Funeral for
Christian Lady
Job 19:25-27
It is at times such as this that we are sure that no one else as ever experienced the pain and loneliness that we feel. That no one understands what we are going through. Although it is true that no one knows exactly how we feel, others have experienced the devastation of the loss of a loved one.
The experience of one such person is recorded in the Bible in the book of Job. Job had it all, he had ten children, fields of livestock, an abundance of land, a houseful of servants, and a substantial stack of cash. And then, without warning, like an avalanche, adversity struck. He lost his livestock, crops, land, servants, and if you can believe it all ten of his children.
Soon thereafter he lost the last human vestige of hope, his health. He had experienced his own sea of pain and he could therefore write from experience of his own intense inner suffering.
But in the midst of his pain he made a profound statement of faith and hope recorded in Chapter 19, verses twenty-five through twenty-seven. I would like to share that with you now.
Job writes, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; (26) And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, (27) Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
Notice with me Job’s Certainty. Like Job even in our pain there are some things that we can “know” that is be certain about. Twice in this passage Job states there are some things that he “knows” (vv. 25, 26) with certainty.
First, Job states that he knows that there is a Redeemer. In verse twenty-five “I know that my Redeemer lives….” Job states that he is “my” redeemer, he had a personal relationship with the Redeemer. This is a personal statement, of personal conviction, not hearsay, not speculation, but truth uttered from a heart of assurance and firm conviction.
What is a redeemer? “One who repurchases”, and “One who delivers from bondage by paying a ransom”. Now listen... Job could have said, “I know that my Savior lives”. He would have been accurate. He could have said, “I know that my Champion lives”. He would have been accurate. He could have said, “I know that my Advocate lives”. He would have been accurate. But he didn’t use any of those terms or any other. He said, “Redeemer”. That means that Job knew he needed to be purchased back. He knew that he ultimately belonged to God, but that sin had interrupted that relationship. He had the confidence in God and His goodness and faithfulness to say, “I know that my Redeemer lives.…” The One who buys me back. ____________ had this kind of a personal relationship; she could say with confidence, “I know my redeemer lives.” I believe that if she could speak to you today, she would tell you that there is nothing more important than having a personal relationship with the Savior.
Do you know that? Is that your firm conviction today? Can you say with confidence, “I KNOW that my Redeemer lives”?
In historical fulfillment of Job’s words, centuries later Peter said, (1 Peter 1:18-19), “ knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Jesus is the redeemer that Job spoke of. Christ is our Redeemer, who has repurchased us. He has delivered us from bondage of sin by paying the ransom with His own sinless blood. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Job went on to say, “I know that my redeemer lives.”
Jesus was living in the days of Job and he is still living today.
The second thing that Job is certain of is that this body is not permanent. Job says, “and after my skin has been destroyed.” The Apostle Paul many hundreds of years later explained it this way, “ For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,… (6) So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-2,6)
The third thing that Job was certain was that death is not annihilation. Job states that even after his body has been destroyed, that he will continue to exist. Job is certain that even after death will not be the end of his existence.. He knew that one day he would be clothed with a new body. The Apostle Paul speaks of this when he wrote, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live is taken down – when we die and leave these bodies – we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” (NLT)
Beyond his certainty Job also expressed his confidence that he would see God. Job says, “…I shall see God, (27) Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another.” The Apostle John writes, (1 John 3:2), “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Job is certain that this experience is personal and very real. What formerly ____________ believed by faith, she now sees by sight. She no longer resides in a body racked with pain but is in his presence at this very moment.
Job’s joyful exclamation. Job says, “… my eyes shall behold, (him)… How my heart yearns within me!” Job makes an exclamation of intense desire for this can be literally translated, “I am overwhelmed with the thought.” I believe that ___________ could say as the Apostle Paul did, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8). It would be extremely selfish today to bring _____________ back; even if we could she is where her life of faith has prepared her to be. I cannot bring her back, but I believe she would want you to know that you too can have the joy that Job describes and I that ___________ also possessed. This joy is found in having a person relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said (John 11:25-26), “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live (26) And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die…”
