JOB 19:19-29 - COMMENTARIES
Job 19:23-27a - EXEGESIS:
CONTEXT: The context for any passage in the book of Job has to begin with chapter 1, which establishes Job's excellent character (1:1-5), acknowledged even by God (1:8). But God permitted "the satan", one of the heavenly minions, to test Job by taking away his wealth, his family (1:13-21), and finally his health (2:1-10).
Chapters (2:11 - 37:24) are composed largely of conversations between Job and his friends (although in chapter 5 God speaks). The pattern throughout those chapters is that Job's friends, who are convinced that God prospers the innocent and punishes the guilty, try to convince Job that he must be guilty of some terrible sin and should repent. Job, however, refuses to acknowledge his sin, because he believes that he is innocent-a fact that we, as the readers of the first chapter, know to be true.
The immediate context for chapter 19 is the preceding chapter where Bildad rebukes Job sharply and warns that the wicked will be punished. He spells out graphically the kinds of punishment that the wicked can expect, and implies that Job is among the wicked who can expect them.
Chapter 19 is Job's reply. He asks, in a pleading tone, how long his friends will torment him (v. 2), and asks, "You aren't ashamed that you attack me" (v. 3). He catalogs the terrible sufferings that God has inflicted on him (vv. 6-20).
JOB 19:19-22. HAVE PITY ON ME
19 All my associates loathe 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, you friends of mine, For the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?
v. 19: "associates" lit. my inward friends or "the men of my secret." The meaning is those, who were admitted to the intimacy of friendship or who were permitted to be acquainted with his secret thoughts, purposes, and plans - All such persons had now forsaken him, and turned against him. And "those I loved" are friends that he loved more than others, Like Jesus toward Peter, James, and John.
v. 20: The sense is, Afflictions have so wasted me, that I am little more than skin and bone. And I have escaped with the skin of my teeth (means I'm scarcely free from sores in any part of my skin, except that of my gums, which hold my teeth. Schultens says, that "it seems to be a proverbial expression, for those who lie beaten and covered with wounds from head to foot.
v. 21-22: These verses are important, because they prepare us for the verses that follow. In verses 21-22, Job asks his friends for pity. He has suffered a brutal knockdown at God's hands. Why do his friends feel compelled to "pile on"? Why do they make it worse? Why can't they offer him a word of sympathy instead of a word of judgment? The word that is translated "have pity" in v. 21 (hanan) means "to be gracious to" or "to have mercy on". Why can't his friends be gracious? Why can't they extend mercy to a suffering man?
JOB 19:23-24. OH THAT MY WORDS WERE ENGRAVED IN THE ROCK
23 "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were recorded in a book! 24 That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever!
There is a progression here. Words that are written on paper can be expected to last awhile. Words that are inscribed (haqaq) in a book can be expected to last longer. But words that are engraved (hasab) on a rock can be expected to last for decades-or even centuries.
• Job has insisted all along that he is innocent, but it seems clear that God and his friends have turned against him. Without question, his friends have pronounced him guilty. Since no one believes him, it seems likely that he will die without being vindicated. If that happens, he will either be forgotten or will go down in history as a good example of a bad man who received well-deserved punishment.
• So Job wants his claims of innocence to be recorded in a permanent record, preferably on a stone monument, so that future generations will remember what he said. Then perhaps someone might investigate and verify Job's claims. Then, even after his death, he might be vindicated-his name cleared-his reputation restored.
• We aren't sure of the significance of "with lead" in verse 24. Perhaps the people of Job's time used lead coating to highlight words carved in stone (Hartley, 291).
JOB 19:25-27. I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES
25 Yet 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 will see God, 27 Whom I, on my part, shall behold for myself, And whom my eyes will see, and not another. My heart faints within me! "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer (ga∙al) lives" (v. 25a). Who can read this verse without hearing the beautiful soprano aria from Handel's Messiah? To hear that music, go to:
But our familiarity with that aria, which applies these words to the Redeemer Christ, complicates our task of determining the meaning of this verse in its original setting. The fact that many translations have chosen to capitalize the word redeemer further promotes the idea that this verse points to the Redeemer Christ. However, there are other possibilities, which we will investigate below.
