And if a stranger or sojourner become wealthy beside thee, and thy brother beside him grow poor, and sell himself unto the stranger, who is settled by thee, or to a scion of the stranger's family,
Leviticus 25 walks down a ladder of misfortune, and verse 47 is the bottom rung. An Israelite is so ruined that he sells himself to a foreigner who has grown rich in God's own land. Is such a man beyond hope? Does God's law still reach him?
The chapter has traced a man's slide step by step. This is the last step down.
This last case is the saddest of all to a true Israelite. Under the government of Jehovah, a person did not grow poor in His land without some fault. Such a man had to sell his possessions — land, or a house in a walled city. It was worse to sink so low that he had to take help from Jew, stranger, or sojourner, for money and food. Worse still was being sold to a fellow Israelite, though Jehovah stepped in each time with His shield of mercy. But here it is the poor brother selling himself to a stranger or sojourner who has become rich. Yet Jehovah speaks here also.
God did not shield Israel from the results of its own choices. But He wrote the rescue into the law before the ruin came.
This chapter is about redemption by grace and in power. So it fits the chapter's aim to let Israel know what reserves awaited them when they failed. They had failed in their responsibility to the law, which they had accepted as the ground of their standing before Jehovah. An Israelite might fall into such extreme want that he sold himself into voluntary bondage to a rich stranger or sojourner among them. God's considerate goodness provides for that case here. Jehovah would not stop them from tasting their evil or folly. But He was careful to lay down that after the man had sold himself, there should be a right of redemption for him.
The buyer here is an outsider, so it might seem he could set his own terms. He could not.
Absolute slavery Jehovah would not tolerate for a child of Abraham. If someone offered a fair redemption price, the stranger had to accept it and set him free.
So who could rescue him? The task was not open to volunteers, and those who qualified could not refuse it.
From the law of the Lord in these verses we see that only a near relative could act as the kinsman-redeemer. There must first of all be a relationship to the one needing redemption — a brother, an uncle, or an uncle's son. The kinsman-redeemer was to step in when disaster and difficulty struck. He would buy back the property or the persons, or both, of relatives who had sold themselves or their possessions to a stranger. More than this, such a man could not shelve or avoid the responsibility laid on him.
Notice also who needed this help.
It was only the poor who needed a kinsman-redeemer. The rich had no need of one. The poor Israelite in dire poverty was the one who needed the redeemer's help.
Could we buy our own way out? One writer answers plainly.
As for redeeming ourselves, that is utterly out of the question. Every sin must be atoned for, and by nature we are sold under sin and are the servants of sin. We have no power at all to reduce the number of our daily sins. Still less can we store up good deeds to buy our liberty from past sins.
So the rescue had to come from someone else — a kinsman, and a rich one.
Our redemption must come from another, and from One who is not like ourselves, the servant of sin. Our Redeemer needs to be rich — rich in the perfection of His person as well as in the love of His heart. To be our Redeemer, the Lord became our kinsman. He became a man, and in the free love of His heart He bought us out of our bondage. He paid for us with the price of His own precious blood.
The man in verse 47 had to wait for someone willing and able to act. One writer asks whether such a person ever came.
Here the case might appear hopeless. No one could expect the rich stranger to act in grace toward the poor brother. If he could not redeem himself, his only hope was for someone to appear who was gracious enough to act toward him in power and goodness. And did not such a One in due time come to His own land and people and announce His willingness to do exactly that? But His own did not receive Him, not knowing the time of their visitation. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives... to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
- Ruin — Verse 47 is the worst case in the chapter: a man of God's people owned by an outsider in God's own land.
- Reserve — God wrote the rescue into the law before the ruin came; once the man had sold himself, he still had a right of redemption.
- Relative — Only a near kinsman could redeem, which is why the Redeemer had to become a man.
- Riches — We could never buy our own freedom; our Kinsman had to be rich enough to pay, and He paid with His blood.
- Release — The poor man could not free himself; the One who came proclaimed good news to the poor and the year of the Lord's favor.
after that he is sold there shall be right of redemption for him; one of his brethren may redeem him.
An Israelite could sink so low that he sold himself to a foreigner who had grown rich among his people. The law does not cancel that sale. It opens a door instead: the man can be bought back. Commentators see here the law's picture of a redeemer who is also a relative.
The man's ruin came from his own folly. One writer shows that God did not shield him from it, and did not leave him without a way out.
God's thoughtful goodness provides here for their fall into such deep need. An Israelite might sell himself into voluntary slavery to a rich stranger or foreigner living among them, or to a member of such a household. The Lord would not stop them from tasting their own evil or folly. But He was careful to lay down that after the man had sold himself, he should have a right of redemption. One of his brothers might redeem him, or his uncle, or his uncle's son, or any near relative of his family. There was room for that affectionate and special interest which He always cherished in His people and urged upon them.
The verse does not cancel the sale or excuse the poverty. The debt still has to be paid. One commentator turns that on our debt of sin.
The law of God did not let a man go free just because he could not pay his debts. The gospel does not accept inability as an excuse either. Divine justice has no bankruptcy court where a man can settle his sins. God will never accept the excuse, "I was led astray; I was unfortunate, and so I was ruined." The law of God holds firm to the letter. His justice cannot bend to the plea of human weakness. But while the law was stern, it left room for redeeming love to come in. The debtor's debts have to be paid to the last penny, yet grace has provided for his redemption: "Then after he is sold he may be redeemed." The law kept its rights, while grace asserted hers.
Earlier in the chapter, land could be bought back. Here the one bought back is a person.
This right of redemption was again limited to one of his own kin — brother, uncle or cousin. So the "kinsman-redeemer" comes into view where persons are in question, not only in connection with land. As we look at this picture, we have to remember what is true of every such picture: the great Reality far exceeds it.
