Psalms 72:14

My Notes

What Does Psalms 72:14 Mean?

"He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight." The MESSIANIC king (Psalm 72 — Solomon's psalm, ultimately pointing to the Messiah) REDEEMS souls from two specific evils: DECEIT (tokh — fraud, treachery, internal corruption) and VIOLENCE (chamas — external force, aggression, brutality). The redemption covers BOTH forms of evil — the subtle and the overt, the hidden and the visible, the con and the assault.

The phrase "redeem their soul from deceit and violence" (mittokh umechamas yig'al nafsham — from fraud and from violence He will redeem their soul/life) uses GA'AL — the kinsman-redeemer word. The same verb used for Boaz redeeming Ruth. The king REDEEMS — buys back, recovers, restores — the souls that were held captive by fraud and violence. The redemption is PERSONAL (their soul) and COMPREHENSIVE (from both deceit and violence).

The phrase "precious shall their blood be in his sight" (veyiqar damam be'einav — precious/valuable shall their blood be in His eyes) is the VALUATION: the redeemed people's BLOOD (dam — blood, life, the most essential substance) is PRECIOUS (yaqar — costly, valuable, weighty) in the king's SIGHT (eyes). The king doesn't treat human life as CHEAP. The blood is VALUABLE. The life is COSTLY. The king who redeems also VALUES what he redeems.

The MESSIANIC reading: Christ redeems from deceit (the serpent's lies) and violence (the cross's brutality) — and considers the redeemed PRECIOUS. The blood of the redeemed is valuable in the Redeemer's sight because the Redeemer paid with His own blood to acquire them.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does it mean that your life is PRECIOUS in the Redeemer's sight?
• 2.What does redemption from BOTH deceit and violence teach about the comprehensive scope of what Christ saves from?
• 3.How does the GA'AL (kinsman-redeemer) word describe redemption as a family act, not a stranger's rescue?
• 4.What 'precious in His sight' valuation would change how you see yourself — if you believed it?

Devotional

The king REDEEMS from both DECEIT and VIOLENCE — the subtle evil and the overt evil, the con and the assault, the lie and the blow. The redemption covers BOTH kinds of harm. The soul trapped by fraud AND the soul crushed by brutality are both bought back by the same Redeemer.

The 'PRECIOUS shall their blood be' is the VALUATION that changes everything: the king doesn't redeem cheap things. He redeems what's VALUABLE. The blood — the life, the most essential substance — is PRECIOUS in His sight. The king SEES the redeemed and assigns them WORTH. The value isn't determined by the market. It's determined by the King's EYES. He looks at you and says: PRECIOUS.

The GA'AL (kinsman-redeemer) verb connects to RUTH: the same word Boaz used when he redeemed Ruth's inheritance is the word used for the Messianic king's redemption. The redemption is RELATIONAL — a kinsman buying back what belongs to the family. The Redeemer is RELATED to the redeemed. The rescue comes from FAMILY, not from a stranger.

The MESSIANIC layer: Christ redeems from DECEIT (the lies that held humanity captive — the serpent's original fraud) and from VIOLENCE (the brutality that human sin produces). And the redeemed are PRECIOUS — bought at the cost of the Redeemer's own blood. The blood of the redeemed is precious because the blood of the Redeemer was the PRICE. What costs you everything to buy is precious in your sight.

What does it mean that YOUR blood — your life — is PRECIOUS in the sight of the King who redeemed you?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture