Psalm 49:7-8

Psalm 49:7-8

Kinsman Redeemer

Some of the laws of the Israelites were quite extraordinary, one of them covers the situation when your bull gores someone to death! If it was in the habit of goring people you could be held accountable and put to death along with the animal. The only “get out” clause was to pay a redemption price for your own life if the injured party demanded it. Exodus 21:28-32. Redemption monies could also be paid by an Israelite slave to a foreigner to gain freedom. Each family or clan had a kinsman redeemer who was responsible for such matters and who would pay a price according to the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee. In the Year of Jubilee people were released from all their debts including slavery.  Leviticus 25:47-49. (You will remember that Boaz was the kinsman redeemer in the story of Ruth.)

This Psalm is really saying that despite these rules, none of us can cheat death completely. It is not possible to pay such a redemption price that we can never die. If it were possible the price would have to be paid to God and such an amount would be incalculable! Of course, as Christians, we know that Christ is our kinsman redeemer. He did pay the exorbitant cost calculated to buy our freedom. His death and His blood redeem us from the grave and make it possible for us to live forever. What a God that He should do this! What a privilege to realise that we are counted as members of the family / clan and worthy of being redeemed. HALLELUJAH!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more