3. When an Israelite Became Poor and Sold Some of His Possession, His Nearest Relative Was to Come as His Redeemer and Redeem What He Had Sold

“In all the land you possess, you shall grant a redemption for the land. When your brother becomes poor and sells some of his possession, then his nearest relative shall come as his redeemer and redeem what his brother has sold” (vv. 24-25). This signifies that we have become poor and have sold our possession, and the Lord Jesus, our nearest relative, has come as our Redeemer to redeem for us what we have sold.

In Adam we sold everything. But the Lord Jesus is our relative as our Redeemer, and He has redeemed everything for us. This is illustrated in the book of Ruth, where we see that Ruth was redeemed by her relative Boat. In the book of Ruth, therefore, we have a full story of jubilee.

4. If an Israelite Had No One to Redeem His Possession for Him but Had Acquired the Means for Its Redemption, He Could Redeem It by Himself

“If a man has no one to redeem it, but has acquired the means and has sufficient for its redemption, then let him compute the years since he sold it, and refund the overpayment to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his possession” (vv. 26-27). This signifies that the children of Israel, not recognizing the Lord Jesus as their nearest relative, have put themselves in a position to bear the responsibility for their redemption until they become able to redeem themselves. However, to this day they are still unable to do it, and practically they will never be able to do it. When the Lord Jesus comes back, they will recognize Him as their relative, and then they will be redeemed by Him.

5. If a Man Did Not Have Sufficient Means to Redeem His Possession, It Remained until the Year of Jubilee, in Which It Was Released to Him

“But if he does not have sufficient means to restore it to him, then that which he sold shall remain in the hands of him who bought it until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession” (v. 28). This signifies that we were unable to redeem what we had lost until the New Testament jubilee, in which all that we had lost is released to us to be our possession.

In these verses we see that there were three ways for an Israelite to recover his lost possession. First, it could be redeemed by his nearest relative. This is a matter of grace. Second, if he had the means, he could redeem it himself. Third, if he did not have a relative to redeem it for him and if he could not redeem it himself, he could wait for the year of jubilee, when the sold possession would spontaneously be restored to him. This also is a matter of grace. The jubilee is thus a very good type of God’s grace.

J. Concerning the Redemption of the House That Had Been Sold

Leviticus 25:29-34 speaks of the redemption of the house that had been sold.
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