Redemption From Enemies and Death Itself

Summary

BibleProject Podcast Episode Summary: "Redemption From Enemies and Death Itself"

Podcast Information:

• Title: BibleProject
• Host/Author: BibleProject Podcast
• Description: The creators of BibleProject engage in deep conversations about the Bible and theology, serving as a companion to their visual content available at bibleproject.com.
• Episode: Redemption From Enemies and Death Itself
• Release Date: July 14, 2025

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I. Introduction to Redemption

The episode begins with Tim Mackey outlining the central theme of redemption, emphasizing its essence as reclaiming what is rightfully yours. He states:

"Redemption is when you take back what is rightfully yours. When something is lost or enslaved by another, and you get it back, it has been redeemed." [00:04]

He connects this concept to the biblical narrative, where humanity belongs to God but is enslaved by death, highlighting God's intent to redeem.

II. Redemption in the Psalms

John Collins expands on the varying uses of the Hebrew word for redeem, gaal or padah, explaining that sometimes redemption equates to rescue or liberation without an explicit payment or exchange:

"In those cases, the words for redeem almost just become synonymous for rescue, release." [00:33]

He further explains that within the Psalms, redemption frequently symbolizes Israel's liberation and salvation, deeply intertwined with their foundational redemption story.

III. King David and Redemption

A significant portion of the Psalms are attributed to King David, who often employs redemption language to describe his personal experiences of being rescued by God. John Collins notes:

"When David looks back on that in the Psalms, he will describe that with 'you rescued me,' 'you brought me out of the pit,' 'you redeemed me.'" [01:27]

These personal narratives serve as a microcosm for Israel's collective redemption.

IV. Corporate and Cosmic Redemption

The discussion broadens as Tim Mackey and John Collins explore how individual redemption stories, particularly those of David, reflect larger themes of national and cosmic redemption. They highlight how redemption in the Psalms not only pertains to Israel but extends to all humanity and even the cosmos.

V. Psalm 49 and the Hope of Resurrection

John Collins introduces Psalm 49, authored by the sons of Korah, as a pivotal text that illustrates the cosmic nature of redemption. This Psalm portrays God’s promise to rescue the oppressed and hints at the earliest biblical language for resurrection:

"God will rescue the poor and redeem us from the grave itself, that is from Sheol." [02:29]

He emphasizes that this Psalm conveys a profound hope beyond physical liberation, touching on eternal life and resurrection.

VI. Exile and Redemption in the Psalms

The conversation delves into how the Psalms address the Babylonian exile, a period of intense suffering and displacement for Israel. Tim Mackey references Psalm 137 to illustrate the deep pain and longing for redemption experienced during exile:

"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept... sing us one of your songs of Zion." [12:09]

This Psalm encapsulates the collective trauma and the yearning for God's redemption amidst adversity.

VII. The Concept of Redemption as Transfer of Ownership

A critical theological point is made about redemption involving the transfer of ownership. John Collins explains:

"God owns everything. So anytime God takes something back for himself, it's a repossession." [03:05]

This perspective shifts redemption from merely being saved to being reclaimed as God's possession, contrasting with humanity's enslavement to death.

VIII. Redemption in Psalms: Examples

Several Psalms are examined to illustrate how redemption is portrayed as both rescue and repossession. For instance, Psalm 106 retells the Exodus narrative, emphasizing God's role in salvaging Israel:

"He led them through the deeps as through the wilderness... He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy." [09:35]

Similarly, Psalm 77 reflects on God's past deeds and redemptive acts, reinforcing the memory of divine salvation:

"You have by your power redeemed your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph." [10:48]

IX. Psalm 25: Individual and Corporate Redemption

Psalm 25 serves as a focal point for discussing the interplay between individual and collective redemption. This alphabet poem, attributed to David, initially appears as a personal plea but seamlessly transitions into a collective supplication for Israel:

"Redeem Israel, O God, out from all of its troubles." [26:37]

This structural feature underscores how David's personal experiences and prayers become a template for the entire community's redemption.

X. Redemption vs. Rescue

The hosts distinguish between "redeem" and "rescue," noting that while rescue implies being saved from danger, redemption involves a deeper transfer of ownership. Tim Mackey reflects:

"Redemption really highlights that we are God’s people, but also we are now under the possession of something else." [30:16]

This nuanced understanding emphasizes the theological depth of redemption beyond mere salvation.

XI. Resurrection Hope in Psalms

Psalm 49 is revisited to highlight its revolutionary depiction of resurrection—a belief that was relatively unique in ancient Near Eastern thought. The Psalm portrays death's inevitability while also affirming God's power to redeem from Sheol:

"God will redeem my Nephesh from the hand of the grave." [39:13]

This hope of resurrection underscores a transformative aspect of redemption, promising life beyond death.

XII. Conclusion: Redemption in the Psalm Scroll

The episode wraps up by affirming that the Psalms serve as a comprehensive anthology of redemption themes. From past deliverance to future hopes, individual pleas to cosmic victories, the Psalms encapsulate the multifaceted nature of redemption throughout the Hebrew Bible.

