The Other Kinsman Redeemer

Goel of Ruth

In the book of Ruth, we see an example of the kinsman redeemer, in this case Boaz redeemed Ruth, her mother in law Naomi, and their land. It is a love story complete with drama and a happy ending. And this short story also provides us with a picture (a type or foreshadowing) of Jesus Christ and the church. The phrase "kinsman redeemer" is translated from the Hebrew word "goel", but there is another use of the word goel which is obscured in English. Let's explore this other goel, and see what we can learn about it. 

First, let's review the more familiar goel, the kinsman redeemer that usually come to mind for Bible students. It is based on this verse from Leviticus.

Lev 25:23 The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me. 24 Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land. 25 'If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman (goel) is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.

In this scheme of things, a person could never lose their land permanently. But a kinsman had to redeem the land if a man had to sell. Not just anyone could redeem the person in distress, it had to be family. This is a type of Jesus coming in the flesh to be a family member to all mankind. He is our Redeemer, AND a kinsman. See The Kinman Redeemer [1] for a deeper discussion.

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However, the kinsman redeemer, the goel, had another job but English translations don't show it. The goel is also known as the avenger. Same word, possibly the same person, two functions. In the verse above,  goel is translated redeemer. In this verse, goel is translated avenger.

Num 35:12 The cities shall serve you as a refuge from the avenger (goel), so that the one who commits manslaughter does not die until he stands before the congregation for trial.

The role of the avenger is explained in later verses of Num 35, adding the qualifier "blood" which  is in the Hebrew.

Num 35:19 The blood avenger (goel ha'dam) himself shall put the murderer to death; he himself shall put him to death when he meets him.

To understand the goel ha'dam, we need to consider the justice system of the time. Unlike our world, there was no police force. For protection, men made blood oaths to protect and defend each other. Such a "blood brother" had your back no matter what. He would fight along side you, and avenge your death - The Life Is InThe Blood [2]. Having no police force meant there was no one to investigate crimes. However there were judges who did hear criminal and civil cases.

Justice for murder and accidental killing is spelled out in Numbers 35 (listed below). One who was responsible for an accidental killing had to flee to a city of refuge before the goel ha'dam found him. The goel ha'dam could avenge a death even if it was accidental. If the slayer made it to the city of refuge, the city elders would protect him from the avenger until trial. If the slayer was found guilty of murder, the city elders handed him over to the goel, who became his executioner. If the slayer left the city of refuge, and the avenger caught him, he could kill him. And the accidental slayer had to live in the city of refuge till the current High Priest died. If he left the city after that, the avenger couldn't touch him.

The hunting down of a murderer is no longer the business of the avenger, but of the state; accordingly, whether there is any relative or not, whether the relative lodges complaint or not, the state must prosecute the murderer - Jewish Encyclopedia [3].

Notice that intent was a big factor in determining accidental killing versus murder, just as it is today. We use the term manslaughter for an accidental death. Notice also how seriously God treats killing. 

Num 35:33 So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

This warning is not just for ancient Israel. God, who changes not, is still in charge, and His rules are still in effect. Ancient Israel sacrificed babies to the false god Molech. America has murdered 60 million unborn babies in the last 50 years, which has defiled the land. The estimate of abortions worldwide is 1.6 BILLION - Number of Abortions [4]. The whole earth is greatly defiled. He will not restrain His wrath forever, a reckoning is coming, and probably soon.

 

Typology

We have the book of Ruth as an example of the kinsman redeemer, but we do not have such a story about the avenger, but remember the two are probably the same person (next of kin). In spite of not having a story about the avenger, we can learn more by examining the typology of the goel ha'dam, the slayer, and the victim.

It is widely recognized that Boaz, the kinsman redeemer of the book of Ruth is a type of Jesus Christ, and Ruth is the church. Since goel can be redeemer or avenger, the goel ha'dam then also pictures Jesus Christ. The typology doesn't fit with His first coming as the Lamb of God, but it is more fitting for His second coming as King of Kings, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 

The city of refuge also pictures Jesus Christ, where the accidental slayer can go for safety. Where better to hide than in Jesus Himself?  "You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word", Psalm 119:114. And the High Priest also pictures Jesus. Only He is a High Priest that never dies.

That leaves the slayer and victim. In a sense, they picture us as humans. It is perhaps easier to see ourselves as innocent victims, and indeed at some level we are; we need a rescuer. But sadly, we are also the slayers. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God - Rom 6:23. We need to flee to Jesus, the city of refuge, and hide ourselves in Him. We are responsible for killing Him, yet from the cross, He said "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". And we are like the audience of Peter's first sermon, where he said "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers also did" - Act 3:17. Because mankind has acted in ignorance, we are guilty of manslaughter, not murder. We can flee to the city of refuge, and abide forever, because our High Priest will never die.

