Redemption Found: Job 19

Introduction

Do you know what the word syllogism means?

Job’s friends draw some invalid conclusions based on Job’s circumstances. They are blaming his situation on some sin in his life. We often draw the same conclusions when we make statements like, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Here’s a story of a farmer:

A farmer used an old horse to till his fields.

One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills, and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”

Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?

Who knows?

Everything that seems on the surface to be an evil may be a good in disguise. And everything that seems good on the surface may really be evil. God chooses who to bless, and he is sovereign in all that he does. We can’t attribute bad things to sin, or good things to blessings.

Matthew 5:45

so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Failing Friends

Job 19:19-22

'All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me. My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me! Why do you, like God, pursue me? Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? '

Did you know that Job coined the idiom “by the skin of my teeth?”

It’s meaning here is clear. Job is barely surviving the trials that he has been suffering. To top it all off, his friends are blaming him for everything. He tells them that even if he had done something to offend God, he didn’t need them to make matters worse by reinforcing it.

Job states that it is up to God’s providence to bring these things about. This echos last weeks lesson, in that Job acknowledges God’s sovereignty in all things.

What are practical ways we can minister to others in times of suffering if we don’t have the answers to why they are suffering?

Romans 12:15

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep."

Living Redeemer

Job 19:23-27

'“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! '

Ironically, Job wanted his words written down to be remembered. I think he got his wish. He probably hoped that one day, after his death, people would be able to look back and see that he was justified.

He goes on to state that he will find his justification when he meets God face to face. He says that he knows that his redeemer lives.

A redeemer is someone who delivers someone by paying the price that is owed. In Leviticus and Ruth, we see that a kinsman redeemer would marry a widow to keep the lands and family name going.

It appears here, that Job is speaking of a different type of redeemer. A redeemer that would triumph over the grave.

Who does this sound like?

How can we use Job’s example to tell others of how Jesus can ease their suffering?

Warning Issued

Job 19:28-29

28 If you say, “How will we pursue him, since the root of the problem lies with him?” 29 then be afraid of the sword, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.

Why did the friends spend chapter after chapter assuring Job that he had warranted God’s anger, despite Job’s claims of innocence? Perhaps Job’s friends were threatened by his suffering because if he had done nothing to deserve his suffering, the same suffering might fall on them. This possibility would be unsettling. If God allows suffering among the most pious and innocent, what should they expect to receive from God’s hand? After all, the Bible teaches us that God will render to each according to his works (Ps. 62:12) but also calls for trust as God works out judgment according to His purposes. [LifeWay Adults (2020). (p. 38). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - CSB - Summer 2021. LifeWay Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]

Job is warning his friends. He says that wrath brings punishment by the sword. According to Deuteronomy 19:16-19, false testimony demands the same penalty that would have been issued to the accused.

How does the truth that we will be judged by the same standard we judge others teach us to measure our words and sometimes keep our mouths shut?