For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. — Job 19:25

The report from the oncologist was not good. Unless God intervened, my husband’s grandmother had just a short time to live. We were still reeling from the shock of this news when the phone rang and my mother informed me that their home had been broken into and my father had been brutally beaten, almost to the point of death. 

Contemplating these events later in the week while driving our family vehicle, I rounded a slippery corner and collided abruptly with an oil tanker. Once my car came to a standstill, I realized that I was uninjured but the car would need extensive work. When my husband showed up at the scene of the crash a few minutes later, I burst into tears as I fell into his arms. The cumulative stresses of that week were almost more than I could bear. 

When we become Christians, a wonderful work is done in our lives. Unbelief is turned to faith. Old habits fall away and new, clean ones take their place. Negative emotions are replaced with feelings of love, joy, and peace. There is a sense of relief, and it is easy to believe that God is there and in control.

However, sooner or later a trial will come. Sometimes many challenges occur almost simultaneously. Suddenly the feeling of peace is elusive. Life feels overwhelming and we may wonder if God is even on the scene at all. This would only be a fraction of what Job must have felt when Bildad was lecturing him in today’s text, for his response to Bildad reflects feelings of abandonment and despair.

However challenging such trials of faith may be, it is at these times that we learn to trust the Lord more deeply. When we cannot feel God’s presence or see a way out, we can still have hope that someday our trials will be over and we will see God. As we seek the Lord and look back to the wonderful landmarks in our Christian lives such as salvation and other experiences, we can affirm with Job that “I know that my redeemer liveth.” How pleased the Lord must feel when His children assert their faith in Him even when they cannot feel Him near!

BACKGROUND

In chapter 18, following Eliphaz in this second round of speeches, Bildad also lashed out at Job with more vehemence than he had used in his earlier speech. In blunt and violent language he told Job that he was nothing special to God, that he had insulted the intelligence of his friends, and that his wickedness would cause the destruction of all that he knew, including his name. While in his first speech he had offered hope if Job would repent, in this diatribe he offered no hope. Instead, he quoted Job’s own words, twisting them out of context, and turning them into “proof ” that his friend was wicked.

Bildad’s barbs wounded Job anew, and he acknowledged that the harsh evaluation of his friends had multiplied his pain. He did agree with his friends on one point: that God was the cause of his affliction and the One who assailed him. 

Despite all the negative accusations and the fact that Job believed God was against him, many view his assertion of faith in verses 25-27 of chapter 19 as some of the most beautiful words recorded in Scripture. Job managed for a moment to focus his attention solely on God and was carried to the peak of faith, where he saw the God of righteousness ultimately coming to his defense. He saw God not as merely an Arbiter, but as a Redeemer who would fight for his cause. Out of the pit of despair, Job prophesied the atonement, the incarnation of Christ, and his own ultimate bodily resurrection. 

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

(Hannah’s Bible Outlines - Used by permission per WORDsearch)
II.   The solution of Job’s three friends
     C.   The second cycle of speeches
           3.   Bildad’s advice (18:1-21)
                 a.   His reproach of Job (18:1-4)
                 b.   His description of the wicked’s doom (18:5-21)
           4.   Job’s answer (19:1-29)
                 a.   His repudiation of his friend’s concept (19:1-6)
                 b.   His description of God’s treatment (19:7-22)
                       (1)    His desolation (19:7-12)
                       (2)    His separation (19:13-22)
                 c.   His confidence in God (19:23-29)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. How many times did Job say his friends had reproached him?
   
   
2. Why do you think Job’s friends were so hard on him in his plight?
   
   
3. What will help us keep our focus and faith in God when we suffer trial and affliction?

CONCLUSION

Our trials will not last forever. Someday we will be in the presence of God for eternity! Focusing on that great hope will help us remain steadfast through the temporary adversities of this life.