The Hebrew word ga∙al means to redeem or to act as a kinsman-redeemer. Redemption has to do with "release from legal obligation or deliverance from desperate circumstances, closely connected with a payment necessary to effect that release" (Harvey). Jewish law made provision for the Israelites to redeem family members in dire straits. For instance:
• "If your brother becomes poor, and sells some of his possessions, then his kinsman who is next to him shall come, and redeem that which his brother has sold" (Leviticus 25:25).
• Or "If your brother beside him has grown poor ...and sells himself to the stranger or foreigner..., after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him; or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any who is a close relative to him of his family may redeem him; or if he has grown rich, he may redeem himself" (Leviticus 25:47-49).
The Israelites thought of Yahweh as their ga∙al. God said to Moses, "I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments" (Exodus 6:6). In the time of the Babylonian Exile, Yahweh said, "Don't be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine" (Isaiah 43:1). Job is now in dire straits. In his earlier life, as a wealthy man and community leader, he probably acted on occasion as a ga∙al, redeeming members of his family (what we would call his extended family) who had become vulnerable. Now, in this verse, Job states his confidence that his ga∙al lives. While he doesn't go on to say that his ga∙al will redeem him and his reputation, he certainly implies as much.
But we are left with questions. Job says, "I know that my Redeemer lives," but he tells us neither who his redeemer is nor when his redeemer will redeem him.
• Does Job believe that God will redeem him, or is he counting on a member of his family?
• Is Job looking forward to Christ as his redeemer?
• Will his redeemer redeem him during his lifetime, or after his death?
• If he is to be redeemed after his death, will he be resurrected so that he might witness his vindication? Or will he be permitted to witness his vindication from Sheol? Or will he be denied any knowledge of his vindication?
Our text doesn't provide clear answers to these questions. As a consequence, scholarly opinions differ sharply. Possibilities include:
• GOD: Job may mean that God will be his redeemer. However, Job believes that God brought about his suffering-and did so unjustly. "Since the lawsuit here stands in the context of a dispute with God, it seems unlikely that God himself would appear as vindicator and legal attorney against himself" (Ringgren, quoted in Clines).
• THE HEAVENLY HOST: Earlier, Job said, "Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high" (16:19). The witness "on high" could be the heavenly host-or it could be God.
• THE MESSIAH: There is no evidence in the text that Job expected a Messianic Redeemer, but God sometimes inspires people to say things that go beyond their understanding. For instance, Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, said that God would "pour out my Spirit on all flesh" (Acts 2:17). At the time that he said that, he thought that God would pour out his Spirit only on Jews. It took a dramatic vision at a later time (Acts 10) to convince him that God would actually include "all flesh" (to include Gentiles) among God's people.
Perhaps Job would not have understood his Redeemer to be the Messiah, but this text inspired the Christian community to identify Christ as the Redeemer in question. The phrase, "In the end, he will stand upon the earth" (v. 25b) certainly fits with the church's understanding of Christ's Second Coming.
• A FAMILY MEMBER: Job may have thought that some member of his family might be his redeemer. It would be highly appropriate for a kinsman to become his ga∙al-his redeemer-the one who would restore his reputation.
"In the end, he will stand upon the earth" (apar-dust) (v. 25b). This sounds like a portrayal of Christ's Second Coming. It is unlikely that Job would have understood it that way, but there is no reason that God could not have inspired him to say things beyond his understanding.
Clines understands "in the end" to mean the final speaker in the courtroom-the one who has the last word-Job's defense counsel.
Hartley understands "will stand" to refer to the kinsman who would stand in the courtroom as Job's defense attorney (Hartley, 294).
"upon the earth" (apar). Apar means "dust, dry earth, loose dirt. The primary meaning of this word is the dry, loose dirt or dust that covers the ground" (Baker & Carpenter, 857). This might mean that Job expects his ga∙al to join him on Job's ash heap (2:8).
"After my skin is destroyed" (v. 26a). "The text of verse 26 is so corrupt as to be almost unreadable" (Tucker, 466). This part of the verse appears to be talking about a time after Job's death.
"then in my flesh shall I see God, Whom I, even I, shall see on my side. My eyes shall see, and not as a stranger" (vv. 26a-27ab). In these verses, there are several clues that Job expects his vindication during his lifetime. The first and most obvious is the wording, "in my flesh." The second is "whom I, even I, shall see." The third is "my eyes shall see."
