As I was reading through the story of Job this week,
God revealed to me what I have missed countless times in reading Job – Job’s
plea for Jesus. And while I hardly believe Job understood his prophetic cry, I
do believe it was prophetic through the sovereignty of the Lord.
Job 9:27-35
(NIV)
“If
I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,’
I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with cleansing powder,
you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.
I will change my expression, and smile,’
I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with cleansing powder,
you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.
“He
is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.”
that we might confront each other in court.
If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.”
There
is much more going on in this passage and story that I will not comment on here,
but at least one thing is clear. In anguish, Job confesses his and (in the
greater context) all of humanity’s guilt before righteous God and the need for someone
to stand in the gap. The justice and righteousness of God demands propitiation.
Jesus Christ was God’s foreordained mediator to pay with His life the price for
ours, so that we can boldly stand before the throne of God, free of terror. As
His blood bought children, we stand in Jesus’ righteousness as He represents us
to the Father.
1
Timothy 2:5-6 (NIV)
“For there is one God and one mediator
between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself
as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”
Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV)
“When you
were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you
alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having
canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and
condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities,
he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
May we bask in this glorious gospel that is our hope, and unashamedly
proclaim what Jesus has accomplished for the Father’s glory and our salvation.
