Go'el

John 1:1, 2, & 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

A couple of months ago I posted the question on Facebook, “Is the God of the Old Testament the same God of the New Testament?” While the majority said He was, there were those few that felt otherwise. I’d like to say I was shocked by the response of those that thought otherwise however, my shock factor had already been reached while sitting in Bib Faith class.

My professor stood at the front of the class and posed this very question. I sat there and listened to students’ state that He was not the same God and my mouth became a bug catcher, open wide with chin resting on floor. My professor then said these words, “How could He be the same God? The God of the Old Testament is all about vengeance and destruction – an eye for an eye – while the God of the New Testament is all about love – turn the other cheek – God must have softened His heart over the years.” My leg began bouncing up and down, as I was clearly annoyed with this concept. Hebrews 13:8 clearly states, “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  What kind of professors do they have teaching this Bible class?

What I didn’t realize about my professor until a few weeks later, after I interrogated him on his version of scripture on a totally different topic, was that this is not what he believed it was merely his way of getting us to think about what it is that we believe and why. Thank God! After my interrogation of him, all annoyances vanished and a respect of what he was trying to do was reached. By far, my favorite class of the semester, but I’m getting off topic…

Go’el: next of kin, and hence, redeemer. Owing to the solidarity of the family and the clan in ancient Israel, any duty, which a man could not perform by himself, had to be taken up by his next of kin. Any rights possessed by a man that lapsed through his inability to perform his duties attached to such rights, could be and should be resumed by the next of kin. This applied especially to parcels of land which any Israelite found it necessary to sell. This his go’el, or kinsmen, had to redeem. In the book of Ruth the next of kin was called upon to purchase a parcel of land formerly belonging to Elimelech. It would appear from the same example that another duty of the go’el was to raise offspring for his kinsman if he happened to die without any. This would seem to be an extension of the principle of the Levirate Marriage; hence, the procedure of “halizah” was gone through in the case of Naomi’s go’el, just as if he had been her brother-in-law. Another duty of the go’el was to redeem his kinsman from slavery if sold to a stranger. As the go’el has his duties, so he had his privileges and compensation. The whole conception of the go’el was based on the solidarity of the interests of the tribe and the nation with those of the national God, and accordingly the notion of the go’el became spiritualized as applied to the relations between God and Israel. God was regarded as the go’el of Israel, and as having redeemed them from the bondage of Egypt. God is the redeemer.

Throughout the entire Bible, you will find what is known as “The Cycle of Retribution”. This is where the following happens:

1)    the people sin

2)    God punishes the people

3)    the people cry out

4)    God raises up a judge

5)    the judge dies and the people sin, again

In an exegesis class, How to Interpret the Bible, I took last year, I learned that the Bible came into being as a result of God’s desire to communicate with human beings. God longed for relationships. Eve and also Adam chose to disobey God’s command to them, but in spite of this rebellion against God, He still wanted to communicate with them in the Garden of Eden and called out to them when they were hiding: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). God is in pursuit of us. He punished them but He did not abandon them.

If God is in pursuit of us, longs for relationship with us, then why is it that He would be so “mean” to mankind? Let’s start from the beginning, hitting a few key stories, shall we…

Genesis 6 tells us the story of the flood. In this story, we’re told that God saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become and that He grieved that He had made man and thus He wiped mankind, whom He had created, from the face of the earth. Wow! How many times can we say, in our life, that we have destroyed something we created because we no longer found it good? I mean just the other day I disposed of my banana pudding because it was no longer good. While this concept is not the same as destroying mankind, it holds some weight… I created it, it was good, it rotted, and thus it had to be destroyed. What, still not a valid point? Okay, okay…

How about the story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram? Not familiar with this one? In Numbers 16, it tells us the story of how these men rose up against Moses along with 250 Israelites who were well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They had been given power and set apart to do God’s work at the tabernacle and to minister but they became greedy and arrogant, wanting to take the priesthood too. Moses said to them that they would know that God had sent him if the ground upon which they were standing opens and swallows them, everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave for contempt. Thus God did. He opened up the earth, swallowed them, along with their households, and closed the ground over them. Holy-moly! Now I have never been able to make the ground open, swallow up someone that has risen against me, and close over them but oh how I’d love to see that happen. Open Sesame, Close Sesame! What, not violent enough for you? Okay, okay…

It cannot get any more violent than killing men, women, and children. In Joshua 6, we learn of the story of Jericho. Jericho had become a city of wicked idolaters, corrupt in morals – as the public harlotry of Rahab showed – and so wicked that they had filled the cup of iniquity and had become ripe for judgment. Thus, God ordered that the city and all that were in it to be destroyed – men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys. I can see where it would be hard pressed to view God as loving in this scene however, did He not spare Rahab’s life and those that belonged to her because she helped hide the spies sent in by Joshua on God’s orders?