"My eyes shall see, and not as a stranger" (zur-stranger or foreigner) (v. 27b). Job expects to see God personally, rather than through the eyes of a surrogate.
"My heart (kilyah-kidney) is consumed within me" (v. 27c). The Hebrews thought of the kidneys as the seat of the emotions. It is appropriate for us to use the word "heart" rather than "kidneys," because today we use the word "heart" to mean the seat of the emotions. This verse indicates that Job is feeling emotionally drained (Hartley, 297).
JOB 19:28-29. BE AFRAID OF THE SWORD
28 If you say, 'How shall we persecute him?' And 'What pretext for a case against him can we find?' 29 Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment."
These verses are not included in the lectionary reading, but the preacher needs to be aware of them. Job is warning his friends that if they continue to say, "How we will persecute him!" or "The root of the matter is found in me!" (v. 28) they will place themselves in a precarious position. While he doesn't say that they will be guilty of bearing false witness (see Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20), that appears to be his concern. Keep in mind that he is a man of Uz (1:1) rather than a man of Israel, so we wouldn't expect him to quote from Jewish law.
• But Job does say that their false witness will bring down wrath upon them-presumably God's wrath. God will punish them with the sword-will take their lives. Following their deaths, they will be subject to judgment. Since God punished them by taking their lives, they can't expect that God will be generous to them in the judgment.
• So they had better start telling the truth-and the truth is that Job is innocent.
Job 19:19-29 Commentary
Job 19:19 "All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me."
That is, my intimate friends: the men of my counsel who are familiar with my secret affairs.
"Whom I loved are turned against me": Sincerely and fervently, which they so ill requite. He saith not, they who loved me; for their love, had it been true, would have continued in his affliction as well as in his prosperity.
The inward friends were probably speaking of the friends that he had as counsel. He had loved and trusted the three friends that had attacked him so brutally with their tongue.
Job 19:20 "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth."
The "skin of my teeth" is a well-known phrase, referring to skin that is thin and fragile. The idea is that he had escaped death by a very slim margin. The loss of all his family, as well as the abuse of his friends was added to the terror of God-forsakenness which had gripped him.
He had lost so much weight that his skin seemed to be stretched over his bones.
Job 19:21 "Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me."
Job, in his limited perspective, was convinced "the hand of God ... touched" him. The opening chapters of this book show differently.
Job was appealing to his friends and family to have pity upon him. It was hard enough to endure the terrible things that had happened to him, but was even harder when he had no one in sympathy with him.
Job 19:22 "Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?"
Why are ye as hard on me as God himself? If I have offended him, what have I done to offend you?
"And are not satisfied with my flesh": That is, with the consumption and torment of my whole body. But add to it the vexation of my spirit, by grievous censures and reproaches. And are like wolves and lions, which are not contented with devouring the flesh of their prey, but also break their bones.
Job was asking his friends and family to not add to his suffering.
"In my flesh" (verse 26) speaks of a resurrected body. Though it may also be translated "apart from my flesh," as a spirit being, the emphasis of the original means "from the standpoint of my flesh," in my resurrected body. Here then is clear evidence of the Old Testament belief in the resurrection of the human body.
In verses 23-29 we see Job at his greatest despair, but his faith appeared at its highest as he confidently affirmed that God was his Redeemer. He wanted that confidence in the record for all to know (verses 23-24). Job wished that the activities of his life were put into words and "engraved in the rock," so all would know that he had not sinned to the magnitude of his suffering. God granted his prayer. God was his Redeemer (compare Exodus 6:6; Psalms 19:14; 72:14; Isa. 43:14; 47:4; 49:26; Jer. 50:34), who would vindicate him in that last day of judgment on the earth when justice was finally done (Jer. 12:1-3; John 5:25, 29; Rev. 20:11-15).
Verses 23-27: God has humiliated Job (verses 8-12), his friends and relatives have abandoned him (verses 13-20), and he has been reduced to pleading for pity (verses 21-22). But from the depths of degradation he expresses the confidence that if his case could only be recorded for posterity, future generations would judge him favorably (verses 23-24). Furthermore, he knows confidently that he has a "Redeemer" (verse 25, Hebrew goel), One who will champion his cause and vindicate him. The Redeemer is more than an arbiter (9:33) or a witness (16:19) but a Kinsman-Redeemer who will avenge him. Clearly, Job viewed God Himself as the Redeemer, and the Hebrew word is in fact used often of God (Psalm 19:14; Isa. 41:14; etc.).
