Exodus 13:13
“And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.”
King James Version (KJV)
Galatians
Chapter 4
2But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Greetings to all:
I invite you to come and meet my Kinsman Redeemer
In the spirit of God’s love and by His grace this story burns in my soul to share.
Come listen whether you be a scholar or unschooled. Though you are of the Baha’i faith or Christian or Catholic. Although you would be a Jewish Rabbi, a devoted Hindu, perhaps a Sikh or maybe you come from a lineage devoted to Islam or you are a Buddhist monk. You say you are an Agnostic or perhaps a dyed in the wool Atheist. To you all I invite you to come and listen.
I testify that all of which I speak of here is witnessed in scripture. It is written:
Before He became the babe in the manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, Jesus Christ, The Word that became flesh – existed before time as the visible image of God as he now does and will exist for eternity ahead. He is my Kinsman Redeemer.
Adam and Eve saw Him first and hid themselves from Him. Yes from the presence of the Lord God. God is a Spirit and no man has seen him. Who they saw was Him, my Kinsman Redeemer the VISIBLE IMAGE of God, Jesus Christ.
Abraham saw and honored my Kinsman Redeemer as the Lord, who came with the two angels. Shaken, Abraham bowed down and gave food and drink to Him and called my Kinsman Redeemer Yahweh, appearing as man. This includes the times Abraham also interacted with Jesus at Mount Moriah, the offering of Isaac, at the covenant made to change Abraham’s name.
Hagar, pregnant with her son Ishmael, alone and humiliated in the desert after suffering the abuse of abandonment from Abraham and Sarah, saw and received comfort from my Kinsman Redeemer. She called Him, God who sees because He not only knew her name, acknowledged her as a person instead of a slave, but He also cared for her, comforted her and gave her hope.
Balaam met my Kinsman Redeemer on the road riding upon his ass. The ass saw him first, standing in the way with sword drawn in his hand. After beating the ass three times, The Lord made the ass speak and then revealed himself to Balaam.
He was the man that Jacob wrestled with all night and would bless Jacob and change his name to Israel. Saying, “for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Jacob said this of my Kinsman Redeemer: “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
Moses was called by my Kinsman Redeemer from the burning bush, saying, “Moses, Moses, …Here am I. . I am the God of they father the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. When Moses asked my Kinsman Redeemer what he should call him, God said, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” and over one thousand years later, my Kinsman Redeemer told the Pharisees, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”
My Kinsman Redeemer appeared to the parents of Samson, the strongest man who ever lived. Yes it was my Kinsman Redeemer who told Samson’s father that His name was secret, not to be revealed at such a time. Samson’s father thought he had seen an angel but later realizes he has seen and spoken in person to God.
My Kinsman Redeemer was the fourth man inside of the fiery furnace heated seven-times more as was witnessed and spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar, “the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
Isaiah the great prophet saw My Kinsman Redeemer, face to face in an open vision. He says, “The Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Where the seraphim cried unto another saying: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” And poor Isaiah cried, “ Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” And praise be to God my Kinsman Redeemer had mercy on Isaiah allowing one of the seraphim, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar to say, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”
Yes, it was the ultimate plan of God to save me and this I call to redeem me from eternal death. It was announced on that fateful day after the Serpent beguiled and destroyed mankind that God announced to the Serpent that the seed of woman would bruise his head. This was my Kinsman Redeemer who would many years later come from the seed of a woman named Mary.
My Kinsman Redeemer was not pre-incarnate before His virgin birth.This language comes from the vain imagination and philosophy of man and after the rudiments of this world. You see, my Kinsman Redeemer has always existed, exists, and will always exist in His physical form: As the visible image of God. Amen!
I am legally required by the eternal law of God to be redeemed or I face eternal spiritual death. I had this knowledge in my conscience and knew it in my heart.
I knew I was the firstling of the ass spoken of in God’s law that demanded I be either redeemed by the blood sacrifice of an unblemished lamb or be killed. I also knew that I was that wild ass’s colt my redeemer rode into Jerusalem.
I was the unprotected widow who needed the protection under law of a kinsman who could legally redeem me from slavery and bondage of a cruel task master.
These are the eternal laws of God.
I needed a Redeemer and He must be a Kinsman. A kinsman is the same consanguinity – same blood – to be from the same ancestor.
My Kinsman Redeemer had to be born of a woman – to be made in the likeness of men. Formed in the fashion as a man. Philippians 2:7,8 – to be my kinsman. He had to be born of a virgin – the only begotten son of God – to be my redeemer. He had to be born of water and of blood.
And this is why my Kinsman Redeemer, Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin in Bethlehem.
Because I, being a human being, was born into sin following the fall in the garden by the first Adam. By God’s perfect law, the price to be paid for sin is death. Who will pay this price? By God’s perfect law, the perfect sacrifice and permanent solution to redeeming me, the guilty party, was sending the last Adam, Jesus Christ, my kinsman redeemer, to fulfill God’s promise of bruising the Serpent’s head and saving mankind who was under the law of sin and death.
Here is why I must share with you dear reader why I’m so moved to share my story. I am eternally thankful that I am redeemed by believing my Kinsman Redeemer came to redeem me from eternal spiritual death, by His perfect sacrifice of dying on the cross for my sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. I believe this and by faith is what saves me. There is nothing else that I can do but believe to be saved.
To understand the essential connection to our need of a KINSMAN to Redeem us, please study the book of Ruth the Moabite – a NON JEW can become a faithful follower of God. This story is a foreshadow of Jesus Christ redeeming us when we were foreigners and lost. Ruth by faith followed her mother -in law Naomi back to Israel after her husband had died. It was only by Boaz, a type of Christ, who was a relative of Naomi – a Kinsman, a mighty man of wealth that Ruth found GRACE by gleaning in his field. Boaz was from Bethlehem. Boaz came to know that Ruth had forsaken her land and followed after Naomi and protected her from the other gleaners and servants. It was by Naomi’s guidance that Ruth lay at the feet of Boaz as he slept and when Boaz awoke startled, Ruth said, “I am Ruth thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.” Boaz is so deeply moved he soon agrees to purchase – redeem the land that had belonged to Naomi’s deceased husband and in turn marries Ruth since Ruth is connected to Naomi. They have a son named Obed, the grandfather of King David in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Amen! Maranatha!