Redeemer
“For I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:” Job 19 v 25
I have never used a pawn broker but I am well aware of their
existence and often see people entering and leaving the premises with looks of
sadness on their faces. There were many
more pawn brokers when I was younger and we did learn about them as a part of
growing up.
People would take treasured items to the shop and leave with
money and a redemption ticket; the plan was that they would return at a later
date and redeem their valuable goods when they had paid all the outstanding
charges. Therefore the pawn ticket became a positive and important reminder of
the promise to return and be reunited with their valuables.
There are times when it seems impossible to
return to a better condition. We have many examples of people who have given up
and lost their faith in something better. When Job was experiencing extreme
negativity and severe personal trials he did not throw his hands up in the air
and curse God, as Job’s wife suggested (Job 2 v 9), instead he retain his faith
in the Redeemer he knew existed.
It was the ancient Hebrew custom that family
members would always be recovered when they had been captured or enslaved; this
is the same meaning that Job used in this verse, “I know that my redeemer
liveth,” (Job 19 v 25. Job had unshakeable faith that everything that had been
taken away from him would be restored once again, one day. This verse heralds
the truth of the immortality of Jesus Christ and the promise of His return to
earth before He had even been
the first time.
Job could be seen as one of the first
positive thinkers. He had every reason – it seemed – to become despondent and
negative, yet he remained convinced of an act of redemption. In a short time
Job had lost practically all he had: his children, his possessions, his health,
his wife’s support, and the reassurance and comfort of his friends.
But this man said – in conversation with God,
“I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden
from thee.” (Job 42 v 2) It was primarily because Job had a personal
relationship with God that he did not doubt that everything would be restored.
Job knew that he would be delivered from the torment and the experience of
separation and loss that he was enduring; he knew this because he had already
put his trust and faith in God.
One of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, questioned Job’s
connection to God. Eliphaz suggested that Job needed to “Acquaint now thyself
with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come to thee.” (Job 22 v 21) It was
Eliphaz’s opinion that Job was suffering because of a distant relationship with
God, and that was why bad things were happening to him. Sometimes we are
confronted with people who do not believe what we believe, they think our faith
in a Redeemer is ill-founded and that we cannot have the correct relationship
with God if we do not hold the same views as them.
Job’s friends and his wife were all mistaken.
Job seemed to be the only one who was aware that he held the pawnbroker’s
ticket to redemption. Job knew, without any doubt, that he would be reunited
with all that was taken from him. Job believed that the promise of redemption
was real ... and he lived his life in accordance with his beliefs.
When you know that you have an inheritance
you are not willing to forfeit it just because the current situation may be
causing you to struggle. It’s like having the last copy of someone’s last will
and testament that entitles you to receive untold riches – you are unlikely to
destroy it or give up on it because you know that the document provides you
with a plan of deliverance from one state to another. So it is with the
Redeemer.
Christ Jesus has promised to return and
redeem us all. He has paid the full price, with His life, and our deliverance
is now guaranteed. There is no chance of a default or any forfeiting of His
right to take us to the earth made new, we have been redeemed and we will be
freed from this sin-filled earthly life one day soon.