Job 19:23 "Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!"
Some understand this to refer to the words he is about to utter; by others they are interpreted generally. The former view is probably owing to the Christian acceptation given to them, and the consequently great importance attaching to them. Since, however, the three verses (Job 19:25-27), are manifestly more emphatic than any he has yet spoken. Though they do not stand quite alone, there is no reason why it should not be especially these very words which he desires more than any others to have recorded. Perhaps the "now" here shows this.
"Oh that they were printed": This points us to primitive time, when writing materials and the use of writing involved more or less of engraving. For instance, in later times was the case with tablets of wax.
Job 19:24 "That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!"
A peculiar kind of rock-inscription, of which, so far as I know, no specimens remain, appears to be here alluded to. Job wished the characters of his record to be cut deep into the rock with an iron chisel, and the incision made to be then filled up with lead (compare the mediaeval "brasses").
I believe the words that Job was speaking of that he wanted written down were the ones he was about to utter. They were so important, I agree with Job, they should be engraved in stone.
Verses 25-26: Job had no hope left for this life, but was confident that "after" he was dead, his Redeemer would vindicate him in the glory of a physical ("from my flesh"), resurrection in which he would enjoy perfect fellowship with the Redeemer. That Jesus Christ is that Redeemer is the clear message of the gospel (see Luke 2:38; Rom. 3:24; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:12).
We are not told how Job knew this, but in his heart, God placed this confidence, one of the Bible's most triumphant statements of faith: "I know that my redeemer liveth, and" ... He shall stand at the latter days ... I shall see God". Redeemer means "a go-between", or "one who will ransom." As hopeless as life seems, and as awful as death can be, none of it is the end for those who know the Lord. A day is coming when God Himself will vindicate all of life's suffering.
Job 19:25 "For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth:"
Rather, but I know. This is now something higher to which his mind rises.
"My Redeemer liveth": "Liveth" means more than is, exists. Job uses the word in opposition to himself. He dies but his redeemer lives after him.
"And that he shall stand in the latter day": In the days of the Messiah, or of the gospel, which are often called the latter or last days, or times (as Isa. 2:2; Hosea 3:5; Joel 2:28; compared with Acts 2:17; 1 Tim. 4:1; and 2 Tim. 3:1; Heb. 1:1). Or at the day of the general resurrection and judgment, which, as those holy patriarchs well knew, and firmly believed, was to be at the end of the world. For this was the time when Job's resurrection, of which he here speaks, was to take place.
I believe Job was speaking of the Redeemer (the Lord Jesus Christ). "Liveth" is a word that means continues to live. He was speaking prophetically of the King of kings and Lord of lords (Jesus Christ), who stands in the latter days upon the earth. Notice that Job said "know". There was no doubt as far as Job was concerned. Job had fulfilled the Scripture in Romans that says:
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Job had professed his faith in this.
Job 19:26 "And [though] after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God:"
Meaning not, that after his skin was wholly consumed now, which was almost gone, there being scarce any left but the skin of his teeth (Job 19:20). The worms in his ulcers would consume what was left of his body, which scarcely deserved the name of a body. And therefore, he points to it, and calls it "this", without saying what it was. But that when he should be entirely stripped of his skin in the grave, then rottenness and worms would strip him also of all the rest of his flesh and his bones. By which he expresses the utter consumption of his body by death, and after it in the grave. And nevertheless, though so it would be, he was assured of his resurrection from the dead.
"Yet in my flesh shall I see God": He believed, that though he should die and decay into dust in the grave, yet he should rise again. And that in true flesh, not in an aerial celestial body, but in a true body, consisting of flesh, blood, and bones. Which spirits have not, and in the same flesh or body he then had, his own flesh and body, and not another's. And so with his fleshly or corporeal eyes see God, even his living Redeemer, in human nature. Who, as he would stand upon the earth in that nature, in the fullness of time, and obtain redemption for him. So he would in the latter day appear again, raise him from the dead, and take him to himself, to behold his glory to all eternity. Or "out of my flesh", out of my fleshly eyes; from thence and with those shall I behold God manifest in the flesh, my incarnate God. And if Job was one of those saints that rose when Christ did, as some say, he saw him in the flesh and with his fleshly eyes.
Job was saying though this disease killed his present body and he died, he would arise in a new body to meet God.
Job 19:27 "Whom shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; [though] my reins be consumed within me."
These words might mean merely, whom I myself shall see; or, for myself may mean, favorable to me, on my side and to my joy.
And mine eyes shall behold, and not another": i.e. "not the eyes of another." I myself, retaining my personal identity, "the same true living man," shall with my own eyes look on my Redeemer.
"Though my reins be consumed within me": Which may be considered as a passionate exclamation, such as we find (Genesis 48:18 and often in the book of Psalms), arising from his confident expectation of this his unspeakable happiness, and expressing his vehement desire and longing for that blessed time and state.
Every eye shall see Him. Job was looking to that great and glorious day, when we shall all meet God. He was not speaking of a vision or of a dream. He was speaking of reality. We are all restrained at present from such an encounter. There is a day when Job and all who believe, shall behold Him.
Verses 28-29: Job warned his friends that their misjudgment of him and violence against him could bring punishment on them.
Job 19:28 "But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?"
Rather, if ye shall say "how shall we persecute him?" That is to say, "If, after what I have said, ye continue bitter against me, and take counsel together as to the best way of persecuting me, then, seeing the root of the matter (i.e. the essence of piety) "is found in me, be ye afraid," etc.
The statement that Job had just made should have stopped all of the persecutions from his friends. If it did not, it would be because of their lack of understanding, and not because of anything Job was guilty of.
Job 19:29 "Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath [bringeth] the punishments of the sword, that ye may know [there is] a judgment."
Not of the civil magistrate, nor of a foreign enemy, but of the avenging sword of divine justice. Lest God should whet the glittering sword of his justice, and his hand should take hold of judgment, in order to avenge the wrongs of the innocent. Unless the other should also be considered as his instruments.
"For wrath brings the punishments of the sword": Or "sins of the sword". The sense is, either that the wrath of men, in persecuting the people of God, puts them upon the commission of such sins as deserve to be punished with the sword, either of the civil magistrate, or of a foreign enemy, or of divine justice. Or else the wrath of God brings on more punishments for their sins by means of the sword.
"That ye may know there is a judgment": That is executed in the world by the Judge of all the earth, who will do right. And that there is a future judgment after death, unto which everything in this world will be brought to light, when God will judge the world in righteousness by Christ. Whom he has ordained to be Judge of the quick and dead; and which will be a righteous judgment, that none can escape. And when, Job suggests, the controversy between him and his friends would be determined. And it would be then seen who was in the right, and who in the wrong. And unto which time he seems willing to refer his cause, and to have no more said about it. But his friends did not choose to take his advice; for Zophar the Naamathite starts up directly and makes a reply.
Job was speaking of the sword of God which would destroy his friends, if they happened to be persecuting an innocent man. We all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. This judgement is just. There will be those who thought they were in right standing with God who will not be accepted. Job was warning his friends to be careful how they judged. They will be judged as they had judged.
EW Commentary - Job 19:19-29
Job 19:19-20 - Job describes the bitter results of God's attack upon him
All my close friends abhor me,
And those whom I love have turned against me.
My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth."
d. My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth: Job here referred to his emaciated and unhealthy condition, and just how close he was to physical death.
i. "The bones nearly pierce and show through the skin, appearing to cleave to the skin." (Bullinger)
ii. By the skin of my teeth: "There is no skin upon the teeth, or scarcely any, and, therefore, Job means that there was next to nothing of him left, like the skin of his teeth." (Spurgeon)
iii. "The KJV made a literal translation of it and thereby created an idiom in the English language for a narrow escape (by the skin of my teeth)." (Smick) Some think that Job meant that only his gums were left unaffected by his diseased condition. Others suggest that Job was so tortured that he gnawed at his skin with his teeth, or on his own lips in agony.
iv. The Puritan commentator John Trapp had another idea: "All I have left me whole is the skin of my teeth; that is, of my gums, into which my teeth are engrafted; the rest of my body is all over of a scab... Junius gives this gloss, Job had nothing left him but the instrument of speech. These, say some, the devil purposely meddled not with, as hoping that therewith he would curse God."
