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“HALLELUJAH!”
JOB 19:25-27
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my
skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I,
and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin
has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and
not another. How my heart yearns within me! These are the words of a man named Job, recorded in
the 19th chapter of the book that bears his name.
They are words upon which many of our Easter hymns are based. They are the words selected for our
special comfort and encouragement this morning! But as you think about them, don’t they seem to be little off, perhaps a little odd. The words don’t quite fit the man and his situation. At the very least they are
unexpected words, words that cause us to ask ourselves basic questions like Who?, What?, How?, Why?
Who is this guy Job to express this kind of sentiment? We don’t really know much about him, after all.
We are told that he lived in the land of Uz – he was an Uzzite! He was a very wealthy man, on and off.
He’s described as a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil. In the 42 chapters of
his book, he undergoes great trial and tribulation.
But we don’t know anything about his ancestry or when he lived. He isn’t a descendant or ancestor of
Abraham. We have no clue how he came to know and believe in the true God. We simply don’t know
why he would have the ability to make such a bold statement! We can’t be certain about what would give
him the right to say this sort of thing!
And then, we’ve got to ask ourselves what it is that Job is talking about in these verses and how he knew
about it! Apparently, he’s saying that he knows of a Redeemer who lives – not just now, but all the way
to the end of this world! A redeemer is someone who pays a price to get something back, usually something quite precious.
In this case, the something precious is Job, his life, his eternal life! Job speaks of a time when his skin
has been destroyed – a reference to his condition after death. Then he goes on to insist that because of
his Redeemer, he will see God – not before he dies, but after his death, after his body has returned to the
ground from which it came. He is confident that he will have a new body!
How can Job possibly say these things? We are certain that he never saw the resurrected Lord Jesus. He
wasn’t in any way familiar with the writings of the New Testament. So, how can he be sure? In fact, why
can he be so sure of these things that he says How my heart yearns with me!?
The language from which this phrase comes is very graphic. What is translated as heart really refers to
all the internal organs of a human being – your guts! And the Hebrew here rendered as yearns is that
deep-seated, barely contained anticipation you have when you look forward to something almost inexpressibly wonderful. It describes the feeling a child might have on Christmas Eve, or the anticipation a
bride and groom feel on their wedding day, or that antsy feeling you have in the few hours before a vacation begins.
Job is saying that something so fantastic is going to happen to him that he just can’t wait! And why is Job
able to look forward to such an event? He’s really a nobody. He’s had no personal contact with his Redeemer. And he finds joy in something that hasn’t yet taken place! Isn’t that wrong, or at least, a little
odd?
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin
has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and
not another. How my heart yearns within me! What is right about these words? Why are so many
Easter hymns based upon them? Why are these the words we love to hear on Easter morning?
Because, they are words that can be spoken with confidence by any one of us! Like Job, we’re really
nothing very special in this world. We really don’t have the qualifications to make such a claim. Job, as
much as he feared God and shunned evil, was just like you and me. As children of sinful parents, we are
sinners, as much as they were sinners.
We are born separated from the love of God because of that sin. And because sin is all we known, sin infiltrates every aspect of the way we live. We are entirely selfish, our world is self-centered. We think
primarily of ourselves. If it feels good to us, we do it! This lengthens the distance between us and our
Lord. And if we are not in his presence, we’re in a very bad place. We’re under the control of sin and Satan.
Satan owns us – we are his property. He is bound and determined to keep us as his own, now and forever.
With our death, the deal will be final. There can be no changes after that. So, who are we to express the
confidence and joy Job expresses? We are nobody. We don’t deserve to even hope for such a thing. So
why can we say those words? Why was Job able to say them first? As someone who was blameless and
upright, had he earned to right to say this?
A quick read of the last few chapters of Job lays that thought to rest. In the end, the Lord had to remind
Job that he really was quite unimportant in the overall scheme of things. Job’s confidence could not be
based upon himself or anything he had done. So what was his confidence? What can be our confidence?
Job says it all for us all — I know that my Redeemer lives!
Our Redeemer, my Redeemer, lives! In the past few days, we have agonized through the last hours of our
Redeemer’s life. We’ve witnessed Jesus falsely accused, innocently condemned, and brutally executed.
We’ve lingered at his cross for the 6 hours it took him to die. We watched as 2 friends took charge of his
corpse and laid it to rest in a new tomb. We even shook our heads in disgust as his enemies placed a
guard in front of his grave. Jesus, our Redeemer, was dead!
But now he lives! Now he is risen from the dead! Death can no longer claim him. Sealed tombs are powerless to hold him. Armed guards cannot stop him. By the power of God, he lives! With his resurrection,
our Redeemer brings us great news! You see, he didn’t suffer and die for his sin, for any spiritual crimes
he committed. He suffered for our sins. He died our death. He took our place in all that nasty business!
With his resurrection, God declares that the price of our sin has been paid. Our death sentence has already been served. Any claim of ownership Satan may make upon us is null and void. We are redeemed,
that is, bought back from the power of sin, death and hell by the blood of Jesus Christ. My Redeemer
lives! He lives to the end of time. He lives to keep every one of his promises he’s ever made.
His most important promise is this: Because I live, you also will live! So, after my skin has been destroyed, after I’ve finished decomposing in my grave, I myself will see my Redeemer – I and not another.
I will be raised from the dead. I will receive a new body, an eternal resurrection body. I will see my Redeemer, see my God, face to face in the throne room of heaven.
I will live with him forever and ever in the perfect love that can only be found in him. Because today is
true – Christ is risen – that tomorrow is true – I will rise to be with him. This is how I can be as certain as
Job. Our Redeemer lives. Now, I understand Job’s longing. Like him How my heart yearns within
me! Every fiber of my being longs to be with him!
But how can I express that feeling? What do you say after someone rescues you from hell and gives you
a place in heaven? How can you express how you feel as you progress through life with the comfort and
assurance of knowing what lies beyond the moment of death? What will come to mind as you step away
from the trials and difficulties of this life to life in perfect bliss?
How do we respond to a Redeemer who loves us that much? May I suggest a word – just a word? How
about Hallelujah! - praise the Lord! Even though it is a Hebrew word, it speaks to people in any language. Hallelujah! – praise the Lord! He saw me as a sinner who deserved nothing less than death and
hell – but loved me still! Hallelujah! He loved me enough to give himself into death so that I might live.
Hallelujah!
He rises from the dead so that there isn’t even a shred of doubt that I will be with him in heaven. Hallelujah! As you leave this morning, as you live your life, may that word always be in your mind and on your
lips. I know that my Redeemer lives! Hallelujah!
Amen.