comprehend the plan of salvation. Go’el is a Hebrew word meaning “kinsman-redeemer.” The “closest of kin” could do several things for his beloved relative that no one else could do. For example, the Go’el could redeem relatives who had sold themselves into slavery (Lev. 25:47-54). He could set them free! Also, the Go’el could redeem property that was given up by poor relatives (Lev. 25:25-34). And the Go’el was the one who would marry the widow of a close relative who had died without descendants in order to provide for the widow and ensure that the family lineage would continue, thus removing shame from the family (Deut. 25:5, 6). The book of Ruth is written with this concept in mind (take a moment to read it; it is a fascinating love story)! When Naomi and Ruth became widows and came back to Bethlehem destitute, they discovered that Boaz was their Go’el (Ruth 2:20) and they rejoiced. Eventually Ruth asked Boaz to take her under his protection and provision: “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative (Go’el)” (Ruth 3:9). He did, and Ruth’s shame was taken away. He became her redeemer.

When God created us in His image, he pledged Himself to a rescue plan because He was our “closest of kin.” He is our Go’el and we are his beloved. This word becomes a descriptive name for God in the Scriptures, usually translated “Redeemer” in our Bibles (see Is. 63:16). When Jesus became flesh he fulfilled all the roles of the Go’el, giving his life for our ransom, redeeming us with his blood, not money (read Mark 10:45; Is. 52:3), as well as redeeming our land.

This is the most amazing theme running throughout the Scriptures. It explains that when we trust in the ransom paid by our Go’el, we can live with the assurance of eternal life. “I know that my Redeemer lives!” (Job 19:25). Oh, my dear Beloved, spread your covering over me and take my shame away.

What does this mean to you?

 

 

LET’S UNDERSTAND

JUDAH, TAMAR, RUTH AND DAVID: The concept of kinsman-redeemer as the one responsible to continue the family line runs throughout Scripture. A story recorded in Genesis 38 is difficult for us to understand until we study this role of the Go’el. Pause for a moment and read Genesis 38. Interestingly, this story would be linked eventually with Ruth, David, and Jesus.

“True to her word she [Tamar] had kept herself for marriage to Shelah, but Judah had failed to keep his promise to her. To fulfill her responsibility of having a child for her deceased husband Er, Tamar humbled herself in order to hold Judah accountable for failing to keep his word … As a result, A Canaanite woman held Judah, a male Israelite, accountable to the standards that protected the continuance of the line of his eldest son. In God’s providence her line led to the birth of David (Ruth 4:12, 18-22; Matt. 1:3-6). Thus both Judah and Tamar were vindicated: Tamar by reason of Judah’s concession and her giving birth to twins, and Judah by admitting that Tamar had acted more righteously than he had … The outcome was joyous. Tamar gave birth to twin boys” (Hartley, Genesis, p. 318).

God took this role of the closest of kin very seriously. Judah wasn’t acting as a faithful redeemer, but Tamar kept him accountable. How did God show us his faithfulness to the covenant? Why do you think Tamar and Ruth are included in Jesus’ genealogy? (Matt. 1:3, 5)

 

 

GOD AS HUSBAND/GROOM: How could God demonstrate the magnitude and scope of His love for us? How could He communicate the depth, width, and strength of His love for a fallen race, when the noblest values and displays of human feeling don’t even come close to expressing it? Well, He decided to use the love of a husband for his wife, and of parents for their child—the two deepest bonds of love that exist on earth to give us a glimpse of His love for us. These two metaphors are used throughout the Bible to unveil the passion of a God who loved us more than Himself, and ultimately gave up His life for His people, who had rejected Him.

Therefore, we find whole books in the Bible that use the husband/beloved meta-phor to teach us of God’s passion for us. Perhaps two of the most evident are Hosea and Song of Songs. Consider this passage from Hosea, as God speaks of unfaithful Israel:

 

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

Bring her into the wilderness

And speak kindly to her.

Then I will give her her vineyards from there,

And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.

And she will sing there as in the days of her youth …

I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

in righteousness and in justice,

in lovingkindness and in compassion,

And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.

Then you will know The Lord“ (Hos. 2:14, 15, 19, 20)

 

“These two verses form a unit [Hos. 2:19, 20] … As Yahweh addresses his beloved directly, the metaphor shifts to marriage betrothal, bringing full circle the allegorical theme begun in 2:4. The emphasis is now not merely reconciliation but restoration … The betrothal metaphor is expressed dramatically via the decisive threefold repetition of the verb “to betroth” in the first person common singular form” (Stuart, Hosea-Jonah [WBC], p. 59).

THE WEDDING FEAST: God is a faithful redeemer. The second coming of Christ is portrayed as the Marriage of the Lamb (see Rev. 19:7-16). “At this point [Rev. 19:7-8], the song of the redeemed turns into a call for rejoicing at the wedding of the Lamb … The much-awaited reunion of Christ with his bride—the church—at the Second Coming is expressed in terms of “the wedding of the Lamb.”… This joining of Christ with the people whom he has purchased on the cross is the focus of the entire book of Revelation. Everything in the book moves toward that climactic triumph” (Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp. 544, 545).

