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We redeem coupons when we exchange them for money or products. A person who has hurt a friend can redeem herself by doing something sacrificial for her friend. A slave is redeemed when someone buys him and sets him free. When the Bible talks about redemption, it too envisions a costly exchange, a ransom paid for a slave's freedom. However, slaves are not just one class of human beings; they are all of us. Scripture's storyline is breathtaking, sweeping all the way from original creation to new creation in eternity. Early on, the first humans disobeyed God, becoming separated and estranged from Him (Gen. 3:1-20). As a result, every human being since has been born with a serious hereditary flaw—a sinful, self-centered nature which, if we live long enough to make conscious moral choices, we confirm with freely chosen rebellion against God (Rom. 5:12). Jtasphoto/Photos.com under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment" (Exodus 6:6). THE POWERFUL STORY OF REDEMPTION The story of Scripture is, therefore, a story of redemption. And the price of a human life is so high that only God can pay it. Commentators for centuries have speculated that the first animal sacrifice must have occurred when God Himself "made garments of skin"1 for Adam and Eve and thereby clothed them (Gen. 3:21). Cain and Abel are described as bringing offerings to the Lord (4:3-5). Almost all ancient religions have a concept of sin and alienation from God, so that His wrath must be appeased through sacrifices. These may well be vestiges of the true religion that God revealed to the first human family. Still, each time God redeems His people by orchestrating circumstances and empowering key leaders so that the line of His chosen people continues and eventually brings redemption to the entire world. God's plan to redeem humanity zeroes in on one man and the nation that would emerge from His descendants. The importance of Genesis 12:1‑3 for the storyline of the Bible can hardly be overstated. God calls Abram to leave his home and go to a new land that his offspring will eventually inherit completely. This extended family "will be a blessing" and "all peoples on earth will be blessed through" them. The family, of course, is the people of Israel. Thus, Genesis ends with Joseph and his brothers languishing in Egypt. For four hundred years, the Israelites are slaves to the Pharaohs. But in the classic Old Testament redemption story, Moses leads them out of Egypt in the exodus. God promised to free and redeem His people, saying, "I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from God Himself had to redeem the world through his divine Son. But people do not automatically receive redemption; they must appropriate it by faith. They must surrender control of their lives and become Jesus's followers. Those who accept this free but costly gift of redemption have an amazing future. Amazing hope for redemption punctuates the Old Testament in various places. Job, perhaps as far back as the time of Abraham, proclaims, "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And, after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God" (Job 19:25-26). Who did this ancient non-Israelite think his redeemer would be? God himself? A member of the angelic court? If he could disclose such remarkable faith in the midst of horrific suffering, the Christian today can surely cling to Jesus's work on the cross even more faithfully! The institution of the kinsman- or guardianredeemer, as illustrated in the poignant little book of Ruth, further demonstrates the costliness of redemption. Boaz was not Naomi's nearest male kin but, rather, the unnamed man who refused to redeem the property of Naomi's deceased husband once he learned that her daughter-in-law, Ruth, would be part of the deal. He would then be responsible not only for providing for her but for raising up offspring through her. He was not prepared to pay so high a price, so Boaz became her redeemer (Ruth 4:1-12). Throughout the remaining historical books of the Old Testament, every time it appears that a generation of Israelites is finally going to enjoy the Promised Land, obstacles emerge that 1 All Scripture quotations are taken from the 2011 NIV. ENGAGE 13