That limit matters. Writers separate buying a person from redeeming one, and kinship is the dividing line.
To buy was one thing — anyone might do that. To redeem was another. The nearest relative had the first right, but one had to be a relative to have any right of redemption at all. There is no kinship between angels and men, so no angel could redeem a man even if he had the power to do so. The Lord Jesus did not become an angel. He became a Man. By that He established the kinship which qualified Him to become our Kinsman-Redeemer. How important, then, is the true Manhood of our Lord.
So who is left to act? One writer sets out what such a Redeemer must be.
Our redemption must come from another, and from One who is not a servant of sin as we are. Our Redeemer needs to be rich. He must be rich in the perfection of His person and in the love of His heart. He must be rich in God's sight and in love toward men. To be our Redeemer, the Lord became our relative. Having become a man, in the free love of His heart He bought us out of our bondage. He paid for us with the price of His own precious blood.
The owner is the rich stranger himself. Hope has to come from somewhere else.
Here the case might appear hopeless. No one could expect the rich stranger to act in grace toward the poor brother. If he could not redeem himself, his only hope was that someone would appear who was gracious enough to act toward him in power and goodness. And did not such a One in due time come to His own land and people and announce His willingness to act in that way? But His own did not receive Him, because they did not know the time when God came to them.
- Sold. The man's slavery is his own doing, and the sale stands. God lets him taste his folly, yet writes a right of redemption into the same law.
- Owed. Being unable to pay is no excuse before God. Divine justice runs no bankruptcy court, so someone must pay the debt in full.
- Kin. Anyone may buy, but only a relative may redeem — which is why the true Manhood of Christ matters so much.
- Unable. We cannot buy ourselves back. The Redeemer must be rich where we are bankrupt, and He paid with His own blood.
- Freed. The stranger owes no mercy, so hope rests on One gracious enough to act in power and goodness — and He came to His own land and people.
Either his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him, or one of his next relations of his family may redeem him; or if his means be sufficient, he may redeem himself.
An Israelite has sunk so low that he has sold himself to a foreigner living in the land. This verse names who may buy him back, and it raises a bigger question: who has the right to redeem a person, and what happens if no redeemer comes?
Leviticus 25 traces a man's decline in stages. One writer walks through them, and finds God still speaking at the bottom.
This last case is the saddest of all to a true Israelite. Under the government of Jehovah, a person did not grow poor in His land without fault (verses 25, etc.). Such a man had to sell his possessions, whether land or a house in a walled city (verses 29, etc.). It was worse to fall into such decay as to become an object of help to Jew, stranger, or sojourner, for money and food (35-38). Still worse was it to be sold to a fellow Israelite, even if Jehovah in each case stepped in with His shield of mercy (39-46). But here it is the poor brother selling himself to a stranger or sojourner who is becoming rich. Yet Jehovah speaks here also.
The verse does not offer rescue by any rich passer-by. It names relatives, and widens the circle through the whole family.
Jehovah would not stop them tasting their own evil or folly. But He was careful to lay down that after the man had sold himself, he still had a right of redemption. One of his brothers might redeem him, or his uncle, or his uncle's son, or any near relative of his family. There was room for that affectionate and special interest which He always cherished in His people, and urged on them.
The man goes free, but the debt is not waived. One writer presses that rule into the question of sin.
The law of God did not allow the principle that because a man is unable to pay his debts he may therefore go free. Neither does the gospel permit an excuse on the ground of inability. In divine justice there is no bankruptcy court where a man's sins can be settled. God will never accept the excuse, "I was led astray; I was unfortunate, and so became ruined." The law of God is firm to the letter. His justice cannot yield to the plea of human weakness. But while the law was stern, there was still room for redeeming love to enter. The debtor's debts have to be paid to the last penny, yet grace has provided for his redemption. The law maintained its rights, while grace asserted hers.
The verse ends with a door the man might open by his own hand. One writer takes that last clause and shows why it closes on us.
As for redeeming ourselves, that is completely out of the question. Every sin must be atoned for, and we are by nature sold under sin and are the servants of sin. We have no power at all to reduce the number of our daily sins. Still less can we store up good deeds to buy ourselves liberty from past sins.
The kinship requirement is not a quaint old detail. It decides who could act for us at all.
To buy was one thing — anyone might do that. To redeem was another. The nearest kinsman had the first right, but one had to be a kinsman to have any right of redemption at all. There is no kinship between angels and men, so no angel could redeem a man even if he had the power to do so. The Lord Jesus did not become an angel. He became a Man, and so established the kinship that qualified Him to be our Kinsman-Redeemer.
The right to redeem was not the only thing a redeemer needed. Another writer names the rest, and finds all of it in Christ.
The Son of God became Man. That settles once and for all the question of the Redeemer's right to redeem. And the glorious fact that He who became Man was also truly God puts His ability to do the work beyond doubt. But perhaps the crowning wonder of all lies in the fulfilling of the last requirement — His willingness.
If no relative steps forward and the man never earns enough, one date still stands in his favour.
The law permitted redemption from servitude to a stranger. But using that right depended on the kinsman doing his part, or on the poor Israelite gaining the ability to do it for himself. If that hope failed him, he always had the Jubilee in prospect.
- Poverty. This man has hit the bottom of a long slide, and God still speaks to him there.
- Kinship. Only a relative could buy him back — brother, uncle, cousin. That is why our Redeemer had to become a man.
- Price. Grace does not cancel the debt; it pays it, so the law keeps its rights while love does its work.
- Inability. The clause about redeeming yourself is the one clause we can never use; sin leaves no one with the means.
- Jubilee. Where no redeemer comes, the appointed year still arrives, and the man walks out free.