Thrust Statement: In spite of adversity, every believer says, “I know that my Redeemer lives.” 

Scripture Reading: Job 19:23-25

JOB’S RESPONSE TO HIS MISFORTUNE

What does it mean to you to say, “I know that my Redeemer lives”?  This message is not only concerned with Job’s response to his misfortune, but this discussion also seeks to make this phrase relevant to the Christian’s walk with God.  This sermon begins with Job’s reaction and then steps forward to the life of the believer in Jesus Christ.  Just as Job looked to God as his Vindicator, so also every believer looks to Jesus as his Redeemer. Every Christian can say, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” even in the face of adversity.

I am wondering how many of you can say as Job did in his frustration and anguish about his friends false accusations against his integrity before God, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25).[1]  Even though Job had lost his children and wealth and health, he could still say, “I know that my Redeemer lives.”  He never lost his courage to stand for that which he knew to be right.  He knew that ultimately God would vindicate him.  The word Redeemer could also be translated as Vindicator.  Job knew that he had served God faithfully.  If Christians should hurt your feelings, or falsely accuse you, could you still say as Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives”?  If the church should disfellowship you under the charge of heresy, could you still say,  “I know that my Redeemer lives”? 

            Have you ever been accused of something you know you did not do? Has anyone ever pointed a finger at you for something you were not guilty of?  Well, Job’s three friends accused him of wrongdoing.  And out of desperation, Job says, “I know that I have a living Defender” (Job 19:25--NJB).[2]  The Good News Bible translates this verse: “But I know there is someone in heaven who will come at last to my defence.”[3]  Christians have appropriated this verse to celebrate redemption from sin and judgment, but Job had something else in mind.  Job is claiming that God ultimately will vindicate him in the face of all false accusations.  In the end, God will stick up for Job and prove him correct.     

JOB THROWS HIS FAITH FORWARD

Job throws his faith forward and declares that the day will come when God will defend him.  In other words, Job is saying that God is his Kinsman and Avenger.  The day will come in the future when God will set right this wrong.  Job did not believe in the annihilation of the soul.  Job understood that life existed beyond this life.  He knew that ultimately he would see God (19:26).  Job knew that there was life beyond the grave. Job knew that this chapter in his life was not the final chapter.  One observes Job’s confession of faith in this section.  One detects his faith in God the Father—the maker of heaven and earth. Job believed in a living Redeemer; Job believed in the resurrection of the dead; and Job believed in the life of the world to come. He maintained that he would see the goodness of God in the land of the living, not the land of the dead.  He was absolutely certain that death was not the end of existence, and that he would someday see God with his eyes: “And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (19:26-27). 

JOB AND THE FUTURE LIFE

            Job did not look for vindication here, but rather he looked for exoneration in the after life.  Job had just stated his despair and utter helplessness in this life: “God has blocked the way, and I can’t get through; he has hidden my path in darkness. He has taken away all my wealth and destroyed my reputation. He batters me from every side. He uproots my hope and leaves me to wither and die” (19:8-10--GNB).[4]  One does not know how much Job understood about the afterlife, but the text indicates that he knew that death was not the cessation of life. Even though he may have dimly perceived this understanding; nevertheless, he recognized that there is a future state.

            One cannot help but wonder where he learned about this future state and about God’s justice.  He refers to God as his Redeemer.  In the use of this term, did he have any inkling about the coming of the Redeemer Jesus Christ?  Perhaps he too had the same traditions that had been handed down through generations about the afterlife and the coming of the “seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15.  Perhaps this dark prophecy had been handed down from the Garden of Eden itself.  Just as Moses recorded the events in the Garden of Eden, so also, it is possible that Job too had read: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15--KJV).[5]  Job needed a Redeemer just as everyone needs a Liberator.  Perhaps, he had some insight concerning the coming Savior (Christ) even as Abraham (2166 BCE) had a glimpse of the coming Savior.[6] The context in Job 19 appears to refer to God the Father.  One has no way of knowing how much Job knew about the coming Redeemer.  But a perusal of the Old Testament Scriptures reveals that the prophets were not totally ignorant about this coming of Christ as Redeemer (see 1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:19-21).  Is there any reason to doubt that Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek, and Job did not understand something about the coming of the Messiah and the after life?

