Live it:
As Pastor James noted in the introduction, the name Yahweh was considered so sacred that it was hardly, if ever, pronounced out loud. The patriarchs commonly referred to Yahweh as el Shaddai (the Almighty). Job, a likely contemporary of Abraham, uses this term 31 times.
However, Job, in the midst of his suffering and false accusations by “friends” and family, added a new term describing an attribute of Yahweh: Redeemer. He stated, “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last” (Job 19:25 NLT). Later in Leviticus, we find this concept codified: an uncle, or a cousin. In fact, anyone from the extended family may buy them back. They may also redeem themselves if they have prospered (Leviticus 25:49 NLT). The concept was that if an individual had a debt that jeopardized his inheritance and he/she was powerless to redeem that debt, a close (blood) relative could (in fact be required) to redeem that debt.
Job knew that he was destitute in his finances, health, and relationships. Only God Almighty, el Shaddai, could be his Redeemer.
This thought is illustrated in the story of Ruth and Boaz–the great-grandparents of King David. Boaz becomes a kinsman-redeemer to the house of Elimelech, father-in-law to Ruth the Moabitess. Naomi prayed that “the LORD [would] bless [Boaz]” and said to her daughter-in-law that “[Boaz] had not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers” (Ruth 2:20 NIV). An interesting side note is that no Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations could have been admitted to the assembly of the LORD (Deut. 23:3 NLT). Boaz, as a kinsman-redeemer, not only sanctified his wife Ruth but also his great-grandson King David.
Jesus, through his shed blood, became our kinsman-redeemer on Calvary.
Ps. Gary