John Collins concludes:

"The Psalm scroll has the whole redemption package—past, future, individual, corporate, and even cosmic redemption." [43:35]

He hints at the next episode, which will explore how these redemption themes transition into the New Testament, particularly within the Gospel of Luke.

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Notable Quotes:

• Tim Mackey [00:04]: "Redemption is when you take back what is rightfully yours. When something is lost or enslaved by another, and you get it back, it has been redeemed."

• John Collins [00:33]: "In those cases, the words for redeem almost just become synonymous for rescue, release."

• John Collins [01:27]: "When David looks back on that in the Psalms, he will describe that with 'you rescued me,' 'you brought me out of the pit,' 'you redeemed me.'"

• John Collins [02:29]: "God will rescue the poor and redeem us from the grave itself, that is from Sheol."

• John Collins [03:05]: "God owns everything. So anytime God takes something back for himself, it's a repossession."

• Tim Mackey [30:16]: "Redemption really highlights that we are God’s children, but also we are now under the possession of something else."

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Looking Ahead: The episode sets the stage for the next discussion, which will delve into the Gospel of Luke's unique emphasis on redemption, highlighting Jesus' role in pursuing a more expansive and cosmic form of redemption.

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Credits: The episode is produced by the dedicated team at BibleProject, including contributors like Connor from the infrastructure team. For more information and to support their mission, visit bibleproject.com.

Transcript

[Tim Mackey]

We are more than halfway through a series on the theme of redemption. Redemption is when you take back what is rightfully yours. When something is lost or enslaved by another, and you get it back, it has been redeemed. In the story of the Bible, we belong to God, but we've been enslaved by death. God wants to take us back now. In order for any redemption to take place, it usually costs something like a payment called a redemption price. But not always.

[John Collins]

There are times when either God or someone will do an act of redemption, and there's no value exchange mentioned or highlighted. In those cases, the words for redeem almost just become synonymous for rescue, release. And that's what we're gonna see here in the Psalms.

[Tim Mackey]

In the scroll of Psalms, the word redemption often takes on this more general meaning of liberation or rescue or salvation. And it's always connected to Israel's most foundational redemption story.

[John Collins]

That past redemption, that repossession of Israel provides a model or a template for a future hoped for redemption on the other side of exile.

[Tim Mackey]

A lot of the poems in the Psalms are written by King David, and he uses red redemption language all the time.

[John Collins]

David found himself with his life in danger many times. King Saul chasing him around the wilderness. And Yahweh, through no agency of David, brought about the downfall of King Saul and exalted David to become king. When David looks back on that in the Psalms, he will describe that with you rescued me, you brought me out of the pit, you redeemed me.

[Tim Mackey]

But are these poems just about King David?

[John Collins]

You start to feel like what's happening for David is somehow brought into this bigger frame of the redemption of all Israel, which is brought into the biggest frame, the redemption of all humanity in the cosmos.

[Tim Mackey]

In Psalm 49, we get to a psalm by the sons of Korah who show us how cosmic this redemption will get, how God will rescue the poor and redeem us from the grave itself, that is from Sheol. And this is the earliest language in the Bible for the hope of resurrection.

[John Collins]

The poet is bringing comfort to the oppressed poor by saying, the people who neglect and oppress you, who have all the wealth, death will be their shepherd. But the upright, they will be the ones to rule when God redeems their life from the hand of Sheol.

[Tim Mackey]

Today, Tim Mackey and I discuss the theme of redemption in Psalms, which prepares the way for how the word redemption gets picked up in the New Testament. Thanks for joining us. Here we go. Hey, Tim.

[John Collins]

Hello, John. Hi.

[Tim Mackey]

Hello. We're talking about this concept of transferring ownership, transferring Possession. The word that we use in English is redemption. To redeem.

[John Collins]

To redeem.

[Tim Mackey]

And in the story of the Bible, God owns everything. So anytime God takes something back for himself, it's a repossession. And we've been looking at that in terms of the biggest frame, which is we are God's children. We are created to be in his life. It's the Garden of Eden. And through our own just failures and folly and violence, humans have been handed over to a new owner.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Or they've given themselves over. I mean, allowed themselves to be influenced by. And captives too, almost, you could say.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah, the snake.

[John Collins]

The snake who leads them back to the dust. Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

And so now humans are owned by death, but God wants to repossess back into life to redeem. Where this really comes to life narratively, is in the story of Israel under the possession of Pharaoh. And Pharaoh thinks he owns Israel, but God owns Israel. So God takes Israel back. And this is an act of redemption. And in the logic of redemption, oftentimes there's an exchange of value in order to take something back to repossess it. And in Hebrew, that's a kofer. It's a payment so that you can release someone from the ownership that they have. And in the story of Exodus, God doesn't give Pharaoh anything.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

But in the story of the Passover, which is this, like, little narrative moment at the hinge of when Israel's gonna go free, we kind of see that everyone has been handed over to death. Both Israel and Egypt.

[John Collins]

Yeah, yeah. Not kind of. I mean, in terms of. All the firstborn are going to die. That's the warning.

[Tim Mackey]

That's the warning.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

Death is coming for everyone. Everyone is a slave to death.

[John Collins]

Yeah. It's sort of like Pharaoh became a partner with an intent and purpose so evil that he thought he had to extinguish the life of an immigrant group to secure a future for his nation.

