Job 19:25 - Our Redeemer Lives

"But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last." (NLT)

This verse has always stood out to me. Amidst all his suffering and grief, Job makes this mighty proclamation of faith. Job is going through terrible things, and he is shouting to God for answers, but in spite of all these things, Job knows that he has a redeemer who is alive and will one day wipe away every tear from his eyes (Revelations 21:4).

Firstly I want to look at what led Job to make this statement. This is part of Job's response to Bildad's second speech. Bildad, like Job's other friends, is stating that Job's suffering is due to his sin, and Bildad is telling Job all the awful things that will happen to the wicked, some of which have happened to Job (18:13-15). Job, in response, is trying to get his friends to stop insulting him and to just leave him alone. They have no proof that Job has sinned but they are declaring all the terrible things that will happen because of his sin. And it is here, where his friends are telling him he is doomed and without hope, that Job declares that he has hope because he knows he has a redeemer who will rescue him from his suffering and will declare that he has remained faithful and avoided sin.

Before I go further into the redeemer that Job speaks of, I want to look at the end of this verse: "...and he will stand upon the earth at last." This shows that Job is not expecting to be rescued from his suffering. In fact, looking at other verses it is clear that he expects to die from his current suffering (Job 16:22, 30:23) and that he expects no joy for the rest of his life (Job 3:26, 7:6). So if Job is declaring his hope in his redeemer, but he expects no good thing to be with him for the rest of his life, then this statement can only mean that he is hoping for a time when he will live again. This is backed up by the very next verse where Job declares that after his body has decayed he will see God in his body (Job 19:26).

So Job's hope in his redeemer is a hope for the future, hope for a time when the dead will live again. This is known as the resurrection of the dead. A future time when all who have ever lived will be resurrected by God and will then be judged. So who is this redeemer that Job hopes for? Clearly it is someone who can rescue him from God's punishment otherwise Job would not put his hope in him. Job said that he hopes for a mediator between him and God (Job 9:33), this also shows that this person is someone who can rescue him from God's punishment. The Redeemer is also someone who is alive and will be alive until the final day, we know this because Job doesn't say that his Redeemer will live, he says that he does live and that he will be alive in the final days.

This verse is one of the hundreds of messianic prophecies that can be seen throughout scripture. All of which points toward the coming of Jesus. Jesus is the mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:5), he took God's punishment upon himself so that we wouldn't need to suffer it (Romans 3:24), and he is alive and has lived since before the world began (John 1:1-2, Revelations 1:18). Job placed his hope in the Messiah, and he knew that, one day he would be raised to life with him and that he could spend eternity in everlasting joy.

Job was suffering beyond understanding, he had lost his family, his home, his livestock, and his health. His friends were taunting him and calling him wicked and his wife told him to die (Job 2:9). Yet amidst this suffering, Job still had hope. He knew that he had a redeemer who would rescue him from his suffering and restore his joy. Let me encourage you, no matter what you are going through, no matter how bad it is, know that your Redeemer lives. He will rescue you from your suffering and you will experience joy again.

Prayer

Lord God, we thank you that, even when our suffering seems unbearable, even when it seems like we

will never again be joyful, you will be with us. Lord thank you for being our hope when we have no hope. I ask that, when we are suffering, that we will turn to you and you will answer. Amen.