Job 19:25-27 (ESV)
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
Hope Inspires!
Perhaps to understand these words of Job, we might want to visit the words of Solomon:
Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)
18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.
In the King James Version, this verse reads:
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The point Solomon is making is that where there is no hope, people parish. The “vision” spoken about in each version is about God providing truth that inspires someone to have hope. Without hope we cast off all restraint and fail in our lives. This is what is happening to Job. His situation has caused him to be without hope. His three friends are betting him up with their words. Note what he says in the beginning of this chapter:
Job 19:2 (ESV)
2 “How long will you torment me
and break me in pieces with words?
His friends did not offer him any hope. As Job turns his eyes away from his “friends,” (their words and advice) Job is able to see His “Redeemer.” The word, “redeemer” is the Hebrew word: g̱â’al. It was traditionally someone who came along side the family after a death and made sure the family property stayed in the family. The best known use of the word is with Boaz became Naomi’s redeemer by marring Ruth.
Ruth 2:20 (ESV)
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
Perhaps the most powerful use of the word is after Isaiah explains the rebellion of Israel and their subsequent discipline by God the Judge, he continues to say that God will also be their redeemer:
Isaiah 41:14 (ESV)
14 Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
The One who judges, also redeems. This is the picture that Job has in his head. His friends are pronouncing doom on him because he won’t “repent.” His friend Bildad just told him in chapter 18 that God destroys all those that don’t repent. Job, however, sees God as his “ga-al.” That is why in verse 27, above, he states, “... my heart faints within me!” He is overcome with emotion as he takes his mind off the words of his friends and onto the truth that God redeems him, at the edge of death. Naomi’s family line was about to die and Boaz became her “ga-al.” Israel’s disobedience brought them to the edge of annihilation, but God took a remnant and became their “ga-al.” We can rejoice through any hardship because God is our “ga-al” and that gives us inspirational hope.
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