[Tim Mackey]

It's clear in the story why Pharaoh.

[John Collins]

Yeah, but he's in league with death.

[Tim Mackey]

He's in league with death.

[John Collins]

Yeah, that's right.

[Tim Mackey]

But the destroyer, the plague that comes at Passover is also gonna take out Israelite firstborn. And there is where you talked about the story of the Bible is nuanced. And the reason why Israel is in Egypt in the first place is because of a bunch of failures of oppression and injustice.

[John Collins]

Brothers betraying and enslaving their brother.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah.

[John Collins]

Everyone in the grip of death.

[Tim Mackey]

Grip of death.

[John Collins]

Yeah. We're all outside Eden, returning to the dust.

[Tim Mackey]

And so the passover moment is not just releasing Israel from the death that Pharaoh brings.

[John Collins]

Yes, yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

But this bigger D death, which is gonna take everyone down.

[John Collins]

That's great.

[Tim Mackey]

And there the co for payment is the blood of a blameless lamb that will stand into place.

[John Collins]

Yep, that's right. The point is not a bloody death to satisfy a malicious deity. It's rather Yahweh provides the surrendered life of the lamb that will cover for anybody who also participates through an act of repentance, an act of turning towards God and surrender and trust. And that's Yahweh's gift that gives them the opportunity to find life out of death. And it's through this offering of a life in place of a life. But it's never called a kofir.

[Tim Mackey]

That's true.

[John Collins]

It is in the Exodus story. And that's okay. The idea is there, even if the word isn't used, the lamb functions in the slot of the kofer in that story.

[Tim Mackey]

Then we moved on. We talked about where redemption appears elsewhere in the Torah, and I don't think it's worth getting into necessarily. But it's all to say that redemption is a release of land or people who are under ownership that they shouldn't be. And so redemption is bringing back into the rightful ownership.

[John Collins]

That's right. We also noted back in those earlier discussions that there are times when either God or someone will do an act of redemption with either of the verbs in Hebrew, which is gaal or padah. And there's no kofir, there's no value exchange mentioned or highlighted. And in those cases, the words for redeem almost just become synonymous for liberate, rescue, release. And that's what we're going to see here in the Psalms, which we're focusing on in this episode, which is how the redemption ideas are picked up in the poetry of the Psalms. So maybe just a quick overall note. The Psalm scroll has the most chapters of any book of the Bible. That's one way to think about it. It has 150 distinct literary units that are each of them like poems. And man, these poems come from almost every period from Israel's history, from the way back to the period of the Kings and earlier, all the way down to the exile to Babylon, during the exile and even after the exile and the return back into the land during the Second Temple period. I mean, some of these poems are coming from way down the line after the exile. So it's an anthology, but it's been organized and shaped into meaningful bundles. We've talked about the five part shape before of the Psalms, and then within those five parts, there's these little sub collections. But the point is that the final composition of the Psalms and the final editing and shaping of these poems is all connected to the final themes and organizational ideas at work in the Hebrew Bible as a whole. So it is no surprise that there's going to be a lot of poems that reflect on the Exodus story, since that's like the foundation story of Israel's covenant relationship with Yahweh. So if you look at redemption language in the Psalms, many of the times that redeem appears is in a retelling of the Exodus story.

[Tim Mackey]

Which makes sense.

[John Collins]

Yeah, makes perfect sense. Here's a couple greatest hits. Psalm 106. It's a retelling of the Exodus and it recalls the moment when Yahweh rebuked the sea of reeds and dried it up. He led them through the deeps as through the wilderness.

[Tim Mackey]

Isn't that interesting that going through the sea is like going through the wilderness?

[John Collins]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

Once they get through the sea, they gotta go through the wilderness.

[John Collins]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

But it's a little wilderness moment.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Like dry land. Yeah. He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, namely Pharaoh. Yeah. He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. Oh, so hand is image of possession.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. Okay.

[John Collins]

But Pharaoh isn't named explicitly. He's just called the hater.

[Tim Mackey]

The hater.

[John Collins]

The enemy hater.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah.

[John Collins]

The waters covered their adversaries. Not one of them was left. They trusted in his words and they sang his praise. Okay, great little summary of the sea of reeds moment. But notice that redeem here is just a little signal that has a whole story underneath it. That just isn't the focus here.

[Tim Mackey]

So you're thinking of, okay, he could just be rescued. He saved them.

[John Collins]

Yeah. It's functioning very similarly. It's just he set them free. And even God's own possession isn't immediately in the context here, because normally you would think he redeemed them and made them his own. Made them his own people or something like that. In terms of like the family repossession.

[Tim Mackey]

Meaning it's under the service.

