God Loves to Redeem!
The Land of Israel has always been a special place on this earth and we are reminded of the reason for this in the Torah portion. The name of this week’s Torah portion is called “BeHar” (On the Mountain) and is found in Leviticus 25.
God states very clearly that the Land of Israel is His! (Lev. 25:23). God gives very explicit instructions regarding how the Land is to be handled including the Sabbatical rest every seven years and the redeeming of the land by a relative if one becomes unable to keep it (Lev. 25:25). We see this principle of redeeming the Land clearly illustrated in the book of Ruth.
In the story of Ruth, Naomi had lost her husband and her two sons while they were residing in Moab because of the famine in Israel. Naomi returns to the Land of Israel with only her foreign daughter-in-law, Ruth. Naomi is too poor to maintain her property and is forced to sell it. Boaz enters the scene and since he is a close relative he desires to redeem the land from Naomi. By redeeming her land he also acquires Ruth the Moabite as his wife and seeks to provide her with children for the sake of Ruth’s deceased husband and the family of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband. In essence, Boaz redeems both the Land of Elimelech and the family’s name by providing offspring.
I see the heart of God revealed in this principle of redemption as illustrated in the story of Ruth. When Boaz redeemed the land from the hand of Naomi (a Jew) he provided redemption for Naomi financially and saved her from becoming someone else’s slave. He also acquired Ruth (a non-Jew) as his wife for and provided her with a child. The child’s name is “Oved,” which means “worshiper.”
Through this story both a Jew and a non-Jew are redeemed together by one redeemer. And it is through this amazing redemptive story that King David enters the world. Boaz and Ruth were the great grandparents of King David, through whom the Great Redeemer, the Messiah would come.
God’s loves for the Land and the people of Israel in no way diminishes His love for all the people of this world.
Shabbat Shalom!
Torah Portion: Leviticus 25
Haftarah: Jer. 32:6-27 (T) Jer. 16:19-17:14