The associations of the word “redeemer” are to us so moving and inspiring, for they are related to the manifestation of Divine grace in Christ Jesus, that we tend to generalize in the interpretation of the word, forgetting that frequently Hebrew words are flexible in significance, and their use, in any varying set of circumstances, can only be determined by the immediate context. The term “redeemer” is one of these; actually there are two words translated “redeem”: Padah, meaning simply, to free by purchase or by the exercise of power. It is used in connection with t h e redeeming of the first-born of man and beast, as well as by God in His freeing of Israel from Egypt.
This, however, is not the word that concerns us : the term used by Job was the word “Goel,” or “Gaal,” and as we shall note later, a particular form of it. There are three applications of this w o r d, though it is noticed that the root significance always remains t h e same. The first use we shall consider is found in Numbers 35; where are described the arrangements for cities of refuge to regulate the problem of acts of violence, which involved the life of a person. The laws of God were very practical, being, in many cases, regulatory of customs already well established, and it was so in this case.
It was a tradition of long standing that the slaying of the member of a family must be avenged not solely for the sake of revenge, but to vindicate the name and honor of family and victim. This could only be done by a close relative, and it was out of this tradition that the vendettas, or feuds, of relatively modern times grew. In Numbers 35, the term “revenger of blood” is a translation of the term “goel” which we are considering.
A second application of t h e word is most eloquently illustrated in the story of Ruth. The object of the regulations that enter into this story were two-fold : to protect the welfare and rights of a widow, and to maintain the family by raising children in t h e name of the deceased person. Again this could only be done by the nearest relative, and we read as follows in the 4th of Ruth, verse 14: “And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman (a redeemer) that his name may be famous in Israel.”
The application of the word that most concerns us is its relationship to the Divine plan of salvation through Christ. Quite simply, the problem that concerns man is, that he is barred from intimacy and fellowship with the Eternal because of sin ; and he is incapable of solving the matter himself. In God’s sight “there is none righteous, no not one.” The prophet Isaiah, in chapter 53, writes in a forceful parallel as follows : “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Two things are again accomplished by the “redeemer” : first the release of the victim from bondage — the bondage of sin and death as expressed by Paul: “The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death”; secondly, in Romans 10:1-4 we read : “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved ; for I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God but it is not enlightened, but being ignorant of t h e righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law that everyone who has faith may be justified (i.e. made righteous).”
In which of these three applications did Job use the word “redeemer?” Well, we must immediately recognize that it could not have been the last one : Job was not a man that believed he needed God’s righteousness. He was confident that he was already a righteous man ; all that was necessary was someone to prove this to God. What Job required, therefore, was not a “redeemer” in the sense of the Christ, but a “vindicator.” He was also concerned with bringing home to his “enemy” the injustice of the terrible events he had suffered. In confirmation of this, we find him using the Hebrew particle of the word “goel,” which is primarily translated “avenger of blood.” In the context of Job’s speech, recorded in the 16th chapter, we note Job’s concern with vengeance, for it is here that he makes the cry “O earth cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place” — a clear reference to the age-old belief that the blood of a victim remained unabsorbed by the soil, and the cry continued to echo until vindication had been achieved.
But, we can say, with gr eat thanksgiving, ” I know that my Redeemer liveth.” We can s a y also, with absolute confidence, that He will stand at the latter day upon the earth, and can look forward with confidence, by t h e grace of God — not by our own righteousness — to seeing Him. However, we must not make the mistake of applying this meaning to Job’s mind. This man had a limited conception of Divine requirements, but by the time t h e Divine purpose where he was concerned was completed, he was a completely changed man.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One