B. Job proclaims his trust in God as redeemer and judge.
1. (21-22) Job pleads for pity from his friends.
"Have pity on me, have pity on me,
O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me!
Why do you persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?"
a. Have pity on me, O you my friends: In light of the eloquence and truth of his previous complaint, Job called upon his friends to therefore pity him. Instead of joining against him in a concert of condemnation, they should have had pity on this one so afflicted by the hand of God.
b. Why do you persecute me as God does: Job made his appeal to God and felt there was no reply given. Now, he appealed to his friends and hoped to at least turn their hearts towards him.
2. (23-29) Job's triumphant proclamation of faith.
"Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
If you should say, 'How shall we persecute him?';
Since the root of the matter is found in me,
Be afraid of the sword for yourselves;
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
That you may know there is a judgment."
a. Oh, that my words were written: Job seemed to have no sense that his own personal tragedy and drama would indeed be written and inscribed in a book and be so for the benefit of countless others through succeeding generations. His words and life were indeed written with an iron pen and lead, forever!
b. For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth: This is another of the brilliant flashes of faith in Job's otherwise dark and bleak background of crisis and suffering. Perhaps as he considered that future generations would indeed look at his life and words, it stirred him to a triumphant proclamation of faith.
i. The word translated Redeemer is goel, presenting one of the wonderful concepts of the Old Testament. "The 'Goel' stood for another to defend his cause, to avenge wrongs done to him, and so to acquit him of all charges laid against him." (Morgan)
ii. "A redeemer was a vindicator of one unjustly wronged. He was a defender of the oppressed. A champion of the suffering. An advocate of one unjustly accused. If you were ever wronged, a redeemer would come and stand beside you as your champion and advocate." (Lawson)
iii. "The meaning of the word goel ('redeemer') is fundamental to understanding this passage. The word is important in Old Testament jurisprudence. It had both a criminal and a civil aspect. As 'blood avenger,' a goel had a responsibility to avenge the blood of a slain kinsman (Numbers 35:12-28). He was not seeking revenge but justice. On the civil side he was a redeemer or vindicator. Here he had the responsibility to 'buy back' and so redeem the lost inheritance of a deceased relative... As such he was the defender or champion of the oppressed." (Smick)
iv. "When Job, amid the desolation, declared that he had a 'Goel' living and active, he was uttering a profound truth, the truth that in God, man has a Redeemer in all the fullest senses of that great word. It was a spiritual apprehension of an abiding fact, which fact came into clear shining when God was manifest in flesh." (Morgan)
v. "Christ's kinship with his people is to be thought of with great comfort because it is voluntary. We have some, perhaps, who are akin to us, yet, who wish they were not. Many a time, when a rich man has poor relations, he is half ashamed of the kinship between them, and wishes that it did not exist. Shame upon him for thinking so! But our Lord Jesus Christ's relationship to us is no accident of birth; it was voluntarily assumed by him." (Spurgeon)
vi. "Remember, too, that it was always considered to be the duty of the goel, not merely to redeem by price, but where that failed, to redeem by power... There are two redemptions, - redemption by price and redemption by power, and both of these Christ hath wrought for us; - by price, by his sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary; and by power, by his Divine Spirit coming into our heart, and renewing our soul." (Spurgeon)
c. For I know: We are impressed with Job's certainty. This was something that he knew; it was much more than a hope and more than a guess.
d. That my Redeemer: Job knew that he had a Redeemer; someone to rescue him from his crisis and despair and every accusation set against him.
i. "Verses 25-27 are so tightly knit that there should be no doubt that the Redeemer is God." (Andersen)
ii. "Job cannot understand why God is now acting so completely out of character with what he has always believed. He must somehow recover his friendship with God by means which supersede the theological calculus of the friends. He boldly claims God as his nearest relative." (Andersen)
e. That my Redeemer lives: Job knew that his Redeemer was alive, and that because He lived, He could also bring life to Job.
f. And shall stand at last on the earth: This meant that Job knew his Redeemer was more than a spiritual concept; He was a living being who could stand at last on the earth. Job knew his Redeemer would come to comfort and vindicate him, though to this point he had been conspicuously without evident comfort from God.
