GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LAMENTATIONS 3:58
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58 You pleaded my soul’s case, O Lord,
you redeemed my life.
This is an interesting verse in the Hebrew language, but the most important word to point out is “redeemed.” This is the word ga’al, which as a noun would be go’el, a word familiar to many readers as the term for a kinsman-redeemer, such as in Ruth 2:20; 3:9 and throughout Ruth chapter 4. The one who redeems buys back an item that becomes his property; the item is anything that was lost but should be the property of the kinsman or his close relative. This was important in Israel because the land was distributed among the twelve tribes, and the tribes were not to sell off family land. Over the course of a few centuries, this could possibly result in a tribe losing most or even all of its territory, and God wanted the tribes to keep what he had given them, as an inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:23).
More than half of all of the references to Babylon in the Bible are in the book of Jeremiah. The Lord said through his prophet again and again, “Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you” (Jeremiah 40:9). And again, “If you surrender to the Babylonian king’s officials, your life will be spared” (Jeremiah 38:17). Although the Lord sent his people into exile in Babylon, he also preserved their lives there and took care of them while they were there. It was not what they were expecting, but it was God’s plan. He redeemed their lives; he bought them back once again from Babylon, through a strange redeemer: a Persian named Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28).
When we consider the second cross, the cross of Jesus our Savior, how shall we take the words, “You pleaded my soul’s case; you redeemed my life”? If we consider these as a prophecy about what happened to Jesus Christ, we will invariably leap ahead to the resurrection of Jesus. He was redeemed from the tomb. His work was considered to be acceptable to the Father and completed on behalf of mankind, Jesus prayed: “Father, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:4-5).
In a similar way, we can say with joy that all who have faith in Christ will likewise be raised to life without fear of the judgment because our own cases was pleaded by Jesus, our advocate. He said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).
This also assures us that we are free from condemnation in hell. Jesus prayed, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22). The blood of Christ was shed, spilled, and poured out to pay the penalty for our transgressions. There is no more debt to pay. There even is no fear of intermediate payment for sin such a the theory some have of purgatory, since Jesus said clearly and simply, “I tell you the truth, he who believes in me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). This is also what Isaiah was commanded to preach to Jerusalem: “Proclaim to her that her sin has been paid for” (Isaiah 40:2).
What shall we say about our own crosses as we bask in the glory of this gospel verse? “You redeemed my life.” The crosses we carry are among the marks of the true church. Luther preaches here to do away with our fear and to assure us of the truth:
“We dare not come to believe that we are not the church because our adversaries condemn us with such assurance and pursue us with every kind of cruelty; but we must gain the conviction that the cross and those verdicts are true and infallible signs of the true church, as Psalm 10:14 also indicates. Also Psalm 72:14: “Their blood will be regarded precious in his sight,” and Psalm 116:15: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” In these passages you hear that when people are slain (martyred), this does not mean that they are of no concern to God, but that this death is precious in the sight of God. Therefore they are truly the people of God, on whom God bestows His care” (Luther’s Works 1:253).
So when the world spits its venom at us and pulls down on us like quicksand, and when the Devil shows his cruelty and kicks us when we are down, then we give God thanks that we are not the ones spitting venom and being so cruel. The true Christian church will always endure hardships. The true church will always be attacked and accused by the hypocritical false church, which is the church of Cain. It is our place to do them no harm, to allow ourselves to be harassed and condemned, and even to be imprisoned, to be bankrupt, and even to be killed by the false church. We do this not to gain or earn anything, but to show our love for Jesus. He pleaded your soul’s case. He redeemed your life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Lamentations 3:58 He redeemed your life