eternal life

The harvest

Jesus often described the kingdom of heaven using terms that are usually associated with work and productivity. When he instructed his disciples to take up their cross and follow him, Jesus compared their effort to work and the result of the disciples’ effort to profit and loss. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:23-24). The Greek word that is translated profit opheleo (o-fel-ehˊ-o) is derived from the word ophelos (ofˊ-el-os) which means “(to heap up, i.e. accumulate or benefit); gain” (G3786). The reason why Jesus compared gaining the whole world to losing ourselves is likely because we typically think of ourselves in terms of our possessions, the house we own or the car we drive. The point that Jesus was making was that our possessions don’t define us, but they could determine where we will spend eternity if we allow them take precedence over our relationship with God.

After Jesus appointed seventy-two others besides his twelve apostles, he sent them ahead of him two by two to the towns where he intended to minister (Luke 10:1). Jesus told them:

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages.” (Luke 10:2-7)

The Greek word that is translated laborers, ergates (er-gatˊ-ace) means “a toiler” but is being used figuratively to refer to “a teacher” (G2040). Ergates comes from the word ergon (erˊ-gon) which speaks of “toil (as an effort or occupation)” but in simple terms, ergon represents “something to be done” and generally, “of the work which Jesus was sent to fulfill on earth (John 5:20, 36; 10:38; 17:4); that which one has been called or ordained to accomplish (John 4:34; 6:28, 29; 9:4; 17:4; Acts 13:2; 14:26; 15:38; 16:10; Philippians 1:22; 2:30; Revelation 2:26)” (G2041).

Jesus told the seventy-two others that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). Jesus’ parables of the sower, the seed growing, and the weeds provide us with some insight into what Jesus meant by this statement. Jesus said of parable of the sower, “The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard: then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:11-12). Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower has led some people to believe that the harvest is about people getting saved, but that may not be the harvest’s intended purpose. Jesus said in his parable of the seed growing, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:25-29). Thinking about the word of God growing and maturing into grain that ripens and then, needs to be harvested has the implication of God’s word being alive and/or changing in form. The writer of Hebrews describes the word of God as living and active, “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Greek word that is translated word in the phrase word of God is logos (logˊos). John used the word logos when he said of Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus’ identification as the word of God and his role in the harvest is further clarified in his parable of the weeds. Jesus said:

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” (Matthew 13:24-30)

Jesus’ parable of the weeds indicated that the grain was going to be left to grow in the field together with the weeds until the harvest. In his explanation of the parable of the weeds, Jesus made it clear that the wheat represented those who would be entering the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:37-43).

Jesus said that the harvest would take place at the end of the age, and yet he sent out the seventy-two others as laborers into the harvest. This seems to suggest that the harvest has both temporal and eternal features. It could be that what we do in the temporal aspect of our lives with regard to the harvest won’t be manifested until the end of the age or in eternity. Paul talked about this in connection with the resurrection of the dead. Paul said:

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:35-44)

Paul made an important distinction about the harvest when he said, “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies” (1 Corinthians 15:36), and then, Paul linked the harvest to an eternal event that he was anxiously anticipating, the resurrection of the dead. Paul said, “What is sown is perishable; what is raised in imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42). Paul also indicated that a change is going to take place that is connected with the harvest of believers when Jesus Christ returns (Matthew 24:30-31). Paul said:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

Paul concluded his discussion of the resurrection of the dead by encouraging believers that “our labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). This seems to relate back to Jesus’ statement, “The laborer deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7). The reward for participating in the harvest was described by Jesus as wages. This seems to suggest that those who teach the word of God should be paid for their service, but I don’t think that was what Jesus intended to convey or what Paul had in mind when he talked about our labor not being in vain.

One of the events of Jesus’ ministry that is only recorded in John’s gospel is when Jesus and the woman of Samaria met at Jacob’s well. After Jesus revealed the woman’s sin to her, “the woman said to him, ‘Sir I perceive that you are a prophet’” (John 4:19). Jesus then proceeded to tell the woman about how she could have a relationship with God. Jesus concluded with the statement, “’God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am he’” (John 4:24-26). Jesus’ interaction with the woman of Samaria was interrupted by his disciples returning from going into the city to buy food. John tells us, “Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has anyone brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, “There are yet four months, then comes the harvest”? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor’” (John 4:31-38). Jesus indicated that there are both temporal and eternal rewards for harvesting God’s crop. He said, “Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life” (John 4:36). The wages that Jesus was referring to could be anything from financial blessing from God to increased spiritual discernment. In his illustration of the laborers in the vineyard, Jesus said that the master of the house paid everyone the same wage regardless of when they started working. This was attributed to the master’s generosity. When the workers who had started first grumbled at the master of the house, he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity. So the last will be first and the first last” (Matthew 20:13-16).

Breaking the law

The majority of the conflicts that Jesus was involved in during his ministry on earth had to do with the misinterpretation and/or misapplication of the Mosaic Law. When he initiated his covenant with Abraham and his descendants, God told Abraham he would bless him and said, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). The Hebrew word barak (baw-rakˊ) refers to an act of adoration and can be used “when blessing God (Genesis 9:26) or people (Numbers 24:9). God used this verb when He blessed Abraham in the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:3). The word is used intensively when God blesses people or people bless each other (Joshua 17:14)” (H1288). In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the crowds of people who were following him that God’s blessing was the result of a person entering the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12)

The phrase poor in spirit refers to people who are aware of their spiritual helplessness, their dependence upon God for spiritual sustenance. Jesus pointed out that persecution is an indicator that one has entered the kingdom of heaven and encouraged his followers by telling them “your reward is great in heaven,” if you achieve this status.

The Pharisees, who were the religious experts in the first century, continually confronted Jesus with matters that they thought were violations of the Mosaic Law. Luke tells us, “On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’” (Luke 6:1-2). Luke went on to say, “On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?’ And after looking around at them all he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did so and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:6-11). The Pharisees thought that Jesus was breaking the law by healing the man’s withered hand on the Sabbath, but Jesus refuted their accusation by revealing the motive behind his action, to do good, to save his life (Luke 6:9).

The Jews understood that the goal of keeping the Mosaic Law was to have eternal life, but their misapplication of God’s commandments caused them to believe that salvation was a status that they could achieve, rather than a gift that God intended for them to receive. Jesus explained that in order for salvation to be an achievable status, you would have to have the ability to be perfect, not just do something really good, but to be good in every aspect of your character and life. Matthew 19:16-22 states:

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus’ clarification of what it meant to be saved focused on the difference between doing good and being good. Jesus indicated that eternal life is not something that you can earn or possess, but something that you experience as a result of having a relationship with God.

The Pharisees tested Jesus’ knowledge of the Mosaic Law because they were trying to prove that he didn’t actually understand God’s plan of salvation. Matthew tells us, “But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:34-40). When Jesus said that all the Law and the Prophets depended on the two commandments that he identified, he meant that these two commandments adequately explained why the world needs a Savior, a substitutionary means of salvation. These two commandments are all God needs to judge and condemn the world, because they clearly demonstrate that humans are not perfect. According to God’s divine standard, we are all guilty of breaking the law.

Turning aside from the way

Shortly before Jesus’ crucifixion, he encouraged his disciples by giving them a glimpse into their future with him in heaven. Jesus told them:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6, NLT)

When Jesus referred to himself as the way, he was talking about himself as “the author and medium of access to God and eternal life (John 14:6).” The Greek word that is translated way, hodos (hod-osˊ) refers to “the route” or “a traveler’s way,” a means of getting somewhere. Metaphorically, hodos speaks “of ‘a course of conduct,’ or ‘way of thinking’” (G3598). In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word derek (dehˊ-rek), which is also translated way, is associated with one’s “destiny,” “the overall course and fixed path of one’s life” (H1870).

The Israelites journey out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land was directed by God. It says in Exodus 13:17-18, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way (derek) of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, ‘Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.’ But God led the people around by the way (derek) of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.” It also says in Exodus 13:21-22, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way (derek), and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.” God not only charted the Israelites’ course, but went along with them to make sure they reached their destination or you might say, their destiny.

