Job

by Christopher Ash

Day 18

Read Job 19

Many of us have experienced the thrill of listening to Handel's Messiah, with its wonderful words, ″I know that my Redeemer liveth″, followed by, ″And now is Christ risen from the dead″ (from 1 Corinthians 15). And rightly so. Today, we hear the first of those sayings as Job speaks of them many centuries before Christ.

Somehow, Job knows that God will stand for him, as it were, against the wrath of God.

Bildad has accused Job (implicitly) of being a man under the righteous judgment of God. Job now agrees that he is under the judgment of God–but challenges the accusation that he deserves it. His friends have used his ″humiliation against (him)″ (Job 19:5); that is to say, they have deduced from Job's humiliation that he must be an impenitent sinner.

In verses 1-12, Job describes his experiences as if God had mugged him in the street. ″Violence!″, he cries out, but no one listens or helps (v. 7). God tears him down and attacks him with wave after wave of His troops.

In verses 13-20, Job moves from the focus on God as his attacker to the misery of how his sufferings have isolated him. Family, friends, servants, and even his wife have abandoned him. This is an echo of the loneliness of hell. In verses 21-22, he cries out for his friends to have pity on him because God is pursuing him.

Then, his tone changes. In verses 23-24, Job longs that someone would write down his defence in permanent form, so that no one can erase it. He wants the world to know he is innocent. In an astonishing clarity of faith, he says: ″I know that my redeemer lives″ (v. 25).

This redeemer can be none other than God himself. Somehow, Job knows that God will stand for him, as it were, against the wrath of God. And he will see Him (vv. 25-27).

God the Father did this for the innocent Jesus: He vindicated Him, as we know from the resurrection (″But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead″, 1 Corinthians 15:20). And God will redeem all who belong to Jesus.

Job concludes with a word of warning to his friends (Job 19:28-29). They need to remember that there will be judgment. When Job is vindicated, they will be condemned, unless they repent of the wrong way they are treating him (see 42:7-9).


Think through:

Meditate on the loneliness of Job (Job 19:13-20) and how it must have felt. Then, consider the loneliness of Jesus Christ as He suffered the wrath of God for sinners.

When life is hard as a follower of Jesus, think about Job's confidence in Job 19:25-27. Say the words aloud. Remember that they were true for Jesus as He faced the Cross. Take heart that they are true for you.

COMMENTS

JOURNAL


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About Author

Christopher Ash is Writer-in-Residence of Tyndale House, Cambridge, England. He is the author of a full-length commentary on Job, Job: the Wisdom of the Cross and a brief introduction, Trusting God in the Darkness.

Author of Journey Through Series:

Job

Our Daily Bread Journey Through® Series is a publication of Our Daily Bread Ministries.

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