We come to the middle of another week, here in Scotland we are entering the summer school holidays. It is good to take time today to thank God for the grace and strength He has given us to get through these hard times of recent months. We will do that at the start of our church prayer meeting on zoom this evening, before bringing our prayers to God.
Job 19:25 I know that my redeemer lives
In Job chapter nineteen verses twenty-five to twenty-seven there are some remarkable words. I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on 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! This is an amazing declaration of faith from a man who lived as long before the time of Jesus as we have lived after it.
However, these words must be appreciated from within their context. It is an exceedingly dark time for Job and he is struggling to come to terms with the judgemental and harsh attitudes of his friends. In fact the longer they continued to speak with him the more distressed he became. They did notice but instead of acting compassionately the opposite approach was taken. What had caused Job to feel he was in such a dark place at this time? How did he understand his situation? He felt that:
1. He was unpitied by his friends (Job 19:1-5) ‘How long will you torment me and crush me with words? 3 Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me (Job 19:2-3). ‘It was your fault Job that you are suffering’ is a simplistic summary of their arguments. Such an approach is cruel and pastorally inappropriate to begin with, but what is worse is that it was completely untrue. The most obvious lesson to learn from the actions of Jobs friends is not to assume we know everything about a situation. It is rare that we will know all the facts about particular situations. We must be very careful not to play God and judge others as they did with Job.
2. He was unpitied by God (Job 19:6-12) ‘Though I cry, “Violence!” I get no response though I call for help, there is no justice. 8 He has blocked my way so that I cannot pass; He has shrouded my paths in darkness (Job 19:7-8). Many a true child of God has had times when their prayers seemed to go unheard, when their cries to God seemed to bounce back unheard from the skies. You can be in a right relationship with God and living in an appropriate way and still experience this darkness.
Remember King David’s opening words in Psalm 22:1-2: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. It was not only David that uttered these words, Jesus on the cross uttered them (Mark 15:34). It is not our place in a situation of tragedy or extreme suffering to give ‘the’ or even ‘an’ explanation. It is okay and the right thing as a Christian to admit that we are deeply sorry a situation has occurred, and to offer our deepest sympathies. Job, like Jesus two millennia later, was leading a God-honouring life at the time his horrendous trials took place. There is a good reason there are Psalms of lament in the Bible. Sometimes we need that vocabulary when things are very far from ‘okay’.
3. He was unpitied by others (Job 19:13-22) This whole section is about Job’s perception of how other people felt about him. It does not mean this was an accurate understanding, but what matters here is that this is how Job understood this situation. He felt horribly alone. One comment I have heard many times over the years, from widows and widowers, for example, after the death of a spouse, is their sadness that some friends choose not to visit out of fear of not knowing what to say, forgetting that no form of words can act like a ‘magic wand’ and wave the troubles away. It is in this context that the precious words of Job 19:23-27 are located, not when all in life was sunshine and the dark clouds had vanished away!
4. His trust in God despite the situation (Job 19:23-27) I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on 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! In that culture kinsman-redeemers could rescue a person from a precarious existence. To understand how that operated in practice read the short book of Ruth in the Old Testament where Boaz fulfilled that responsibility for Ruth. Job asserts his redeemer is alive and one day will stand on the earth.
As Christians we are privileged to have the New Testament and see the clear teaching that it is Jesus who will fulfil these hopes of Job (For example, Acts 1:7-11; Matthew 24, I Thessalonians 4:13-18). Job is declaring his resurrection hope that beyond this life is God’s new world where he will be so thrilled to meet God and spend eternity with Him. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:27c). Death for him was not something to fear because God had something better prepared for Him for the future. I hope and pray each one of us has put our faith in Jesus and consequently can share this glorious hope for the future.
Our song for reflection today is a solo version of Samuel Medley’s hymn: ‘I know that my redeemer lives’
A much more familiar song on this theme is ‘Blessed be Your name’
I am thankful to Claire McNutt for providing our prayer points for today
Pointers for Prayer
- Give thanks for the people who introduced you to Jesus and who have helped you on your journey of faith. Pray for boldness and encouragement for our church family as we seek to share Jesus with others.
- Give thanks for the positive progress made in Scotland after a significant reduction in covid cases and deaths. Pray that this would be sustained as restrictions are eased and pray for those parts of the UK where cases are rising again.
- Pray for wisdom for the governments in each part of the UK and for the experts who provide them with guidance, as they make decisions about the future.
- Pray for asylum seekers who have come to our country, that they would be treated with love, compassion and fairness. Remember all those involved in the incident in Glasgow last Friday. Pray for the recovery of those injured and also for the mental and emotional health of the asylum seekers, hotel workers, emergency services and medical staff who were involved in the aftermath.
- Give thanks for the work of Wit and Helen (BMS missionaries in Thailand) that we heard about during our Sunday Zoom service. Pray for them as they try to re-establish their groups after the covid virus, for wisdom as they try to reach out to men in the community and that the new believers would grow in their faith.
- Give thanks for the teachers and university/college staff who have worked tirelessly in exceptional circumstances and pray for strength and help as they navigate the possibilities for next term. Pray for times of rest and recuperation over the summer.
- Pray for our young people who are due to start or go back to college/university courses after the summer, as they work their way through these changed circumstances. Pray for those who are now working as they adjust to life after leaving school and for those who are seeking work to help to fund their studies.
- Pray for those in our church family who have ongoing health concerns, that they would receive the treatment, care and healing that they need. Please pray for Brian’s mum and Ali Torbet’s mum who have both had recent falls.
- Pray for those who are struggling with the length of time they have been shielding and ask for God’s comfort and strength for them.
- Pray for Brian, the deacons, the Youth Team and the Children & Families group as we all seek wisdom and guidance for our work in the future.
- Pray for our church to be committed to looking to Christ, growing in Christ and sharing Christ as we move forward together into an unknown future.