i. "At the end of chapter 16 Job was obsessed with the notion that someone in heaven would stand up for him and plead his case. But here in chapter 19 he expected to witness his own vindication on earth." (Smick)
g. And after my skin is destroyed: At this point, Job held no more hope for the preservation of his flesh; he knew that his skin would be destroyed (it was already in bad condition according to Job 2:7-8).
h. This I know, that in my flesh I shall see God: Though Job expected the destruction of his skin to be completed, at the same time he had the confidence of faith to know that God would not hide Himself forever; that "in my flesh I shall see God." This would be the moment of Job's comfort, restoration, and vindication; and he would have confidence in it even if it, only came after life on this earth was over.
i. "Beyond the heavens Job thought there lived a Kinsman, who saw all his sufferings, and pitied, and would one day appear on earth to vindicate his innocence and avenge his wrongs. He was content to leave the case with Him, sure He would not fail, as his friends had done." (Meyer)
ii. "It has occurred to me that, possibly, Job himself may not have known the full meaning of all that he said. Imagine the patriarch driven into a corner, badgered by his so-called friends, charged by them with all manner of evils until he is quite boiling over with indignation, and, at the same time, smarting under terrible bodily diseases and the dreadful losses which he has sustained; and, at last, he bursts out with this exclamation, 'I shall be vindicated one day; I am sure I shall. I know that my Vindicator liveth. I am sure that, there is One who will vindicate me; and if he never clears my name and reputation as long as I live, it will be done afterwards. There must be a just God, in heaven, who will see me righted; and even though worms devour my body until the last relic of it has passed away, I do verily believe that, somehow, in the far-off ages, I shall be vindicated.'" (Spurgeon)
i. Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another: Though it shines as a flash of faith in a dark background of despair, this bold confidence of Job completely frustrated Satan's confidence that Job could be turned against God. His confidence and trust, blind as it was at the moment, was set upon the fact that he would one day see God for himself, a statement powerfully and poetically repeated for emphasis.
i. Anticipating the fulfillment of all this, no wonder Job could say, "How my heart yearns within me!" With this wonderful revelation and proclamation of his anticipated Redeemer he clearly, though probably unknowingly, looked forward to Jesus Christ and His work as Redeemer.
ii. This is entirely in keeping with other passages which refer to God as our Redeemer. "And if the places where God is called Goel in the Old Testament be examined, it will be found that either all or most of them may be, and some of them must be, understood of God the Son, or of Christ, as Genesis 48:16; Isaiah 59:20." (Poole)
iii. Nevertheless, it is also significant that in this passage where Jesus is wonderfully celebrated as a living Redeemer and Vindicator and Kinsman for His people, we also see the shadow of the suffering of Jesus.
Job 19 Commentary: How others have wronged Job
And so, we now turn our attention to verses 14-19 where Job outlines how others have wronged him.
14 My [kinsfolk/relatives/kinsmen] have failed,
and my [familiar/intimate] friends have forgotten me.
15 They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, [count/consider] me for a stranger:
I am [an alien/a foreigner] in their sight.
16 I [called/summon] my servant, [and/but] he [gave me no answer/does not respond];
[i.e., even though...] I [intreated/implore] him with my [i.e., own...] mouth.
17 My breath is [strange/offensive/repulsive] to my wife,
though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body [or, I am loathsome to my brothers...].
18 [Yea/Even], [young children/youngsters] [despised/have scorned] me;
[i.e., When...] I arose, and they [spake against/scoff at] me.
19 All my [inward/closest] friends [abhorred/detest] me:
and they whom I loved are turned against me.
So, you name the relation in Job's life - and they've all treated him poorly. His kinsfolk, friends, housemates, maids, servants, his own wife, young children, closest friends, and those whom Job loved - all of them have turned away from him.
Job is utterly forsaken - both by God and by man.
Job 19 Commentary: Physical Difficulties
And as if those relational difficulties aren't enough, Job has physical issues to deal with.
20 My bone [cleaveth/clings/sticks] to my skin and to my flesh,
and I am escaped with [i.e., only...] the skin of my teeth.
Job 19 Commentary: An Appeal to the Friends
And this is where Job is going with all of this. He lists all of his troubles - not just in order to complain - but rather, he is appealing for some mercy from these friends of his, who have been showing no mercy.
21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends;
for the hand of God hath [touched/struck] me.