Late in Israel’s Old Testament history, a prophet by the name of Malachi reminded God’s chosen people of his love for them (Malachi 1:2-5) and warned the priests about turning aside from the way. Malachi said:

For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction. (Malachi 2:7-9)

The Hebrew word that is translated turned aside, suwr (soor) “is used metaphorically to describe turning away from the Lord because of a rebellious heart (Jeremiah 5:23)…Its meaning extends further to indicate falling away, as when one is enticed to fall away from following the Lord to pursue other gods (Deuteronomy 11:16; 1 Samuel 12:20; Psalm 14:3). We are told in the book of Acts that Judas, the disciple that betrayed Jesus, “turned aside to go to his own place” (Acts 1:25). Jesus’ explanation of the purpose of his parables gives us some insight into what it means to turn aside and go to your own place. Jesus said, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:11-12). Judas knew the word of God, but it had no effect on him.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written at a time in Solomon’s life when he had the ability to look back over the course of his life and could see the end result. Solomon concluded his message with some advice for young people who still had their lives ahead of them. “Solomon had failed miserably in restraining his fleshly desires. His many pagan wives had turned his heart away from serving God (1 Kings 11:1-8). He therefore encouraged young people to follow the Lord while they were still in their youth. The temporary pleasures of this life cannot compare to the joy that comes from living for God” (note on Ecclesiastes 12:1). Solomon exclaimed, “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

Solomon’s recommendation to follow your heart and do what appears to be right according to your own viewpoint was followed by a reality check on what he expected to happen afterward. Solomon understood that in the end, God decides whether or not we have done the right thing, if we have fulfilled our destiny. Solomon went on to say, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Solomon had experienced first-hand the result of turning aside from the way and wanted others to know that it wasn’t a good idea for them to do what he had done. Solomon concluded his message by stating, “The end of the matter: all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Losing your Life

Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure from earth by telling them exactly what to expect in the final days of his ministry. Mark tells us, “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly” (Mark 8:31-32). Jesus didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding about his intention of dying for the sins of the world. Surprisingly, Peter thought that Jesus was mistaken about the need for him to sacrifice his life in order to accomplish God’s will. Mark said of Jesus, “And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man’” (Mark 8:32-33). Jesus pointed out that Peter was being influenced by Satan and that his mind was focused on the wrong things. You might say that Peter had a temporal point of view; he wasn’t looking at the bigger picture. The thing that Peter missed was the fact that after three days, Jesus was going to rise from the dead (Mark 8:31).

Following his interaction with Peter, Jesus spoke to the crowd around him about a key principle of God’s kingdom that has to do with eternal life. Mark said of Jesus:

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” (Mark 8:34-9:1)

Jesus was looking at things from a human perspective when used the example of gaining and losing something to explain the concept of eternal life. The thing that was at stake, that which could be gained or lost when it came to eternal life was the human soul. The Greek word that is translated soul in Mark 8:36-37 is psuche (psoo-khayˊ). “The soul, that immaterial part of man held in common with animals. One’s understanding of this word’s relationship to related terms is contingent upon his position regarding biblical anthropology. Dichotomists view man as consisting of two parts (or substances), material and immaterial, with spirit and soul denoting the immaterial and bearing only a functional and not a metaphysical difference. Trichotomists also view man as consisting of two parts (or substances), but with spirit and soul representing in some contexts a real subdivision of the immaterial. This latter view is here adopted. Accordingly, psuche is contrasted with soma (G4983), body, and pneuma (G4151), spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The psuche, no less than the sarx (G4561), flesh, belongs to the lower region of man’s being. Sometimes psuche stands for the immaterial part of man made up of the soul (psuche in the restrictive sense of the life element), and the spirit pneuma. However, animals are not said to possess a spirit; this is only in man, giving him the ability to communicate with God. Also breath (Sept. Genesis 1:30; Job 41:12), and in the NT, usually meaning the vital breath, the life element through which the body lives and feels, the principle of life manifested in the breath” (G5590).

One of the key indicators that is typically used to determine if a person is dead or alive is breathing. When we stop breathing, we are usually thought of as being dead. In the context of eternal life, Jesus’ statement, “whoever would save his life (psuche) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (psuche) for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35), was referring to the soul as an indicator of spiritual life or death. Jesus said, “whoever would save his life will lose it.” The Greek word that is translated save, sozo (sodeˊ-zo) is used “specifically of salvation from eternal death, sin, and the punishment and misery consequent to sin. To save, and (by implication), to give eternal life…The participle is used substantively to refer to those being saved, those who have obtained salvation through Christ and are kept by him (Luke 13:23; Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15; Revelation 21:24)” (G4982). From that standpoint, losing your life would mean that you stop attempting to pay the penalty for your sins against God.

The prophet Ezekiel foretold of an everlasting covenant that God would establish after Israel broke the covenant that was associated with the Mosaic Law. Ezekiel stated:

“For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 16:59-63)

God said that he would atone for the people. The Hebrew word kaphar (kaw-farˊ), which is translated atone for, is “A verb meaning to cover, to forgive, to expiate, to reconcile. This word is of supreme theological importance in the Old Testament as it is central to an Old Testament understanding of the remission of sins. At its most basic level, the word conveys the notion of covering but not in the sense of merely concealing. Rather, it suggests the imposing of something to change its appearance or nature. It is therefore employed to signify the cancellation or ‘writing over’ of a contract (Isaiah 28:18); the appeasing of anger (Genesis 32:20[21]; Proverbs 16:14); and the overlaying of wood with pitch so as to make it waterproof (Genesis 6:14). The word also communicates God’s covering of sin. Persons made reconciliation with God for their sins by imposing something that would appease the offended party (in this case the Lord) and cover the sinners with righteousness (Exodus 32:30; Ezekiel 45:17; cf. Daniel 9:24). In the Old Testament, the blood of sacrifices was most notably imposed (Exodus 30:10). By this imposition, sin was purged (Psalm 79:9; Isaiah 6:7) and forgiven (Psalm 78:38). The offenses were removed, leaving sinners clothed in righteousness (cf. Zechariah 3:3, 4). Of course, the imposition of the blood of bulls and of goats could never fully cover our sin (see Hebrews 10:4), but with the coming of Christ and the imposition of His shed blood, a perfect atonement was made (Romans 5:9-11)” (H3722).

Ezekiel went on to say that “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20). “One prominent feature of the book of Ezekiel is the declaration of individual responsibility (Ezekiel 3:16-21; 14:12-20; 18:1-32; 33:1-20). In this passage, the Lord was setting aside an old proverb in Israel (Ezekiel 18:2, cf. Jeremiah 31:29, 30) and replacing it with one of his own: ‘The soul who sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:4, 20). In the Old Testament, God’s people were treated as a national unit, and their sustenance and material prosperity were often affected by sins of the minority (cf. Joshua 7:1, 4-11, 16-26). Consequently, God was just when he spoke of ‘visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children’ (Exodus 20:5). This passage, however, looks beyond material ramifications and considers the eternal results of sin. This is implied by the use of the term ‘soul’ (v. 4) and the command to ‘make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit’ (v. 31). Many righteous people were going to die in the siege, and many would be carried to Babylon (as Ezekiel and Daniel were). The eternal fate of each person, however, was determined by his or her individual relationship with God” (note on Ezekiel 18:1-32).

Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that righteousness can only be obtained through faith in Jesus Christ. After he declared that “none is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:10-11), Paul went on to state:

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

Paul indicated that Jesus was “put forward as a propitiation by his blood” (Romans 3:25), meaning that Jesus was intended to be a substitute for all who would accept his sacrifice on their behalf (G2435).

