I Know That My Redeemer Liveth

October 12, 2014 Background Scripture: Job 19; Psalm 57 Lesson Passage: Job 19:1 – 7, 23 – 29 In the text of today’s lesson, Job is responding to the second round of questions and accusations by his three friends. After Job’s speech broke a one-week silence by the four of them, his friends began to speak in response to Job’s statement. As is customary with the Eastern culture, they kindly allowed each person to take a turn speaking, starting with Job. In today’s text, the temperament of Job’s response appears to be a mix of anger and bewilderment. Job rebukes his friends for hurting him with their words. Job acknowledges that everything that is happening to him is evidence that God’s hand is against him. Furthermore, those who were closest to him had also abandoned him in his time of need. Even the servants of his house no longer respected Job and ignored him when he called for them. Yes, even the people Job loved appeared to have turned their backs on him. His friends had shamed him by their words. In his despair, Job invited his friends to join his pity party rather than continue to tear him down emotionally. Job found inner strength in his faith in the redemptive power of God. He had given up hope that he would be justified in his life on earth because he lacked understanding of how a righteous person could suffer in this world more than the unrighteous. The prevailing theology that Job and his friends spoke from aligned self-righteousness with quality of physical life. God’s personality was not viewed as having flexibility such that there could exist the notion of God’s permissive will. One’s physical life was viewed as a cause-and-effect connection with their spiritual life. With this type thinking, wicked people suffer bad things in life and good people don’t. Because of the multiplicity of calamities that came upon Job in a relatively short time, the prevailing theology could only point to Job’s spiritual or moral lapse. According to his friends’ statements, Job had been sneaky in his immoral acts and he had managed to hide from them what he had done but the divine justice of God had exposed his deeds and they were determined to get their friend, Job, to admit his sins. Surely confession would bring Job forgiveness if only he would do it. Job’s argument was he could not confess what he was not made aware of. And so their debate went back and forth. However, Job’s faith would not allow him to own up to something that was not true or at least revealed to him so that his repentance could be sincere. Job’s faith in life after death gave him strength during the time of his suffering. There is life after death and one day, Job declared, he would be resurrected to see God for himself. Job knew that somehow he would be vindicated at the resurrection of the dead. He wanted his words recorded so that when vindication comes his friends would know that Job had been truthful. Job closed his response by warning his friends that their false accusations against him would be judged by God. Robert C. Hudson October 6, 2014