3.31.24 Job 19:23–27 (EHV)
23 Oh how I wish that my words were written down. Oh how I wish that they were inscribed in bronze, 24 that they would be engraved in rock forever with an iron tool and letters filled with lead. 25 As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the end of time he will stand over the dust. 26 Then, even after my skin has been destroyed, nevertheless, in my own flesh I will see God. 27 I myself will see him. My own eyes will see him, and not as a stranger. My emotions are in turmoil within me.
I Know that My Redeemer Lives. What Hope this Sweet Sentence Gives!
The light shines brightest in the darkness. And isn’t that evident in the story of Job? When we think of Job, it’s most natural to talk about all of the trials that hit him right off the bat. All of his children die in the collapse of a structure caused by the devil. His cattle are stolen and also burned alive from fire sent from heaven. And if it couldn’t get any worse than that, the LORD causes boils to form on his skin. He sits out in the middle of a field and scrapes his boils, in pure misery.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. When you are going through a trial or a funeral, it is very helpful when you have friends and family by your side to love you and support you through it all. I’ve witnessed it first hand many times. It makes life so much easier. Ecclesiastes 4:10 says, “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” The worst part of Job’s problems was the reaction of his friends and even his wife. When Job was trying to hold on to some semblance of hope and faith his wife told him, “Just curse God and die.” Instead of being a support to Job, his own friends accused him of doing something terrible to deserve what had happened to him. They said that God was punishing him for something he did wrong. But Job KNEW that wasn’t true. All of these attacks were wearing Job down. Just listen to the verses that Job speaks just prior to today’s text.
God has wronged me and drawn his net around me. 7 “Though I cry, ‘I’ve been wronged!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. . . .11 His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies.
13 “He has alienated my brothers from me; my friends have forgotten me. 16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer, though I beg him with my own mouth. 17 My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own brothers. 18 Even the little boys scorn me; when I appear, they ridicule me. 19 All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me.
20 I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. 21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?
As God was seeming to put Job to a slow and painful death, his friends and wife were bringing a shovel and trying to basically bury him alive. His servants were ignoring him. They were treating him as if he didn’t even matter, as if he didn’t even exist! It wasn’t just one person. It was EVERYONE.
What can we compare it to? Imagine an elderly parent who never hears from her children or grandchildren. They try to call, but their children don’t answer. You’re in the hospital and you need some help getting to the bathroom. You push the button but nobody comes for extended periods of time. Nobody visits. What does that say to the person? You don’t matter anymore? You don’t count? Is it any wonder when they give up on life?
It used to be that families would grow up with grandparents in the home to be taken care of in their older years. Not so much any more. We have no problem taking hours and hours of time to binge watch a show on television, but not so much time for needy friends and family. And our society is getting worse. It’s gotten to the point in Canada where they are now trying to talk elderly and homeless people into killing themselves so they won’t be a burden on society or the health system. They’re being told they don’t matter.
Right when you would think Job would just kill himself and be over with it all, Job says something completely illogical, completely out of the blue. He says something to himself, his accusers, and to us that will last until the end of days, just as he wished. I know that my Redeemer lives. Those words have rung out for hundreds of years. They will continue to ring until the end of time, written in something more solid than stone, written in the Bible.
Job doesn’t say, “I think” or “I hope.” He says “I know.” What did he know? His Redeemer lives. What was a redeemer? A great example was when Ruth returned home to Israel with her mother in law Naomi. Naomi had to sell her piece of property in order to survive. The next of kin had first rights to the property, in order to keep it in the family. But according to their law, purchasing the land would also require them to marry the widow of the land in order to keep the family line alive. That widow was Ruth. When Boaz ended up purchasing the land, he also became engaged to Ruth and took her as his wife. Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, provided for them and cared for Ruth and Naomi, and also gave them offspring. As a result, the family line was kept alive, through which King David was eventually born.
So put this in the context of Job. He’s lost his health. He’s lost his wealth. He’s lost his reputation. His wife and servants are regarding him as practically dead and worthless. Nobody is speaking up for him. Yet Job knew that there was one who would speak up for him. His “Redeemer,” who would purchase him back from death itself and give him life again, even after he died a miserable death, which he was certain would happen. That One Person would see and know the truth about Job. He would speak on Job’s behalf and pay for his redemption. He would give him life.
It was these words that inspired the song we sing every Easter. “I know that my Redeemer lives!” We know who that Redeemer ended up being, Jesus Christ in the flesh. He became our next of kin, our brother, when He took on flesh. Boaz paid for Ruth with money, Jesus paid the world with His holy precious blood. Whatever Job went through, Jesus went through worse. He wasn’t just blamed for doing things He didn’t do. He was PUNISHED for it and murdered for it. He was spat upon. He was whipped. He was crucified. Even as He was on the cross, they continued to mock Him and taunt Him. And then, if it couldn’t get any worse, He was abandoned there by His own Father and blamed for the sins of the world. This is what it cost Him to pay for our sins, in full. When He cried out, “It is finished,” that meant that it was paid in full. We don’t need to worry about some unforeseen payment or punishment that we need to suffer to God for something we’ve done.