[John Collins]

It's under the service, but it can just function as a synonym for rescue. Psalm 77. I will remember the deeds of Yahweh. I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all of your work and muse on your deeds. So what are those deeds of the past? Well, you're the God who works wonders. You made known your Strength among the peoples. You have by your power redeemed your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw you, O God. They saw you and were in anguish. And the deeps trembled. Yeah, so this is the moment at the Sea of Reeds. Whatever happened at the Sea of Reeds, it just left a very powerful memory. Okay, so all of that is retellings of the Exodus story. The word redeem is front and center. I could show many more examples. Just like in the book of Isaiah, that past redemption, that repossession of Israel provides a model or a template for a future hoped for redemption on the other side of the exile. Okay, so that's what we're gonna look at. There's only a couple poems that mention Babylon explicitly in the psalm scroll. But the situation of exile is everywhere taken for granted in so many poems. Actually, one is the well known Psalm 137. By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept. When we remembered Zion, we hung our harps upon the willow trees. And our tormentors demanded saying, sing us one of your songs of Zion.

[Tim Mackey]

Kind of rubbing it in.

[John Collins]

Yeah. So that poem clearly is, like, written by somebody who had to endure a lot, a lot of pain and trauma and shame as a forced migrant in Babylon. So a number of poems present themselves as coming from that situation of pain. For example, Psalm 44 opens by saying, oh, God, we heard with our ears what our fathers told us, the work that you did in their days, in the days of old. And then it goes on to talk about the Exodus story. And then God bringing Israel into the promised land under the days of Joshua and protecting them from all the aggressive attackers and the Canaanites and so on. But then the poem pivots in verse nine and says, but you have rejected us and brought us to dishonor. You don't go out with our armies. You cause us to turn back from our adversaries. And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. You've given us as sheep to be eaten and have scattered us among the nations. There it is.

[Tim Mackey]

There's the exile.

[John Collins]

Yeah. So Psalm 44 concludes with, Wake up. Why are you asleep? Yahweh, wake up. Don't reject us forever. That's an interesting metaphor, that God has taken a nap. It feels like God asleep, fell asleep on his promises. Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? Our Nephesh, our soul has sunk down into the dust. Our body cleaves to the land.

[Tim Mackey]

We're turning back into dirt. Yeah, Deconstructing here.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Out of Eden imagery, we're dying, so rise up. Be our help. Redeem us for the sake of your loyal love.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. Transfer us back to your life. Redeem us.

[John Collins]

So it opened with Exodus, didn't use the word redeem, but now we're in a situation of dishonor, so redeem us. The implication being do a new Exodus thing. But notice how it's. Defeat by enemies is the description. Scattering among the nations. But then that's described first as the result of God being asleep or hiding or forgetting. And then this Eden imagery of what we're experiencing is like going back to the dust again. So it's this merging of defeat by enemies, exile and God turning away his face. Yeah. I mean, in a way, that's a way of thinking about the results of the Eden narrative. Deceived by an enemy, the snake, exiled from Eden, scattered out and then.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah, back to the dust.

[John Collins]

Returning to the dust. Yeah. So whatever redemption is, it's also called being our helper, which is the same word as God says, splits the human in half. I will provide an ezer, that delivering ally. Be our delivering ally and redeem us. So it's the word padah, not the family repossession pada here. So there's no emphasis on, like, offer a kofer.

[Tim Mackey]

Right, right.

[John Collins]

It really. Padah here has, again, the sense of, like, release us, liberate us from this really bad situation. I'm really bad. Putting it lightly.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. Horrible.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

Horrible situation.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah.

[John Collins]

So again the point.

[Tim Mackey]

It's very honest, too. It's like it feels like you're asleep. God.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

Wake up.

[John Collins]

And what's interesting is in the Eden story, the reason why we're outside of Eden, it's not God's fault.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. He's not asleep at the wheel there.

[John Collins]

No. But this is now many generations into the human story, into Israel story. We don't know how many decades into Babylonian exile. And it can sure feel like God's asleep. So the point is that linkage between the past redemption and the hope for a future redemption, and that future redemption can also be just synonymous with being rescued. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. In fact, Psalm 106 and 107 are a great example where you can see Psalms having been edited and arranged in a specific order. So Psalm 105 and 106 are this twin retelling of Israel's story. 105 is from a pretty hopeful angle. 106 is really exposing Israel's failures as covenant partners, ending in Exile. And so Psalm 106 ends with these lines right here. Save us, O Lord our God. Gather us from among the nations.

[Tim Mackey]

Fairly clear posture of, yeah, we're in exile. Come and get us.

[John Collins]

Save us and gather us in order to give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. So save us so that we can thank you. Would you like there to be some people in the world who say thank you all the time? You could consider rescuing us and gathering us up. So that's how Psalm 106 ends. Psalm 107 begins, oh, give thanks to the Lord. Here's the thanks, for he is good. His loyal love is forever. Let the redeemed of Yahweh say this. The ones he has redeemed from the hands of their adversary and gathered them from all of the lands, east and west, north and south.

[Tim Mackey]

The gathering is the redemption.

[John Collins]

The gathering is the redemption. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. So in the end of Psalm 106, it's save us and gather us. At the beginning of Psalm 107, it's redeem us and gather us, and gather us. So someone has knit the end of Psalm 106 real closely together with the beginning of Psalm 107. Psalm 107 is offered as a example of the kind of thanksgiving that the redeemed ones will give back to God. But specifically, the way that the word rescue or save, it's yasha, it's the root of Jesus name, becomes like a synonym for gaal to redeem.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. And that makes sense because redemption is a rescue, but the focus is on the transfer of ownership.

