Redemption!
by Colleen Fitzpatrick
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On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt’ (Exodus 13:8).
Read Exodus 13:3–16
This year has been 50 years since my husband, John, and I got engaged and married. When we were looking to buy an engagement ring, a colleague took us to a pawn shop and helped us select a suitable ring, which we then bought at auction. It is a beautiful ring – a sweetheart design – and was manufactured 25 years before our purchase. I sometimes wonder who the original owner was and why the ring ended up at a pawn shop. I am also very conscious that in buying that ring, we were redeeming it.
These days, the concept of redemption seems to be the domain of shops that take your goods and give you money, which you then have to pay (exorbitant) interest on until you redeem your goods with money. People who use such services are those who are struggling to make ends meet.
However, in today’s reading, guidelines are set down that are to be observed to ensure the Israelites remain aware of God’s might in bringing them out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Not only were there dietary requirements, but the firstborn of people and livestock had to be redeemed. The firstborn of the livestock was to be killed, and the firstborn child had to be bought back from the Lord. If the livestock is not redeemed, it is to be killed.
This practice continued until New Testament times; in fact, we read about Mary and Joseph offering two pairs of birds at the temple, as presumably they could not afford to sacrifice a lamb.
Jesus’ death and resurrection ensure we are redeemed. No more sacrifices are necessary to guarantee our salvation. No more rules are required! Now, that’s a redemption I can live with!
Redeeming God, thank you for sending your Son to die for us so that all of our sins and obligations would no longer be counted. Thank you for your saving grace that we don’t have to earn. Amen.
Colleen Fitzpatrick is retired and lives in Adelaide. She enjoys reading and writing. She particularly likes listening to people’s stories and learning from them about who they are and what they do. She loves nature and the beauty of God’s creation.
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