The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

REDEMPTION THROUGH JESUS

The Israelites occasionally made vows for giving themselves, their animals, houses and land to serve the purposes of the tabernacle. These people and things were dedicated to the Lord. If someone wished to reclaim their devoted object, it had to be redeemed — bought back. By redeeming at a certain price that which had been dedicated to the sanctuary, the Israelite gave the value of the gift they had vowed. Leviticus 27 established value amounts for redemption. Some items were given a fixed price. Other items such as houses and property received a value amount only after a priest inspected their worth. In many cases, an additional percentage was added to the redemption value in order to make up for any loss incurred by the sanctuary.

As unsavory as it may seem to modern readers, monetary values were assigned for the redemption of individual people. Amounts were set according to age and gender, in relation to a person’s potential for work or child-bearing. The highest values were placed on men between the ages of twenty and sixty. The lowest values were placed on females in the age range of one month to five years. However, when the one making a vow was too poor to pay prescribed amounts, the priest could set a price according to what the person could afford.

Redemption is a treasured concept in our salvation through Jesus Christ. We have been justified by grace — only because Jesus redeemed us (Ro 3:24). He bought us back from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13). And through his redemption, we have received adoption as sons and daughters of God (Gal 4:4 – 5). The payment made was neither cheap nor common. We were purchased with the precious blood of Christ — something of infinite value and worth (1Pe 1:18 – 19). Our redemption speaks to the scope of God’s outrageous love. And it reveals his desire to liberate us from the law which left us without hope. In the fulfillment of a glorious plan made before the foundation of the world, God both judged sin and paid for sin on the cross. He chose to redeem rebels through the life and blood of his Son.

Jesus, thank you for redeeming me. I know that without your intervening, I was beyond redemption. I could never have paid the price I owed. Amen.