How about the story of Samson in the book of Judges? Of all the things Samson could ask God for, he asked Him for wisdom. God gave Samson wisdom and in return asked him to keep His commands. Samson of course felt that the rules did not apply to him and thus God punished him by allowing him to be turned over to the hands of the enemy. Even in the end, Samson was not looking for redemption from God; he was looking for revenge on those that had taken his eyes. He asked God to grant him strength one more time for this revenge and allow him to die with his enemy, of which God granted. God allowed Samson to die?

What about Job? If I were to ask you who tested Job most likely your answer would be Satan. However if you look closely in chapter 2 is states that the angels had come to present themselves before God and Satan also came. God asked him where he had come from and Satan told him roaming the earth, going back and forth in it. God then asks Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?” Satan tells God that Job only serves Him because he is prosperous but if all were taken from him, he would curse God. And then God says, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” So Satan afflicted Job with painful sores and took all the he had from him. What? God allowed this to happen to Job? Even in the last chapter, it states that all who had known Job came to his house afterward and comforted him over all the trouble God had brought upon him. You seriously mean to tell me that God allows all my ailments, roadblocks, and my idea of hell on earth?

Yes, I can see why there are those that would say the God of the Old Testament is mean and vengeful and not loving which makes Him not the same God of the New Testament, indeed. However, this is the way I see it…

It is the cycle of retribution. A parent loving their child/ren. God is in pursuit of us. He longs to have a relationship with us. He is a jealous God and One to be feared. However, He is a loving God. He spared Noah and his family. He blessed Noah and made a covenant with him. Noah had become wicked. He spared the entire community in Numbers 16 at the request of Moses. He spared Rehab and all that belonged to her in spite of her being a prostitute. He granted Samson his last request in spite of it being for his own self-honor and not that of God’s. He blessed Job for not cursing Him, giving him twice as much as he had in the beginning… gave him more in the latter part of his life than the first. God takes care of His children by protecting them and keeping them from the evil one. As with any good parent, He holds us accountable for our actions and we are disciplined accordingly. This God of the Old Testament loved us so much that He sent us His son who changed things for us.

God could not look upon sin without judgment. Therefore, only the priest, even if brought by the common people, were allowed to offer up offerings and sacrifices in the Old Testament. Leviticus tells us of 5 different types of sacrifices offered:

1)    “whole burnt offerings” – to worship God, show devotion to God, and to ask for God’s forgiveness; the entire object is burnt

2)    “grain offerings” – to worship God by giving thanks; to recognize that God is the giver of blessings and provides good things

3)    “peace offerings” or “well-being offerings” – to worship God and ask for God’s blessing; some of the meat is kept and eaten

4)    “sin offerings” – to ask God’s forgiveness; to make amends for specific unintentional sins; to become clean after becoming ritually unclean

5)    “guilt offerings” – to make up for cheating the Lord or unintentionally destroying something that belonged to the Lord; to make up for robbing or cheating another person

The tabernacle was considered the Holy Place however within the tabernacle was an inner room called the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place. It was God’s special dwelling place in the midst of His people. A thick curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. This curtain, known as a “veil”, was made of fine linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. The word “veil” in Hebrew means a screen, divider or separator that hides. What was this curtain hiding? Essentially, it was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies and only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Hebrews 9:7). This veil was a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God could not be trifled with. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can tolerate no sin (Habakkuk 1:13). This barrier, this veil, was to make sure that man could not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Even the high priest had to make some meticulous preparations: He had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from direct view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for sins. (I’ve even heard it said that they would tie a rope around them in case they had not prepared accordingly as God would kill them and they would have to be drugged out. Whether that is true or not, I am uncertain.)

However, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross changed that. When He died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. As the veil was torn, the Holy of Holies was exposed. God’s presence was now accessible to all. (Hebrews 6:19-20) His death has atoned our sins and made us right before God. When Jesus cried out “It is finished!” on the cross, He was indeed proclaiming that God’s redemptive plan was now complete. The ultimate offering had been sacrificed. That, my friend, is the greatest gift, the gift of love, which God could ever give.

He is the same loving God that protected His children, kept His promises, provided mercy, pursuing relationships in the Old Testament, as He is in the New Testament. He was, He is, and He always will be… the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Revelations 1:8)

There is a song that I remember us often singing in church when I was younger; “oh how He loves you and me / Oh how He loves you and me / He gave His life / What more could He give / Oh how He loves you and me.” How can the God of the Old Testament be any different than the God of the New Testament, He gave us His son so that He can have a personal relationship with us and not through a high priest. He is our Go’el! He has paid our debt; He has become our bridegroom; He has broken the chains and freed me from slavery; He is indeed my redeemer, my Go’el!

Copyrighted by reflectionsbypj 2009/12/29

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