I love reading Genesis because the stories are incredibly fascinating, and some of them are just completely wild. Different verses, themes, or story lines stand out to me each time I reread a book of the Bible. As I reread Genesis a couple months ago, I saw instance after instance of God’s redemption.
Adam and Eve are redeemed.
All starts well and good for Adam and Eve. They live in the Garden of Eden with food, shelter, and each other. God gave them one instruction—not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17)—but by chapter 3, they’d both eaten from it, thinking it would make them wiser. They had to leave the Garden because of their sin, yet God did not leave them. Instead, God saw to their needs. Genesis chapter 3, verse 21 says, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Even after they had sinned, God took care of them. Redemption.
Lot is redeemed.
Later, in chapter 13, we read that Lot (Abraham’s nephew) lived near Sodom, yet the people of Sodom are described to have been “wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord” (v. 13). Lot is forced to deal with this choice later in chapter 19 when angels warn him to leave because God is going to destroy the city. Even after this gracious warning, Lot hesitates, but the angels “grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them” (v. 17). Lot faced this predicament because of his own choices (to live in Sodom), and he even hesitated leaving! But God had compassion on him. Redemption.
Abraham is redeemed.
In chapter 17, God tells Abraham that Sarah will be the mother of many nations (v. 16). Sarah hadn’t believed fully in God’s promises to her, yet God stayed true to His promises. He gave her children, a desire she had assumed would not be fulfilled. And later still, Abraham is given the title of “prophet” (ch. 20, v. 6), the first time this word is used in the Bible. Abraham had told half truths on two different occasions—once when he told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister (chapter 12) and again when he said the same to Abimelech (chapter 20). (This was a half lie since Sarah was his half sister. See chapter 20, verse 12). Yet though Abraham was not perfect, God gave him a title of great importance. Redemption.
We are redeemed. You are redeemed. I am redeemed.
What does this mean for us? What is our takeaway from all of this? Though we will sin, God is a God of redemption. Jesus was sent for that very reason, for us to have an opportunity to be redeemed. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7 says, “In [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
We have so much to be thankful for in that God gives us mercy and grace every day. He redeems us.