Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 48:
The Story of Blessings from my Brother
© 02-2022, David E. Robinson: At the Gates
of Yerushalayim Ministries
Blessings from my Brother[i] [ii] [iii] [iv]
31 aThen, His mother and
His brothers *came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said
to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.”
33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are
My mother and My brothers?”
34 And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He *said,
“aHere are My mother
and My brothers! 35 For
whoever adoes
the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.” [v]
Pictured above is a just a part of my family. I married into it, but I do not like the words “brother-in-law” or “sister-in-law” or any other “in-law” designation. Why? Because that “in-law” creates a separation, it says that the only reason you are a part of my family is because of an action I took, not because I was “grafted into” the family. How many of us have heard the “mother or father-in-law” stories? These are usually told with a “sigh” and always are “Well my mother-in-law” did this or that, etc., etc., etc. Cold. Separate. Almost like it was forced upon one, not by choice but by design. Today, I write about my brother: he is the handsome one (no slight to my young nephew there…) playing the guitar in the first picture and is in the middle of the second. His name is Homopher, and he went to the Kingdom of God on February 5th, 2022.
Blessings
from my brother.
Any word in Hebrew that describes a family designation, like “father, brother, uncle, cousin” or those that describe “mother, sister, aunt,” are more than just words that describe one’s place in the family; they mean kin. In the cultural context of the Israelites, kinship meant responsibility. This is not authority, though as a father, elder, and brother, Homopher had authority. Kinship involves another concept, that the kinsman. The kinsman was more than a family member: he was the go ‘el, the redeemer. It rested upon the go ‘el the responsibility to help a family member in distress, redeeming them from bondage, redeeming a poorer sibling out of the grip of bondage or slavery.
This is the reason Jesus is called our “go ‘el.” By His shed blood, He redeems us from the grip of the devil, from sin. But does the “kinsman redeemer” also apply to others? Let us see...
“The kinsman-redeemer is a male relative who, according to various
laws of the Torah, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a
relative who was in trouble, danger, or need. The Hebrew term (go ‘el)
for kinsman-redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues (Genesis
48:16; Exodus 6:6) or redeems property or person (Leviticus
27:9–25, 25:47–55). The
kinsman who redeems or vindicates a relative is illustrated most clearly in
the book of
Ruth, where the kinsman-redeemer is Boaz.
The story of Ruth and Boaz begins when Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi,
return to Bethlehem from Moab where they had been living. Naomi’s husband and
both sons, one the husband of Ruth, had died, leaving the women penniless and
without a male protector. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, Naomi sends Ruth to glean
in the fields of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi to whom they, through a
series of divinely appointed circumstances, appeal as their go el.
Boaz acquiesces, willingly takes Ruth as his wife, and together they bear a son
named Obed who became the grandfather of David, the forefather of Jesus.
Yahweh is Israel’s Redeemer, the one who promises to defend and vindicate them.
He is both Father and Deliverer (Exodus
20:2). There are numerous Old Testament appeals to God as rescuer of
the weak and needy (Psalm 82:4; Daniel
6:27; Jeremiah 20:13) and preserver of the sheep of Israel (Ezekiel
34:10–12, 22).
In the New Testament, Christ is often regarded as an example of a
kinsman-redeemer because, as our brother (Hebrews
2:11), He also redeems us because of our great need, one that only He
can satisfy. In Ruth 3:9, we see a beautiful and poignant picture of
the needy supplicant, unable to rescue herself, requesting of the
kinsman-redeemer that he cover her with his protection, redeem her, and make
her his wife. In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ bought us for Himself, out
of the curse, out of our destitution; made us His own beloved bride; and
blessed us for all generations. He is the true kinsman-redeemer of all who call
on Him in faith.”[vi]
25 Now about midnight aPaul and Silas
were praying and bsinging hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were
listening to them; 26 and
suddenly athere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations
of the prison were shaken; and immediately ball the doors were
opened, and everyone’s cchains were unfastened. 27 When athe jailer
awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about bto kill himself,
thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying,
“Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”
29 And the
jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell
down before aPaul and Silas; 30
and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, awhat must I do
to be saved?”
31 They said,
“aBelieve
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and byour
household.”