Jesus prefaced his remark about losing one’s life with the statement, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). To deny oneself means “to disown and renounce self, to disregard all personal interests and enjoyments (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34)” (G533). This stipulation might make it seem as if Jesus wanted his followers to give up all of their material possessions and to renounce any activity that brought them pleasure, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Jesus told his disciples shortly before his death on the cross, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:9-10). The Greek word that is translated abundantly, perissos (per-is-sos) means “superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality); (by implication) excessive” and as an adjective perissos is used to convey “over and above” having “more than enough” (G4053). Jesus indicated that being saved is what causes a person to have an abundant life (John 10:9), but the word Jesus used for life, zoe (dzo-ayˊ) suggests that atonement changes life’s appearance or nature. Rather than one’s psuche becoming more vibrant, a zoe type of life replaces or covers over their psuche after a person is born again.

Zoe is comparable to psuche in that it represents “physical life and existence as opposed to death and nonexistence,” but it goes farther in referring to life “in the sense of existence, life, in an absolute sense and without end” and “in the Christian sense of eternal life, i.e. that life of bliss and glory in the kingdom of God which awaits the true disciples of Christ after the resurrection” (G2222). Jesus explained in his parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21) that abundant life is not about having the security of material possessions, but about having the kind of security that eternal life provides. After the rich man had torn down his barns and built larger ones to store his crops, “God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you’” (Luke 12:20).

Jesus differentiated between psuche and zoe when he told his disciples, “Whoever loves his life (psuche) loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life (zoe)” (John 12:25). Losing your life in this verse seems to be connected with an acceptance or rejection of the thoughts, feelings, and desires that our souls generate with us. Paul gives us an example of hating your life in his letter to the Romans, where he confessed, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). On the other hand, an example of loving your life might be found in the words of King Nebuchadnezzar, who said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). Following this statement, Nebuchadnezzar lost his life from a spiritual standpoint, when God issued a decree against him. Daniel tells us, “While the words were still in his mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you is it spoken: “The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the breast of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will”’” (Daniel 4:31-32).

A refuge for the soul

The Bible tells us that “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). The exact similarities and differences between God and man are not known, except for what has been revealed to us through the life of Jesus Christ who possessed the divine nature of God (2 Peter 1:4) and yet, was like man in every respect (Hebrews 2:17). One of the characteristics of God that is shown to us in the Bible is that he is a trinity. God exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus indicated that he and his Father are one (John 17:11) and also referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Helper…who proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26). Unity or oneness is discussed in the book of Ephesians in the context of the body of Christ. Paul said that the body of Christ is being built up “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). In this verse, the fullness of Christ is referring to “God, in the completeness of His Being” (G4138). Genesis 2:7 tells us that “God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature.” The material part of man that God formed from the dust of the ground is referred to in Hebrew as chay (khahˊ-ee). The immaterial part of man is known as nephesh (nehˊ-fesh). “Nephesh means soul; self, life, person, heart. The basic meaning comes from its verbal form, naphash (5314), which refers to the essence of life, the act of breathing, taking breath (Genesis 2:7)…The Hebrew system of thought does not include the opposition of the terms ‘body’ and ‘soul,’ which are really Greek and Latin in origin. The Hebrew compares/contrasts ‘the inner self’ and ‘the outer appearance’ or, as viewed in a different context, ‘what one is to oneself’ as opposed to ‘what one appears to be to one’s observers.’ The goal of the Scriptures is to make the inner and the outer consistent…The soul of man, that immaterial part, which moves into the after life [the body is buried and decomposes] needs atonement to enter into God’s presence upon death” (H5315).

Man is referred to as a living (chay) creature (nephesh) in Genesis 2:7. After the fall, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, death entered into the world. The Hebrew word that is translated die in Genesis 2:17, muwth (mooth) means “to lose one’s life” (H4191). “When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, both spiritual and physical death came upon Adam and Eve and their descendants (cf. Romans 5:12). They experienced spiritual death immediately, resulting in their shame and their attempt to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3:7).” The spiritual death that Adam and Eve experienced had to do with the breath of life or divine inspiration (H5397), what is referred to in the New Testament as zoe (dzo-ayˊ). “Zoe means life in the absolute sense, life as God has it, which the Father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have in Himself (John 5:26), and which the Son manifested in the world (1 John 1:2). From this life man has become alienated in consequence of the Fall (Ephesians 4:18), and of this life men become partakers through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:15), who becomes its Author to all such as trust in Him (Acts 3:15), and who is therefore said to be ‘the life’ of the believer (Colossians 3:4), because the life that He gives He maintains (John 6:35, 63). Eternal life is the present actual possession of the believer because of his relationship with Christ (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14), and that it will one day extend its domain to the sphere of the body is assured by the resurrection of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:4; 2 Timothy 1:10)” (G2222).

Romans 5:18-19 says of Christ’s death on the cross, “Therefore, as one trespass led to the condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life (zoe) for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Justification means “to declare to be just as one should be” (G1344) and is associated with the restoration of man’s divine image. In his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul described justification as a two-part process. Paul said, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (zoe)” (Titus 3:4-7). Regeneration and renewal result in eternal life or zoe, life in the absolute sense (G2222). Paul indicated that renewal is dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul referred to this renewal as being “renewed in the spirit of your minds” and said that we must “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24). The spirit is distinct from the body and soul (G4151) and is the part of man that gives him the ability to communicate with God (G5590). The unity that exists between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is extended to mankind through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. Jesus prayed, “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one” (John 17:21-23).

Psalm 22 is an example of the oneness that Jesus prayed he would have with believers. “This is one of the psalms referred to as Messianic (other examples of Messianic portions would include Psalm 34:20; 40:6-8; 41:9; 45:6, 7; 69:21; 72:8; and 118:22). Psalms are classified as Messianic based on one or more of the three following criteria. First, consider the testimony of the writers of the Old Testament. When other books, in the context of discussing the Messiah, contain quotes or wording very similar to the lines from the psalms (e.g., Psalm 72:8, cf. Zechariah 9:10), it is a clear indication that a psalm is Messianic. Secondly, there are the citations from psalms that Christ applied to himself (e.g., Psalm 41:9, cf. John 13:18) or that New Testament writers identified as depicting Christ (e.g., Psalm 118:22, cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7). Finally, there are statements in the psalms that, while never specifically identified as such in the Scriptures, clearly pertain to Jesus Christ (e.g., Psalm 22:1, cf. Matthew 27:46). It should be noted that within the ‘Messianic’ portions of individual psalms, some passages refer exclusively to Christ while others seem to also address a situation faced by the human writer” (note on Psalm 22:1-31). Psalm 22 begins with the question, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). Jesus spoke these words while he was dying on the cross (Matthew 27:46). Following this statement, David went on to say, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame” (Psalm 22:3-5). The comparison between David’s personal experience and that of Jesus Christ on the cross highlights the identification that David had with his Savior. The mind of Christ was operating within David, enabling him to see his situation from Jesus’ perspective. Likewise, Jesus understood David’s suffering and associated himself with it in his atonement for the sins of the world.

David continued his side by side comparison of his and his Savior’s suffering in the following verses of Psalm 22. David wrote:

For dogs encompass me;
    a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dog!
    Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! (Psalm 22:16-21)

The detail of David’s account of Christ’s crucifixion makes it seem as if he was there when it happened. David wrote Psalm 22 hundreds of years before Jesus was born, but the accuracy of his description is verified by the writers of all four gospels (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:33; 24:40; John 19:23, 37; 20:25).

Psalm 7 provides some insight into the anguish that David was experiencing during the time when he was being hunted by Saul’s army. The title of this psalm is “A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.” The source of David’s pain was the words that were being used to undermine his confidence; the insults and threats that were intended to break him down spiritually. David began his song with these verses:

O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge;
    save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
    rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

O Lord my God, if I have done this,
    if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my friend with evil
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
    and let him trample my life to the ground
    and lay my glory in the dust. Selah (Psalm 7:1-5)

The visual image that David created with his statement, “save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver” (Psalm 7:1-2), was that of a violent attack, a life threatening situation that he was helpless to escape. We know that David wasn’t concerned about a physical attack because his enemy’s target was his soul, the immaterial part of David, the inner man or from a Hebrew perspective, what David was to himself (H5315), his identity.

