The caregiver in hospice asked Job, “Is there anything I can get for you?”
Job, an almost ghost-like figure, responded, “Do you mind getting my Nicole C. Mullen CD, ‘My Redeemer Lives’ and turning on my CD player?”
The presence of God still seemed to be a million miles away and for a long time Heaven gave the impression that a “No More Prayers Will Be Answered!” sign had been hung outside the pearly gates. Yet, fighting back tears and feelings of bitterness and abandonment, in faith Job raised his hands to worship God. His disease ridden body struggling for any amount of energy, Job began to sing, “I know my Redeemer lives!...”
19:19 "All my associates abhor me, and those I love have turned against me. 20 My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, and I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. 21 Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you persecute me as God does, and are not satisfied with my flesh?”
Job’s abandonment by family and friends and his physical suffering seemed to be all encompassing. Hartley writes, “Just as his alienation is total, so too his physical suffering is complete.” In verse 20 Job marvels that he is still alive (“…I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth”). The Message puts verse 20 this way, “I’m nothing but a bag of bones; my life hangs by a thread.” While lying on his ash-heap hospital bed, he asks his friends to have just a little pity upon him (the imperative tense implies a sense of urgency in his request to the comforters). Everyone who has ever been close to him seems to abhor (abominate) him. The New Living Translation puts the last part of verse 22 this way, “…Haven’t you chewed me up enough?”
19:23 "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24 That with an iron stylus and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!”
Job despairs of receiving justice from his generation. Fearing that his life would soon be over and that there would be no record of his desire for vindication and no one to defend his innocence, he asks that his words might be forever inscribed in a stone monument. Such memorials were often used in that portion of the world to permanently record events, laws, and boundaries. (Note that in 13:26 Job laments, “Thou dost write bitter things against me!” Now he wants his turn to do some writing.)
The interesting thing is…his words are written! They have been forever recorded in God’s Word to provide comfort for countless generations. Job, suffering through such ignominy (shame) and destitution, could never have imagined how his reaction to his trial would become known world-wide – and how he would be considered such a hero of faith! (We often have a wrong view of what a hero is. Sometimes they are simply average and unknown people, going through their own ash heap trial. And while circumstances are so contrary, they still cling tenaciously to a belief that God indeed is a God of love.)
19:25 As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. 26 Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”
To paraphrase Hartley, it’s far better to have a Living Redeemer than a cold stone memorial!
I don’t know about you, but I get goose bumps when I read these verses. Against such a black and bleak background of misery and abandonment, there is a sudden rocket-burst of brilliant light. Job’s famous words have been read, commented on, and sung about for centuries.
Let’s briefly unpack a portion of these verses…
“As for me…”: You and I will probably come to such a decision point in our life.
“I know…”: The Hebrew word is “yada” and indicates an intimate knowledge. Job’s “I know” wasn’t just a mental assent to a creed, but rather something that was embedded in his heart and gave purpose to his life.
“My Redeemer lives!” Listen to what Hartley has to say, “This magnificent verse then means that Job is beseeching the God in Whom he has faith to help him against the God Who is punishing him! While this view seems irrational, this paradox lies at the core of Job’s struggle…” Despite everything being so desperately contrary, Job believes that the God who seems to be punishing him will vindicate him!
“And at the last He will take His stand on the earth…”: In the context of Job’s struggle, this could very well be translated, “At the end of my trial God is going to show up out here at my ash heap.” The word “earth” that is used here is the same word for “dust” in 2:12 and more than 20 other places in the book of Job. Also note that three times in vss 26 and 27 Job refers to “seeing God.” As gloomy and dismal as things are at the Landfill of Uz, Job expects to see God at the town dump!