[John Collins]

That's right. That's right. So two poems I now want to put in front of us that highlight two themes in the Psalms that we've kind of already been hinting at. One is there's a really strong connection to David in the Psalm scroll. He's mentioned in over 70 of the poems. But the question is, well, what's the significance of having so many Psalms of David? Is it just like, it's cool. He's inspiring.

[Tim Mackey]

He's inspired many poets.

[John Collins]

Yeah. He was responsible for bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, and that's where the temple was built. And that's had a lot of implications for Israel's history and human history. Or is there something more? So here's something very interesting about the poems about David. There are many poems connected to David that speak in the first person about me and my oh, God, what you do for me. But then you start to feel like, what's Happening for David is also a poem about, like, all Israel at the same time. And then sometimes that is made explicit. Okay, so there was a past redemption, there is a hoped for future redemption that's synonymous with being saved. And then there is what you could say, an individual redemption of the poet who in many cases is David. But that individual's redemption and the story told in a particular poem about David is somehow brought into this bigger frame of like, the redemption of all Israel, which has brought into the biggest frame the redemption of all humanity in the cosmos. Is this becoming predictable now? Or familiar? It should be coming familiar.

[Tim Mackey]

It is more familiar for sure. I think these are the kind of things that would be just confounding though, before, like, wait, are you talking about David or not? Because it seems like a problem. Which is it? And then to realize, like, biblical authors are doing this on purpose.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

They're saying, yes, David's life, David as a character, is now a way for us to think about something bigger.

[John Collins]

Yeah, that's right. All Israel's story and all humanity's story. So Psalm 25 is a great place where this individual David, but somehow about all Israel interplay is going on here. So what's cool about Psalm 25 also is that it is an Alphabet poem, which means that every preceding line of the poem begins with the next Hebrew letter of the Alphabet, going through all the way for 22 lines, which also has all sorts of other cool dynamics going on. But it's framed from the beginning. It's given a SuperDescription, a Psalm, Le David. And it begins, to you, O Lord, I lift up my Nephesh, my very life being, O my God, in you I trust. Don't let me be ashamed. Don't let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for you will be ashamed. Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed. So he's got enemies. The first one was Saul was like the king of his own people. And then all kinds of other, like kings and tribal chieftains, Amalekites and that kind of thing. So this is just a snapshot from a moment. We don't know when, but we're to imagine David in one of those scenarios where his life was at risk. He was running, he was in a battle, and he's calling out to God. Verse 4. Make me know your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth. Teach me you are the God of my rescue. I'm going to wait for you all day long. Remember your compassion and loyal love. That sounds like what God said to Moses. Mount Sinai. Yahweh. Yahweh.

[Tim Mackey]

Abounding, passionate and gracious. Abounding in loyal love and faithfulness.

[John Collins]

Your compassion and loyal love have been from ancient times. Don't remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions. David made a lot of mistakes. But according to your loyal love, remember me for your goodness sake. So up to this point, you're like, yeah, man, this fits.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. David could have totally been singing this on many a day.

[John Collins]

Yes. Yeah. And really the rest of the poem is just like that. It's like he's taking lessons from his own life. Yahweh is upright and good. He teaches. He gives Torah to sinners on the path. He leads the humble in justice. He teaches the humble ones his way. Who is the man who fears Yahweh? He will teach him. So notice the emphasis on teaching here. So we return to his plea again in verse 16. Turn to me. Be gracious to me. The troubles of my heart are huge. Bring me out of my distress. Look upon my affliction. This is the word oppression. Forgive all my sins. So notice this recognition. The situations of difficulty that I'm in are the result of my own making here. And look upon my enemies. They are many. They hate me. Guard my soul. Deliver me. Don't let me be ashamed. We're returning to the language of the opening lines. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me for you. I wait. And that verse 21 is the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.

[Tim Mackey]

Okay. So you would think that's the last.

[John Collins]

Yeah, we've just gone from olive to tav and it's all just dialed into David's life. Last line of the poem. There is one more line that sticks out of the Alphabet structure. So just that itself makes it stick out like a sore thumb.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. Who added this line?

[John Collins]

And you're like, wow, this doesn't fit. Where is it? And what it says is, redeem Israel, O God, out from all of its troubles. And this word, troubles, is a synonym and related to all these words of distress and trouble from up earlier in the poem. Redeem Israel.

[Tim Mackey]

Israel. Yeah.

[John Collins]

So let's just sit with that. It's an Alphabet poem. It's a clear version. Final line that doesn't fit into. It's as clear as it is.

[Tim Mackey]

It seems like someone added that line to be like. When I read this poem, I reflect on the fact that I'm not David. But, man, the situation we're in is a lot like David.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

So my response to this poem isn't Redeem David. David's gone. You know, it's Redeem us, Israel.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Yep, that's it. You got it?

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah, that's it.

[John Collins]

So David here, in the shape of the psalm scroll, has become. You know, when we wrote the video for how to Read the Psalms and our how to Read the Bible series, I think this was a line you came up with or a phrase that in the Psalms, David is depicted as this figure of the past whose prayers become a model for later generations of Israel. And then we found this phrase together somehow. David's like a prayer coach, which is cool.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah.