After he spared Saul’s life in the wilderness of Engedi, David called out to his pursuer and asked, “After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do your pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand” (1 Samuel 24:14-15). The Hebrew phrase that is translated plead my cause has to do with conducting a lawsuit, a legal contest between two adversaries (H7378/7379). David wanted the LORD to be the judge between him and Saul and to give the appropriate sentence, but he also said that the LORD would “see to it and plead my cause” (1 Samuel 24:15). In other words, David expected the LORD to come to his defense and to argue his case for him. John wrote in his first letter, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). The Greek word that is translated advocate, parakletos (par-akˊ-lay-tos) means “an intercessor…one who pleads the cause of anyone before a judge (1 John 2:1)” (G3875). John identified our advocate as Jesus Christ the righteous, but in his gospel, John used the word parakletos four times to refer to the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). Jesus told his disciples, “These things I have spoken to you while I am with you. But the Helper (parakletos), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach his disciples and bring to their remembrance the things that he had said to them. Teaching and remembrance have to do with putting thoughts in our minds (G5279). The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to develop the mind of Christ in us so that we are clear about our right standing with God. John said that Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the world” (1 John 2:2). “Provision is made for the whole world, so that no one is, by divine predetermination, excluded from the scope of God’s mercy, the efficacy of the ‘propitiation,’ however, is made actual for those who believe” (G2434). The thing that David wanted the LORD to judge between him and Saul was which one of them had believed and received Jesus’ propitiation for his sins.

David had another encounter with Saul in the wilderness of Ziph and refused to harm him even though God had delivered him into his hand a second time. While David was heckling Abner for not protecting the king, 1 Samuel 26:17-24 tells us:

Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.”

David said that “the LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness” (1 Samuel 26:23). The righteousness that David was referring to was the righteousness that was counted to Abraham when he believed in the LORD (Genesis 15:6). The Hebrew word ʾemunah (em-oo-nawˊ), which is translated faithfulness, refers to “a fixed position” (H530) and therefore, could be thought of as enduring faith or a permanent trust in the Lord, implying that David had made a commitment to his relationship with the LORD. David said at the beginning of Psalm 7, “O LORD God, in you do I take refuge” (Psalm 7:1). The King James Version of the Bible states it this way, “Oh LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust.” David thought of the LORD as his God, a person that he could flee to for protection (H2620).

The thing that David was concerned about in his conflict with Saul was the safety and security of his soul. David asked the LORD to save him from all his pursuers and to deliver him, “lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces with none to deliver” (Psalm 7:1-2). David used similar language in Psalm 22:13 when he said, “they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.” It seems that the point that David was trying to make was that his soul was vulnerable to verbal attacks in the same way that a lion might be able to overpower him physically. On multiple occasions, a harmful spirit came upon Saul and in 1 Samuel 18:10 it states that Saul “raved within his house while David was playing the lyre.” While under the influence of a demonic spirit, it appears that Saul verbally abused David and others. 1 Samuel 20:30 states, “Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathon, and he said to him, ‘You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness.’” David ran away from Saul to avoid these verbal attacks and may have felt like he was a coward because he didn’t stand up to Saul as he had the giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17:45-47), but it is clear from the psalms that David wrote during this time that he was relying on God to save his life (Psalm 7:10; 54:4; 63:9-11).

Psalm 34, which is titled, “Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away,” concludes with the statement, “The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned” (Psalm 34:22). In this instance, nephesh is translated as life instead of soul. The Hebrew word that is translated condemned, ʾashem (aw-shameˊ) “is most often used to describe the product of sin—that is, guilt before God” (H816). Redemption is a refuge for the soul in that it provides a way for the soul to be released from the debt it owes God as a result of its guilt before him (H6299). After Peter asked Jesus the question, “how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21), Jesus used the parable of the unforgiving servant to show Peter that our souls need redemption because the debt of sin is too much for us to be able to pay it ourselves. Matthew 18:22-35 states:

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The point that Jesus made at the end of the parable of the unforgiving servant was that God releasing our debt of sin is expected to produce godlike behavior in those of us who have received it because justification is supposed to make us act right (Romans 5:19). The ability to forgive others is evidence that our souls have been redeemed by God and that we have become one with Christ as was demonstrated by David letting Saul go free when he had the opportunity to kill him (1 Samuel 24:16-20; 26:21-23)

The steadfast love of God

God’s relationship with the nation of Israel was based on the Hebrew characteristic of chânan (khaw-nanˊ) which means “to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior…Chanan as a verb, means ‘to be gracious, considerate, to show favor’…Generally, this word implies the extending of ‘favor,’ often when it is neither expected nor deserved” (H2603). Two of God’s central characteristics are associated with chânan: grace and mercy. Grace or chen (khane) in Hebrew is “’favor.’ Whatever is ‘pleasant and agreeable’” (H2580). Mercy or cheçed (khehˊ-sed) in Hebrew, “as a noun, means ‘loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.’ This word is used 240 times in the Old Testament, and is especially frequent in the Psalter. The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics. In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: ‘strength,’ ‘steadfastness,’ and ‘love.’ Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. ‘Love’ by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet ‘strength’ or ‘steadfastness’ suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But cheçed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law…The Bible prominently uses the term cheçed to summarize and characterize a life of sanctification within, and in response to, the covenant. Thus, Hosea 6:6 states that God desires ‘mercy and not sacrifice’ (i.e., faithful living in addition to worship). Similarly, Micah 6:8 features cheçed in the prophets’ summary of biblical ethics: ‘…and what doth the LORD require of thee, but…to love mercy…?’ Behind all these uses with man as subject, however, stand the repeated references to God’s cheçed. It is one of His most central characteristics. God’s loving-kindness is offered to His people, who need redemption from sin, enemies, and troubles” (H2617).

The Song of Moses, which the people of Israel sang to the LORD after crossing the Red Sea, acknowledged the steadfast love of God in delivering them from their bondage in Egypt. The song begins:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15:1-2)

The people of Israel said of the LORD, “he has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2). The Hebrew word yᵉshuwʿah (yesh-ooˊ-aw) means “something saved” (H3444). The Israelites equated the crossing of the Red Sea to being saved and may have thought of themselves as having received salvation through the person of Jesus Christ because they said “he has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2). The name Jesus is a Greek form of the Hebrew word Yeshuwʾah. The Song of Moses goes on to state:

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.”

“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.” (Exodus 15:11-13)

The people of Israel connected God’s steadfast love with being redeemed and were aware that they had experienced redemption as a result of crossing the Red Sea. Hebrews 11:29 states that it was “by faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land.” You might say that faith is the channel through which God’s steadfast love flows to us. Hebrews 11:1-2 tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” To receive commendation “means to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration” (G3140). Biblical usage of the word cheçed in reference to God’s steadfast love “frequently speaks of someone ‘doing,’ ‘showing,’ or ‘keeping’ cheçed. The concrete content of the word is especially evident when it is used in the plural. God’s ‘mercies,’ ‘kindnesses,’ or ‘faithfulnesses’ are His specific, concrete acts of redemption in fulfillment of His promise” (H2617).

God’s steadfast love is mentioned in the Ten Commandments in connection with idolatry. God told the Israelites, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6). The Hebrew word that is translated showing in the phrase showing steadfast love, ʿasah (aw-sawˊ) means “to do or make.” When ʿasah is used in parallel with the word baraʾ it means “to create…In its primary sense this verb represents the production of various objects” (H6213). Moses explained the parameters of the steadfast love of God to the people of Israel in the context of them being his chosen people. Moses said:

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

“And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you. (Deuteronomy 7:6-16)

Moses made it clear that the mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between God and the people of Israel involved them obeying the Ten Commandments. Moses said, “because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers” (Deuteronomy 7:12).

The Israelites knew that obeying the Ten Commandments meant more to God than just keeping a set of rules, but before Jesus came, they couldn’t quite grasp the significance of doing good deeds. Matthew recorded an incident in his gospel that involved Jesus and a rich young man who wanted eternal life. Matthew stated:

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22)

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19) was not one of the Ten Commandments but a summary of the law regarding one’s moral obligation to others (note on Exodus 20:1-17). The young man said that he had kept all the commandment and yet, he realized that he still lacked something with regards to receiving eternal life. Jesus pointed out to the young man that eternal life had to do with being perfect, something that was impossible for man to achieve (Matthew 19:25-26).