Let me try to illustrate Job's faith: Imagine yourself having to face the horror of a WWII concentration camp such as Auschwitz. Now imagine that, while surrounded by such despair, that you begin to hear the sound of someone singing. And as you strain to hear more clearly, you recognize the song and realize that one of the prisoners is singing the old church hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness!” With death all around, the emaciated inmate softly sings, “Great is Thy faithfulness, Oh God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changedst not, Thy compassions they fail not; As Thou has been, Thou forever will be!” (I don’t know when the hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulnees" was written and even if it was sung in the churches of Europe prior to WWII, but this little vignette illustrates Job’s faith during those awful ash heap days.)
Conclusion:
Job didn’t utter the words of verse 25 "I know that my Redeemer lives..." while sitting on a comfortable pew in an air conditioned church. They were uttered while life was at the lowest ebb.
With the music of Nicole C. Mullen’s song filling his hospice room, Job worshipped…
May we also, during our darkest struggles, sing these same words…
***********************************************
You can click on the link (below the calendar) to listen to Nicole Mullen's song "My Redeemer Lives!"
Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning
Who told the ocean you an only come this far?
Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening
Whose words alone can catch a falling star?
Well I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
All of creation testify
This life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives
The very same God that spins things in orbit
He runs to the weary, the worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken
They conquered death to bring me victory
Now I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
Let this life with in me cry
I know my Redeemer, He lives
To take away my shame
And He lives forever I'll proclaim
That the payment for my sin
Was the precious life He gave
But now He's alive
And there's an empty grave.
And I know my Redeemer, He lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
This life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones….(Job 19:1-22)
…but your words have crushed me! Far from bringing comfort and consolation, the Comforters Three have only succeeded in crushing the spirit of Job. In the face of such an overwhelming lack of pity, Job’s faith shines even more brilliantly.
19:1 Then Job responded, 2 “How long will you torment me and crush me with words? 3 These ten times you have insulted me; you are not ashamed to wrong me. 4 Even if I have truly erred, my error lodges with me. 5 If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me and prove my disgrace to me, 6 Know then that God has wronged me and has closed His net around me.”
Read those same verses from The Message, "How long are you going to keep battering away at me, pounding me with these harangues? Time after time after time you jump all over me. Do you have no conscience, abusing me like this? Even if I have, somehow or other, gotten off the track, what business is that of yours? Why do you insist on putting me down, using my troubles as a stick to beat me? Tell it to God—He’s the one behind all this, He’s the one who dragged me into this mess.” (19:2-6)
Adam Clarke writes this in his commentary, “Not one of them seems to have been touched with a feeling of tenderness towards him, nor does a kind expression drop at any time from their lips! They were called friends; but this term, in reference to them must be taken in the sense of cold-blooded acquaintances.”
In their commentary Keil & Delitzsch state that the united strength of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar only serves to torture Job’s spirit by stretching him upon the rack of their so-called “comfort”!
“Know then that God has wronged me…” (vs. 6) It is the greatest reversal of fortunes. The first part of verse 6 is literally “He has turned me upside down!” Job’s chapter-one world is turned upside down and inside out.
In the second part of verse 6 Job states that “God has closed His net around me…” The word “closed” is the same as “destroy” in verse 26; when you connect the two verses it seems that Job is implying that God’s maggot army has him surrounded.
19:7 “Behold, I cry, ’Violence!’ but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice. 8 He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and He has put darkness on my paths. 9 He has stripped my honor from me and removed the crown from my head. 10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; and He has uprooted my hope like a tree. 11 He has also kindled His anger against me and considered me as His enemy. 12 His troops come together, and build up their way against me and camp around my tent.”
Notice Job’s complaint:
He has walled up my way
He has put darkness on my path
He has stripped my honor
He has removed my crown
He breaks me down
He uproots my hope
He kindles His anger against me
He considers me His enemy
He camps against me
You sense Job’s intense turmoil and agony of spirit when you closely examine verses 10-12. Notice the words “every side” in vs. 10. In chapter one the precise Hebrew words are used by Satan in his complaint to God (You’ve made a hedge about him on every side!). Verse 11 from one version reads “I am to Him as one of His haters.” And verse 12 from another translation reads, “…they have cast up their siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent.” In ancient times armies would take months or years to lay siege against a fortified city in order to conquer it; all the while building mammoth ramps of earth and timber against the city walls (i.e. Masada). Job is saying that God’s entire army is building an enormous siege work against his puny worm infested tent! And verse 12 from The Message reads, “He has launched a major campaign against me, using every weapon He can think of, coming at me from all sides at once.” It seemed that Job suffered continuously under a relentless and divinely ordained “Shock and Awe” campaign.
