OUR ADVOCATE ON HIGH

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Job replied:

“I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.”

“Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. Surely, God, you have worn me out; You have devastated my entire household. You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me. God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes His teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes. People open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me. God has turned me over to the ungodly and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked. All was well with me, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me His target; His archers surround me. Without pity, He pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground. Again and again He bursts upon me; He rushes at me like a warrior.”

“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust. My face is red with weeping, dark shadows ring my eyes; yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.”

“Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest! Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.”

“Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return.”

“My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.”

“Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me? You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph. If anyone denounces their friends for reward, the eyes of their children will fail.”

“God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit. My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow. The upright are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly. Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.”

“But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you. My days have passed, my plans are shattered. Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near. If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness, if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’ where then is my hope—who can see any hope for me? Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?”

 Job 16:1-22, 17:1-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Round 2 has begun and Eliphaz has had his second say toward Job. Now Job has his turn to reply…and as we see, not much has changed since the first exchange except that the dialogue has become more pointed and heated.

Job starts out verbally attacking his friends again. He accuses them of doing anything but comfort him…the original reason for them coming. No, they have not done this but if the shoe was on the other foot, Job proclaims that he would not behave as they were. No, he would encourage and comfort them if they were in the midst of the kind of suffering he was experiencing.

After this, Job continues to open windows of understanding about his physical and mental condition. Here is a summation of what he was going through:

- Physical pain. “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away.”

- Fatigue. “Surely, God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household.

- Weight loss. “You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.”

- Rejection and humiliation. “God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit. God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes His teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes. People open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me. Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.”

- Brokenness. “God has turned me over to the ungodly and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked. All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target; his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground. Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior.”

- Mourning and sadness. “I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust. My face is red with weeping, dark shadows ring my eyes…My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow”

- Resignation. “Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return. My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. My days have passed, my plans are shattered.”

Indeed, Job had lost confidence in so much in his life, including the people he thought he could trust the most…his friends. But there is a glimmer of hope found in the many words of bitterness brought on by massive suffering and hardship.

For Job believed he had an advocate...and not just any advocate but an advocate on high. Scripture tells us he spoke these very words in Job 16, verses 19 through 21:

“Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.”

Job needed help, someone who could step in and mediate his relationship with God the Father…an intercessor who would plead with God on Job’s behalf just as one would plead for a friend.

It’s interesting that the word advocate only shows up in the Book of Job in the Old Testament. And like so many scriptures leading up to Jesus’ coming and the advent of the New Testament (or covenant), Job’s words are very prophetic in nature.

For the next time we will see the word advocate used in the Bible will be from the lips of Jesus Himself, our Savior who spoke of the coming Advocate as being the Holy Spirit. Look at these passages from the Gospel of John:

- Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. John 14:16-17

- Jesus said, “…the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:26-27

- Jesus said, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father —the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. John 15:26

And Jesus did just what He said He would do. For His ascension resulted in a descending Advocate in the Holy Spirit, sent to live and abide in the hearts of those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and bring us truth from on high, instruction, and testimony about our Savior.

The end result for us?

Peace and comfort…something we all could use in healthy doses. Job sure needed it.

But the Advocate was more than just the Holy Spirit. It was Jesus Himself.

Look at these words from First John, Chapter 2:

“…if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2

Indeed, as the Holy Spirit advocates with us here in our worldly existence, Jesus advocates for us in heaven above. Picture this scene:

You are a Christian and you have committed sins during your lifetime. After you die, you appear before God for His judgment. Knowing how much God hates sin, you are destined for the full brunt of His wrath and destruction. That is, unless you have a Defender of the highest magnitude…an Advocate on high who can intercede for you.

Enter Jesus.

For just as it looks like you’re finished, Jesus steps in and says, “Father, this person deserves your pardon because I have paid their penalty already.” And with that, you are acquitted from the charge of death and instead, ushered into a life eternal. All because of Jesus, Savior, Redeemer, Advocate, Intercessor, and Friend.

Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except by Me.” (John 14:6) And indeed, no one passes the judgment of the Father except for the intercession provided by the Savior, God’s one and only Son sent to save us from our sins. Truly, the words of Paul come to life through the truth of Jesus representing us before the Father as he wrote, “…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1)

Job knew he had an advocate on high well before Jesus came.

For us, He has come and is alive and well among us.

Do you know the Advocate on high, Jesus Christ?

If not, why don’t you ask Him into your life and believe and trust in Him today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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