"If I am condemned, why then do I labor in vain? For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both."
--Job 9:29, 32-33 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on August 25, 2013 of Psalm 147:1-11; Luke 21:5-38; Job 8-9.
Job's friend Bildad has taken a more direct and accusatory approach to the argument Eliphaz raised as to the cause behind all the bad things that happened to Job. In Bildad's opinion, there could be no other reason than that Job had sinned grievously before God, and the sooner he admitted it, the sooner the healing and restoration could begin. Bildad almost sounds like a present day prosecutor in this regard, as if saying, "If you go ahead and confess to this crime now, we'll cut you a good deal; otherwise you'll have to face a judge and jury and it may not go so well for you." But Job continued to profess his innocence. He insisted he had done nothing to incur God's wrath. In today's focus verses, his frustration and distress leads him to wonder why he even tries to show himself blameless, either in the eyes of God or of his friends. Job feels God, as his ultimate judge, is not a man that he can simply go to court against and take his chances. There is no one who can mediate between him and God, who can stand up for him in that courtroom.
This isn't the only time Job longs for a go-between. Later, as he is speaking his mind to God, he expresses his desire: "If there is a messenger for him, a mediator, one among a thousand, to show man His uprightness, then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom.'" (Please reference Job 33:23-24.) Job wished there were someone, anyone, who could stand with him, who could save him from damnation.
Job's wish was eventually fulfilled, but not until a much later time. Unlike Job, we today are fortunate enough to have the Mediator Job longed for. Of course, neither luck nor good fortune have anything to do with it. God, in His infinite mercy and grace, sent His only and beloved Son Jesus to us, that by His blood sacrifice He would willingly serve as our Defender and Mediator when we stand in the presence of God our Father. The Apostle Paul assures us of this in his first letter to his young protege' Timothy: "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6.) Jesus paid the ransom Job sought, and not just for Job but for all mankind. Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Himself, carried them to the grave, and left them there so we could stand clean before God, with our Mediator Christ Jesus at our side. Like Job, all we have to do is remain faithful through it all, and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Master. The ransom has been paid. Amen.
Father, You see the plight and sorry state of man, and still You send Your only Son so that whoever believes in Him might be saved. He didn't come to punish us or destroy us, but to save us. Thank You, dear Father, for loving Your wayward children so much. Thank You, precious Jesus, for making the sacrifice to become our true and trusted Mediator. In the holy name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
This isn't the only time Job longs for a go-between. Later, as he is speaking his mind to God, he expresses his desire: "If there is a messenger for him, a mediator, one among a thousand, to show man His uprightness, then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom.'" (Please reference Job 33:23-24.) Job wished there were someone, anyone, who could stand with him, who could save him from damnation.
Job's wish was eventually fulfilled, but not until a much later time. Unlike Job, we today are fortunate enough to have the Mediator Job longed for. Of course, neither luck nor good fortune have anything to do with it. God, in His infinite mercy and grace, sent His only and beloved Son Jesus to us, that by His blood sacrifice He would willingly serve as our Defender and Mediator when we stand in the presence of God our Father. The Apostle Paul assures us of this in his first letter to his young protege' Timothy: "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6.) Jesus paid the ransom Job sought, and not just for Job but for all mankind. Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Himself, carried them to the grave, and left them there so we could stand clean before God, with our Mediator Christ Jesus at our side. Like Job, all we have to do is remain faithful through it all, and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Master. The ransom has been paid. Amen.
Father, You see the plight and sorry state of man, and still You send Your only Son so that whoever believes in Him might be saved. He didn't come to punish us or destroy us, but to save us. Thank You, dear Father, for loving Your wayward children so much. Thank You, precious Jesus, for making the sacrifice to become our true and trusted Mediator. In the holy name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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