Job was in the valley (the darkest of valleys), and for all practical purposes it seemed that God had abandoned him. But He hadn’t.
19: 13 "He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14 My relatives have failed, and my intimate friends have forgotten me. 15 Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger. I am a foreigner in their sight. 16 I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore him with my mouth. 17 My breath is offensive to my wife, and I am loathsome to my own brothers. 18 Even young children despise me; I rise up and they speak against me. 19 All my associates abhor me, and those I love have turned against me. 20 My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, and I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. 21 Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you persecute me as God does, and are not satisfied with my flesh?”
In chapter one God characterized Job as a man of integrity, a whole man. That meant that not only was he complete in his relationship with God, but that he was also “whole” in his relationships with his family, friends and associates. Job was no “holy hermit” – earthly relationships were vital to him. So when Job suffered, it was not only physically (the loss of his health) and spiritually (the loss of communion with God), but also in his interactions with people. To put it simply, he was abandoned by everyone. Notice all of the people groups described in verses 13-22:
My brothers and acquaintances
My relatives and kinsfolk
My relations, those living in my house
My close friends and everyone who knows me
My houseguests
My intimate friends
My family, neighbors, and kinsman
Sojourners in my house
My maids and those who live temporarily in my house
My guests
My servants
My attendants
My wife and my blood brothers
My own family
The street urchins
The young children
The little boys
Those I love
My circle of friends
Every one I have been close to
The men of my inner counsel (the most trusted business associates)
And notice the reactions and the treatment recorded in these verses by those people:
Estranged
Alienated
Removed
Stayed far away
Failed and forgotten
Avoided and counted me a stranger
Considered me an alien or a bum off the streets
Don’t answer
My breath is offensive to them
They scorned, ridiculed, taunted, and jeered
They turned their backs
They detested and abhorred
They abominate me (vandals spray painted his house: The Abominable Job Man!)
The city council voted unanimously to put up this one-word neon flashing sign over Job’s ash heap: ABANDONED!
No wonder he was in such despair. It is against this dark backdrop that Job’s faith and character shines so brilliantly.
Conclusion:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Yes they do. Words are very powerful. The Bible says that “life and death are in the power of the tongue.” We meet people every day that are in need of encouragement – some words that will bring hope to their despair.
A listening ear and a kind word can make a genuine difference in someone’s life this week.
19:1 Then Job responded, 2 “How long will you torment me and crush me with words? 3 These ten times you have insulted me; you are not ashamed to wrong me. 4 Even if I have truly erred, my error lodges with me. 5 If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me and prove my disgrace to me, 6 Know then that God has wronged me and has closed His net around me.”
Read those same verses from The Message, "How long are you going to keep battering away at me, pounding me with these harangues? Time after time after time you jump all over me. Do you have no conscience, abusing me like this? Even if I have, somehow or other, gotten off the track, what business is that of yours? Why do you insist on putting me down, using my troubles as a stick to beat me? Tell it to God—He’s the one behind all this, He’s the one who dragged me into this mess.” (19:2-6)
Adam Clarke writes this in his commentary, “Not one of them seems to have been touched with a feeling of tenderness towards him, nor does a kind expression drop at any time from their lips! They were called friends; but this term, in reference to them must be taken in the sense of cold-blooded acquaintances.”
In their commentary Keil & Delitzsch state that the united strength of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar only serves to torture Job’s spirit by stretching him upon the rack of their so-called “comfort”!
“Know then that God has wronged me…” (vs. 6) It is the greatest reversal of fortunes. The first part of verse 6 is literally “He has turned me upside down!” Job’s chapter-one world is turned upside down and inside out.
