"For I
know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall
I see God."
Introduction:
Looking at the preceding verses and chapters,
Job began to plead with his three friends for pity. His natural strength has
become more and more feeble, his voice became weaker and weaker. And a feeling
of sorrow is apparent in his description of the suffering, in his pleading with
his friends to be sympathetic. It is enough that Jehovah has touched him. Job
pleaded with them to be honest with him, to be fair with him.
Now Job expresses a higher hope and desire in
which he finds his comfort. His comfort is not in the words of his friends, but
in his God. God will avenge Job's blood against his accusers. For God has sent
a REDEEMER.
And in that REDEEMER is found Job's hope.
Job and His
Friends:
Often we are wrongly accused by people who
are so dear to our hearts, instead of cursing or lashing out at our accusers we
do well to recall this truth. Men may mock us, they may accuse us, they may
judge us falsely as did these so-called friends of Job. But the Judge of heaven
and earth is God, our covenant God, our Father. These men will perish, their
judgment means nothing. But that which matters is the judgment of God.
Also, knowing that God is Judge, we do not
act as hypocrites, as if it is enough merely to look good before men. Rather,
we must humble ourselves before God. And the question which matters in our
lives is:
a.
Will God
accept me?
b.
Will God
accept my lax attitude towards sin?
c.
Will God
tolerate my leaving my family night after night to go out with the guys?
d.
Will God
accept my secret enjoyment of pornography?
e.
Will God
approve of the way I treat my neighbor?
I can, perhaps, justify myself before men.
Perhaps I can cover my sins in the eyes of my family and loved ones. But the
fundamental question is: How am I living before God? He is the Judge of heaven
and earth. He hates sin and hypocrisy. He will not allow the unrepentant sinner
to have fellowship with Him in heaven. No adulterer, no drunkard, no thief, no
unrepentant sinner will have any place in the kingdom of heaven. But the covenant
friend of God finds his comfort in the fact that God will receive him as a
repentant sinner, as one who hates sin, though he finds himself repeatedly
falling into it, as one who knows the joy of forgiveness and who pleads with
God for that joy.
Then we are able to have the comfort that the
Almighty, unchangeable God keeps His covenant with His people forever. He rules
over all things, He holds all things in His hands. My remaining faithful to Him
is His own work in and through me. Therefore, my confidence is not to be found
in my own abilities, in my own obedience, but in that covenant promise which
Jehovah has given me: I will be your God; you will be My people.
The Term "MY
REDEEMER" In Details:
A redeemer is one who mediates for another,
one who takes upon himself the cause of another in order to help him. The
mediator pays the price of redemption.
Most commonly this was done with respect to
slaves. When a slave found himself in bondage, the only possibility of his
being freed was if another came and bought him, paid the price which he was worth to his master, and thereby gave him
his freedom.
The word "mediator" suggests "bondage."
It suggests an obligation which cannot be met. Job implies that he is in such a
situation. He cannot meet the obligation which is necessary. He cannot pay the
price which God demands. Unless there be another, a mediator, his
cause is hopeless.
Job reveals here his knowledge of his own sin
and debt and his knowledge of the righteous judgment of God. He knows that he
deserves God's curse and condemnation. God has every reason to condemn him to
eternal woe in hell because he is, by nature, depraved, unworthy of God's grace
and mercy.
As Job speaks, he speaks as one who has
already found that Mediator. He has found that One who is willing to stand up
for him, that One who is willing to pay the ransom and deliver him. He has
found the One because of whom he does not need to experience the punishment of
hell. He has found the One who atones for sin, who delivers from bondage, the
One who assures him of eternal blessedness in glory.
Job has found Christ. It is Christ alone who
is the Savior, the perfect man, eternal Redeemer. And Job here speaks
prophetically of Christ as he saw Him by revelation, as the One who would yet
come. But he speaks of Him with such confidence, as though that Redeemer had already come; as though that
promise had already been realized; as though the Word had already become flesh.
My Redeemer
has come And He lives:
With that conviction in Jobs heart, he
confesses, "My Redeemer lives!" Not merely a redeemer,
but my Redeemer
1.
The One who
has come to deliver me from the bondage of my sin, my suffering, and my
affliction,
2.
The One who
stands in my place. He has taken me into covenant fellowship with Himself.
Jehovah dwelt in Job by His Spirit, renewing him, turning him from death into
life. And Jehovah was continually turning Job away from sin into the service of
the living God.
Job knew the depravity of his own heart. He
was deeply conscious of the fact that by nature he could only sin and could
only do that which was contrary to God's law.
Conclusion:
The only possibility of making this confession,
"I
know that my Redeemer liveth," is by faith. Faith knows the Word
of God and knows Jesus Christ as the Savior of sinners. That gift of faith is
given by God to His people, according to Ephesians 2:9.
That faith is the ability to know God and to trust in Him as one's Savior.
The confidence of faith is always personal. I
cannot know Jesus Christ as Savior without knowing that He is my personal
Savior. No one can believe in God and in Jesus Christ without putting all of
his confidence and trust in God. One who confesses that God is God also
confesses that God is his God, He is his Lord, He
is his Redeemer.
This confidence is frequently tested in our
lives. The believer is faced with many trials from day to day. The Lord is
purging us even as silver is purified by fire. This purification is difficult.
It is painful. There are many temptations that face us: pressures to give in to
evil, sufferings which we must bear, sufferings within our marriages when we
fail to live as a godly husband or wife, suffering with respect to our children
when they fail to live for Christ and when they seek their own selfish pleasure,
suffering when it seems as though the wicked are prospering and we are
experiencing disappointments, adversities, pains, distresses. In the face of
all of the temptations and trials there are times when we, like Job, are
inclined to give up, to throw up our arms in despair.
In the midst of these trials and temptations,
the triumph of faith is: I know that my Redeemer liveth and that I
shall see Him. I know this because this is the testimony of the Word,
of the revelation of God to me in His Word. He has made known to me His great
love for me. He has made known His pardoning grace and saving mercies for all
those who are in Jesus Christ. He has promised victory and a glorious
inheritance for all His saints.