In Job chapter 19, as we're gonna get to it in a moment, just think about Job. I think we all know the story of Job, the first two chapters of Job, and what happens. He is the greatest man in the east. He is a very wealthy man, a man that has been blessed by God. He is a man that is a righteous man and a faithful servant of God. He's very prosperous, he has all these things, a large family, and he enjoys good health.
And yet, over a few days, maybe even one day, he gets these messengers that come one by one and they tell him that he has lost everything; his possessions, even his children, even his spouse, you know. And then later, he begins to lose his health. He is covered with boils. He is afflicted from head to toe with boils. He's in great pain. He is suffering the loss of all things, including his children. His wife even turns to him and says, "Curse God and die. Why do you retain your integrity?" Why don't you just give up? You know, you think here that nothing could get worse for him. You know? And, he's sitting there and he, he is silent. He is weeping, he is in agony, and he sees his three closest friends approaching. And you imagine what he might be thinking, that they're here to comfort him, that they're here to uplift him.
And yet notice what they do.
- Job 4:7
They accuse him of doing something terrible that you must be the worst kind of sinner for God to afflict you with all of these things. And so, Job has to endure this as his friends throughout the 10 times they make these accusations against Job.
- Job 19:1-22
You think about all that job is enduring. His life is like a roller coaster with its ups and its downs. He is being verbally assaulted by his closest friends. He doesn't really understand the situation. He thinks that God is punishing him. He believes God is doing this. He doesn't know why. He knows that he's innocent.
We, of course, in the first two chapters, get to see behind the scenes what's going on. We know who's really behind this terrible assault. We know it's the Devil that's working here. God allows Satan to test Job. In the end, though, God is going to restore Job better than his former post because Job is going to maintain his integrity. Job is going to maintain his faith in God, and we see it very clearly as we go on in this chapter.
- Job 19:23-29
During the time of his greatest struggle, Job thought his life was really over. He thought that life had treated him unfairly. He thought God had treated him unfairly. He desperately sought an answer as to why he had to suffer the things that he did, and he believed that he would only find that answer after his death when he stood before God.
With all his struggles, Job could still say.
"For, I know that my Redeemer liveth."
And, he looked forward to the day when he could see Him face to face and find out why this has happened to him. This is a prophetic statement about Christ and the day of judgment, whether he knew it or not.
We're gonna notice three things about this passage.
A Confidence
Well, the first thing we're gonna notice here, is his confidence. He says I know that my Redeemer lives.
- He knows in the end he will be redeemed.
- He has confidence in the incarnation into this world of one who would redeem him.
- We're talking about Christ.
He had confidence that the Redeemer would come. It's interesting that when Christ came, he came to redeem those that were lost, those who were bound under sin, not just those that would come after him, but those that came before. It was through his sacrifice and his coming as a redeemer, that even Job and others that had died long before and long after him, before the coming of Christ, but, they have their ultimate redemption in Christ. Christ had to come in the flesh in order to die.
- Hebrews 2:9
Centuries before Christ's birth God's prophet spoke of the coming of a Messiah. Job recognized that a redeemer was coming, he didn't know in what form, he didn't know how, he didn't know when, but he knew that on the day of judgment, he would stand redeemed. Modern-day prophecy is very vague, very general, and of course, it's not inspired.
You think about Nostradamus. He gives these kinds of really vague ideas of what's going to happen and you can take any event and make them fit into those kinds of open-ended prophecies. That's not how God's prophecies work though. Job's prophecy here is very specific.
I know that my Redeemer lives, and so you think about the prophets and they talked about everything about Christ, where he would be born, in Bethlehem.
- Micah 5:2
- Zechariah 9:9
- Isaiah 53:2
- Isaiah 7:17
All of these things we see, in hundreds and hundreds more prophecies of the Old Testament, fulfilled in Christ 700 years before his birth. This was, of course, fulfilled when the angel of the Lord announced to Joseph.
- Matthew 1:20-23
Job had a confidence in a coming Savior that He would come in the flesh, He would be born and live in this world as a Redeemer.
A confidence that our Savior was born of a virgin.
Confidence in the Redeemer
- Timothy 1:15
Paul recognized that Christ was his Redeemer. He came to redeem Paul. We need to make it personal. We need to make it personal that God came to redeem me. He or Christ came to redeem me.
- 2 Timothy 1:12
He had an unswerving and unwavering confidence that Christ was keeping all that he had given unto him. You know, the sacrifice of Christ is what provided salvation, the greatest gift ever given to man.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believing that him should not perish, but have everlasting life." — John 3:16
Jesus came to be our Redeemer. A redeemer is one who pays a price. He pays a ransom. Think about as Christians or as individuals, when we fall short of the glory of God, when we sin, sin becomes our master.
- Romans 6:16
Sin is a master, but Christ has redeemed us from that master of sin, from that bondage of sin. When we obey that form of doctrine when we are baptized for the remission of our sins.
- Romans 6:3-4
- 1 Timothy 2:3-6
It involves confidence that we are saved. You know, Job recognized that he was not unrighteous, yet he never claimed that he was perfect, but he never found that he was guilty of what his friends accused him of. He had a confidence in his salvation, ultimately, that he would, in his flesh, would be redeemed.
You know, some people when asked, some folks, if they're saved and they say, well, I hope I am. I think I am. I hope I am.
- John 5:13
John says, you can know, you can have confidence in your salvation. You can know that you are saved. No matter what happens in life, we should be able to say with Job, I know that my Redeemer lives. Yes!
A Confidence in Victory
He says He shall stand, at the latter day upon the earth.