Redeemer AND Avenger

We are more comfortable thinking of Jesus Christ as a loving, forgiving figure. It's much easier to think of the story of Boaz and Ruth picturing Christ and the church than it is to think of Christ as THE Avenger. But many verses speak of the role of Avenger. The most familiar verse would be "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay" - Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19. It is not just an Old Testament thing. 

The Jewish view of the Avenger is that he is God's representative, not just of the victim's family, but to the whole community Jewish Encyclopedia [3]. This is in part to execute justice. Remember the land is defiled by the blood of the innocent, and can only be set right by the blood of the slayer. 

When Jesus Christ returns, He will combine the two roles of the goel. He has been redeeming His people, the church, for 2000 years, and views them as innocent. When He returns, He will avenge them. Look at the blood spilled by Christian martyrs. In my lifetime, in America, Christianity in its many forms has been the dominant religion in the country. But in the rest of the world, and throughout history, Christians have been targets of persecution. One estimate is that since the time Christ walked the earth, 70 million Christians have been murdered simply because they were Christians - Christianity Today [5]. 

Of the millions of Christians martyred in the 2000 years of the church’s history over half were killed in the twentieth century, and 80 percent of the cases of religious persecution in the world today are against Christians—and it’s getting worse - Crisis Magazine [6].

However counter-intuitive it may seem in light of popular stereotypes of Christianity as a powerful and sometimes oppressive social force, Christians today indisputably form the most persecuted religious body on the planet, and too often its new martyrs suffer in silence - Global War On Christians [7]. 

The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer, 1883, oil on canvas.
Painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme

The number of martyrs will only increase at the end time. After the ride of the infamous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which are the first of seven seals opened by Jesus Christ, the Fifth Seal warns of more martyrdom.

Rev 6:9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and AVENGING our blood on those who live on the earth?” 11 And a white robe was given to each of them; and they were told that they were to rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was completed also.

 

Summary 

The Hebrew word goel is translated as redeemer or avenger, depending on context. Yet both of these roles of the goel picture roles of Jesus Christ - first as Redeemer of His church, and second as Avenger of those Redeemed, that is the innocent ones. Mankind is also pictured by the slayer, as one who has done manslaughter. As slayers, we must flee to the city of refuge to hide from vengeance. The whole earth is defiled with innocent blood. Jesus Christ the Goel has much redeeming and avenging to do. 

LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! - Psalm 94:1

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References

1. https://jlfreeman-1.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-kinsman-redeemer.html

2. https://jlfreeman-1.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-life-is-inthe-blood.html

3. http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2162-avenger-of-blood

4. http://www.numberofabortions.com/

5. https://www.christiantoday.com/article/70-million-christians-martyred-faith-since-jesus-walked-earth/38403.htm

6. https://www.crisismagazine.com/2013/the-global-war-on-christians

7. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/221008/the-global-war-on-christians-by-john-l-allen-jr/

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The Law Of Manslaughter

Num 35:9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

10 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

11 then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, so that the one who commits manslaughter by killing a person unintentionally may flee there.

12 The cities shall serve you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who commits manslaughter does not die until he stands before the congregation for trial.

13 So the cities which you are to provide shall be six cities of refuge for you.

14 You shall provide three cities across the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge.

15 These six cities shall be a refuge for the sons of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreign resident among them; so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

16 ‘But if he struck him with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death.

17 And if he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which he would die, and as a result he did die, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death.

18 Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he would die, and as a result he did die, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death.

19 The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he himself shall put him to death when he meets him.

20 Now if he pushed him in hatred, or he threw something at him with malicious intent, and as a result he died,

21 or if he struck him with his hand with hostility, and as a result he died, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

22 ‘But if he pushed him suddenly, without hostility, or threw any object at him without malicious intent,

23 or had any deadly stone, and without looking he dropped it on him so that he died, while he was not his enemy nor was he seeking to harm him,

24 then the congregation shall judge between the one who fatally struck the victim and the blood avenger in accordance with these ordinances.

25 And the congregation shall save the one who committed manslaughter from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall return him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

26 But if at any time he goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he flees

27 and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills him, he will not be guilty of bloodshed,

28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the one who committed manslaughter may return to the land of his property.

29 ‘These things shall be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

30 ‘If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

31 Moreover, you shall not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is condemned to death, but he must be put to death.

32 And you shall not accept a ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, so that he may return to live in the land before the death of the priest.

33 So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

34 So you shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”