Redeemed! How I love to Proclaim It!
It is one of the most beautiful words to appear anywhere in the Bible.
So beautiful, as you will hear in this PODCAST, that the biblical writers invoke this word one hundred one times.
Peter will employ it in 1 Peter 1:18 when he writes these 3 amazing words: “You were redeemed.”
That is a declarative sentence, causing us to ask, What’s the picture??? The biblical picture of redemption.
I’ll give you a hint: It all has to do with one of the so-called Minor Prophets. Minor in terms of his book’s length; MAJOR in terms of its message.
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:17-21)
Now, this first century, uneducated fisherman named Peter was quite the master of metaphor. Therefore, when it comes to redemption, his writing is a masterpiece. The New Living Translation helps us understand the metaphorical picture when it mentions the incredibly high ransom that was chosen long before the world began and paid for our eternities’ sake.
The theological dictionary definition of “redemption” is this: 1) to release from a legal obligation; 2) deliverance from desperate circumstances closely connected with a payment necessary to affect that release.
Not so vibrant or edifying, is it?
However, when Peter wrote in regards to redemption, his audience would have instantly understood his reference to the story of the prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer, some 750 years before Peter’s day.
In those dark days in Israel’s history, Hosea was put on a mission to guide the nation of Israel’s hearts back to their Lord God… a mission that was a failure. They rejected Hosea’s mission entirely. The people of Israel worshiped Baal, the “weather god”… thusly the “economy god”.
Here is the story from the Complete Jewish Bible Translation of the Book of Hosea:
2 Adonai’s opening words in speaking to Hoshea were to instruct Hoshea,
“Go, marry a whore,
and have children with this whore;
for the land is engaged in flagrant whoring,
whoring away from Adonai.” (Hosea 1:2)
So, Hosea obediently married Gomer – a temple prostitute – and she bore him a son.
4 And the Lord said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu’s dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence.5 I will break its military power in the Jezreel Valley.” (Hosea 1:4-5)
6 Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. (Hosea 1:6a)
Now, note that this second child of Gomer’s was not Hosea’s daughter. She was born out of prostitution at the temple of Baal. Thus:
And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved’—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. (Hosea 1:6b)
Then came Gomer’s third child:
8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. 9 And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people’—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. (Hosea 1:8-9)
In the second chapter of Hosea, we read God’s charges against Hosea… and metaphorically, the nation of Israel:
I will not love her children,
for they were conceived in prostitution.
5 Their mother is a shameless prostitute
and became pregnant in a shameful way.
She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers
and sell myself to them for food and water,
for clothing of wool and linen,
and for olive oil and drinks.’……8 She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—
the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;
I even gave her silver and gold.
But she gave all my gifts to Baal. (Hosea 2:4-5, 8)
That is what Gomer did to Hosea. It is what the people of Israel did to God.
The sense of betrayal was off the charts.
Then came the redemption that Peter referred to, even after Gomer’s willful defiance to her husband and her God. Even after Israel’s blatant disregard of their Lord.
Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.”
2 So I bought her back…
…This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests, or even idols! 5 But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness. (Hosea 3:1-4)
Such was the love of Hosea for his bride, Gomer. Such was the love of God of His bride, Israel. Such is His love for you and me today.
There may come a point where we break God’s heart to the point where it seems like God has turned His back on us. But, His true action will always be to seek to bring us back to Himself again and again and again.
We were redeemed by the precious blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ out of His love for us!
(This podcast is by Dewey Bertolini. discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)