A Riddle

No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him— Psalm 49:7 NASB

Redeem – Context, context, context. Without the context, this verse seems to oppose the very idea that Yeshua acts as a substitute sacrifice for sinners. Of course, the idea of substitutionary atonement is a Reformation concept, not found in even the earliest Church fathers. But it dominates our thinking, so when we read this verse in Psalm 49, we are confused. How can the Bible tell us in one place that no man can redeem another and in another place speak about redemption accomplished by one man for another? Is the psalmist wrong?

Let’s see if some contextual investigation helps. First, notice the authors of this song. The sons of Korah. And what do you know about Korah? Numbers 16:1-41 is a tragic story of Korah’s rebellion. Thousands died because of his action against Moses. If this is a song of the sons of Korah (as indicated in the first verse of the psalm in Hebrew), then it means this song has a very ancient origin. It might have been composed by Korah’s sons at a time later than the incident with Moses, but the fact that it carries this introduction should remind us of Korah’s story as part of the background of this song. Korah’s rebellion involved the denial of God’s choice of Moses. Korah claimed that he and others had just as much right as Moses to lead the people.

With this in mind, we should notice that Psalm 49 is a polemic against those who believe their wealth, status, and power exempt them from life’s challenges. The opening verses announce that the riddle of life affects all, rich and poor, high and low. What is the riddle? That wealth and power do not exempt one from death. According to the song, even the powerful and the wise are subject to the same inevitable end. Therefore, there is no reason for the poor to envy the rich. There is no reason to fear the powerful. Only the foolish believe that their wealth and power will protect them from the same fate. In fact, according to the psalm, trust in God alone is the only solution to life’s inevitable trajectory. Set in the context of Korah’s rebellion, this is a song about the futility of arrogance.

Now let’s consider verse 7. Is it really an eternal theological truth? Or is it a reflection on the thoughts of the arrogant? Can one man with all his power and riches redeem another man from the inevitability of She’ol? Can those who trust in wealth and abundance save themselves or anyone else from the grave? Perhaps the psalmist is not offering us a theology of redemption but rather an observation about human behavior. By the end of the psalm, the author asserts that “God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol” (v. 14) but the man who thinks his wealth will save him “shall go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see this light.” Perhaps we read too much into the phenomenological approach of Hebrew songs when we project our theology across the centuries.

Topical Index: Psalm 49:7, Korah, death, redemption