Words that we can't & should not forget... (1)

"What was the propitiatory sacrifice? It was neither an animal, nor a vegetable, nor a mineral. It was not a thing at all, but a person. And the person God offered was not somebody else, whether a human person or an angel or even his Son considered as somebody distinct from or external to himself. No, he offered himself. In giving his Son, he was giving himself."

-- John Stott, The Cross of Christ, p.174

Job’s Redeemer is My Redeemer -- the message given at a worship service on CRBC

Job 19:25 – “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.”

James 5:10-11 – “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

Read 1:1-2. He is blessed not only materially but also of knowing the Lord. Job is a man who has been faithful in ordering his life according to the book of Proverbs, v.8, ‘a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil’. But in one-day, Job’s property & children have been taken away from him, v.13-19. This is to test if Job only fear God because of his possessions and blessings, v.9-10. But why?

You have heard of the perseverance of Job

Job did no sin. Not that he’s perfect, but that he has been a faithful servant worthy of Satan’s consideration. Listen to what he did after the things that he cherished have been taken away, 1:20-22. The issue for Job is why? Why am I being punished unjustly before a just God?

While Job is suffering, his friend, Bildad, counts him among the ‘unrighteous’ and the ‘wicked’; that he ‘have sinned’, that he ‘forget God’; that ‘God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers.’ That Job’s suffering lies in a particular sin. (chapt..8, 18).

But for Job, this suffering is a learning experience from the Lord.

1. I know that my Redeemer lives

The redeemer is a kinsman, the closest relative in a household. He is to redeem the blood of the murdered victim (for justice); to redeem from bondage (Abram/Lot); to buy back family possessions & to take a kinsman’s widow (Boaz).

For Job it is the Lord who shall be his Redeemer. His kinsman-Redeemer! Wait a minute. Is he saying that the Lord is one of his relative? Not yet. But that the Lord shall answer for his debts, his slavery, his suffering and misery.

No more is this kinsman-picture of God perfectly presented than when the Son of God became man. In spite of the ugly side of Christian suffering, the gospel shines. For consider the suffering of Jesus: Psalm 22 says that ‘you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel’ in the context of ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?’ And ‘he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… like a lamb that is lead to the slaughter… although there was no deceit in his mouth’ (Isaiah 53:4,7,9). ‘He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God (Heb.2:14-18). ‘I am the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore (Rev.1:18).’ There is a gospel according to Job!

2. I know that my Redeemer stands

Job is illustrating a courtroom set-up. For God to stand is for Him to rise up in righteous judgment after many witnesses have lined up against the accused. And Job maybe inferring to Bildad in chapter eighteen. But the Redeemer shall be His vindicator in clearing his name before men, and expecting to see God in this life and in the resurrection. Bildad was wrong to say that Job was totally at fault and needed to repent before he could be restored.’

Forte is Italian which refers to loud volume in music (also fortissimo), while fort is used in military building for defense in warfare. Both came from the Latin word fortis that means strong. However strong our present life is, we should never think that we are invincible. Did Job ever expect Satan would take his property and children? And when Bildad accused him of wickedness, to whom did he get fortress? He only appeal to his Redeemer who shall clear him ‘on the earth.’ He didn’t doubt that the Lord is righteous and merciful, what he struggled with is: why a just God punishing me unjustly.

3. I know my Redeemer He is

Sixty years ago, after the victory of the Allied powers in the Battle of Berlin, the Soviet army occupied Eastern Germany with fierce vengeance & payback. They have raped & ravaged women of every age & status, that no more than two million victims had undergone abortion. One of those who suffer published a diary, but in fear that it might bring dishonor to her own nation, went to print her book as nameless or as anonymous. Only in 2003 was her name disclosed: Marta Hillers, who died in 2001 at the age of 90.

In comparison to Job, he requested that his suffering be written with the person who suffers. (Job 19:23-24). Because he has a holy, intimate attachment to his Lord, he could to us ‘I know that he is my Redeemer. I really don’t understand much, but one thing I know – that I am his and He is mine. It doesn’t matter much to me if my skin is destroyed. For I shall see my God.’ Job is exalting the grandeur of the Redeemer!

Suffering is a reality. It will bring a person to feel isolated & cut-off from the normal way of life. But under this difficult testing of faith, you are not alone; that behind trials, you are not alone; that before hard-times, you are not alone. That in whatever afflictions you go through, day-in & day-out, you have someone with you, someone answering. Who is that someone? It is the Lord. The Lord is your Redeemer. You have a Redeemer. Now, there are many who may fill the emptiness of your condition. The world has many things to say about suffering. Our friends and families have been with us from the start. But they will surely fail us someday. Just as Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu failed Job, those around us may not lessen the pain. Job confessed that though the mournful days of his misery were far from over, the Lord will not fail him. God’s loving affection will not back-out.

So is the world in a wrong direction?

It is learning experience that the world in which we live – filled with misery & poverty, crime & cancer, homelessness & broken-homes – is in the sovereign hand of the Lord (Ps.25:4). Yet it is important that we know Him; that we have this conviction that the Lord is on our side. While many people have faith in faith, we are taught in the Scriptures to know the Lord. We have ‘redemption that is in Christ Jesus’ and ‘His Spirit helps us in our infirmities.’ While we must distinguish between faith & assurance, let us continue resting in His promises. So, the cry of faith, the groans of faith, the confidence of faith is that Oh, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful! My Redeemer lives and at the last he will stand upon the earth!

If Preaching is theology on fire, & Missions is theology on the move, Suffering is theology put to test.