The idea of the family redeemer was established in the law of Moses. The story of Ruth shows us an example of this idea. In that book, this term has a specific legal meaning. In other places, the Hebrew term go’el translates as "next of kin" (Numbers 27:11; 35:19, 24).
According to the Moses' law, family redeemers had three main duties in Israel:
Leviticus 25:23–34 explains that if an Israelite became very poor and had to sell his land, a family member should pay off the debt to keep the land in the family. If no relative could buy the land and the seller could not buy it back, the land would still return to the seller or his heirs in the Jubilee year (fiftieth). Two examples of family redeemers buying land for their relatives are Boaz and Jeremiah (Ruth 4:1–12; Jeremiah 32:6–15).
Similarly, if an Israelite became very poor and had to sell himself into debt-slavery, a family redeemer had an obligation to release him from service to a non-relative (Leviticus 25:35–55). The poor Israelite would repay his debt by working for his relative. He would probably treat him better than a stranger would.
The family redeemer was responsible for seeking justice if someone killed an Israelite, as described in Numbers 35:9–34.
The idea of the family redeemer shows us that God owns everything. He tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39–40). The New Testament describes Jesus as the perfect family redeemer. He frees us from the slavery of sin and death, which we chose for ourselves (Matthew 20:28; Romans 3:24–25; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14; Revelation 5:9; compare Exodus 6:6; 15:13; Psalm 130:8; Isaiah 44:22; 59:20; 63:9; Jeremiah 31:11).
Like the Old Testament family redeemer, such as Boaz, and following our great redeemer's example, we must show love and kindness to others (Leviticus 19:11–18; Matthew 5:43–48; 19:19; 22:37–40; Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8–9).
Passages for Further Study
Leviticus 25:23–55; Numbers 35:9–34; Ruth 2:20; 3:9, 12; 4:1–10; Isaiah 59:20; Jeremiah 32:6–15; Matthew 20:28; Romans 3:24–25; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14; Revelation 5:9