#DailyDevotion Who Will Argue Your Case Before God?
February 21st
Read Job 16:1–21
Job 16:7-9 Surely now God has worn me out; he has made desolate all my company. (8) And he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me, and my leanness has risen up against me; it testifies to my face. (9) He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me…20 My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God, (21) that he would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor. (22) For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
Let’s not make excuses for God. God could stop all suffering if he wanted to. We may want to say it is God’s passive action or his secondary will to get him off the hook. The reality is God doesn’t need anyone to defend his actions. The Lord is God. Let’s take him at his word. Isa 45:7 “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.” We then should give glory to God.
Apparently Job’s friends so far are no help. A lot of the time, your friends will probably be no help either. Don’t hold it against them. They are limited created beings with limited power, knowledge, insight, wisdom and the like. Take comfort in knowing they care about you and they are doing the best they can, which often isn’t going to be enough.
Job though does have this awesome insight in verse 21. Do you see it? Look again. Job pours his tears to God (wait for it) that he (God) would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man (What does Jesus call himself?) does with his neighbor. Job wants God to argue his case with God. He wants the Son of Man to argue with God as with a neighbor. That is Job’s hope, that he would have an intercessor in heaven who is equal to God.
Well good news! We do have an intercessor between God and Man who argues our case with God-Jesus Christ, the God-Man. 1Ti 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” And again, Rom 8:34 “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.” And again, 1Jn 2:1 “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
So let us not despair in the day of trouble. We have and advocate at the right hand of the Father who intercedes and pleads our case before God. He cannot fail.
Lord Jesus Christ, you sit at the right hand of the Father with all power and might. Always intercede our cause for us before the Father as we cannot stand before him in our sin and guilt, that our case may be heard and we would be brought relief from all our trials and tribulations. Amen.