Jesus began his discussion with the rich young man with the question, “Why do you ask me about what is good” and then stated, “There is only one who is good” (Matthew 19:17). The Greek word that is translated good in this verse is agathos (ag-ath-osˊ). “Agathos, as an adjective, describes that which, being ‘good’ in its character or constitution, is beneficial in its effect” (G18). Jesus’ answer indicated that God is the only person who is good as far as character or constitution is concerned. When God created the world, everything that he made was very good (Genesis 1:31), but Romans chapter five explains that death entered the world through Adam’s sin and the only way for us to be saved from death is to accept God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Once that has happened, Paul indicated that believers are dead to sin and alive to God. Paul said:

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5-11)

Being alive to God means that we are alive “in the sense of to exist, in an absolute sense and without end, now and hereafter: to live forever” (G2198). Eternal life is the result of us becoming one with Jesus Christ (John 17:22-23). Paul explained to the believers in Rome, “You however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:9-11).

Jesus took the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself one step further when he told his disciples to love their enemies and do good to those who hate them. Jesus said:

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-36)

Jesus used the example of a tree and its fruit to drive home his point that a person can only do what his heart allows him to. Jesus said:

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43-45)

The conflict between David and King Saul illustrates the point that no good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. When Saul’s son Jonathon confronted him about his unjust treatment of David, Saul listened to the voice of Jonathon and swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death” (1 Samuel 19:6), but a short while later, an evil spirit came upon Saul, “And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with a spear” (1 Samuel 19:10).

David and Jonathan’s friendship resulted in a covenant between the two men that bound them together for eternity. It says in 1 Samuel 18:1 that “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” The special relationship between David and Jonathan was unusual because of the fact that David was intended to be Saul’s successor as King of Israel instead of Jonathan, his son. David told Jonathan, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3). In order to calm his suspicion, Jonathan told David that he would have a heart to heart talk with his father and would determine his intentions toward him (1 Samuel 20:12-13). When Saul found out that Jonathan had let David go home for a family sacrifice, 1 Samuel 20:30-33 tells us, “Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, ‘You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore send and bring him to me for he shall surely die. Then Jonathan answered his father, ‘Why should he be put to death? What has he done?’ But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death.”

The covenant that David and Jonathan made with each other was based on the same principle as God’s covenant with the nation of Israel. David asked Jonathan to “deal kindly” with him in determining his father’s intentions toward him (1 Samuel 20:8). The Hebrew word that David used which is translated kindly in this verse is cheçed. In the same conversation, Jonathan said to David, “If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love (checed) of the LORD, that I may not die; and do not cut off your steadfast love (checed) from my house forever when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth” (20:14-15). David and Jonathan wept as they parted each other’s company. It says in 1 Samuel 20:41-42, “And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. Then Jonathan said to David, ‘Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, “The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.”’ And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.”

After David left Jonathan, he was forced to rely on whatever resources God provided for him. When David asked Ahimelech the priest for some bread to eat, “the priest answered David, ‘I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread if the young men have kept themselves from women’” (1 Samuel 21:4). David’s encounter with Ahimelech was used by Jesus as an illustration of the Pharisees’ misinterpretation of the Mosaic Law. Mark 2:23-28 states:

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time ofAbiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus pointed out that David was in need and was hungry when he approached Ahimelech for help. “God put forth the showbread daily to demonstrate his purpose; He would provide daily bread” (G4286). It wouldn’t make sense for Ahimelech to turn David away hungry when the very thing that represented God’s daily provision of bread was available to him. And yet, when Jesus reinforced his point by healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, Mark tells us, “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him” (Mark 3:1-6).

David’s encounter with Ahimelech was witnessed by a man named Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen. Doeg reported to Saul what he had seen and so Saul ordered him to “kill the priests of the LORD because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it…But one of the sons of Ahimilech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. And David said to Abiathar, ‘I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, there he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping” (1 Samuel 21:17-19). David and Abiathar were both being hunted by Saul’s army, and yet, David encouraged Abiathar to stay with him and assured him that he would be protected. Psalm 52, which is titled, “A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech’” identifies the source of David’s confidence. The psalm begins:

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
    The steadfast love of God endures all the day. (Psalm 52:1)

David’s statement, “The steadfast love of God endures all the day” was intended as a rebuke to the forces of evil. The New King James Version of the Bible translates David’s statement as, “The goodness of God endures continually” (Psalm 52:1), suggesting that what David meant was that God’s goodness or steadfast love (checed) would outlast the evil that was intended against him. David concluded:

But I am like a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
    in the presence of the godly. (Psalm 52:8-9)

Looking at David’s situation from an eternal perspective, it is clear that putting your trust in the steadfast love of God is the best way to deal with evil that is being planned and carried out against you. The Hebrew word that is translated trust, batach (baw-takhˊ) “expresses the safety and security that is felt when one can rely on someone or something else…In addition, this expression can also relate to the state of being confident, secure, without fear” (H982). Batach appears in Isaiah 12:2 in connection with the righteous reign of Israel’s Messiah. Isaiah prophesied, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the people—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover a remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea” (Isaiah 11:10-11) and then, went on to say:

You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
    for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
    that you might comfort me.”

“Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:1-2)

The kinsman-redeemer

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians indicates that everyone who is born again was predestined for adoption into God’s family through Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5). Paul said that in Christ, “we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). The Greek word that is translated inheritance, kleroo (klay-roˊ-o) means “a lot. In the passive, to obtain an inheritance, as through the casting of lots” (G2820). After the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Joshua cast lots to determine which portion of land each of the tribes of Israel would receive as their inheritance (Joshua 18:2, 10). The portion of land that each man received was expected to be passed on to his oldest son or nearest living relative at the time of his death so that possession of the land would be uninterrupted. In the story of Ruth, Elimelech left his inheritance behind when he moved to the country of Moab. “But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons…and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband” (Ruth 1:3-5). When Naomi returned to Bethlehem, she needed someone to redeem the piece of land that had belonged to her husband “so that it could stay in the family (see Leviticus 25:25)” (note on Ruth 4:1-8).

The laws concerning marriage stated that, “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:5-7). Naomi was referring to this law when she said to Orpah and Ruth, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD had gone out against me” (Ruth 1:11-13). Naomi saw her situation as impossible and it seems very likely that when Ruth made her decision to go back to Bethlehem with Naomi that she had resigned herself to being a widow the rest of her life.

The legal ramification of marriage laws were still being discussed in Jesus’ day. On one occasion Jesus was asked to explain the marriage law that applied to Ruth in the context of eternal life. Matthew 22:23-33 states:

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

The important thing to note about the question that the Sadducees asked Jesus was that they didn’t believe in the resurrection. Their question, “whose wife will she be?” (Matthew 22:28) was meant to disprove the resurrection rather than for them to understand how the marriage law was intended to work. Jesus’ answer was directed at the problem that the Sadducees had with the resurrection; they didn’t believe that continuity of life after death was possible. Jesus pointed out to them that the resurrection was a fixed state that was associated with both the living and the dead. The terms living and dead refer to a person’s spiritual state. The spiritually dead are those who are “dead to Christ and his gospel” (G3498). The spiritually living are those who exist “in an absolute sense and without end, now and hereafter” (G2198). Jesus’ specific mention of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob indicated that faith was a necessary component of the living and also it showed that predestination, God’s selection of certain individuals in advance (G4309), guarantees that the inheritance will be distributed according to God’s purpose for his creation and mankind (Ephesians 1:4-5, 11-14).

The reason why the crowd was astonished when they heard Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection was because they realized that not all of the Jews were going to inherit eternal life. Some of them were and would remain spiritually dead. Shortly before he was crucified, Jesus talked about the final judgment that was going to occur when he returned to the earth. Jesus said:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.’”

