The Soul-Restoring Law in Redemptive History

“The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul [משיבת נפש]” (Psalm 19:7, Geneva Bible).

“And the women said unto Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, and his name shall be continued in Israel. And this shall bring thy life again [למשיב נפש], and cherish thine old age: for thy daughter-in-law which loveth thee, hath borne unto him, and she is better to thee than seven sons.’ ...and the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, ‘There is a child born to Naomi, and called the name thereof Obed’: the same was the father of Jesse, the father of David” (Ruth 4:14,15,17).

The Levirate marriage commanded by the Law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) not only restored life to Naomi by giving her dead son a child through Ruth and Boaz (so that his name would not disappear), but eventually restored life to all those among the peoples of the earth who put their faith in the Child Whose genealogy traces back to Obed, “father of Jesse, the father of David,” the father according to the flesh of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5,6,16-18).

Consider “the Gospel of God...concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared mightily to be the Son of God, touching the Spirit of sanctification by the resurrection from the dead...I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Grecian. For by it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:1-4,16,17).

The Law of the Lord is perfect, for God used it to guide redemptive history to the moment where He took on flesh and dwelt among us (“...when He cometh into the world, He saith, ‘...a body hast Thou ordained Me,’” Hebrews 10:5), exactly according to the Father’s eternal plan for our salvation. Live by faith in Him today, for His Law restores the soul.