When God Became Our Relative
"...one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him..." Lev 25:49
The story of the kinsman redeemer in Leviticus 25:49 highlights God's provision for a close relative to restore a family member’s freedom symbolizing God’s plan for redemption.
Only a near relative has the right to redeem someone who becomes enslaved. This right, however, is not a binding obligation. A near relative may choose whether or not to act on it, as redemption is not mandatory but voluntary. Rights can be exercised or declined, leaving the choice with the potential redeemer.
We, too, are enslaved—enslaved to sin. We are bound by its power, unable to break free on our own. The Lord Jesus had no obligation to redeem us.
Nonetheless, He came down and became a Man. As Man, He is our near relative.
The idea of a kinsman having the exclusive right to redeem an enslaved relative is the very reason why there is no redemption for angels. Unlike humans, angels were not created as relatives.
In reality, all humans are relatives; we share a common ancestry through our first parents—Adam and Eve. Angels, on the other hand, do not have this shared lineage. They were created as distinct spiritual beings, as individuals, there is no birth among angels.
Because of this, no member of the Trinity could identify with angels through birth, as angels were created as individual beings, not as part of a family line. This relational connection is key to the concept of kinsman redemption, which is why it applies uniquely to humans.
Christmas or the Incarnation is God stooping down to become our near relative
because only a near relative has the right to redeem an enslaved relative.
My friend, you can trust in a relative, can you? Trust in Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer, the only One who can truly set you free.
