Job 19:1-29

19:1-29 | This is Job’s second response to Bildad. The common charge of his friends has brought such grief to Job that he cries again for a mediator – and affirms his deep belief in the ultimate justice of Yahweh, even if His justice is revealed in the life to come. Job’s words concerning His Redeemer and his belief in the resurrection of the body are among the most significant in the book.

19:1-19 | Job felt wronged by God and abandoned by his close friends and what remained of his relatives. No one stood up to defend him. All that was once strong in Job’s life – his family, his social standing, his wealth, his faith – was now broken and uprooted.

19:8-10 | Before his trials began, Job had been one of the most important men in the East. But this adversity had stripped him of his glory, ruining his financial position and his standing in the community. He could no longer see what the future held (darkness in my paths).

19:20 | The skin of my teeth is a well-known phrase, but its meaning is unclear. Some assert that it depicts how much Job had physically deteriorated – only this minute part of himself was intact. Others say it reveals how close he felt he was to death.

19:21 | Job, in his limited perspective, was convinced the hand of God struck him. The opening chapters of this book show differently.

19:25-26 | 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 lives and He shall stand at last on the earth; and 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.