But wait, there’s more than just knowing we have a Redeemer. Job says, “I know that my Redeemer LIVES.” (Interesting fact is that every line except for TWO of the 8 verses contain the word “lives” in that song. The song is beaming with LIFE. And that’s what Easter is all about. The greatest fact of Easter is that Jesus lives!)
Why is His resurrection so important? Think about what they call cold cases. Sometimes a man is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and put in jail. They found blood at the scene, but they didn’t have the DNA technology that they do today. But now, years later, they can use that same blood and do better testing on it to determine who actually did it. It has happened in multiple cases where the man accused of the crime has been set free from the blood sample that was taken years ago. The proof was always there, but it wasn’t proven until better technology.
In our case, the one who died on the cross and shed His blood is able to point back to His own death as proof to God Himself that payment has been made! It has the DNA of God Himself with God Himself as the victim and the witness! The best Defense Attorney provided the best defense for us, in His own death, with His own body and blood. The nail marks still exist. The hole is still in His side! The evidence is alive and the witness is alive! The devil will be unable to make any accusations or drudge up any evidence against those who believe in Jesus and are baptized. 1 John 2:1 says, “if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” His LIFE is all important for us, because He continues to defend us until the Final Judgment. (And our Defense Attorney happens to be our Judge too!”)
And that’s not all! The resurrection gives us life even here and now! When Joseph was sold into slavery, his brothers told his father Jacob that he was dead. But when he was later on found to be alive and second in command in Egypt, something changed in Jacob. Genesis 45 says, “Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.” Think about what the resurrection of Jesus means for us. It brings us back to life even now in the midst of death. Jesus promises us, “Because I live, you too will live!” The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus is living in us, through our baptism. We don’t live our lives in despair. We live our lives full of life and hope.
Listen to the hope that Job had. Long before this ever happened, Job declared in faith by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, even after my skin has been destroyed, nevertheless, in my own flesh I will see God. I myself will see him. My own eyes will see him, and not as a stranger. My emotions are in turmoil within me.” He was emotionally worked up over this, while withering away and dying, that not only would he be defended in the end, but that his body would rise brand new. It changed his whole outlook on life. It gave him hope in the midst of death, joy in the midst of sorrow, comfort in the midst of pain.
Did you have a loved one die for you this past year? Someone you are going to terribly miss this Easter? Someone who was a fellow believer in Jesus? This isn’t the end for them! You will see them again at the Resurrection! Are you yourself facing a near death in the future? Has the doctor said, “There’s nothing we can do?” Well there’s something HE can do, and there’s something He DID do! “I know that my Redeemer lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives!” You will be the same and yet so much different! So much better! You won’t need hearing aids or glasses. Your sense of smell, ability to run and swim and jump, it will all be perfect! Whatever rifts you may have had with people in this life, you won’t care one bit about those in heaven! All will be forgotten and gone. You have nothing to fear! You’ll have an eternity of happiness to spend with each other. All because Jesus lives!
Throughout my life I had always wanted to go to Germany. It wasn’t until my son moved over there and got married that we finally were able to do so. The trip wasn’t always easy, as we were stranded in New Jersey for a night after a flight was canceled. We were tired from the journey. But once we landed, he was able to wait for us after we landed in Berlin and ride with us in the station back to his home city. Knowing he was there made the trip so much easier and natural to take. We now wait for hopeful grandchildren some day to go back again, if not before, because we know people there who can give us a place to stay.
When Jesus died and rose from the dead, God’s Son went to heaven ahead of us. He prepared a place for us. We are now on our journey to heaven. No matter how rotten your life gets here, no matter how rough the ride, no matter how many friends you lose along the way, don’t forget your final destination. Jesus has opened the way for you, purchased the plane flight, bought you the passport. He is waiting for you on the other end. No matter how long your journey or how short, how easy your life or how difficult, how painful your death or how quick, heaven is your home. You have loved ones who have gone before you, who are waiting for you.
When my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, I knew that wasn’t the end for him. When Jill was diagnosed with mesothelioma, you knew that wasn’t the end for her. Two weeks to a couple of months to live? Nonsense. They’ve got eternity to live! I don’t have to live my life as if this is the end. I live it as if it’s the beginning. Our loved ones have gone ahead to the land of the living, a lively place, with angels and singing and joy.
I know that my Redeemer lives, what hope this sweet sentence gives! In the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Amen.
