Job: “My Redeemer Lives!”

In Job 18–21, Bildad accuses Job of being blindly wicked, and Zophar declares his destruction already sealed. A battered Job fires back with one of the most stunning declarations of faith in all of Scripture: I know that my Redeemer lives. Behind the thundering debate, a courtroom drama is unfolding at a level none of the participants can see.

Previously on Bible Book Club

In our last chapters, Round 2 of the great debate began, and things got a lot less friendly. In Round 1, the three friends were preachy but still pastoral. Their message was basically: repent, and things will get better. But Job refused. He wasn’t guilty, so he couldn’t confess to something he didn’t do. And that refusal changed everything.

In Round 2, the velvet gloves were traded for boxing gloves. Eliphaz led the fight, and accused Job of arrogance, foolishness, and defying God. His message shifted from “here’s what you should do” to “here’s what you are, and what you are, Job, is wicked.” But Job didn’t collapse from the blow. Battered and near despair, he did something remarkable. He looked past his miserable comforters posing as friends and looked up to what he knew to be true. He had a witness in heaven, an advocate on high, an intercessor who could see the truth. Job didn’t have a name for that witness, he never would. But we do. Welcome back to Round 2 of the case against Job.

How does the tone of the debate change in Job Round 2?

In Round 2 both Bildad and Zophar aggressively accuse Job. The friends have shifted in this round from correction to condemnation, and their tone has shifted from “here’s what you should do” to “here’s what you are.” They do not hesitate to tell Job what he is. And they are unanimous in their opinion: Job is wicked.

Eliphaz attacked Job’s character, insinuating he is foolishly wicked. Bildad will attack Job’s understanding, insinuating he is blindly wicked. Zophar will attack Job’s future, stating he is hopelessly wicked. There is a deeper theological shift in this round. The friends stop talking about God’s mercy and only talk about God’s judgment. In round 1, they at least held out the possibility of restoration. Round 2 is almost entirely focused on the fate of the wicked, which they have judged pertains to Job.

Job’s responses in Round 2 are emotionally raw and theologically bold. He stops trying to reason with his friends and starts talking directly to God. He mentioned a ‘Witness in Heaven’ in our last episode. In this episode, he will make a declaration about “The Redeemer.” These are not arguments aimed at Eliphaz and Bildad. These are declarations of faith aimed at the heavenly courtroom. Job has essentially rejected his friends’ verdict and appeals to a higher court.

Round 2: Bildad, “Job, you are blindly wicked.”

Job 18:1–4

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: 2 “When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk. 3 Why are we regarded as cattle and considered stupid in your sight? 4 You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, is the earth to be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place?

5 “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning. 6 The light in his tent becomes dark; the lamp beside him goes out. 7 The vigor of his step is weakened; his own schemes throw him down. 8 His feet thrust him into a net; he wanders into its mesh. 9 A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds him fast. 10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a trap lies in his path. 11 Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step. 12 Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is ready for him when he falls. 13 It eats away parts of his skin; death’s firstborn devours his limbs. 14 He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.

15 Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling. 16 His roots dry up below and his branches wither above. 17 The memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name in the land. 18 He is driven from light into the realm of darkness and is banished from the world. 19 He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived. 20 People of the west are appalled at his fate; those of the east are seized with horror. 21 Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one who does not know God.”

What does Bildad mean by calling Job “blindly wicked” in chapter 18?

Bildad’s argument is that Job cannot see what is obvious to everyone else, that Job’s suffering is proof he is wicked, and that he is blind to it. Bildad is attacking Job’s understanding. Recall that Bildad is our cruel conformist. Here he is true to form.

Bildad basically says to Job: Who do you think you are? Do you think God will change the course of the world just for you? This is the way things are. Are you blind? When will you stop resisting and fall in? And then Bildad says what he really thinks: Your unwillingness to see the truth is wicked.

Frustrated with Job’s unwillingness to acknowledge his sin and end his suffering, Bildad proceeds to paint a picture of what will become of Job because of his wickedness. He will be trapped in a world of terror: no prosperity, no strength to resist, no place to hide, no children, no hope of recovery. In fact, he will be marched off to the king of terrors. What is ironic, and Bildad is blind to this, is that he is saying this to Job, a man who has already lost his prosperity, his strength, his children, his hope. He is living in the land of the king of terrors!

Who is the “king of terrors” mentioned in Bildad’s speech?

The king of terrors is death personified. Bildad is weaponizing the fear of death, hoping to force Job’s repentance. But Bildad, like his two other friends, is more concerned with proving he is right, than saving Job. During this time little is known about death or Satan. The people do not know what we know, and therefore death is feared.

The book of Hebrews assures us we have no cause to fear death.

Hebrews 2:14–15 Since the children have flesh and blood, Jesus too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Jesus shares in our humanity so by His death we no longer have to fear being marched off to the king of terrors. The death of Christ saved us from the death of eternal darkness.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We have the Light of Life, and we are therefore spared the fear of darkness. Job is not so enlightened, nor are his friends. Bildad fears the king of terrors because he has no knowledge of the King of Kings.