In order to have assurance of salvation through the blood of Jesus, why is it important to understand God’s faithfulness to us, His bride?

 

 

LET’S REFLECT

“He did what any husband would have done for his wife,” reported an online news service, recounting an emotional event that took place on January 13, 2012 as the Costa Concordia cruise ship was sinking off the coast of Italy. When Francis Servel and his wife Nicole realized that the ship was going down, and the lifeboats were impossible to lower, they decided to jump into the water. However, there were not enough lifejackets available on the cruise liner; they had only one between the two of them. Francis was a strong swimmer. He handed the lifejacket to his wife, and said, “Swim ahead, darling, I’ll survive.” She never saw him again.

The whole world was stunned when the luxury cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers went down in a terrible tragedy that left many dead, several injured and hundreds emotionally scarred for life. But in the midst of such crisis real love reveals its true colors. Self-sacrificing love is willing to give up one’s life for that of another. Francis gave his life so that his wife of 40 years could live. “I owe my life to my husband,” said the now heart-broken Mrs. Servel. And she does. Only real love makes the ultimate sacrifice. When disaster strikes, instances of people giving their lives for their loved ones remind us that the human heart still carries the image of its Creator deep within.

In this lesson we marvel at God’s plan to save His people with the passion of a Lover who willingly surrenders His own life for His beloved bride. The words keep ringing in my ears as if Jesus were saying them to me: ‘Go ahead, darling, I’ll catch up.’ And he went to the cross and died in my place, giving me his own life jacket, that I may now have the assurance of eternal life.

 

 

The pivotal point in the story of Naomi and Ruth is when they realize that Boaz is their kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 2:20). What is the pivotal point in your life?

 

 

Explain the concept of your sins “being covered” as opposed to “covering your sins” (see Psalm 32:1-5 and Romans 4:1-8).

 

 

Read the end of the story in Ruth 4:13-22. Summarize this redemption story. How does it relate to you?

 

 

LET’S COMPREHEND JESUS IN SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 53 has been called the “proto gospel,” the first clarification that Jesus would die in our place. A striking sentence in verse 10 reminds us of the role of the Go’el in preserving the offspring in the covenantal line: “He will see His offspring.” In His death and resurrection, Jesus is fulfilling the roles of the Go’el. God will now have descendants from a race that was mortal and therefore dead.

Commenting on Isaiah 53:10, Oswalt observes: “The terms that are typically used of a person favored by God are applied to him: he will see his descendants … he will live a long life …, and he will accomplish God’s purposes for his life… . What has made the difference? One thing only: if people will accept him as a guilt offering in their place. When that takes place, his life, far from being futile, will be the most fruitful life ever lived. Far from being childless, he will have children in every race on the earth. He will be able to say as Christ did on the night before he was crucified, ‘I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you have me to do’ (John 17:4). This point must be underlined because it is at the center of the meaning of the entire poem… . It is the result of one thing only: his becoming a sacrificial offering. When he does that, the entire process comes to fruition” (Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah Chapters 40-66 [NICOT], p. 402).

In the context of Isaiah 53 Jesus explains His mission in Mark 10:45. This is the climactic verse in the Gospel of Mark: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Yes! Jesus was the Suffering Servant described in the Jewish Scriptures (Take a moment to read Is. 53 and Ps. 22.) “But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.” (Is. 53:10-12). He would give His life as a ransom for us! The word many (Is. 53:12; Mark 10:45) is used to describe the outcome: one death would give life to many. The substitutionary death of Christ in the place of humankind, in other words, “One for many,” became a core doctrine in the first-century church: “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). Through Adam we became mortals, with no possibility of offspring for God. But through Jesus we have life! I pray that the Holy Spirit may open our minds and “connect the dots” in the Bible for us, so that we may rejoice about such a magnificent redemption and live with joy in our salvation.

Soon it will be over. He is coming back for us. I can’t wait to hear these words from my Beloved: “My beloved spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come” Song of Solomon 2:10-12 (NIV). As I write, I am about to start crying … I can’t wait for that day!

LET’S RESPOND TO GOD’S AMAZING FAITHFULNESS

Imagine the coming of Jesus. The time has finally come and your Beloved is coming for you! He has paid your price and now He is coming to take you home! He is eager to embrace you, and He ends the Bible reminding you of that very fact in passionate words: “Yes, I am coming quickly” (Rev. 22:20)! The Coming of Christ is described in breath-taking terms, and we will devote a whole lesson to this topic in the future. But for now, imagine this flamboyant scene: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; And He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God … And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS’“ (Rev. 19:11-13, 16). I am amazed at the description of His robe. It is dipped in blood! That was the price my Beloved paid for my redemption! Take a few moments to list the parts of this description that take your breath away and explain why. Our Go’el, who gave us His lifejacket, who died in our place, was resurrected, and is now coming back. I can’t wait for that hug … after all these years!

Love never ends. And yes, our Beloved is coming back to take us home. REJOICE!