How has the Lord “ransomed” and “redeemed” Jacob”?

The two words ransomed and redeemed are used to describe how the Lord delivered his people from Egypt (see Exodus 6:5–6; Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 13:5; Deuteronomy 15:15; Deuteronomy 21:8; Deuteronomy 24:18). Isaiah also uses both words in his later chapters to describe the Lord setting his people free from Babylon (Isaiah 43:1; Isaiah 44:22–23; Isaiah 48:20)¹. The word redeem is a legal term used to describe how a family member would buy back land that a relative had sold to pay debt (Leviticus 25:25; Jeremiah 32:7–8). Ransomed has a similar meaning. The implication in this context is not that the Lord has to pay a debt owing to Israel’s conquerors, but rather that even though Jacob may be the chief of the nations because of the Lord’s grace to them, they are too weak to set themselves free from a powerful captor and the Lord has to act on their behalf to rescue them from hands too strong for him (i.e. Jacob)². This message would have not only been an encouragement for those who read it while in exile, but also those living in Judah, about to face the Babylonians, must not be discouraged when they are sent into exile. The Lord is the one who ransoms and redeems his people from an enemy too strong for them.