In Job 9, Job responds to Bildad, acknowledging God’s greatness and justice, but he feels helpless in comparison. He questions how anyone could challenge or understand God, lamenting his own suffering and the human inability to comprehend divine reasoning. Despite his innocence, Job is overwhelmed by the apparent futility of arguing his case before God.
Longing for a Mediator
Job 9:32-35 (NKJV):”For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him, but it is not so with me.”
In this passage, Job is crying out for a mediator to stand between him and God, as he feels the weight of his suffering and longs for someone to intercede on his behalf. He recognises the immense gap between God and humanity, where no human, including himself, could bridge the divide. Job is desperate for someone who could represent both sides, someone who could understand his pain and still have access to the divine.
Job’s longing for a mediator continues through his words in Job 16:19 (NLT):”Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high.” This expresses Job’s belief that, although his earthly advocates (his friends) have failed him, he still holds onto hope that his case is known to God, and that God will provide the justice he seeks. Job 19:25 (NLT): “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And he will stand upon the earth at last.”
Job’s Affirmation
Here too, Job affirms his faith in a Redeemer who will stand in his place and deliver him. This passage points forward to the eventual hope of divine redemption and restoration. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfils Job’s longing for a mediator, offering reconciliation between humanity and God.
1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT):”For there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.”
Romans 5:1 (NLT):”Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
Hebrews 8:6 (NLT):”But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.”
These verses show that through Jesus, we have the perfect mediator who reconciles us with God and brings peace that Job longed for. Jesus’ mediation provides a more excellent covenant, marked by grace and promise.
Romans 8:34 (ESV):”Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”
In conclusion, Job’s longing for a mediator, a Redeemer who would stand in his place before God, is fulfilled in Christ, who intercedes for us eternally. Through His sacrifice, we can have peace with God and hope for redemption, securing the very blessings Job yearned for.