Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble; hear me speedily. Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; ransom me because of my enemies. (Psalm 69:17-18)
It is written, “If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, then his near kinsman shall come to redeem it” (Leviticus 25:25). The Torah goes on to address scenarios where a person’s financial decline was so bad that they were in danger of losing everything, including their own freedom. If an Israelite was, in fact, forced to sell themselves as a slave to a non-Israelite, the Bible is adamant — his nearest kinsman was to redeem him as soon as possible. Not only would the person be spared the shame of being a slave, but they would be delivered from a situation in which they might be coerced to live in accordance with pagan beliefs, including submission to gentile gods.
I would suggest that, more than just an emphasis on restoring someone’s property, this instruction teaches that the closer the relative, the greater his duty to redeem his family member. The near kinsman could not look away and ignore the situation but was obligated to act on behalf of his relative. More than just restoring a person’s inheritance, in some cases, the kinsman redeemer was in a position save their soul in a manner of speaking. Based on this notion, we can conclude that God — who is more closely related to our soul than any man will ever be — is highly motivated to redeem those He loves. This is particularly true when His people find themselves in the grip of the enemy.
Unfortunately, Israel sometimes found themselves in this situation — living in foreign lands and serving pagan gods, very often as the result of their own foolish choices. Still, our Redeemer did not look away, at least not for long. In every scenario in which His people found themselves enslaved to others, when they cried out, “I am in trouble; please ransom me from my enemies,” He answered. Not only that, when He redeemed His people from the hand of their enemy, as with Egypt for instance, their oppressors were compelled to acknowledge God’s power and sovereignty.
I say all that to make this point: we have been redeemed by the Blood of Messiah, and yet we are being redeemed — and will be redeemed. When that final redemption occurs, no longer will this world have any power to hold us in its clutches, for in that day, all kings and kingdoms will proclaim that the God of Israel is God.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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