[John Collins]

Because then his life of prayer becomes a way for us to literally repeat his prayers as his prayers were certainly re sung in the temple and in Israel's liturgies, and that's how they ended up here. But now his prayer is in the mouth of Israel's later descendants. It doesn't change their meaning, but it puts it in another context. And Psalm 25 is a great example. David's prayer can become the prayer of any generation of Israel. So there's many poems that do this.

[Tim Mackey]

Take David's prayer and turn it into a template of the thing we can pray for.

[John Collins]

Yeah. And quite often what you will find is the language of redemption at some of those moments, whether it's a moment in the added bit or the reshape or that you'll find the word redemption in poems connected to David, but that seem like they're about more.

[Tim Mackey]

Well, that's interesting because David's story isn't really a story of redemption. Right.

[John Collins]

Oh, okay. You're talking about the arc of his whole life.

[Tim Mackey]

Well, I mean, just when you think of a redemption story, you think of the Exodus story, and then you think of. Yeah. God bringing Israel out of exile.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

We know that David uses redemption language almost metaphorically. Right. To talk about being rescued from his enemies. We looked at that the very first episode, I think we looked at how David will use the word redeem, and he just kind of really just means save me. So why is this word such a hot spot?

[John Collins]

Yeah. So David found himself with his life in danger many times. King Saul chasing him around the wilderness. He hadn't done anything wrong. He wasn't trying to stage a coup or usurp Saul. But there he is in the wilderness. And Yahweh, through no agency of David, brought about the downfall of King Saul and exalted David to become king. So when David looks back on that in the Psalms, he will describe that with, you rescued me you brought me out of the pit. You redeemed me. In fact, Psalm 103, a Psalm of David. Bless the Lord, O my nephesh, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my nephesh, and forget none of his benefits. He pardons all your iniquity.

[Tim Mackey]

Here's some of the benefits.

[John Collins]

Here's some of the bennies. Yep. Bonus package. He pardons all your iniquities. He'll forgive the ways that you wrong him. He'll heal your diseases. He'll redeem your life from the pit, and he'll give you a crown with loyal love and compassion. So there's four benefits, four big ones. Four big ones right there.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. So redeem your life from the pit. The pit. And if we're. If we're talking about transfer of ownership, we're kind of this, like, the pit owns you now.

[John Collins]

Yeah, Death.

[Tim Mackey]

Death.

[John Collins]

Yeah, yeah. We're all going there.

[Tim Mackey]

I'm gonna transfer you out of death. Okay. So here's the thing I keep thinking about. Then you could just use the word rescue.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Yes. Yep.

[Tim Mackey]

Almost anytime the word redeem shows up in all of these stories and all these situations could use the word rescue. But by using the word redeem, it really highlights two things. We are gods, but also we are now under the possession of something else.

[John Collins]

That's good. That's right.

[Tim Mackey]

That frame is actually kind of easy to forget about. Like, when I think about the rescue, the salvation that God brings, I think it's easier for me to just think about it in terms of moral obligation. Like, I've screwed up. I owe a price for, like, the things that I did. Like, I've just. I've stacked up obligations that I can't make good on, and here it's actually bigger than that. It's like, well, yes, but now you're actually under the ownership.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Okay, good. That's great.

[Tim Mackey]

The Pharaoh, right? Of death.

[John Collins]

The pit.

[Tim Mackey]

The pit. Like, you actually now are a child of death, and that's not where you belong. So every time this word redeem shows up, it's like saying, I want you to think about that. That's the thing that's important to recognize. Not that you are being forgiven, although you are. Not that you're just being rescued, although you are. But there is this transfer. You are enslaved. As Paul will talk a lot about.

[John Collins]

Slavery, it's all about ownership.

[Tim Mackey]

Ownership, yes. Everything. It really makes it pop more.

[John Collins]

Slavery is one of the most potent images for being under the ownership. Wrongful ownership. Of another. Yeah, yeah, totally. And that's why redemption is one of the main words. So you're right. Salvation words are focused on the transition from death in danger to out of danger. Redemption words are talking about the same transition, but in terms of the possession that you're transferred into and that safety and security of being possessed by someone who will care and love and help you flourish. That's the emphasis of these words. That's cool. That's really helpful.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. I'll just say when we get to the line, you've redeemed me from the pit. I think normally that line, I just would go, yeah, okay. You rescued me.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

But now that it just feels so much more potent. The pit, like, owned me. I'm a slave to the pit.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

I have transferred allegiance to the pit.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Okay. All right. This is perfect. So we have to do one more.

[Tim Mackey]

Okay.

[John Collins]

So we've gone from collections of Israel's past exodus as a redemption from Egypt in the Psalms, anticipation of a future exodus. And then the way David will use that language to describe his own personal experience and how that becomes a model individually for all of Israel. For the music director from the sons of Korach, Assam. This is a group of Levites that were songwriters in the temple.

[Tim Mackey]

The sons of Korah.

[John Collins]

Yep. Listen to this. All you peoples, give ear. All you inhabitants of the world, both the low and the high, the rich and the poor together. My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditations of my heart will be understanding. Why should I be afraid in times of calamity? I can think of quite a few.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah, yeah.