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)

Jesus made note of the fact that the cursed and the righteous had done the same things. Both groups had fed the hungry, given the thirsty a drink, clothed the naked and visited the sick, but the motives of the righteous and the cursed were very different. Jesus acknowledged the righteous by stating, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40), but to the cursed Jesus said, “As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Matthew 25:45). The emphasis that Jesus placed on who the good deeds had been done to showed that acts of kindness were meant for a specific group, people he referred to as the least of these. In this instance, least probably has to do with a person’s dignity. When Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1), Matthew’s gospel tells us:

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matthew 18:2-6)

The Greek word that is translated humbles, tapeinoo (tap-i-noˊ-o) means “to depress; figuratively to humiliate (in condition or heart)” (G5013). The Apostle Paul referred to himself as the least of the apostles and made reference to the grace that was responsible for his calling. Speaking of the Lord, Jesus, Paul said, “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:7-10). Grace or graciousness is “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life” (G5485).

Boaz’s treatment of Ruth was characterized by her as favor. In his first encounter with her, Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:8-10). In the King James Version of the Bible, Ruth’s statement is translated, “Why have I found grace in thine eyes” (Ruth 2:10). The Hebrew word that is translated grace is derived from the word chânan (khaw-nanˊ) which means, “to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior…Generally, this word implies the extending of ‘favor,’ often when it is neither expected or deserved” (G2603). Ruth associated Boaz’s favor with being comforted by him and also said that he had spoken kindly to her (Ruth 2:13). The Hebrew word that is translated kindly, leb (labe) means “the heart” (H3820). Ruth could tell that Boaz’s compassion toward her came from his heart and she was deeply affected by his acts of kindness.

When Ruth returned home after gleaning in Boaz’s field, “her mother-in-law said to her, ‘Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.’ So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers” (Ruth 2:19-20). Naomi identified Boaz as one of her husband’s kinsman-redeemers; “the kinsman-redeemer was responsible for preserving the integrity, life, property, and family name of his close relative” (H1350). “The three requirements for a kinsman-redeemer were that he must be the closest living relative, possess the necessary financial resources, and be willing to carry out the redemption of his relative (cf. Leviticus 25:25, 48, 49)” (note on Ruth 2:20). Naomi instructed Ruth to go to Boaz’s threshing floor at night and while he was sleeping, make a marriage proposal to him by uncovering his feet and lying down next to him (Ruth 3:1-5). Ruth 3:6-13 records the encounter.

So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”

Ruth’s statement, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer” (Ruth 3:9) made it clear to Boaz that she wanted him to marry her. Boaz’s response revealed that there was probably a significant difference in his and Ruth’s ages. Boaz told Ruth, “You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich” (Ruth 3:10). Boaz wanted to marry Ruth, but he told her, “Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I” (Ruth 3:12). “This closer relative, however, did not want to marry Ruth because that would threaten his own children’s inheritance (Ruth 4:5, 6). Therefore he deferred to Boaz, who willingly married Ruth” (note on Ruth 4:1-8). It should be noted that Ruth did not shame the relative who refused to perform his duty. According to Deuteronomy 25:8-9, she was supposed to take off his sandal and spit in his face, yet it appears that she was not even present during the discussion between Boaz and the other relative. Some have suggested that Ruth was not able to carry out the legal stipulations because she was a Moabitess. Others believe that she did not want to marry the person who was the closest relative because of her love for Boaz” (note on Ruth 4:1-8).

Boaz’s depiction of the kinsman-redeemer was a foreshadowing of the role that Jesus played in God’s redemption of mankind. Paul explained Jesus’ role as the kinsman-redeemer in his letter to the Galatians. Paul said:

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 3:23-4:7)

Paul specifically stated that Jesus was sent by God “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). The phrase under the law refers to both Old and New Testament commandments. “The ostensible aim of the law is to restrain the evil tendencies natural to man in his fallen estate, yet in experience law finds itself not merely ineffective, it actually provokes those tendencies to greater activity” (G3551).

The book of Hebrews provides an in depth look at Jesus’ fulfillment of God’s covenants. The author portrayed Jesus as the High Priest of a better covenant and explained that the sacrificial system that was put into place when the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt was “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5), and went on to say, “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). The better promises that are mentioned here have to do with our eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12) and an eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15) that followers of Christ will receive when he returns (Hebrews 9:28). Hebrews 10:12-13 indicates “when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.” Paul referred to that time as “the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Job’s extreme suffering caused him to experience internal conflict about his faith in God. When Job’s internal conflict had reached its highest point, “Job sought for someone who would defend him from the false accusations made against him and acknowledged that God alone was this ‘Redeemer’” (note on Job 19:25-27). Job said about his kinsman-redeemer:

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
    My heart faints within me! (Job 19:25-27)

The Hebrew word that is translated faints, kalah (kaw-lawˊ) “describes the transitory reality of fallen human nature” (H3615). Job’s circumstances brought him to a point of despair, but he held on to his faith and was certain that his day of redemption would eventually come.

A life and death decision

At the end of his life, Joshua summoned all Israel and challenged the people to make a commitment to the LORD. The central point of Joshua’s argument was the covenant that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai which stipulated their “total consecration to the Lord as His people (His kingdom) who live by His rule and serve His purposes” (Major Covenants of the Old Testament, KJSB, p.16). When Moses told the people of Israel all the words of the LORD and all the rules, the covenant was confirmed by them. “All the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do’” (Exodus 24:3-4). Because God had kept his promise and had given the people of Israel all the land that he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Joshua 23:9); Joshua said, “Now, therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness” (Joshua 24:14). Fearing and serving the LORD meant that the people worshipped God by living according to his Ten Commandments and the other laws that were recorded in Exodus 20-23. The Hebrew word that is translated serve, ʿabad (aw-badˊ) means “to work (in any sense)…When the focus of the labour is the Lord, it is a religious service to worship Him. Moreover, in these cases, the word does not have connotations of toilsome labour but instead of a joyful experience of liberation (Exodus 3:12; 4:23; 7:16; Joshua 24:15, 18)” (H5647). Joshua instructed the people to worship the LORD in sincerity and in faithfulness. Both of these words have to do with living by faith, or more specifically, living consistent with the truth of God’s word. “To walk in truth is to conduct oneself according to God’s holy standards (1 Kings 2:4; 3:6; Psalm 86:11; Isaiah 38:3)” (H571).

Joshua’s challenge eluded to the fact that the people were free to worship whatever gods they wanted to, but they could not serve God and others at the same time. Joshua instructed them to:

“Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

“This challenge was similar to that issued by Moses to the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). Joshua summarized the options that were open to the Israelites: (1) They could return to serve the gods of their ancestors. The expression ‘beyond the River’ refers to the Euphrates. ‘The gods that your fathers served’ is a reference to the ones worshipped by Terah, Abraham’s father (Joshua 24:2). They may have been similar to the images in Laban’s home (Genesis 31:19, 30, 34). Apparently there were some Israelites who privately worshipped these false gods (Joshua 24:23). (2) They could serve the gods of the Amorites. Although the term ‘Amorites’ often refers to a specific people, it was also used in a generic sense for all the people living in Canaan. (3) They could follow the example of Joshua and his family in serving the Lord” (note on Joshua 24:14, 15).

Joshua realized that not everyone in Israel was committed to the LORD. Joshua presented three options to the people as a way of acknowledging their divided interests. The Hebrew word that is translated choose in Joshua 24:15, bachar (baw-kharˊ) “denotes a choice, which is based on a thorough examination of the situation and not an arbitrary whim” (H977). Bachar is used in Deuteronomy 7:6 and 7:7 to signify God’s selection of the people of Israel as his treasured possession. Deuteronomy 7:6-11 states:

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”

Moses pointed out that God’s selection of the Israelites was based on his love for them and that he was a “faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him” (Deuteronomy 7:9). The Hebrew word ʾaheb (aw-habeˊ) “means ‘to love; like.’ Basically this verb is equivalent to the English ‘to love’ in the sense of having a strong emotional attachment to and desire either to possess or to be in the presence of the object” (H157). The expected extent of the Israelites’ love for God was expressed in what Jesus referred to as the greatest commandment, which stated, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

When Moses presented the Israelites with the choice to serve God or not, he made it a life and death decision. Moses said:

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)

Moses indicated that life must be chosen and equated life with “loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him.” And then, Moses told the Israelites emphatically that God is “your life and length of days” (Deuteronomy 30:20). At the end of his ministry, Jesus encouraged his disciples by telling them, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) and then went on to say, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”

The Apostle Peter connected followers of Christ with the covenant that God made with Israel on Mount Sinai in his letter to the exiles of the Dispersion. Echoing God’s statement to his chosen people in Exodus 19:5-6, Peter said, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10). Jesus also made it clear that his ministry was meant to bring to fruition what God had initiated on Mount Sinai when he gave the Israelites his Ten Commandments. Jesus told his followers, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20).

