What Does the Bible Say About…/Part 10

By: Dr. Thomas O. Figart; ©2003

Did God speak to Job? Does God speak in dreams? Who is the “Redeemer” spoken of in Job 19:25? Who wrote Job?

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Eighth Grade Students from Manheim Christian Day School (PA) ask Questions About the Bible

Answered by Dr. Thomas Figart

In Job 23:12 are the ‘Words of God’s mouth’ the Torah, or did God speak to Job?”

From GO: “In Job 23:12 are the ‘Words of God’s mouth’ the Torah, or did God speak to Job?”

Answer: In several verses the Scripture states that God spoke directly to Job.

• Job 38:1 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said…”
• Job 40:1 “Then the LORD answered Job and said…”
• Job 40:6 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said…”
• Job 42:7 “And it came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, then the LORD said to Eliphaz…”

After each of these statements, there are paragraphs of the exact words of God. Now go back all the way to Genesis 10:22-31 where the descendants of Shem, son of Noah, are listed. In 10:23, one of the grandsons of Shem was Uz (which is also the name of the land where Job lived; see Job 1:1). Now look at 10:29, where three of the grandsons of Eber, (who is mentioned in v. 25) are listed, and you will find that one of these is Jobab, which means “Father Job” or “My father is Job.” So Job is a direct descendant of Shem (from whom the word “Semites” (Jews) originated), and Job’s grandfather was Eber (from which the word “Hebrew” comes). Thus, Job was born even before Abraham, so he could not have known anything about the Torah, the Law given by Moses many years later!

Who is the advocate for Job in chapter 16:19? Who is the Re­deemer in chapter 19:25; and if it is Jesus, how could it be, if He is not born yet? What does it mean when it says, ‘After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God’ (19:26)?

AR asks, “Who is the advocate for Job in chapter 16:19? Who is the Re­deemer in chapter 19:25; and if it is Jesus, how could it be, if He is not born yet? What does it mean when it says, ‘After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God’ (19:26)?”

Answer: This is really one question in three parts, all having to do with prophecies concerning the coming Messiah.

The first part names Him as an Advocate, or a witness in heaven for believing sinners on earth. Remember, salvation has always been the same, whether in the Old or in the New Testament. In the Old Testament they had faith that the Messiah would come to earth and redeem them from their sins, and in the New Testament we have faith in the Messiah who has come and redeemed us from our sins. Old Testament saints knew about Christ. In

John 8:56 Jesus Himself said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.” In this same way, Job rejoiced to see the day of Christ and was glad.

The second part is in Job 19:25, “And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” This verse shows that Job knew Christ was really living in heaven, and that He would come to earth.

The third part is Job 19:26. Job believed in the resurrection of the body. “Even after my skin is flayed, Yet, without my flesh, I shall see God.” That is, even though this present flesh is destroyed, I will see God. Job 14:14 says, “If a man dies will he live again? All the days of my struggle will I wait, Until my change comes.”

Did God talk through dreams?

EA asks, “Did God talk through dreams?”

Answer: In the New Testament book of Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” As I mentioned in answering GO’s question above, several times the book of Job simply indicates that God spoke directly to Job and his friends. In other books, God spoke “in many ways” which included dreams, such as in the story of Joseph interpreting the baker’s and butler’s dreams, or in Daniel, as he interpreted king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which was a prophecy of things to come. God used many differ­ent methods; but in Job, there is no indication that He spoke to Job in dreams, even though one of his friends claimed to have a dream.

In Job 17:5, what does it mean, ‘the eyes of his children will fail’? In 19:23, Job wants his words recorded. Who wrote Job? In 19:25, who is the Redeemer? Is he referring to Jesus’ coming?

From BK: “In Job 17:5, what does it mean, ‘the eyes of his children will fail’? In 19:23, Job wants his words recorded. Who wrote Job? In 19:25, who is the Redeemer? Is he referring to Jesus’ coming?”

Answer: In Job 17:5 the New American Standard translation: “He who informs against friends for a share of the spoil, the eyes of his children shall languish.” What Job is saying is, if a man takes a bribe by informing against his friends, nothing good will come of it, and he will disappoint his children, whose eyes will languish with unsatisfied longing, because their expectation of something good from their father has failed. Their eyes will “fail” in the sense that they will look in vain for their father to fulfill his promises to them.

In Job 19:23 Job is distressed because his so-called “friends” are persecuting him (vv. 21-22) instead of pitying him because of his losses. His desire, at that point, is that his words might be written down and engraved in stone, so that people in the future might understand his troubles, and not be like these three “friends.” As it turned out, God allowed Job to write these things in the book that we now have, and we know that God honored Job at the end. So it does not mean that someone else wrote the book of Job.

In Job 19:25, Christ is the Redeemer. Refer to the answer to AR’s question.

Read Part 11