Job 19

Verses 1-6:

"Then Job spoke again:

2 “How long will you torture me?
How long will you try to crush me with your words?
3 You have already insulted me ten times.
You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
4 Even if I have sinned,
that is my concern, not yours.
5 You think you’re better than I am,
using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.
6 But it is God who has wronged me,
capturing me in his net."

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Job is getting beyond fed up. Who could blame him? Verse 4 stuck out to me a little more than most of the ones before that. I find truth in this but at the same time I can't help think about the passage of Scripture that talks about restoring a brother who has fallen. As I sit here and think about it, I wonder if Job is referring to how much they are hounding him about, really something he hasn't done. It's one thing to restore your brother by leading him on the path back to repentance, if he has committed a sin, and a totally different thing to hound and accuse him of something.

Verses 7-12:

7 “I cry out, ‘Help!’ but no one answers me.
I protest, but there is no justice.
8 God has blocked my way so I cannot move.
He has plunged my path into darkness.
9 He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished.
He has uprooted my hope like a fallen tree.
11 His fury burns against me;
he counts me as an enemy.
12 His troops advance.
They build up roads to attack me.
They camp all around my tent."

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Verse 9: what a fun way of saying you're bald, am I right? Haha! I should start telling people I've lost most of the crown of my head, am I right? Justin, you don't have to answer that! ;) Job's language here is very rich with imagery. I think it's kind of sad that there isn't much of that done anymore these days.

Verses 13-22:

13 “My relatives stay far away,
and my friends have turned against me.
14 My family is gone,
and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 My servants and maids consider me a stranger.
I am like a foreigner to them.
16 When I call my servant, he doesn’t come;
I have to plead with him!
17 My breath is repulsive to my wife.
I am rejected by my own family.
18 Even young children despise me.
When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.
19 My close friends detest me.
Those I loved have turned against me.
20 I have been reduced to skin and bones
and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
Haven’t you chewed me up enough?"

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Everything Job knew as a norm for him is gone. That way of life is no more. Even he is like a new man to those who surround him.

Verses 23-29:

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
I am overwhelmed at the thought!

28 “How dare you go on persecuting me,
saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?
29 You should fear punishment yourselves,
for your attitude deserves punishment.
Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”

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Verse 25-27 should stand as a capstone section of this book. In the middle of his situation, he remembers that his redeemer lives. Despite the crap he's going through here in this life, there will come a day when he will meet his God face-to-face, and that thought alone is a huge thing! This is also the portion of Job where you can see "Christ in the Old Testament." Although He's not explicitly mentioned by the earthly name we know Him by, He is also called 'Our Redeemer.' Isn't that cool? =)

"Father in Heaven, thank You for redeeming us through Your Son Jesus! I pray that we would remember Him in our hardships and let Him be our source for strength and hope. May we never forget You in our lives here on earth, and may we live our lives in submission and worship to You! We love You! It's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"