Jesus’ interpretation of the law was often challenged. When he was confronted by a rich young man about the way to get to heaven, Jesus explained that God’s standard was beyond what could be humanly attained by him. Matthew’s gospel tells us:

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. (Matthew 19:16-30)

Jesus’ statement, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” indicated that salvation was a divine act rather than a human one. The Greek word dunatos (doo-natˊ-os), which is translated possible, is derived from the word dunamai (dooˊ-nam-ahee). “Dunamai means to be able, to have power, whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources (Romans 15:14); or through a state of mind, or through favorable circumstances” (G1410). According to Jesus, no one has the power; whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or through a state of mind, or through favorable circumstances, to save himself, but God can save anyone that he chooses to.

The Apostle Paul explained in his letter to the Philippians that righteousness can only be achieved through faith in Christ. Paul told the Philippians:

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:1-11)

Paul said that as to righteousness under the law he was blameless, indicating that he had done everything that was required of him according to the law; and yet, Paul said, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7). Paul understood that it was not his own righteousness that mattered, but the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ (Philippians 3:9, Genesis 15:6).

The Israelites response to Joshua’s challenge was favorable. It showed that they were willing to abandon their false gods, but Joshua didn’t believe that their decision to serve God was sincere. Joshua 24:16-23 states:

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Joshua’s cynical attitude may have been due to his experience wandering in the wilderness with the Israelites. Joshua’s statement, “You are not able to serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:19) was true in the sense that the people of Israel did not have the spiritual strength within themselves to obey God’s commandments; but the key to the Israelites’ success was not their spiritual strength, it was their continual pursuit of a relationship with God (Joshua 22:5).

Jesus’ parable of the ten minas revealed that Israel had actually rejected God because they hated him and that the people didn’t want to be subject to Christ. Luke 19:11-27 states:

As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas,and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

The wicked servant in Jesus’ parable characterized the Lord as a severe man that took what he had not deposited with him and reaped what he had not sown. Even though the wicked servant wasn’t faithful in his service to the Lord, he wasn’t punished, he merely lost out on his reward. Jesus’ concluding statement, “But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me” (Luke 19:27) indicates that only those who have refused to serve him will be put to death when he returns. “No matter how much or how little one has, it must always be remembered that it has come from God. Each person is responsible to him for the way he uses what the Lord has given” (note on Luke 19:11-27).

God’s Promise

God’s relationship with Abraham was based on mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations that were established through a covenant. The covenant that was formed between God and Abraham was the result of God selecting Abraham, a sovereign act by God that was intended to create a predetermined outcome according to the purpose of his will. Genesis 15:4-21 states:

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

God’s covenant with Abraham was an unconditional promise to fulfill the grant of the land to Abraham’s offspring (Major Covenants in the Old Testament, KJSB, p. 16). Genesis 15:6 “is one of the key verses in the entire Old Testament. It is an important witness to the doctrine of justification by faith and to the doctrine of the unity of believers in both Old and new Testaments. Abraham’s faith was credited to him for righteousness before he was circumcised and more than four hundred years before the law was given to his descendants. Therefore neither circumcision nor the law had a part in Abraham’s righteousness. Abraham’s faith was not merely a general confidence in God nor simple obedience to God’s command; Paul stressed that it was indeed faith in the promise of redemption through Christ (Romans 3:21, 22; 4:18-25; Galatians 3:14-18)” (note on Genesis 15:6).

God’s promise of redemption through Christ was evident when he tested Abraham’s faith. It says in Genesis 22:1-18:

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

God’s provision of the lamb for the sacrifice was central to Abraham’s understanding of redemption through Christ. The ram that God initially provided pointed to the substitutionary nature of Christ’ sacrifice and John the Baptist’s declaration when he saw Jesus coming toward him, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) indicated that Jesus’ death was meant to atone for the sins of everyone, not just the nation of Israel.

Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that God’s promise could only be realized through faith. Paul said:

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:13-25)

Paul indicated that God’s promise to Abraham depended on faith, “in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring” (Romans 4:16). Paul also pointed out that the God in whom Abraham believed was the one “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17). The Greek word that is translated grace, charis (kharˊ-ece) refers to “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life” (G5485). Abraham’s faith was a response to God’s influence upon his heart; the result of God’s sovereign power being exercised in and through him (H1285/H1254).

Paul explained in his letter to the Galatians that Christ was the offspring that God’s promise was intended for and that believers in him are Abraham’s heirs according to that promise. Paul said:

To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slavenor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:15-29)

Paul used the phrase justified by faith to describe what happens when we are born again, “’justification’ being the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God as Judge, the pronouncement of the sinner as righteous who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ” (G1344).

Paul talked about Abraham’s justification by faith in the context of faith being counted as righteousness (Romans 4:1-12). The Greek word that is translated counted, logizomai (log-idˊ-zom-ahee) is derived from the word logos (logˊ-os) which means “something said (including the thought)” and typically refers to “a word, as uttered by the living voice” (G3056). John identified Jesus as the Logos or the Word that was “with God” and John said “the Word was God” (John 1:1). When our faith is counted to us as righteousness, it is as if we are saying the same words that Jesus said. Jesus’ words are being attributed or charged to our account by God. Righteousness “is the character or quality of being right or just. It denotes an attribute of God (Romans 3:5). It is found in the sayings of the Lord Jesus of whatever is right or just in itself that conforms to the revealed will of God (Matthew 5:6, 10, 20; John 16:8, 10); whatever has been appointed by God to be acknowledged and obeyed by man (Matthew 3:15; 21:32); the sum total of the requirements of God (Matthew 6:33)…It is used of that gracious gift of God to men whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God. This righteousness is unattainable by obedience to any law, or by any merit of man’s own, or any other condition than that of faith in Christ. The man who trusts in Christ becomes ‘the righteousness of God in Him,’ (2 Corinthians 5:21), i.e. becomes in Christ all that he could never be in himself. Righteousness in not said to be imputed to the believer save in the sense that faith is imputed (reckoned) for righteousness (Romans 4:6, 11). The faith thus exercised brings the soul into vital union with God in Christ, and inevitably produces righteousness of life, that is, conformity to the will of God” (G1343).

Paul talked about believers being slaves to righteousness and said that we must present our members to God “as slaves of righteousness leading to sanctification” (Romans 6:19). Paul went on to say, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:20-23). Paul identified eternal life as the end of sanctification. The Greek word telos (telˊ-os) means “(to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, i.e. (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively, or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically an impost or levy (as paid)” (G5056). The point that Paul was making was that we should allow God to do what he wants to in our lives because the end result is eternal life. In the King James Version of the Bible, the phrase present your members (Romans 6:19) is translated yield your members. The Greek word that is translated yield, paristano (par-is-tanˊ-o) means “to stand beside” (G3936). The root word histemi (hisˊ-tay-mee) “means ‘to make to stand,’ means ‘to appoint’” (G2476). It seems likely that Paul’s instruction to present our members as slaves to righteousness was intended to mean that we should allow God to determine the course of our lives and accept that his placement of us in certain circumstances is the destiny that he wants us to have.