Bildad ends with the implication that Job is an evil man, one who does not know God. You would never know from his words that Bildad is a friend. He has judged, and he is unwavering in his verdict: Job does not know God, therefore Job simply cannot see what is plain to everyone else. Again, this fits Bildad’s personality perfectly. He’s the historian, the traditionalist. His argument is essentially: The evidence is overwhelming and has been for generations, and Job still doesn’t get it. Job’s blindness is the problem.

Round 2: Job to Bildad, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives!”

Job 19:1–7

1 Then Job replied: 2 “How long will you torment me and crush me with words? 3 Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me. 4 If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone. 5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my humiliation against me, 6 then know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me. 7 “Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.

8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness. 9 He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. 10 He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree. 11 His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies. 12 His troops advance in force; they build a siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent. 13 “He has alienated my family from me; my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14 My relatives have gone away; my closest friends have forgotten me. 15 My guests and my female servants count me a foreigner; they look on me as on a stranger. 16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer, though I beg him with my own mouth. 17 My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family. 18 Even the little boys scorn me; when I appear, they ridicule me. 19 All my intimate friends detest me; those I love have turned against me. 20 I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. 21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?

23 “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! 28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound him, since the root of the trouble lies in him, 29 you should fear the sword yourselves; for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know that there is judgment.”

Why does Job claim that God has wronged him in chapter 19?

Job is so frustrated. Rather than being frightened or subdued by Bildad’s fear tactics, he becomes bolder in his accusation, claiming that God is unjust. This is not uncommon. Many of us have thought the same. There is no easy way to justify suffering.

One of the most widely read authors on the subject of suffering is C.S. Lewis. In his book Mere Christianity, he explained how his perception of God’s injustice kept him from becoming a Christian:

“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Lewis explains that as an atheist, he had been arguing that the world was “bad” and “senseless.” However, he realized he was trapped in a logical contradiction. If the universe is 100% senseless, we should never have discovered that it is senseless, because that is all we would know is senselessness. We would have nothing to compare it to.

Just as a person born in total darkness would have no concept of “dark” because they wouldn’t know what “light” is, a person in a truly “unjust” universe would have no concept of “justice.” Therefore, the fact that we feel “outraged” by suffering and injustice suggests we are comparing the world to a “straight line,” an objective standard of goodness, that must come from a source outside the material universe. And that standard points toward God rather than away from Him. For Lewis, the argument against God became the evidence for God.

So how does this connect to Job? Job’s whole cry is essentially: this is unjust! Rooted in that cry is the assumption that justice exists and matters. Job isn’t denying God. He’s demanding that God show up and answer for what He’s allowed. His outrage is itself an act of faith. And with that, God scores again in the court of heaven. Satan’s whole bet is that Job will curse and reject God under pressure. Instead, Job does the opposite. He doesn’t step away. Job steps into the ring with God and demands a fight.

Job is still wrestling, but it doesn’t feel like he is getting anywhere, and that leaves him feeling beaten. The poor man is in a fight more like a boxing match than a wrestling match. By now, he has gone through five rounds of arguments with his three friends. He is tired from this battle with disease and with his friends. His heart and body are bruised. Job’s skin is on fire. His eyes are so swollen he can barely see, and his ears are ringing so that the words of the crowd around him sound incoherent. He feels alone in the ring.

Which family and friends does Job say have abandoned him?

Job feels utterly abandoned by everyone: God, his wife, family, relatives, friends, and servants. He is wasting away, and there is no one to comfort or mourn him. Job is fighting, but he is fading. He is a foreshadowing of Christ, the suffering servant, a prophecy from Isaiah:

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Job is despised and rejected like Christ. Does he know one will come after him to suffer more? Does God give him a vision of Christ? Does he have the understanding to see Him for the Savior that He is? We have to wonder, because what Job cries out next must come from somewhere.

What is Job’s specific prophecy regarding a future resurrection?

Job stands as tall as he can in his weak condition and states: For the record, please, I beg you to write this down. Whatever befalls me, I want the record to show I know my redeemer lives. Job knows! How he knows, we don’t know.

What is the meaning of the Hebrew word “go’el” in Job’s speech?

The Hebrew word for redeemer is go’el. It’s a legal term with a very specific meaning. The go’el is a kinsman-redeemer, a close family member who has the right and the responsibility to step in when someone can’t save themselves.

• If they lose their land, the go’el buys it back.
• If they are enslaved for debt, the go’el pays the price.
• If they are wrongfully accused, the go’el stands up in court and defends them.

We first learned about this term in Ruth Chapter 2 when Boaz stepped up to fill the role of kinsman-redeemer by providing for Naomi and Ruth. Job is all three, stripped of everything: health, wealth, children, reputation. He needs a go’el to redeem him. And he exclaims, for the record, that he has one. One who will stand on this earth and vindicate him, even if Job himself is already dead. He doesn’t know his redeemer’s name. He just knows he exists.

Who is Job talking about when he says my redeemer lives?

When Job says he “I know that my redeemer lives,” some think he’s referring to a person he hopes will defend him, but most believe Job is referring to the Messiah. Included in this group is Frederic Handel. In fact, in Handel’s Messiah, the aria “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” is taken from Job 19:25–26.

