YHWH Ga’alek

Names of God—part 32

The LORD my Redeemer

YHWH is God’s actual name which he revealed to Moses from the burning bush, it implies the personal nature of God.

The second part of the name here is how God relates to us:

Is redemption part of salvation?

When looking this up I came across an online commentary which said that redemption is part of salvation. We are redeemed, bought back by God, in order that God might go on and save us. I disagree with that order as putting the cart before the horse. redemption is much bigger than that.

Is Salvation part of redemption?

I keep coming back to the phrases, “it’s not about me,” or, “it’s not about you.” I see redemption as being so much bigger than a simple me and Jesus idea. Gods plan of redemption is not just salvation of the few and let the rest burn, it is about all of creation. All creation, the universe, the cosmos, is to be brought back under God’s control, put under Jesus Feet as 1 Corinthians 15:27, Ephesians 1:22 and Hebrews 2:8 put it. The scope of redemption is universal.

But it is also personal, Psalm 19, attributed to David, finishing talking about God being my help and redeemer. The Hebrew for redeemer is interesting too, and goes back to the ancient practice of redemption, of buying back some property that belongs to you, echoed in the New Testament idea that the universe belongs to God, and that he wants it back. If you could not afford to buy your property back then a close family member, a kinsman, could do it for you. The word ga’al, translated as redeemer is also used in the Bible for relative. Not the remote relative that ha nothing to do with you, but the close one who will get you out of a jam.

God our Redeemer is like a close family member who gets us out of a fix, even though it costs him. Redemption is not like scientific laws, cold and mechanical, but the work of a warm loving God who is close to us. It is not about laws, it is about love and relationship.

Let us praise God our Redeemer.