In the second part of verse 6 Job states that “God has closed His net around me…” The word “closed” is the same as “destroy” in verse 26; when you connect the two verses it seems that Job is implying that God’s maggot army has him surrounded.
19:7 “Behold, I cry, ’Violence!’ but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice. 8 He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and He has put darkness on my paths. 9 He has stripped my honor from me and removed the crown from my head. 10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; and He has uprooted my hope like a tree. 11 He has also kindled His anger against me and considered me as His enemy. 12 His troops come together, and build up their way against me and camp around my tent.”
Notice Job’s complaint:
He has walled up my way
He has put darkness on my path
He has stripped my honor
He has removed my crown
He breaks me down
He uproots my hope
He kindles His anger against me
He considers me His enemy
He camps against me
You sense Job’s intense turmoil and agony of spirit when you closely examine verses 10-12. Notice the words “every side” in vs. 10. In chapter one the precise Hebrew words are used by Satan in his complaint to God (You’ve made a hedge about him on every side!). Verse 11 from one version reads “I am to Him as one of His haters.” And verse 12 from another translation reads, “…they have cast up their siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent.” In ancient times armies would take months or years to lay siege against a fortified city in order to conquer it; all the while building mammoth ramps of earth and timber against the city walls (i.e. Masada). Job is saying that God’s entire army is building an enormous siege work against his puny worm infested tent! And verse 12 from The Message reads, “He has launched a major campaign against me, using every weapon He can think of, coming at me from all sides at once.” It seemed that Job suffered continuously under a relentless and divinely ordained “Shock and Awe” campaign.
Job was in the valley (the darkest of valleys), and for all practical purposes it seemed that God had abandoned him. But He hadn’t.
19: 13 "He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14 My relatives have failed, and my intimate friends have forgotten me. 15 Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger. I am a foreigner in their sight. 16 I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore him with my mouth. 17 My breath is offensive to my wife, and I am loathsome to my own brothers. 18 Even young children despise me; I rise up and they speak against me. 19 All my associates abhor me, and those I love have turned against me. 20 My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, and I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. 21 Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you persecute me as God does, and are not satisfied with my flesh?”
In chapter one God characterized Job as a man of integrity, a whole man. That meant that not only was he complete in his relationship with God, but that he was also “whole” in his relationships with his family, friends and associates. Job was no “holy hermit” – earthly relationships were vital to him. So when Job suffered, it was not only physically (the loss of his health) and spiritually (the loss of communion with God), but also in his interactions with people. To put it simply, he was abandoned by everyone. Notice all of the people groups described in verses 13-22:
My brothers and acquaintances
My relatives and kinsfolk
My relations, those living in my house
My close friends and everyone who knows me
My houseguests
My intimate friends
My family, neighbors, and kinsman
Sojourners in my house
My maids and those who live temporarily in my house
My guests
My servants
My attendants
My wife and my blood brothers
My own family
The street urchins
The young children
The little boys
Those I love
My circle of friends
Every one I have been close to
The men of my inner counsel (the most trusted business associates)
And notice the reactions and the treatment recorded in these verses by those people:
Estranged
Alienated
Removed
Stayed far away
Failed and forgotten
Avoided and counted me a stranger
Considered me an alien or a bum off the streets
Don’t answer
My breath is offensive to them
They scorned, ridiculed, taunted, and jeered
They turned their backs
They detested and abhorred
They abominate me (vandals spray painted his house: The Abominable Job Man!)
The city council voted unanimously to put up this one-word neon flashing sign over Job’s ash heap: ABANDONED!
No wonder he was in such despair. It is against this dark backdrop that Job’s faith and character shines so brilliantly.
Conclusion:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Yes they do. Words are very powerful. The Bible says that “life and death are in the power of the tongue.” We meet people every day that are in need of encouragement – some words that will bring hope to their despair.
A listening ear and a kind word can make a genuine difference in someone’s life this week.
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