Redemption

Following our series on the Exodus Way, we’re going to explore a word that first shows up in the Exodus scroll, redemption. This word can mean lots of things: redeeming a coupon, redeeming an otherwise bad day, or—from a Christian perspective—being redeemed by Jesus. But what does redemption actually refer to in the story of the Bible? Jon and Tim kick off this new theme series by exploring how this word is used throughout Scripture and then defining the two Hebrew words that are translated as “redemption” or “redeem.”

Redemption involves a transfer of possession, and in the grand story of the Bible, humanity is under the possession of sin and death. But God’s plan is to snatch us back from death and bring us to life—to redeem us. But how does this redemption actually work? In this episode, Jon and Tim look at the Torah rituals of Jubilee and Passover, discovering the life-saving redemption that God is up to in both of these rituals.

So far in this series, we’ve explored the theme of redemption in the Eden story and in several stories in Exodus. In this episode, Jon and Tim look at how redemption language shows up in Torah laws about cities of refuge and unsolved murders, highlighting God’s provision for justice, the role of the blood redeemer, and communal responsibility in ancient Israel.

During a dark time in ancient Israel, idolatry, injustice, and death ruled the land and its people. In the midst of a famine, a destitute widow tragically loses her husband and adult sons and is left alone with her immigrant daughter-in-law. It’s a horrible situation, but God uses the faithful, loving, and generous acts of ordinary community members to redeem the widow’s story. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore the cosmic redemption playing out in the short but profound story of Ruth.

For many centuries, ancient Israel lived in the land of promise but consistently broke their covenant with Yahweh. The prophet Isaiah warned the people that their corruption and idolatry would lead them back into slavery—not to Egypt but to the empires of Assyria and Babylon. After these two exiles happen, the prophecies in the book of Isaiah shift surprisingly from correction and warning to comfort and hope. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore Isaiah 40-66. These chapters contain a higher density of the word “redemption” than any other part of the Hebrew Bible.

In the book of Psalms, the Hebrew words for “redemption” are often used to simply mean save, rescue, or release. This is especially true in the psalms of King David, who was never a slave but regularly used redemption language to speak of trials with his enemies. As the collection of psalms grew and shifted over many centuries, David’s personal longings for redemption came to represent something much bigger. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore the themes of personal, communal, and cosmic redemption in Psalms.