Daily Devotionals

'Every Day Light' with Selwyn Hughes

Devotional: June 15th

For Reading and Meditation:
     Ruth 4:9-10

We said yesterday that Jewish law required the participants in a redemption purchase to have the transaction validated in the presence of witnesses. We said also that in a way this pictures the salvation which our Lord secured for us on the Cross. He too transacted our redemption before the gaze of many. Could He have exposed sin in all its foul horror if He had died in His bed, or by accident? Of course not. His death had to take place in such a way that it would reveal the real character of the human race. And it was necessary for there to be many witnesses. Boaz places such emphasis on the fact that the transaction between him and the nearest kinsman was being made in the presence of witnesses. He begins and ends his statement with these words: "Today you are witnesses." Why this double emphasis? I suggest it was because Boaz wanted to be sure that the transaction would never be called into question in the future. After all, it wasn't every day that a Jew married a Gentile, especially someone from the land of Moab. People might be tempted to query the legality of this at some later stage if not now clearly sealed, settled and certified. For a similar reason, our Lord's death was enacted before many witnesses. As Christ was destined to rise from the dead a few days afterwards, it was necessary that He be known to have risen from the dead. People could easily have said: "He did not really die." But He did die. His death was certified by many witnesses. He had a certified death and therefore an undeniable resurrection.

O Father, the more I see the depth of thought and the attention to detail that went into the securing of my redemption, the more thankful and humbled I feel. What a salvation! What a Savior! All honor and praise be to Your wonderful Name. Amen.