God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt was followed by an assignment that they refused to accept. The Israelites disobedience was described in Hebrews 3:19 as unbelief; indicating that at that particular point they were still unbelievers, without Christ. Forty years later, Moses told the people of Israel, “The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them’” (Deuteronomy 1:6-8). Moses later explained to the Israelites that they were God’s chosen people and that God intended to keep the covenant that he made with Abraham hundreds of years earlier (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Moses said it was not their righteousness that prompted God to do it (Deuteronomy 9:4); but, “that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:5). The confirmation of God’s word meant that he was making what he said to “stand up, come about.” The Hebrew word quwm (koom) is “used to denote the inevitable occurrence of something predicted or prearranged” (H6965).

Joshua played an important role in the Israelites’ transition from wandering in the wilderness to entering the Promised Land. God told Joshua, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them” (Joshua 1:5-6). A requirement for the Israelites to live in the Promised Land was that they had to drive out the previous tenants and possess it in their place. Joshua was given Moses’ leadership role in order to make that happen. After the land was divided among the twelve tribes and each of them had received their inheritance, Joshua 21:43-45 states:

Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Joshua indicated that “not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Joshua 21:45). In other words, God’s covenant with Abraham had been brought to fruition and was at that point considered to be complete, but that was not the end of God’s involvement with Israelites because Abraham’s offspring had not yet been born (Galatians 3:16). God told Abraham that he would give the land to him and his offspring forever (Genesis 13:15). Therefore, eternal life was required and Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection was necessary for that to happen.

Reviving the soul

The Bible teaches us that God exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are considered to be one (Deuteronomy 6:4). Likewise, the Bible tells us that there are three components to human beings, a body, a soul, and a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). “The Scriptures view a person as a composite whole, fully relating to God and not divided in any way” (H5315). When God created man, it says in Genesis 2:7, “the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” The Hebrew word that is translated creature, nephesh (nehˊ-fesh) means “soul” (H5315) and corresponds with the Greek word psuche (psoo-khayˊ) which refers to “the soul as the vital principle, the animating element in men and animals” (G5590). Man’s soul and spirit are immaterial and yet, considered to be real parts of his being. The material part of man, the body is what most people think of as the person, but the Bible indicates that the soul, the inner being is “the life element through which the body lives and feels, the principle of life manifested in the breath” and more “specifically the soul as the sentient principle, the seat of the senses, desires, affections, appetites, passions, the lower aspect of one’s nature.” The Hebrew word psuche is usually translated as soul, but it is also translated as life, mind, and heart. Jesus connected the word psuche with anxiety. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25, emphasis mine). Matthew 20:28 tells us that Jesus’ psuche or life was the price that was paid to redeem our souls from death. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, emphasis mine).

The immaterial part of man which is known as the soul is held in common with animals, “However, animals are not said to possess a spirit; this is only in man, giving him the ability to communicate with God…In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 the whole man is indicated as consisting of spirit, soul, and body; soul and spirit, the immaterial part of man upon which the word of God is operative” (G5590). Hebrews 4:12-13 states, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.” The author of Hebrews indicated that the word of God penetrates or is able to move through our being and separates the soul from the spirit so that it can expose the intentions of our hearts. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). In this verse, Jesus used the same Greek word in reference to the Holy Spirit and to the spirit part of man and indicated that it is the Holy Spirit who gives life. In this instance, the Greek word that is translated life is zoopoieo (dzo-op-oy-ehˊ-o). Zoopoieo, as a verb, means ‘to make alive’” and speaks “of the impartation of spiritual life, and the communication of spiritual sustenance generally, John 6:63, 2 Corinthians 3:6, Galatians 3:2” (G2227). The soul and the spirit of man can be distinguished from one another in that the soul is associated with sin and death (Ezekiel 18:4) and the spirit is associated with salvation and eternal life. Jesus told a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus, “’Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit’” (John 3:3-6). Jesus went on to say, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

The bronze serpent that Jesus referred to Moses lifting up in the wilderness was a cure for the consequences of the people’s sin. Numbers 21:4-9 states:

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Numbers 21:4 indicates that the problem that caused the Israelites to speak against God and Moses was that “the people became impatient on the way.” The King James Version of the Bible states the problem this way: “the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.” Basically, what that meant was that the people began to experience the results of their rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 1:26-32) and it made them want to stop following the LORD’s directions.

Hebrews chapters three and four focuses on the situation in the wilderness with regard to the Israelites’ attitude about God’s promises. It states:

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief…Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 3:12-19; 4:6-13)

The author of Hebrews indicated that it was an evil, unbelieving heart that caused the Israelites to fall away from the living God and that it resulted in disobedience. The Greek word that is translated disobedience in Hebrews 4:6 and 4:11, apeitheia (ap-iˊ-thi-ah) refers to the “obstinate rejection of the will of God” (G543). The author’s statement that “the word of God is living and active” and is able to discern “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12) implies that God created man in such a way that his words have an effect on our hearts and souls, but we are free to reject his message.

Psalm 19 begins with a declaration that the heavens speak to us on God’s behalf. King David stated:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
    which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:1-6)

The fact that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork and yet, their message seems to have no effect on people’s hearts shows that Israel’s disobedience is typical of all mankind.

David went on to explain in Psalm 19 that people need to know more about God than just that he exists and has created us in order to submit themselves to his will. David said:

The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11)

David indicated that the law of the LORD is perfect and that it is able to revive the soul. The law that David was referring to was probably the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible that were written by Moses. These books revealed God’s plan of salvation under the Old Covenant. “The law of God is that which points out or indicates his will to man. It is not arbitrary rule, still less is it a subjective impulse; it is rather to be regarded as a course of guidance from above. Seen against the background of the verb yarah, it became clear that torah is much more than law or a set of rules. Torah is not restrictive or hindrance, but instead the means whereby one can reach a goal or ideal. In the truest sense, torah was given to Israel to enable her to truly become and remain God’s special people. One might say in keeping torah, Israel was kept. Unfortunately, Israel fell into the trap of keeping torah as a means of becoming what God intended for her. The means become the end. Instead of seeing torah as a guideline, it became an external body of rules, and thus a weight rather than a freeing and guiding power” (H8451).

The perfection that David saw in the law of the LORD had to do with the effect of God’s word or more specifically the effect that knowing God’s will has on a person’s soul. David said that the law of the LORD revives the soul. The Hebrew word that is translated reviving in Psalm 19:7, shuwb (shoob) means to turn back. “The basic meaning of the verb is movement back to the point of departure…The process called conversion or turning to God is in reality a re-turning or a turning back again to Him from whom sin has separated us, but whose we are by virtue of creation, preservation and redemption” (H7725). The process of conversion is depicted in the Pentateuch or torah through the lives of the Israelites who returned to the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants after 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Also, after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the Israelites were brought back to the place of their rebellion and given a second chance to enter the Promised Land. Moses told the people, “This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and rules and will obey his voice. And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and the he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised” (Deuteronomy 26:16-19).

The certainty of God’s promise is discussed in the sixth chapter of the Book of Hebrews. It says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:13-20). The author of Hebrews talked about God’s promise being guaranteed with an oath and said that we have hope “as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19). The Greek word echo (ekhˊ-o) “stresses that one has the means to accomplish a task” (G2192). Jesus demonstrated that our souls can be saved by going before us into God’s presence and interceding with him on our behalf.

James’ letter, which was written to the twelve tribes of Israel in the Dispersion, addressed the issue of hearing the word God versus doing it with regards to saving the soul. James said, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:19-25). James described the law as the law of liberty. The Greek word that is translated liberty, eleutheria (el-yoo-ther-eeˊ-ah) stresses the completeness of Jesus’ act of redemption. “Not to bring us into another form of bondage did Christ liberate us from that in which we were born, but in order to make us free from bondage” (G1657). Eleutheria is derived from the word eleutheros (el-yooˊ-ther-os) which means “unrestrained (to go at pleasure), i.e. (as a citizen) not a slave” (G1658). Jesus told the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free…Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:31, 34-35).

James concluded his letter with a discussion about the prayer of faith in the context of reviving the souls of others. James indicated that a person could be converted or saved as a result of the prayer of a righteous person on his behalf, a righteous person being someone whose life is consistent with God’s word. James said:

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20)