22 Why do ye persecute me [as/like] God,
and are not [satisfied/satiated] with my flesh?
So, as if God's apparent persecution of Job weren't enough, these friends have added to his troubles.
Job 19 Commentary: Wishing for a Future Audience
And even though Job appealed to his friends for pity, yet he knows that he's going to receive none from them. They're going to be just as harsh to him as others are - and even as he perceives God to be.
And so - since no one is listening to Job's pitiable cries for mercy - that leads this man to wish aloud for an ability to have his words recorded forever in the hopes that someone along the way in the future might be able to come across Job's arguments and sympathize with him.
23 Oh that my words were now written!
oh that they were printed [in a book/on a scroll]!
24 That they were [graven/engraved] with an iron [pen/stylus/chisel] and [i.e., with...] lead in [the/a] rock for ever!
And I think it's ironic that Job got just what he was asking for. The fact that we're considering his words - that are written in a book - is testimony to the fact that Job got what he wanted. We are listening to and we are sympathizing with this man thousands of years after his words were recorded in this book. He has his audience.
Job 19 Commentary: My Redeemer
And yet, when it comes down to it, we're not the audience that he really wants. At the very least, we're not the audience that he really needs.
How do we know that? Well, in verses 25-27 Job identifies the ultimate audience that he's really looking to hear him. It's one that he identifies as "my Redeemer" - who is none other than "God" himself.
25 [For/As for me] I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And [though after my skin worms destroy this body/even after my skin is destroyed], yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
though my [reins/heart] [be consumed/grows faint/faints] within me.
So, Job is showing signs of growth here in the midst of his awful trials.
He recognizes that God is sovereignly - and to him, inexplicably - bringing some serious suffering into his life. And that fact shakes him to the core.
And yet, he's able to - in the very same chapter in which he recognizes this reality - identify this God who is bringing so much difficulty into his life as his "redeemer."
And Job doesn't merely recognize who God is to him - his redeemer. He declares that God will stand on the earth on the last day and that even though Job is dead by that point - he will somehow amazingly see God in his flesh!
And for the New Testament believer, it's difficult to miss that he's speaking of Jesus Christ. God the Father doesn't have a body. God the Son does. God the Father is not going to stand on the earth at the last day. But God the Son - Jesus Christ - will stand on the earth at the last day.
So, Job is amazingly prophesying that Jesus Christ is coming. And we can identify this as Jesus' second coming - that is yet future even to us. But it will surely happen.
But Job also testifies to another teaching found elsewhere in Scripture. And that is the resurrection of believers' bodies. Job says that there will be a time when his physical body is destroyed. But in the same breath he seems to contradict himself by declaring that he will see God in his flesh.
But isn't his flesh destroyed? Yes - but believers get new bodies in the resurrection. And we will stand upon the earth at the last day with Christ.
This is amazing. One of the most ancient characters in the known history of our world - and he's affirming two doctrines that are essential to the Christian faith - and what's more - they're realities that haven't happened yet - Christ's second coming and the resurrection of the righteous!
So, I think we see Job growing here in his faith. He's still trying to sort through the troubling realities of his current situation. And yet, he's also revealing a faith that is deep and orthodox and increasing in some ways.
Job 19 Commentary: To the Friends
But at the same time, I'm afraid that we don't see this kind of development in Job's friends.
And so, it's to these three men - who are in some ways beyond hope - that Job now turns to end chapter 19.
28 But [ye should/should (or if) ye] say,
[Why/How will] [persecute we/we pursue] him,
[seeing/since] the root of the [matter/trouble] is found in [me/him]?
29 Be ye afraid of the sword:
for wrath bringeth the punishments [of/by] the sword,
that ye may know there is a judgment.
And it's difficult to know what to make of this statement by Job. It sounds like a threat. As if Job were threatening these men with a sword if they continue to accuse him wrongly of sinning and bringing God's judgement upon himself in that way.
I'm pretty sure that Job's not threatening to brandish a sword against these men himself. But you never know - especially with a man who is undergoing extreme suffering. But whomever is wielding the sword in Job's mind - Job is assuring these men that their lack of godly care and consideration for this suffering man will not go unpunished ultimately.
And you can be sure that that kind of threat is not going to go unanswered. And so, we're going to see Zophar - the last in order of the three friends - give his second lecture
