The Redeemer

I had an Aha! moment this morning as I was studying the names of God. I started with Elohim and delved into the first verse containing this name:

Isaiah 54:5 (NLT) For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD (Jehovah) of Heaven’s Armies is His name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God (Elohim) of all the earth. (names of God in parenthesis added)

Remember the story of Boaz and Ruth?

Ruth was aGentile from Moab (Ruth 1:4) and her god was not her mother-in-law Naomi’s God (Jehovah). When their husbands died and Naomi was returning to Judah, Ruth begged Naomi to let her go with her (Ruth 1:16). Ruth then proclaimed that Jehovah would be her God. This Gentile was now grafted into the Olive tree.

Rom_11:17 (NLT)  But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree

Naomi and Ruth return to Judah and Ruth ends up being redeemed by Boaz. This was my AHA! moment. Boaz redeems a Gentile named Ruth by marrying her.

The word Redeemer in Isaiah 54:5 is the Hebrew word gâ’al (gaw-al’) and it means to be the next of kin, to buy back a relative’s property, marry his widow, etc.). It also means:

• avenger
• deliver kinsfolk
• purchase
• ransom
• redeem
• revenge(r)

It all ties in. We are Ruth, Jesus is Boaz. He is our next of kin who has redeemed us (Gentiles) through His Precious Blood shed on the cross. Our Maker is now our husband.

Husband – the Hebrew word bâ‛al (baw-al’) – to be master, to marry, have dominion over. That is our Jesus. He is our Husband, our Master and He is to have dominion over us.

The Supreme God Elohim has done all this out of love and with love. That gives me great security!