Sublime
Faith?
For I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth;
Job 19:25.
For a moment imagine
ourselves sitting at the top of ash heaps! Think of itchy, painful sores in the
body from top to bottom, forsaken by family, shunned by neighbors, and dear
friends. To add to the present misery Job was accused falsely by very
close friends of him being a secret slave of sin!! Job sees nothing but heart
breaking misery and the most likely of the gloomy grave before him. Alas!...The wife of
his bosom the beacon of his hope, who stood firm always unwavering in darkest
hours in life, lost hope in Job and forsakes him.
The sufferings of Job
was in his body, mind and spirit. We mortal man ever since the Fall suffer more
for survival, in the body, soul, spirit and mind. Soul is the intellectual property
endowed to humanity, encased within our body miraculously, wonderfully by our
Creator.
Yet out of the appalling night of Job’s woe and misery he sends forth this divine utterance of his faith in his living Redeemer. This is a huge testament for millions upon millions of later sufferers of today.
Strong's Hebrew: 1350. גָּאַל (gaal) -- Redeem, act
as kinsman …
To be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property, marry his widow, etc.) -- X in any wise, X at all, avenger, deliver, (do, perform the part of near, next) kinsfolk (-man), purchase, …[1]
In the Book of Ruth, Boaz was the Kinsman Redeemer for Ruth. Boaz God sent, acts as goel by marrying Ruth and redeeming the family line for Naomi. By this alliance was restoration and hope and the inheritances continued. Boaz had the responsibility to ‘buy back’ and so redeem the lost inheritance and as such he was the defender or champion of the oppressed.
A primitive root, to redeem (according to the
Oriental law of kinship), i.e. To be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a
relative's property, marry his widow, etc.) -- X in any wise, X at all,
avenger, deliver, (do, perform the part of near, next) kinsfolk(-man),
purchase, ransom, redeem(-er), revenger.[2]
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)
Sublime
Faith?
Job
did lament the harsh words of his friends, and neighbors but yet, despite his afflictions, he
expressed profound faith in God. The words of Job, affirms hope for
vindication, resurrection and ultimate restoration in the promise of God’s
words.
What
gives Job such sublime faith? This is absolutely because of his deep
relationship with his living God. Nothing else than the Word, the
promise of His God telling him of the Seed of the Woman that should bruise
the Serpent's head. To this he clings with unfaltering faith, and through it
soars triumphantly as on wings of an eagle over all his afflictions.
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)
We all have to supersede the theological
calculus of our friends, family members, ourselves and hide within Christ, in
the cleft of the Rock. This is emptying ourselves (self) completely under the
Sovereignty of God, hiding behind the shadow of the cross. This bold confidence
shatters Satan’s confidence and trusting in Christ and His redemptive work on
the Cross, where Satan’s head was bruised!
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)
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