Throughout the Bible we are told again and again that God redeems us, His people. It starts when God gives Adam and Eve clothing and preserves humanity through Noah’s ark, but the great saving act of the Old Testament is, of course, the Exodus itself. God says, “Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment’” (Exodus 6:6).
This act of redemption is recited again
and again because it is so pivotal in the Redemption History of the People of
God. In 1 Chronicles 17:21, we hear, “And
who is like your people Israel--the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to
make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving
out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?”
In Isaiah 44:23, nature is called on to witness the redeeming work. “Sing
for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth
beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for
the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.”
There are different forms of redeeming
mentioned in the Old Testament. The redeeming of a person sold into slavery,
for instance and the redemption of the first born by a sacrifice. (Read
Leviticus if you want to delve into all the different laws and forms.) In the
Book of Ruth, we see Boaz redeeming Ruth as his bride, along with the field of
Elimelech. He then said to the next-of-kin, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the
country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman
Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence
of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you
will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know;
for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.’ So he
said, ‘I will redeem it.’ Then Boaz said, ‘The day you acquire the field from
the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the
dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.’ At this, the
next-of-kin said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own
inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.’…Then
Boaz said to the elders and all the people, ‘Today you are witnesses that I
have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all
that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the
wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his
inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his
kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.’ (Ruth 4:2-10)
In a similar act, we hear from Isaiah, “But now, this is what
the LORD says-- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not
fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’” (Isaiah
43:1, see also 44:22-23). A few chapters later, Isaiah records, “For this is what the LORD says: ‘You were
sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.’” (Isaiah 52:3)
This is the Holy Bridegroom speaking. The One who will indeed ultimately redeem
the Bride for His own, through the cross!
The Holy Bridegroom, like Boaz, must
redeem the bride from another owner. Zechariah understood this when he sang, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.” We would much rather
‘do our own thing’, than be open to the loving guidance of the Holy Bridegroom.
Paul says in Galatians 3:14, “He redeemed
us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles
through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the
Spirit.” In the Letter to Titus, the same theme continues, “[He] gave himself for us to redeem us from
all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager
to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14)
The Holy Bridegroom redeemed us as
Bride. What does that mean in day-to-day life? One thing it means is that we no
longer have to strive so hard to work out our own redemption. We don’t have to
‘save’ the world by ourselves. There’s a song by Scott Wesley Brown that the
Gaithers performed in the early 2000’s, which
reminds me of Who really is in charge…and it is not me, but it IS the Holy
Bridegroom.
He Will Carry You (Scott Wesley Brown)
There
is no problem too bigGod cannot solve it
There is no mountain too tall
God cannot move it
There is no storm too dark
God cannot calm it
There is no sorrow too deep
He cannot soothe it
Oh, if He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my brother that He will carry you
Oh, if He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my sister that He will carry you
He said, "Come on to me all who are weary
And I will give you rest "
If you'd like to hear the song, This version of the video has some cool art.
Next week we’ll round out our discussion of the Holy Bridegroom.
