In the book of Job we have an account of a man who experienced the death of his children, the loss of all his finances and material possessions and the deterioration of his physical health. Instead of bringing encouragement, comfort and hope, his close friends and his wife brought condemnation and judgment. There were many things which Job did not understand about what was happening in his life and he constantly sought for the opportunity to plead his case before God, however in Job’s life we are shown the necessity of resting in the sovereignty of God. There was much that Job needed to learn about the way that God ministers and works.
There are some things which we too don’t understand, things which seem unjust and struggles that go unanswered. Though Job had undergone many challenges, yet in the middle of all which had transpired, Job makes a declaration, “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 19:25-27) In the process of redeeming, according to law, money would be paid, to buy back something which must be delivered or rescued. A redeemer was one who would buy back a relative or friend who had been sold into slavery.
This was no ordinary relative that Job was referring to, because the context of this verse shows that Job understood that this redeemer would be there at the end of time, at the end of the earth. This redeemer would help him to see God and experience God in a real way, not just through what others declared or experienced, ” I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another” (vs 27). Job anticipated his own personal encounter with his Redeemer.
Here, in the midst of Job’s struggles we see yearning and confidence. A yearning to see and experience God in a clear and personal way and a confidence that there was one who would be a redeemer for him. Of course in the light of the New Testament this redeemer, the one who purchases us out of slavery to sin and death is Jesus Christ (Gal 3:13, 4:5; Titus 2:14; 1 Pt 1:18,19). Jesus is the one who enables us to see God, He removes the sin which keeps us from God.
Take a moment to rest in the fact that Jesus the Redeemer lives, then thank Him for redeeming your life from the sin and destruction that keeps you from God the Father.
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