THE COMING OF CHRIST AS REDEEMER

            Jesus called attention to the fact that Abraham had seen the day of Christ: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).  How much did Melchizedek the Priest understand?  Melchizedek, who lived at the time of Abraham, was a priest of the Most High God and king of Salem (Hebrews 7:1-10; Genesis 14:18-20).  Just as God communicated with Noah (Genesis 6:13; 7:1)[7] and Abraham (Genesis 12:1; 15:1) and Moses (Exodus 3:3; 6:1), God also communicated with Job (Job 38:1—41:34). Just as Noah built an altar to God and offered a burnt offering to God after the flood (Genesis 8:20-21), so also Job offered a “burnt offering” for each of his children (Job 1:4-5).  How did Noah know the difference between clean and unclean animals if God had not revealed this differentiation to him (Genesis 8:20-21)?  How did Job know about animal sacrifices?  Does this knowledge about sacrifices go back to the time of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-7)? 

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES—
THE FULL EVANGELICAL SENSE

One finds himself/herself at a loss to comprehend fully what Job perceived, but this study now turns to the phrase of Job—“I know that my Redeemer lives”—in the full evangelical sense.  Job was sure that his Redeemer would vindicate him in the end.  It is in this same vein of knowledge about the Redeemer Christ that every Christian depends upon for vindication in his relationship with the Father.  Just as Job could say, “I know that my Kinsman lives,” so also every Christian can say, “I know that my Kinsman lives,” that is to say, Jesus Christ.  Today, I want each of you to think of Jesus Christ as your Kinsman if you are in Him.  He is indeed the nearest of kin to you.  Paul, an apostle of God, speaks of this closeness in these words: “for we are members of his body” (Ephesians 5:30).  Again, the Scripture says,

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:14-18).

            This Kinsman-Redeemer participated in every shooting pain that breaks open your heart; he knows your constitution; he knows your weaknesses and your deep feelings.  The trials that cut to the deep, he understands because he too was “made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted “ (2:17-18—KJV).  To succour is to help; this is exactly what Christ did as our Kinsman/Redeemer/Vindicator.

            As one contemplates upon his/her Redeemer-Kinsman, one cannot help but recall these words: “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11).   Jesus proclaims to those undergoing persecutions that He is not ashamed to “call them brothers.”  In spite of your adversities, your hardships, your difficulties, your dangers, your hard times, and your misfortunes, I encourage you to remember that your relationship with your eternal Redeemer will not grow dim but will continue to grow more brightly.  May God help each of you that love the Lord Jesus to interpret the words of Job this way: “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). 

THE CHRISTIAN’S VINDICATOR/REDEEMER

            Job’s Kinsman would become his Vindicator.  It was the kinsman’s duty to defend the rights of his needy relatives.  Thus, Job believed that God would come to defend him.  Today, every Christians also knows that his/her Redeemer lives to defend him/her against false charges of condemnation.  It is not uncommon for individuals to level unfounded charges against other Christians. Christians may whisper behind your back, but do not become discouraged.  Remember the words of Peter’s admonition: “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1Peter 4:14).  Again, listen to the words of Jesus: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).  In the face of insult, can you still say, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25)? 

Someone may call attention to the weaknesses of many Christians who are seeking to follow God and still fall short of the perfect standard.  Others may condemn the believer because of his failure to live up to perfection, but one must never forget that it is God that justifies the one who puts his trust in Jesus.  It is in this vein that Paul writes:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.  What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 7:28-39).

         Sin and forgiveness abounds throughout Scripture.  John, an apostle of Christ, writes: My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).  The great adversary often assails and attacks God’s people, but the Lord says to him as He did concerning Joshua the high priest: “The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2).

God dealt with the problem of sin in Joshua.  Listen again to the events that took place when Satan stood at the right side of God to accuse Joshua: “Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you’” (3:3-4).  This is exactly what God does for everyone who puts his trust in the Savior of the World.  “If God is for us, who can be against us?” writes Paul (Romans 8:31). Satan can point a finger of accusation, but the Christian can respond by saying, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:38-39).

 Paul paints a graphic picture of redemption in his first letter to Corinth: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).  Every believer can say, “I know that my Redeemer lives.”  The believer knows that Jesus redeems one from the wrath of God, from the dominion of sin, from the curse of the Law, and from condemnation.  Jesus enables every Christian to sing: “Where, O death, is your sting?” (15:55).   

CONCLUSION

Job had lost everything, but he had not lost his Redeemer.  Have you personally accepted Jesus Christ as your Redeemer?  Have you personally trusted Jesus with your soul?  Do you feel in your heart a yearning for Jesus as your great Kinsman?  Is there reliance upon Jesus for your redemption from the bondage of sin?  I encourage each of you to leap, as it were, upon the rock of your salvation, namely Jesus Christ.  Are you struggling in the sea of sin? Are the waves of sin covering you?  If so, why not leap upon the Rock that is higher than you—Jesus Christ.  He is the only hope you have.  If you will put your trust in Him, then you will be able to say even as Job said in all his adversities: “I know that my Redeemer lives.”