Redemption. The term "redemption" means to be "bought back and set free". It is often compared with the term "purchased" or "bought", as redemption includes purchase, but goes beyond to include setting the purchased object free! The subject of redemption is introduced in the book of Exodus,¹ where Israel were slaves in the land of Egypt. The Lord said "I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments" (Ex. 6:6). After having done it, the people praise the Lord, singing: "Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed" (Ex. 15:13). A Hittite king might have purchased the children of Israel from Pharaoh, and they would have become his property, but that would not have released them from bondage. The Lord redeemed Israel by setting them free: (1) from the judgment of God at the Passover, and (2) from the power of Pharaoh at the Red Sea. He brought them into a new standing and a new condition, where they could worship Jehovah. In Leviticus and forward, the subject is expanded to redeeming land, property, and the individual's soul or life. The use of silver in redemption is common under the law (Num. 3:49). In the New Testament, we learn that God is seeking to redeem man. There are many things we need to be set free from. First, we think of sin, and the penalty of sins. Through the work of Christ on the cross, the believer has redemption "in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). But there is also the world and Satan. We have been set free in grace, not to do our own will, but for doing the will of God in worship and in service. “Let My people go, that they may serve Me” (Ex. 8:1). There are four aspects of redemption given in the New Testament, and three are found in Romans and Ephesians: