Job 19 - I Know My Redeemer Lives

Introduction

[READING - Job 19:23-27]

Job 19:23–27 NASB95

23 “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24 “That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! 25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. 26 “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!

[PRAYER]

Let me show you a picture of Job’s outlook in Job 19.

{Slide: Clouds with ray of light}

In this picture, you see foreboding clouds of darkness, but also a ray of light that somehow breaks through.

Job 19 is almost totally swirling clouds of despair, but there is this beautiful ray of hope that bursts through in vv. 23-27.

As dark as things are, Job still believes that somehow, someway God will be his Redeemer.

[TS] This morning, that’s how I want us to think of this chapter—I want us to think of it as two storm clouds and ray of light.

Notice the first storm cloud…

Exposition

Storm Cloud #1: The Accusation of Job’s Friends (Job 19:1-6)

Job 19:1–6 NASB95

1 Then Job responded, 2 “How long will you torment me And crush me with words? 3 “These ten times you have insulted me; You are not ashamed to wrong me. 4 “Even if I have truly erred, My error lodges with me. 5 “If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me And prove my disgrace to me, 6 Know then that God has wronged me And has closed His net around me.

[EXP] Job’s friends came to console him, but they added insult to his injury by accusing him. They believed that Job was suffering greatly because he was a great sinner.

Most recently (in Job 18), Job’s friend Bildad said that Job was a wicked man fading; Job was like a wicked man fleeing; he was an unrepentant man soon to be forgotten.

But it wasn’t just Bildad. Eliphaz and Zophar’s words had stung Job as well, and the cumulative effect of all their accusations was deadly.

In v. 2, Job described it as torment, and asked how long they would continue to crush him with words?

The word ‘crush’ refers to feeling worthless and helpless.

Some English versions use the word ‘break’ instead: “How long will you break me in pieces with your words?”

In v. 3, Job says that his friends have insulted him ten times.

The number ‘ten’ may represent totality or completeness; it may also represent a round or unspecified number.

In other words, the insults from his friends have been innumerable, and Job is totally insulted.

We should also note in v. 3, that in the Hebrew Job uses the word ‘You’ three times.

He accuses his friends by saying, “You have insulted me. You are not ashamed. You have wronged me.”

Job says in v. 4 that even if he has accidentally sinned in some way, he hasn’t sinned egregiously and he hasn’t sinned against his friends, so why do they exalt themselves over him and condemn him (v. 5) when Job said it was actually God who wronged him and caught him in His net unjustly?

Earlier Bildad asked…

Job 8:3 NASB95

3 “Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

The word ‘pervert’ in that verse is the same word that Job uses for ‘wronged’ in Job 19:6.

Although God never perverts, twists, or bends justice, Job believes that God has done that very thing in his case.

Job believes that God has wronged him by punishing him for sins he didn’t commit.

In Job 18:8-10, Bildad described how the wicked are caught up in their own devices. He lists snares, traps, and nooses, but in Job 18:8, he said the wicked are...

Job 18:8 NASB95

8 “…thrown into the net by his own feet…

In Job 19:6, Job says, “No. I am not caught up in the consequences of my own wickedness; God has unjustly closed His net around me.”

[TS] This brings us to the second storm cloud...

Storm Cloud #2: The Confusion in Job’s Mind (Job 19:7-22)

Job 19:7–22 NASB95

7 “Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice. 8 “He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, And He has put darkness on my paths. 9 “He has stripped my honor from me And removed the crown from my head. 10 “He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; And He has uprooted my hope like a tree. 11 “He has also kindled His anger against me And considered me as His enemy. 12 “His troops come together, And build up their way against me And camp around my tent. 13 “He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14 “My relatives have failed, And my intimate friends have forgotten me. 15 “Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger. I am a foreigner in their sight. 16 “I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore him with my mouth. 17 “My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am loathsome to my own brothers. 18 “Even young children despise me; I rise up and they speak against me. 19 “All my associates abhor me, And those I love have turned against me. 20 “My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. 21 “Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me. 22 “Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?

[EXP] Think of this passage in terms of attack, alienation, and appeal.

In vv. 7-12, Job says that he has been attacked by God.

Job has cried out to God, but he has received no answer; he has received no help or justice from God.

Instead God has blocked his way, stripped him of honor, removed his crown, broken him down, and uprooted his hope like a tree.

A tree cutdown may grow again so long as the roots remain in the ground, but an uprooted tree is done.

Job feels like his hope is done; he thinks there is no chance that it can grow again.

In vv. 11-12, God has kindled His fire against Job, considered Job His enemy; He has marshalled his troops lay siege to Job’s tent.

Job intends to paint a ludicrous picture: a picture of God’s army coming to lay siege, not to a mighty fortress, but to a wobbly tent.

Job sees himself as the wobbly tent—a wobbly tent that has nevertheless been besieged by Almighty God.

This is confusing to Job.

Why does God come against him with such force when he hasn’t done anything to deserve this sort of treatment?

In vv. 13-20, Job describes how God has lead others to alienate him.

In v. 13, it’s his brothers or countrymen and his acquaintances who are completely estranged from him.

In v.14, it’s his relatives and intimate friends who have failed him and forgotten him.

In vv. 15-16, it’s the servants and maids of his own house who ignore him.

In v. 17, his wife finds his breath repulsive and his brothers despise him.

In v. 18, the young children who should respect their elders mock Job.

Verses 19-20 are a sort of summary of his alienation…

Job 19:19–20 NLT

19 My close friends detest me. Those I loved have turned against me. 20 I have been reduced to skin and bones and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

Job has suffered so greatly; he has been alienated so entirely, that he is only barely alive…

With the little strength he has left, he appeals to his friends in vv. 21-22…

Job 19:21–22 NLT

21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Must you also persecute me, like God does? Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

Job believes that God has wrongly turned against him. It is no to much to say that Job believes that God has betrayed him.

And Job is asking his friends to take his side rather than God’s side in this conflict.

[TS] The darkness of accusation and confusion is threatening to swallow Job whole; it’s amazing then that this ray of hope bursts forth in Job 19:23…

Ray of Hope: Trust in His God (Job 19:23-29)

Job 19:23–29 NASB95

23 “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24 “That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! 25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. 26 “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me! 28 “If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’ And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’ 29 “Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment.”

[EXP] In the last two verses, Job warns his friends that they may be in endanger of judgment because they have so unfairly judged him, but Job himself is looking for vindication.

He feels that he has been wronged by God and accused by his friends, but Job wants the record to be set straight. He wants his story permanently recorded so that when his vindication comes, the record will show that he was a righteous man.

Verses 23-24 describe the permanent record Job longs for, “...words…inscribed in a book...with an iron stylus and lead… engraved in the rock forever!”

That kind of record would outlive Job, and Job thought that’s what he needed if he was going to be vindicated.

But that Job’s word. What Job himself?

What would become of him once he died?

In vv. 25-26, Job tells us.

Job 19:25–26 NASB95

25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. 26 “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God;

What is redemption?

To redeem means to buy back.

In the Bible, it is used to describe the buying back of property that had been pawned.

It is also used to describe buying back a close friend or relative from slavery or debt.

It is used to describe an avenger of blood who avenges the unjust killing of a relative or a kinsmen redeemer who takes responsibility for a widow in the family.

But redeemer is also used to describe God’s relationship with His people…

Isaiah 43:1 NASB95

1 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Jeremiah 50:34 NASB95

34 “Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case…

This leads us to ask, who is Job’s redeemer? Does he picture God as his redeemer or someone else?

Well, consider what Job has just said in vv. 13-19—Job has no one! In his view, God has stripped them all away!

His countrymen are strangers to him. His wife thinks he has bad breath. He servants ignore him. Every is gone!

Yes, Job is blaming God, but Job also knows that God is all he has left!

So, if Job is not thinking of God as his Redeemer, then who is he thinking of?

Also consider what Job says in v. 26 right after he mentions his redeemer in v. 25: “Yet, from my flesh I shall see God!”

In verse 27, Job talks about beholding God, seeing God—and no other—with his own eyes, and being overwhelmed with the thought!

Job knows that his Redeemer lives, and in the end his Redeemer will stand on the earth and vindicate him; and even after Job’s skin has rotted in the grave, he will somehow, in the flesh, see God, His Redeemer!

[TS]…

Illustration

[ILLUS] I recently overheard a pastor say to someone he was talking to, “God honors those who live lives that honor Him.”

What do you think? Do you think that’s true?

What do you think of that question in light of Job’s experience?

After considering Job’s suffering, do you really think God honors those who lives lives that honor Him?

Application

He absolutely does; but the problem is we often conflate earthly ease and abundance with true honor.

If you asked Job in Job 19 if he felt honored, he would have said no.

Although he was a man who had lived a life that honored God, he was not living an easy life.

His abundance had been stripped from him.

He was sick and abandoned.

He was accused and confused.

And again, although he had lived a life that honored God, he was being dishonored by everyone—even God, or so he felt.

But God did honor Job. No his life was not easy; it was full of suffering and earthly dishonor; but just as requested, Job’s words were written down in a book that will endure forever.

The Bible records not only Job’s suffering and sorrow, but also his righteousness and faith.

And it records the story of His Redeemer who did come to vindicate Job and all who trust in Him.

At the beginning of Job’s story, we see that he was a man who in faith made sacrifices to atone for his sins.

Those sacrifices pointed forward to the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, when God took on flesh to atone for our sin.

Jesus lived a perfect life of obedience to God; He had no sins of His own, so there was no reason for Him to die for sin other than to pay the price for our sins.

But He didn’t just die, He also rose from the dead, the first of many who will be raised because of their faith in Him.

Those who trust in Jesus, the Redeemer, will see God even after they have gone to the grave.

Jesus has set our record straight!

He has bought us back from the curse of sin and death!

He has redeemed us, called us by name, and we are His!

Our Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is His name, and He will vigorously plead our case!

Friends may accuse us, and suffering may confuse us, but we have a risen Redeemer who keeps our ray of hope shining even when the storms clouds build.

{Slide: Clouds with ray of light}

[TS]

Conclusion

[PRAYER]

Hymn of Response - Hymn #353 - I Know Whom I Have Believed

Verses “I know not...”

Chorus “But I know who I have believed”

The contrast in these phrases describes well Job’s perspective in Job 19…

he knows not...

why all this has happened to him

when it will all end

but he knows...

that his Redeemer lives

that someday, somehow God will see him through

Do you know that this morning?

Do you know that in Jesus God is going to see you through?