The entire resurrection section of the Messiah, the climactic third act, opens with Job’s words alone:

“I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”

There are aspects of these two verses we can analyze. However, if we take the view that this is a prophetic statement of faith, then Job is saying his redeemer is living and will stand on earth and testify. And he will see God at some point after his death. In fact he repeats this last point again in verse 27.

27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

Job expects to be able to see, after his flesh has been destroyed, in a resurrected body. And his heart yearns for this. Job is not afraid of God. Bildad’s efforts to scare him into repentance are an utter failure. If Job has so much confidence with so little evidence and so great opposition, shouldn’t we have so much more confidence than him? We have the Gospel. We have the promise of eternal life, and Christ’s victory over death.

John 11:25–26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Job doesn’t even have the name of his Redeemer, nor the promise of what faith in Him will bring. He just knows one exists, and he acts on it. We know the name and so much more about Christ. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the Word, the Bible, the story. We have so much more than Job.

Round 2: Zophar, “Job, you are hopelessly wicked.”

Job 20:1–5

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: 2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed. 3 I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply. 4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind[a] was placed on the earth, 5 that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. 6 Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, 7 he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ 8 Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night. 9 The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more. 10 His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth. 11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust. 12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, 13 though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth, 14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. 15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. 16 He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. 17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. 18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading. 19 For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build. 20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure. 21 Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. 22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him. 23 When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him. 24 Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. 25 He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him; 26 total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. 27 The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him. 28 A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters[b] on the day of God’s wrath. 29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.”

What is the difference between Zophar’s and Bildad’s accusations in Round 2?

Zophar, you will recall, is the zero-mercy zealot. These are his final words. He will have nothing to say in Round 3; he gives his final verdict here. According to Zophar, Job is so wicked that he is hopeless; his destruction is already sealed.

Zophar is personally offended that Job hasn’t conceded. So Zophar delivers another gloating frightening, wicked-man speech about how the wicked feel the terror of their fate closing in.

How does Zophar describe the fate of the wicked in chapter 20?

Zophar says the wicked will experience God’s wrath and be destroyed forever. He is quite dramatic saying they will suck the poison of serpents, and that the fangs of an adder will kill him. Zophar seems to delight in describing the horrific prospect of Job’s doom.

Can you imagine the scene? Does the crowd gasp in horror as they listen? Does Zophar really think this describes Job? At this point you have to wonder whether the friends feel a shift in the consensus among those watching. Is Zophar resorting to drama to get the crowd back on his side? What other purpose could there be?

Scene 4: Job to Zophar, “Nothing is left of your answers but lies!”

Job 21:1–34

1 Then Job replied: 2 “Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me. 3 Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on. 4 “Is my complaint directed to a human being? Why should I not be impatient? 5 Look at me and be appalled; clap your hand over your mouth. 6 When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body. 7 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? 8 They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them. 10 Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry. 11 They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about. 12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre; they make merry to the sound of the pipe. 13 They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.[a] 14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. 15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’ 16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger? 18 How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale? 19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’ Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it! 20 Let their own eyes see their destruction; let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind when their allotted months come to an end? 22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest? 23 One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, 24 well nourished in body,[b] bones rich with marrow. 25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good. 26 Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both. 27 “I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me. 28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great, the tents where the wicked lived?’ 29 Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts—30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity, that they are delivered from[c] the day of wrath? 31 Who denounces their conduct to their face? Who repays them for what they have done? 32 They are carried to the grave, and watch is kept over their tombs. 33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them; everyone follows after them, and a countless throng goes[d] before them. 34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”

How does Job use the prosperity of the wicked to disprove his friends?

Job fights back with logic: the wicked prosper, therefore the righteous can suffer, and the retribution principle is a lie. Job is basically turning the entire retribution argument on its head by saying, look around:

• The wicked prosper.
• They live long lives.
• Their children thrive.
• Their houses are safe.
• They die in peace.

So where exactly is this guaranteed punishment for the wicked? Job is not denying God’s justice. He’s attacking his friends’ formula. Their neat system doesn’t match reality.

What does the New Testament say about justice and the retribution principle?

The Apostle Paul in the book of Romans confirms that there is a coming day of judgment when God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”

Romans 2:6–11 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

And the Apostle John in the book of Revelation states:

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

The New Testament is clear that while the ledger may not balance in this life, the books will be balanced in the end, for God does not show favoritism. Therefore, God is just.

In our next episode, the prosecution falls, and there will only be one left in the ring. But that does not mean he won.

Group Discussion Questions for Job 18–21

• Bildad’s conformist argument was essentially that the evidence for Job’s guilt was overwhelming. Have you ever experienced the loneliness of feeling like everyone and everything is against you? Or seen someone else struggle through this?
• Job kept fighting even when he felt completely alone and unheard. Is there a belief in your own life, big or small, that you’re still holding onto despite the opposition you face?
• Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives” a declaration of certainty in the middle of total chaos. What’s one thing you know for sure, even when everything else feels uncertain?

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