We are still in chapter 48 of Genesis with our word for today used for the first time in the Bible in our chapter. גֹּאֵ֨ל redeem, redeemer, reclaim, avenger, act as kinsman, buy back, deliver, deliverer. It is used 102 times in the Old Testament. Our word has the concept of being valuable enough to rescue or to take something or someone that others have perceived as not valuable to bring value to it. This is the word God uses to describe what He did in brining Israel out of slavery. Exodus 6:5-8 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” We see this same concept of valuable enough to rescue and bring value where others had not in the book of Ruth. As we have seen before Ruth and Naomi did not have easy lives. They both suffered the loss of loved ones. Yet in the middle of all this grief God shows up and brings value to their lives. Ruth 2:20 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 מִֽגֹּאֲלֵ֖נוּ redeemers.” And as we will see when we get to the Book of Ruth Boaz fulfills his role as God’s redeemer.
This same idea of value we see in our chapter as part of the blessing Jacob is giving to his grandsons. Genesis 48:15-16 And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has הַגֹּאֵ֨ל redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” It is refreshing to see the focus Jacob has looking back on his life when he is at the end. He is not thinking about getting his favorite food like his father Isaac or talking about all of his accomplishments. Instead he shares about God being his shepherd like we looked at yesterday and how God has redeemed him from all evil. It is one of the most beautiful things in all of life that our God sees value in us and brings value back into our lives. He is our redeemer. I’ll close with these two great verses in Psalms as David is praising God for this very thing. Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my וְגֹאֲלִֽי redeemer. Psalm 107:1-2 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the גְּאוּלֵ֣י redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has גְּ֝אָלָ֗ם redeemed from trouble.