- Job 19:25
You know if there's a victory, then there must of course be an enemy. We know ultimately the enemy is the Devil. We know it from Job chapter one and job chapter two, who's behind everything that happens. You know, there's an enemy. There cannot be a victory without opposition, without someone to overcome. And our powerful enemy, though he is not as powerful as a lot of people think, our powerful enemy, of course, is the Devil. We see it in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis chapter three. He deceived mankind into sin and to fall from God. You know, when we sin, that's what separates us from God.
- Isaiah 59:1-2
- Romans 3:23
And so we have a powerful enemy. We have that enemy, Satan. And when we sin we are bound and in bondage to that sin, We have an enemy that has to be overcome. Our enemy has a goal. You know the Devil knows his fate. He knows what's going to happen to him. He's gonna be cast into that lake of fire, which burns eternally and is prepared for him and his angels.
- Matthew 25:41
But he wants to take you and me with him there.
- 1 Peter 5:8
You know, Satan wants us to serve him by turning away from God. He wants us to share his fate in eternity. And so we have an enemy, an enemy that we cannot overcome on our own. Now there is a victory and that victory comes through Jesus Christ and only through him. Without him, we cannot be we cannot come out victorious.
- Hebrews 4:15
He knows where we're going. He's experienced it, the temptation, the trials, the difficulties of life. You know, you think about Job, he is kind of a type of Christ here in that he is suffering unjustly. And yet, just like Christ, his faith is unwavering. He questions, certainly, Job has a lot of questions. That's why he wants to stand before God. That's why he wants to see God in his flesh so that he can have those answers. But he has faith in God. You know, in another passage, Job 13:15, though He slay me, yet will I serve Him.
- You know, Jesus was tempted just like we are, the lust, the flesh, the lust, the eyes, the pride of life, 1 John 2:15.
- Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus, of course, was tempted in those three ways by the tempter, and each time he sent him packing with these words. Jesus overcame Satan with power, overcame Satan with a powerfulness of his death and of his resurrection. He overcame Satan.
- Hebrews 2:14
- 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
- Ephesians 2:12
Without God, without Christ, there is no hope in this world. There is no ability to overcome. Man cannot overcome his burden of sin on his own. Only through Christ and only through his sacrifice, could we be redeemed, and could we have that victory.
A Knowledge of Judgment
- Job 19:26
He says, after this body in which I live now, in flesh, I will see God. Or, from my flesh, I will see God. He points to a time when life is over, a time to give an account of things that were done.
You know, we do have a Redeemer, Christ Jesus. We can know for a certainty. We can know that Redeemer was victorious over death. He is no longer subject to it. Through his powerful death and resurrection, he overcame death and gave us eternal life. But there is a coming time when there is going to be a judgment.
- Hebrews 9:27
There's going to come a time when we will stand before God, who is our righteous judge.
- 2 Timothy 4:8
Job was judged by the men of his day. His three friends later even another one comes along. He talks about all the people that he has alienated from and that have judged him a sinner. And that want nothing to do with him.
He has confidence though that there is a righteous judge, that he will stand before, that God is righteous, and that any and all false accusations are gonna be done away with. He knew this. He knew he was accused of evil. He knew he would stand in the judgments before God to give an account of those things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
But because of his faith, he was prepared. He even looked forward to the day when he would stand before his Redeemer when he would stand before that righteous judge. He was confident that in that day, God would acquit him of all the things his friends have accused him of. That's not so with those who are wicked, wicked men. If Job had been an evil wicked man that his friends accused him of, he would've looked forward to the day of judgment with fear and trembling.
But he looked forward to it with confidence, and we can have that same confidence because we have that same Redeemer, Jesus. He is now our Redeemer.
There's a day coming though when He will be our Judge and we're gonna be judged by Him, by His word. The judgment will not be to decide whether or not we are innocent or guilty, but rather it's going to be a sentencing. You know, this life in which we live is really our trial as to whether we are going to serve God and be faithful. Now is the time to prepare for that eternal sentence.
Yes, Job suffered a great loss, but in the end, we know that Job was cleared. He got twice as much back as what he lost. Job did learn a great lesson from God and a lesson that we can benefit from through all of his suffering, the loss of everything that he had. He had the loss of the respect from his wife, and his friends. He could still say, I know that my redeemer lives.
Job suffered and his suffering was unique in its intensity. But all of us, to some degree or another, we do suffer. Some of us are suffering physically, our bodies just hurt. Some of us are suffering mental anguish, we've lost friends, and we've lost loved ones. We've seen those we care about go back into the world. Some of us maybe are suffering because we know that we have sinned and that we're not living right.
But we can find comfort in knowing that there is a Redeemer. Job understood this. Job looked forward to meeting his Redeemer and meeting his Judge and seeing Him face to face. And recognizing that he had been faithful.
And we have a Redeemer that loves us. We have a Judge, a righteous Judge that wants to pass a beautiful sentence upon us of life eternal. He has offered an invitation to all who suffer because of sin.
- Matthew 11:28
Yes, we have a Redeemer who came and He gave His life as a ransom for our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him and His Father in Heaven.
If you recognize that you are a sinner, that you are lost, if you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, then act upon that belief. Repent of your sins, and turn away from a life of sin. Turn and follow God's will and follow His will and keep His commandments. Repent of your sins, and confess your belief that Jesus is the Son of God. Be baptized to wash away your sins so that you can stand before Him on the day of judgment, cleansed and clean of all sin.
If you are a Christian and you have not been faithful as a Christian. Maybe you face things like Job did, but instead of maintaining your faith, you fell away. You lost your faith. We urge you to seek God more. We urge you to repent of your sins, to be restored to that right relationship with God. Y
You know, this is what the church is for, it is to help one another. We want to go to Heaven. We want everyone to go to Heaven, and we want to help each other get there.
If we can help you in coming to confidence in the Redeemer we ask that you contact us so we can share the good news of His message with you.