[John Collins]

When death being iniquity. That's right. When iniquity surrounds me at my heels, when those who trust in their wealth boast about the abundance of their riches.

[Tim Mackey]

Why is that a calamity?

[John Collins]

Well, in the poet's day, if you are wealthy, most likely you got that money illegitimately. So those who have a lot of wealth in this poem are synonymous with the wicked and the oppressors. Okay. And so what the poet notice is like, oh, people who are wealthy tend not to care about anybody else. And they got that money in a wrong way. And it seems like they're doing great and everybody else is suffering. Okay, so what should I do?

[Tim Mackey]

They're boasting.

[John Collins]

What should I do in that time of calamity?

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah, yeah.

[John Collins]

Well, here's something to think about. Did you know that a human cannot redeem their brother?

[Tim Mackey]

Well, yeah, you can. That's the goel.

[John Collins]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Well, did you know that a human cannot Give to God his brother's kofir.

[Tim Mackey]

Ah. So redeem not from, like.

[John Collins]

Yeah, debt slavery.

[Tim Mackey]

Debt slavery. Redeem from death. What's the kofir payment for that?

[John Collins]

Yeah, yeah. The redemption price. And this is a synonym for kofer, but it's from padah, the pidion. The price of redeeming a life. A nefesh. Costly. In fact, any price that you pay will always fail. And what would you give that type of redemption price for? So that your brother would stay alive forever and never see the pit.

[Tim Mackey]

I see I'm a slave to death. What's the coffer? What's the price to get me out of death? And if that could be paid, and if death no longer owns me? Life. Everlasting life.

[John Collins]

So it's all an answer to the question of when the wealthy seem to be doing great and everybody's dying around them, and it's not fair. What reason do I have to trust God? And this thing about impossibility, this little meditation on.

[Tim Mackey]

Well, death's the final answer. No one can get me out of death.

[John Collins]

And specifically buying.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. No one can purchase.

[John Collins]

Yeah. You can't purchase eternal life. So let's read again. So a human cannot redeem their brother from death. From death. They can't give God a ransom payment to get free from death, get free from dying. Because the ransom or redemption price for a human life, it's costly. It always fails. It could never keep a human alive forever. You can't buy your way out of death. So you see people who are wealthy and you think that that is keeping them from all of these problems.

[Tim Mackey]

They're boasting in their wealth. But you know what your wealth can't do for you.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

Can't buy you life.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

True life.

[John Collins]

The poet is bringing comfort to the oppressed poor by saying, the people who neglect and oppress you, who have all.

[Tim Mackey]

The wealth, they don't want the pit.

[John Collins]

They're dying too. In fact, their money seems to give them a leg up. But actually, their money's no good.

[Tim Mackey]

The pit does not want their money.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Pitt doesn't care. So that's where the poem goes.

[Tim Mackey]

Pit don't care.

[John Collins]

This meditation. The pit don't care. The meditation ends with verse 14 saying, like sheep, they are appointed for the grave. So, like, they're like sheep being herded.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah.

[John Collins]

Towards. Into a hole in the ground. Yeah. Death will be their shepherd, but the upright, they shall rule over them in the morning.

[Tim Mackey]

Okay. The upright will rule over these wealthy.

[John Collins]

Yeah. People. The righteous in the morning rule over them.

[Tim Mackey]

What morning are we talking about?

[John Collins]

In the morning? Yeah. And their form, that is the physical body of the wicked, will be for the grave to consume. They will have no habitation. But God will redeem my Nephesh from the hand of the grave. The power of the grave, for he will take me. Hmm.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah. This is like one of the moments in the Hebrew Bible that talks about this idea of resurrection.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

This idea of something beyond the grave.

[John Collins]

Yeah. A rescue from the grave. And notice the transfer of possession is.

[Tim Mackey]

Kind of the power of Sheol from.

[John Collins]

The power of Sheol.

[Tim Mackey]

And Sheol is the grave.

[John Collins]

Yep.

[Tim Mackey]

It's the pit.

[John Collins]

Yep. Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

And everyone's going there.

[John Collins]

Yeah. And it's the word hand. The hand of the grave.

[Tim Mackey]

Ooh, the hand of the grave.

[John Collins]

So the grave's got me in its grip.

[Tim Mackey]

Ooh, yeah.

[John Collins]

But God will redeem, that is repossess me.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah.

[John Collins]

And he will take me. I will become his. He will make me his possession.

[Tim Mackey]

So there's no human, there's no. There's no brother who can redeem me from the grave. And so there's no amount of money that someone could pay on my behalf.

[John Collins]

Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

But God can redeem from the grave.

[John Collins]

Yeah. You can't buy life that way. Even though it seems on the day to day level like you can buy the good life.

[Tim Mackey]

The hand of Sheol. Yeah, that's a cool kind of phrase.

[John Collins]

It's got us all. It's dragging us down.

[Tim Mackey]

I mean, isn't that kind of core to this whole idea? We're in the hand of Sheol.

[John Collins]

That's it. That's right. Yeah.

[Tim Mackey]

Who can rescue us? Who can take us from the hand of Sheol?

