DECEMBER 19, 2024 PLODDING TOWARD BETHLEHEM-FINDING JESUS IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH #10 WHAT’S A REDEEMER ANYWAY?

Isaiah 44:21-23 Israel Is Not Forgotten

“Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel.

Isaiah 44:24-28 Judah Will Be Restored

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, and drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolishness; Who confirms the word of His servant, and performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’ To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ and I will raise up her waste places; Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers’; Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’

Matthew 1:18-21 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

Here Isaiah is prophesying about King Cyrus by name; however, Cyrus won’t even be born for another 100 or so years. When we study the Scriptures, we realize that God precisely timed the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of the temple, preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. For Jesus to come, Jerusalem and the temple both needed to be rebuilt and the land needed to be re-settled after the Babylonian conquest. King Cyrus of Persia lived between 600 B.C. and 530 B.C., ruling for much of that time.

Now God is promising to redeem Israel. There are several differing kinds of redemption. There are several meanings of the word “redeem” as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: to buy back : repurchase, to get or win back, to free from what distresses or harms: such as to free from captivity by payment of ransom, to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental, to release from blame or debt : clear, to free from the consequences of sin, to change for the better : reform, repair, restore, to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby, to remove the obligation of by payment, for example, the U.S. Treasury redeems savings bonds on demand, to exchange for something of value, redeem trading stamps, to make good : fulfill, to atone for : expiate, redeem an error, to offset the bad effect of to make worthwhile : retrieve.

Decades ago, Americans used to receive trading stamps when they shopped. These stamps could be put into a book and then turned in or “redeemed” for many kinds of items. Some newly weds purchased their first silverware and dishes by saving these stamps. God has a much larger problem with Israel, for Israel as a nation has split into two smaller nations and the citizens of both nations have pursued idolatry, despite all God’s warnings through His Word and the prophets. Sins demand a blood sacrifice for redemption, but no mortal has ever been good enough for their blood to wipe out the sins of the world. This is why in the fullness of time, God has sent His Son Jesus to live and die as a sinless man and to be raised from the dead after conquering death, hell, and the grave. There is a wonderful old British carol that expresses the joy of the coming Redeemer.

See Amid the Winter’s Snow

See amid the winter’s snow, born for us on earth below,

See the tender Lamb appears, promised from eternal years.

Chorus: Hail, thou ever-blessed morn! Hail Redemption’s happy dawn!