First Redeemed – The Passover Result
In a recent blog, “First Love – The Passover Puzzle,” we noted the first time the Hebrew word for love (ahavah) occurred in the Scriptures was in the story of Abraham and his son Isaac and the sacrifice on Mount Moriah. In piecing together that “Passover Puzzle” we saw how a past event pointed to a prophetic future event with Messiah at the center.
Here is a second “Passover Puzzle” connection. At the burning bush God declared to Moses that He would redeem[1] His people out of bondage and bring them to the land He swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[2] Immediately following that first Passover, God began to fulfill His promise.[3]
Just as the first use of the word of love was found in a redemptive picture with Abraham and Isaac, so the first use of redeem in the Scriptures also looks both backward and forward. We find it in Genesis 48-49, where we read about the final days of Jacob (whom God renamed Israel).
In context, Jacob and all his family had moved to Egypt during the time of famine. His son Joseph was ruling over all Egypt, second only to the king. The patriarch is up in years and would soon summon all his sons to pronounce a prophetic oracle of what would befall them in the days to come.[4]
But first Joseph takes his sons for a final visit with their ailing grandfather. After Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh, he blesses Joseph with these words:
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
And may my name live on in them,
And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” [5]
Amazingly, Jacob says, it was “the angel” (or messenger) who redeemed him from all evil. Since “the angel who redeemed” is paralleled with “the God who has been my shepherd” in this utterance, this certainly must be a reference to “the angel of the LORD.”
This singular being appears at strategic times in the history of the Jewish people. For example, “the angel of the LORD” spoke and ate with Abraham and Sarah,[6] and later called out to Abraham as he was about to slay Isaac on the altar.[7] He called out to Moses from the burning bush.[8] This same “angel of the LORD” also visited Gideon.[9]
Yes, this unique messenger, who in these texts is even identified as God,[10] is included in the text of Genesis 48:16, the first place in the Hebrew Bible we find the word redeemed.
Just as Jacob testified the angel had redeemed him from all evil, his words point to a future event. There is One who could – and would – redeem us from every lawless deed,
What a picture we see in these verses from Genesis. Who could this messenger be who is called God and can redeem?
Job further sharpens the developing picture for us. His testimony includes this prophetic word:
“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.”[11]
Redemption from Egypt’s bondage is celebrated annually at Passover. But Job wasn’t with the Hebrew people when Moses led them out. Neither was Jacob, of course.
So why did they need a Redeemer? And why do we?
Isaiah gives us the answer:
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way.[12]
And the prophet also describes the work of this Redeemer, who indeed is God’s promised Messiah:
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6c …But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.[13]
Who is this Redeemer of whom Moses, Job, and the prophets speak? We invite you to check out https://www.insearchofshalom.com/portal-article-1-whats-so-special-about-isaiah-53?rq=Isaiah for His identity.
Written by Jeff, LIFE Staff
Footnotes:
[1] This is the second use of the Hebrew word goel (redeem) in Scripture.
[2] Exodus 6:2-9 provides the setting. Verse 6 includes God’s promise, “I will also redeem (goel) you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.”
[3] Exodus 12 begins with God’s instructions for observing the Passover, including applying the lamb’s blood to the doorposts and lintels of each home. The chapter ends (verse 51) with, “And on that same day the LORD brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.”
[4] Genesis 49:1-29.
[5] Genesis 48:16.
[6] Genesis 18:1-33.
[7] Genesis 22:11-12.
[8] Exodus 3:2-6.
[9] Judges 6:11-24.
[10] For example, in Genesis 18 and Exodus 3 “the angel of the LORD” appears – and G-d speaks.
[11] Job 19:25.
[12] Isaiah 53:6ab.
[13] Isaiah 53:4-5,6cd.