“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:23-27
Job has personal knowledge of an eternal, holy, Redeemer. Job speaks as one who has found an intermediary; the One who will stand up and pay the ransom that will ultimately deliver him. Incredibly Job speaks of the only One who could pay the price for his redemption and freedom. The question that remains is how did Job come by this knowledge—so how did Job know?
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:35
We know that the things that happened to Job were not caused by God, but by satan. However, we also know that God gave satan the freedom to do these things. For centuries the masses have asked why would God allow satan to do mean, horrible, nasty things to Job. Was it merely so God could prove a point to satan; was it solely to demonstrate that Job would not abandon God if all his blessings were removed? I submit to you that it was much deeper than that and that God never does anything for a singular reason—Job’s tribulation would bring about God’s revelation—our Redeemer lives!
“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:23-27
Job hadn’t a clue that these words would be recorded in the best selling Book of all time and that gazillions of people would glean from his miraculous insight. Job didn’t know, Eliphaz didn’t know, Bildad didn’t know, Zophar didn’t know, but God knew–He would give us a glimpse of His Son through the sufferings of one man and the notion of a kinsman redeemer would echo forever through the entire Bible.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10
Therefore, it stands reason that if God allowed Job to suffer in ways that would ultimately benefit Job and many others; He would allow us to suffer for similar reasons. Would perfectly successful people ever look to God for anything? No, they wouldn’t; without tribulation there is no need to look up. God in His infinite and perfect wisdom gives us a vehicle by which we will seek Him regularly. Christians therefore know that success is not measured by a lack of suffering, but rather how well we abide in Christ through them. Victory is realized when we hear from our Redeemer,
“Well done good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21
I am not suggesting that God does not speak to us in the good times as well; that would be a silly notion. The observation is that our Father has some valuable information to share with us every time we find ourselves crawling in the dark on our knees.
These ramblings are typically (but not always) a byproduct inspired by God through my personal Bible study at SearchLight with Pastor Jon Courson and with my pastor at my home church, Calvary Chapel Coastlands
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 