" I've been redeemed (I've been redeemed), by the blood of the Lamb. … saved and sanctified I am.

All my sins are washed away, I've been redeemed." (Author listed as anonymous.)

 

It was dusk, the water was glistening as the sun was setting and I had decided to follow Jesus – no turning back. Jesus was Lord and I got baptised. And as per church tradition, this was the refrain – I have been redeemed – that was echoed in church and after baptisms.

 

I did not understand it all then. I believe it takes time walking with Jesus truly to understand the magnitude of what He has done and how we beloved we are that God would lavish such grace upon us. But what do sandals and redemption have in common? Turns out a lot.

 

As shown in Ruth 4:7, sandals were quite symbolic in the ancient world. If you are familiar with the romance of Boaz and Ruth from the titular book, you may have heard that Boaz was a kinsmen redeemer. Perhaps, even that it was a picture of Christ himself. It boggled my mind.

 

Only once I understood what the imagery of the sandal of redemption meant, did it start to dawn on me. Through this custom, close male relatives bought back land that was originally in the family and married widows too, if it meant that the redeemer protected familial integrity. It was literally a second chance.

 

The scene at the city gate mentioned above makes sense in the light of this. Boaz is revealed as kinsmen redeemer in Ruth 4:8. It also sheds light on the peculiar way Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, initiated this redemptive process by telling Ruth to uncover Boaz’s feet and lay down there on the threshing floor one night after he had threshed barley. She knew he would know what to do.

 

In our modern context, it makes no sense to us, but it was the way it was done all those centuries ago. It is a case of letting your feet do the talking, albeit biblical-customs style!

 

Prayer: Thank you for redeeming us, God. We praise you for the redemptive work on the cross that cost you everything so that we would be set free from the sting of sin and ravages of death. For eternity. Amen.