32 And they spoke the word of God to him together
with all who were in his house. 33 And
he took them athat very
hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he
and all his household. 34 And he brought them into
his house and set 1food before them, and was 2overjoyed,
since he had become a believer in God together with ahis whole
household. [viii]
This, this devotion to his kin, defined his life. Aside from God, there was no greater drive for him, no greater cause. This man, my Ach, my brother, wanted nothing more than to see those he loved to come to the saving grace of God through Jesus. He wanted his mission to be his family; and not only them, but all who had ears to hear. He knew the role of father and that of a man, and that of the kinsman redeemer also. To see to it that God would save his family, it was upon him to believe. It was his responsibility to believe. It was his greatest blessing to believe, so that through his belief, his kin will be saved.
This love, this devotion I heard every time he preached, every time he prayed. I did not understand his words – I do not speak Chuukese [ language of the island of Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia] – but then, I did not have too. From the tenor of his voice, from the passion of his heart, I knew that whatever it was that he was saying, I could say “Amen” to it… I could come into agreement with this man of God and never need to know what it was he said. I could just say “Amen.”
Do you oh
men, sons and brothers, those he loved, do you share the passion, the love he had for his kin as for your own?
Do you
understand the example of the go ‘el he left for you?
Do you not
know that your belief may mean the difference between life or death for your
families, for your kin?
Stand up as he did, show your devotion to God and His Messiah and be your family’s go ‘el!
I called this message Blessings from my Brother. What were they? They are and were the time he and I spent together, speaking of holy things, talking about the Word of God. It was just in the time I spent with him period. It was in the times I got to listen to him speak, to hear him preach, to hear him pray; these were and will forever be my blessings.
And as God
is my witness, I will miss him.
I am not
ashamed to cry for him,
For he IS my brother.
I have to say these final words. I need to tell you my last words to him.
I looked
upon him, this man who never knew what he meant to me; maybe he did, I truly
hope so.
I pray I let him know – may God forgive me if I did not.
At the end, I looked upon him, touched his handsome face and I said:
“I will not tell you goodbye. God willing, I will see you again.”
Follow his example, follow Jesus. Be Godly men. Be the go ‘el for those you love by believing.
Do this so
that they may live.
Good night my brother, I know God is richly rewarding you in His kingdom.
Amen.
[i]NOTICE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Unless otherwise cited, all material found on this blogsite (original text, opinions, conclusions, and other material not related to cited sources remains the collected intellectual property of the author of this site, David E. Robinson, Elder, Teacher, and are owned and controlled by myself and are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, foreign jurisdictions, and international conventions. Any errors found within, rest solely upon me; please do not blame the Father for my mistakes. I am teachable and correctable, also fallible. 😊
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[iii] Author’s note: This site is for education only and is not affiliated with any institution, organization, or religious group. It is the sole production of its editor. Use of information from Jewish-themed websites (or any other source material) should not be construed as these sites endorsing or confirming any thesis introduced by the author of this epistle. I present the information from their respective sites for instructional purposes only and/or to aid in the readers understanding of the subjects discussed.
[iv] Author’s note: Throughout this study I may be using the NET Bible® and the NET Notes®: within the notes you will see symbols like this: (א B Ψ 892* 2427 sys). These are abbreviations used by the NET Bible® for identifying the principal manuscript evidence that they (authors and translators of the NET Bible®) used in translating the New Testament. Please go to https://bible.org/netbible/ and see their section labeled “NET Bible Principals of Translation” for a more complete explanation on these symbols and other items pertinent to the way the NET Bible uses them.
a Mark 3:31–35: Matt 12:46–50; Luke 8:19–21
* An * in the text marks verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage.
* An * in
the text marks verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been
translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage.
* An * in
the text marks verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been
translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage.
* An * in
the text marks verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been
translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage.
a
Matt 12:49
a
Eph 6:6; Heb 10:36; 1 Pet 4:2; 1 John 2:17
[v]
New American
Standard Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 2020), Mk
3:31–35.
[vii] https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/kin
[edits mine.]
a
Acts 16:19
b
Eph 5:19
a
Acts 4:31
b
Acts 12:10
c
Acts 12:7
a
Acts 16:23, 36
b
Acts 12:19
a
Acts 16:19
a
Acts 2:37; 22:10
a
Mark 16:16
b
Acts 11:14; 16:15
a
Acts 16:25
1
Lit a table
2
Or overjoyed together with his whole
household, since … God
a
Acts 11:14; 16:15
[viii]
New American
Standard Bible (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 2020), Ac
16:25–34.
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