Salvation in the Old Testament
Many of us as Christians are living below our means simply because we do not have a full understanding of salvation. We see salvation as something that will keep us from going to hell when we die and will enable us to spend eternity with God. Although salvation does provide for this, it is much more. Typically, there are many years between when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Saviour and when they die. What does salvation do for us in the mean time?
The children of Israel had a deep understanding of salvation because the words used to describe salvation in the Hebrew had special meaning. If we look at the etymology of the word salvation, we see that the original word for salvation was yëša, which had the meaning "bring into a spacious environment". This is seen in Psalm 18:36 and Psalm 66:12. Etymology is the history of a word as indicated by breaking it down into basic elements, or by tracing it back to the earliest known form or root, with all its changes in form and meaning.
Salvation had a metaphorical meaning of "freedom from limitation" and whatever it took to achieve that freedom. It took on the meaning of deliverance from whatever constrained on confined, such as disease (Isaiah 38:20), trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), or enemies (2 Samuel 3:18, Psalm 44:7).
In this references, God is seen as the author of salvation. We see God’s salvation at work in the Old Testament as God:
- Saves His flock (Ezekiel 34:22)
- Rescues His people (Hosea 1:7)
- Saves them by Himself (Hosea 13:10-14)
- Is the only Saviour (Isaiah 43:11)
- Saves the fathers from Egypt (Psalm 106:7-10)
- Saves their sons from Babylon (Jeremiah 30:10)
- Is the refuge and Saviour of His People (2 Samuels 22:3)
- Saves the poor and needy (Psalm 34:6)
The essence of salvation in the Old Testament can be seen in Exodus 14:13, when Moses is told by God to stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. Therefore, to know God at all is to know Him as a saving God. Likewise, the term "God" and "Saviour" are virtually identical in the Old Testament.
One of the major turning points for the children of Israel in terms of how they viewed God’s salvation was the exodus from Egypt. They sung about it in worship (Psalm 66:1-7), re-told it in story (Deuteronomy 6:20-24), and re-enacted it in ritual (Exodus 13:3-16). Note that Jews to this day still celebrated the Passover, which came directly from this exodus experience.
What does this mean to me?
God’s plan of salvation is comprehensive. It not only covers delivering us from hell when we die, but also provides deliverance for us now from such things as disease, trouble, and enemies. God’s salvation is active, RIGHT NOW.