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THE KINSMAN: A PICTURE OF LAW AND LOVE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Philippians 4:12-19

 

“…I desire fruit that may abound

to your account.”

 

THE KINSMAN: A PICTURE OF LAW AND LOVE
 
The kinsman-redeemer is not only a picture of God’s providential workings, he is also a picture of God’s prescribed way for dealing with men among themselves. We have read passages from the Law of Moses which prescribed how the children of Israel were to deal with one another while dwelling in the Land of Promise. God gave them conditions for living in the land, and these conditions also became part of God’s dealings with them in the land. These conditions required obedience to God and through their obedience to God, men would deal with their fellowmen with charity, justice and equity. Boaz, as a law-abiding citizen of the land, dealt graciously and generously with Ruth, who although a poor and vulnerable stranger in the land, had set out to do according to the Law of God in the land, what she was able and allowed for both herself and her mother-in-law. The Law was practical and gave instructions for living, and those who pursued love according to the ordinance and Law of God, were the ones who loved.
 
“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut 6:5). Jesus both affirmed the Law of God, stating that He did not come to abolish it, but to fulfil it (Matt 5:17-18), and summarised the Law as loving God and loving your neighbour (Matt 22:37-40). In practice, Christ also exhorted in the Sermon on the Mount that Christian faithfulness and righteousness have to exceed that of the scribes and the pharisees (Matt 5:20). Boaz, thus, illustrates to us how practical the Law that God gave is, and how adherence to God’s Word and will makes a man a channel of blessing and a vessel unto honour fit for the Master’s use. As the apostle John rightly puts it, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:3-4). God’s Law is also God’s guidance and instructions to us on loving God and loving our brother. Moreover, like Boaz, one who obeys God’s Word is able to love and bless his brother.
 
THOUGHT: (Read 1 John 4:19-21.)
PRAYER: Father, increase my love for Thee, and for my neighbour.

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