Last week in our blog we were rejoicing in the fact that we can know that our Redeemer lives and that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the grave and was victorious over sin and death. Job rejoiced in the knowledge and belief that his Redeemer lived and that He would justify him in the end. We read again the passage for consideration today, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the later day upon the earth; and though after my flesh worms shall destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God,” (Job 19:25,26 KJV). The word that is translated from the Hebrew as Redeemer is the word “goel”, which in the Hebrew speaks of the kinsman redeemer. Remember the kinsman redeemer was the next of kin who had a duty to redeem, to buy out of bondage or pay a ransom for a near family member in some difficulty or bondage they may have experienced. The book of Ruth is the clearest illustration of the principle of a kinsman redeemer. There was Boaz who would redeem the property of Naomi and raise up children through Ruth in the name of his near kinsman who had passed away without leaving an heir.
Job’s spirit is elevated to the high place of faith when he considers the fact that his Redeemer lives. He looks into the future with calmness and a triumphant resolve, and his language is that of ultimate vindication. His words are full of prophetic meaning and rich spiritual consolation. Job believed God was with him and Job vindicates the cause of all who put their trust in the living God of the universe.
I love the words translated in the KJV, “after worms destroy this body”, as Job reflects on what’s going to happen after he dies. Job knows his physical body is going to decay into dust. Job had experienced the weakness and deceitfulness of all earthly relationships and yet he has a vision of his Redeemer that becomes crystal clear as he considers what God is going to do. There’s not a deep theology of the afterlife developed in the Old Testament, but Job certainly gives us a depth of understanding and insight. He was confident that God’s justice would not fail, even if it would take a miracle to accomplish this. Isn’t this exactly what God has done for us in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? The miracle of redemption and the certainty that we too can have, knowing that when we leave this physical body we don’t stop living, and as Job said, “yet in my flesh shall I see God”.
Jesus has given us a fuller understanding of heaven in the New Testament where we read in John’s Gospel, “in my father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would’ve told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am,” (John 14:2-3 NIV). Because of Jesus’s promise, we can look forward to eternal life in an amazing place where we will be forever with the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember His words to the thief on the cross next to Him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”, (Luke 23:43 NIV). Since our Lord’s words in John 14, Jesus has been preparing a place for us for the last 2000 years. If it took God just six days to create the beautiful universe that we live in today, we can only begin to imagine how awesome the place He has been preparing for us for the last 2000 years is going to be. The question is – are you going to be there? There’s only one way to get there and that’s through knowing that your Redeemer lives, and He died for your sins and rose again so that you could be saved by believing in His finished work. Won’t you trust Him for your eternal salvation this day?
Walking in the Joy of Jesus,
Pastor Rich Sivo
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