[John Collins]

Yeah. So on the largest frame, Psalm 49 kicks it out to. So we started with Israel in the hand of Pharaoh, then we had David in the hand of Saul. And now we're thinking in analogy with both of those, humanity in the hand of the grave. So the poet's trust here is that God can and will redeem my Nephesh, and that it's impossible for one brother to buy with money and escape from the pit for his brother. But it just tantalizes us here, Will.

[Tim Mackey]

There's nothing you can pay death to escape death.

[John Collins]

That's right.

[Tim Mackey]

It's kind of a pretty intuitive and just deeply disturbing reality that all humans have to kind of come to.

[John Collins]

Yeah. Yes.

[Tim Mackey]

We are owned by something that's coming, and there's nothing you can do.

[John Collins]

That's right. Yeah. And what the hope of the resurrection did in the development and history of human thought. Right. This bold idea, because there's ideas of afterlife in many cultures, but the unique idea of the recreation of the human on the other side of death to a transformed existence that is not just otherworldly, that is here placed in creation, but a transformed creation that's a unique contribution of the Jewish Christian story into human thought. And what that does is it both acknowledges the inevitability of death, but also sees it as the test, as Jesus called it. Like the fire, the purifying fires that are the gateway to a transformation into another mode of existence that has some sort of transphysical is the term that nt right puts to it. But all of that, the development of this idea, you're not avoiding death. The point is it's actually this enemy that God will overcome and use to initiate creation into the next phase of our existence. So it's both a defeating of death, but it's also acknowledging that it's coming for everyone.

[Tim Mackey]

It's both a defeating of death. What's a defeating of death?

[John Collins]

Well, the fact that God can repossess people from the hand of the grave. That's what Psalm 49 says. The point here is that there is a morning coming in Psalm 49.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah, the morning.

[John Collins]

The morning.

[Tim Mackey]

The upright will rule in the morning.

[John Collins]

And it will be a time when those who are ruled over in an unjust, oppressed way, they will be the ones to rule. And it's connected to the time when God redeems their life from the hand of Sheol and transfers them into his possession. And if someone doesn't want to have God as their repossessor, but wants to try and repossess their own life, good luck with that. So in the Psalm scroll, we've got the whole redemption package. You've got past redemption, the future redemption, you've got individual redemption and corporate redemption. And then here it's like humanity's connected to cosmic redemption with somehow rescued from death. Humans. Ruling in the morning.

[Tim Mackey]

Yeah, ruling in the morning.

[John Collins]

Oh, so good. That's got Genesis 1 and 2 written all over it. Recovering what was lost in the exile from Eden. So really we've just kind of sampled a few places in the Psalms. We could do this all day with lots of other Psalms, but I just wanted to kind of paint the portrait that the kaleidoscope of redemption that's all throughout the Hebrew Bible is kind of condensed in the Psalm scroll. It's kind of all like a one stop shopping center for all your redemption needs. Okay, yeah. Next stop we're going to turn into the New Testament. Okay. So we're going to see how redemption language and ideas were picked up and carried forward in the story of Jesus, specifically in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke has turned up the volume on redemption language in his account of Jesus. More than Matthew, Mark, or John, it's a unique emphasis in Luke's retelling of Jesus story. So we're going to look at that next.

[Tim Mackey]

That's it for today's episode. Next week we turn to the New Testament and we look at the theme of redemption in the Gospel of Luke. In the Gospel of Luke, Israel is waiting to be rescued and redeemed from Rome. But Jesus is pursuing a different type of redemption.

[John Collins]

Jesus is working on a more cosmic level, which doesn't mean it doesn't have political implications. He sees the enemy under the names of sin, the Satan, a spirit that affects our bodies so that they die, and the power of darkness. So this becomes Jesus and Luke's redefinition of redemption.

[Tim Mackey]

Bibleproject is a crowdfunded nonprofit and we exist to help people experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. And everything that we make is free because of the generous support of thousands of people just like you. Thank you so much for being a part of this with us.

[John Collins]

Hi, my name is Chris and I am in Newburgh, Oregon. Hi, my name is Anne and I'm.

[Tim Mackey]

From Wales in the United Kingdom.

[John Collins]

I first heard about the Bible Project.

[Tim Mackey]

A few years ago at our church.

[John Collins]

I use the Bible Project personally to brush up on concepts that I just.

[Tim Mackey]

Need to revisit from time to time. My favorite thing about the Bible Project.

[John Collins]

Is just how approachable it is as.

[Tim Mackey]

A tool for teaching the Bible.

[John Collins]

I think my favorite thing is the.

[Tim Mackey]

Fact that it gives that clarity of overview.

[John Collins]

It's a really great introduction.

[Tim Mackey]

We believe that the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus. Bibleproject is a nonprofit funded by people like me. Find free videos, articles, podcasts, classes and more at the Bibleproject app and at.

[John Collins]

Bibleprojects.com hey everyone, this is Connor. I'm part of the infrastructure team here at bibleproject. I've been working at the bibleproject for just over a year now. And in my role, I work on behind the scenes technology to support bringing content like this to you. There's a whole team of people that.

[Tim Mackey]

Bring the podcast to life every week.

[John Collins]

For a full list of everyone who's involved, check out the show credits in the episode description. Wherever you stream the podcast and on our website.

[Tim Mackey]

Cheers. Sa.