All of God’s word tells a singular story. We may see a “harsher” God in the Old Testament, and a loving one in the Gospels. Or violence and bloodshed in some stories, and love stories in the next. There are different, and wild characters in some books, and other tamer characters in the next. But the entire Bible tells one story, with one major vision, all based around one God. Although we all have opinions on what kind of a God that is, we can most certainly all agree on one thing. He is a God of Redemption.
From the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, to the very last, Revelation, we see one major redemption arc. We also see a few smaller stories of redemption sprinkled throughout. It’s an important theme throughout the entire Bible, and we can see it attributed to God’s character many times.
Redemption is one of the most prominent characteristics of God, and it’s so important to the Christian life. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to walk in the freedom and grace that he has made available to us.
There are many examples of God’s kind of redemption throughout scripture. Let’s look at those examples, so we can start to understand both the character of God, and all that he has done for us.
God’s Kind of Redemption
Before we look at the different instances of redemption in scripture, we need to understand God’s kind of redemption. In pop culture today, we see a lot of stories in movies and television where characters have a redemption arc. They go from a bad character to a good and likeable one. A character that was once hated, is now loved and cared for by fans. We see the same thing in the sports world. When a basketball player, for instance, starts to play better, they are redeemed in the eyes of fans, and while they used to be bad and hated, are now revered by fans.
We also see redemption in other people. Sometimes people may be very difficult and hard to like. They could be irritating and slow, or loud and obnoxious. But sometimes, they have a redeeming quality that makes them easy to like, and less of a hassle to deal with. This can be a good sense of humor, or a friendly personality. While these are both examples of redemption, they are not quite the same as God’s kind of redemption.
When God redeems, he doesn’t just make someone more likeable, or more cared for. He doesn’t even make someone better. God redeems people, not by changing who they are, or by making them better. He redeems people by saving them from where they’re at. While others are being “redeemed” by being better, thus being “saved” from criticism and hatred, God redeems people by saving them from their own destruction.
His redeeming power is not limited to characteristics and likeability, but it stretches out to our eternal status. It’s on a grand scale, and it even saves us from our sin and death.
The Redemption of Man
The first major instance of redemption comes on a major scale. It takes place in the book of Genesis and starts with Abraham. At this point, we find the world in a state of hopelessness. Adam and Eve fell, the first murder took place, Noah’s ark withstood the flood, and the tower of Babel has fallen, with the world no longer speaking the same language. In this time of confusion, we find Abraham, who has been called by God. Abraham is sent out by God with the word that God will make a great nation out of him.
Eventually, God makes a covenant with Abraham, that he will be the father of many nations, and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. This is a great promise, and that promise eventually comes to pass, as Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, has 12 sons, that lead to the 12 tribes of Israel, a great nation. This is where we find the first major redemption.
Through this story, we can see that God redeems man. For years, the world has no hope of something greater. They have no hope of Heaven, and no hope of a savior. But it is through this man, Abraham, and his descendants, the Israelites, that a Messiah is born. Through God’s covenant with Abraham, man is redeemed from their hopelessness, and given a new hope in a pathway to Jesus, the ultimate redeemer.
The Redemption of the Jews
The next time we see redemption is in the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth takes place at same time as the book of Judges. During the time of Judges, Israel is going through a bit of a rough period. They have six judges, which are essentially the leaders of Israel. With each judge, there is more and more brutality, with the book of Judges ending with a horrific story of murder and violence.
Then, we have the book of Ruth, which begins with a widow, Ruth, and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth is a Moabite woman entering into Israel with Naomi, where she is seen as a foreigner. While in today’s age, that isn’t seen negatively. But in the days of Ruth and Naomi, it was a major problem. While Ruth is working the fields one day, an Israelite man named Boaz begins to take interest in her, and eventually they marry, which is great news for Ruth. Before, she was alone and in a strange, foreign place, now she was redeemed in marriage by Boaz. By the redemption doesn’t end there.
At the end of the book, we come to a genealogy. While these are normally boring and easy to skip through, this one is very important. From this short genealogy found in Ruth 4:18-22, we see that Ruth and Boaz were the grandparents of Jesse, the father of David. If you don’t know anything about David, he was a shepherd that eventually became the king of Israel and helped to redeem Israel. He also was an ancestor of Jesus, the eventual savior of the world!
In judges, the Israelites were wicked, lost, and in despair. But through Ruth and Boaz, the Lord redeemed Israel and brought a new king, that would eventually lead us to Jesus.
The Redemption of the Gentiles
The next story of redemption is that of the Gentiles, though that is sort of a misconception. That is, because through this singular redemption story, everyone, both Jew and Gentile, is redeemed. This sort of redemption is found in the life, death, and life again of Jesus.
Jesus, the one begotten, perfect son of God, died for our sins. He lived life in a human body and died on the cross for us, only to be risen again on the third day. His life, death, and resurrection are the only reason that we are able to experience any sort of freedom. It is only by his sacrifice, his blood, and his cross that we are redeemed, and only by those, that we get to have eternal life, both in Heaven, and on Earth.
The redemption of man through Abraham, and the Jews through Ruth, both led to Him, who redeemed us all by his sacrifice. Without Jesus, we would not only be stuck in sin for the rest of our lives, but we would be stuck in death. Through Jesus, we are able to experience relationship with God, eternal life, and the forgiveness of our sins, among many other things.
All of scripture points to Jesus, and all of creation was redeemed by his life and his sacrifice.
Final Thoughts
The God that we get to serve is a God of redemption. He isn’t harsh, or hateful. He is loving and He is kind. His redeeming heart and care for us is shown throughout all of scripture and is one of the most important aspects of his character. It is by his redeeming character that we are able to walk in freedom today.
We can see this redeeming quality of his throughout the entirety of scripture. We see it at the start, in Genesis 15 and 17, when God makes a covenant with Abraham. This covenant was the start of a nation that became the vessel from which the Messiah was born. It was through this one covenant, that the ultimate redemption of sins was born.
We can see this quality of God in the book of Ruth, when God uses a foreigner to redeem his people. Through Ruth, and eventually David, God redeemed the Israelites and gave birth to a new redeemer.
This heart for redemption can even be seen in the book of Revelation, where God will eventually redeem his people, bringing them from this Earth, and planting them into a new Earth.
The greatest form of redemption though is found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the propitiation for our sins, and the great redeemer. Without Jesus, we would be without hope, and without true life. We would all be stuck in our sins and brokenness for the rest of eternity. But He came in the form of flesh and turned our entire story around, redeeming us from our inevitable death, and bringing us to new life in Him.
Praise Jesus for all that he has done! Praise God for his redemptive nature!
“He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!” (Psalm 111:9).
