“For
I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, And at the last He will take His
stand upon the earth.”–
Job 19:25 (Amplified Bible).
“No
weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise
against you in judgment shalt be condemned. “This is the heritage of the
servants of the LORD, and their VINDICATION is of me,” says the LORD.” – Isaiah 54:17
One of the most outstanding realities of the
reality we are in as God’s servants and children is that God is not forgetful
and that He remembers. Hebrews 6:10 says:
“God is not
unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which you have showed
toward His Name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and still ministers.”
God rewards faithfulness. When you serve God,
He will reward and vindicate you. He never forsakes His own. No matter what you
go through in life, God will always stand with you at the end. He will always remember
the various things you have done. This is why Malachi 3:16 is so important in
the lives of God’s people:
Then those who
feared the LORD spoke often one to another and the LORD hearkened, and heard
it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the
LORD, and who thought upon His Name.
Child of God, there is a “Book of Remembrance.”
This reality should give you hope. Let this reality sink into your subconscious
and let it be the fuel that powers your faith and service to God and humanity.
Let it fill you with hope and great expectations. When the chips are down, the Book of Remembrance comes to the fore.
The book of Esther tells us that when some
people say that time has come for your burial, God would say it is your wedding
day. Mordecai was a righteous man who served God and His people. All the good
things he did were recorded, but not rewarded at the time he did them. Time
went by and when an enemy of God and His people rose up to destroy, God had to
cause the king to refer to the “Book of Records” or Book of Remembrance.
Esther 6:1-12 tells us:
On that night the
king could not sleep, and he commanded that the Book of Records of the
chronicles and that it be read to him. And it was found written, that Mordecai
had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of
the door, who sought to lay hand on king Ahasuerus. When the king heard this, he
asked: “What honour and dignity have been done to Mordecai for this?” The
king's servants who ministered to him answered, “Nothing has been done for him.”
The king asked, “Who is in the court?” Now, Haman had come into the outward
court of the king's palace, to speak to the king to hang Mordecai on the
gallows that he had prepared for him. The king's servants answered, “Behold,
Haman stands in the court.” The king said, “Let him come in.” So, Haman came
in. The king said to him, “What shall be done to the man whom the king delights
to honour?” Now, Haman thought in his heart, “To whom would the king delight to
do honour more than to myself?” So, Haman answered the king, “For the man whom
the king delights to honour, Let the royal apparel be brought which the king
use to wear, and the horse that the king rides upon, and the royal crown which he
places on his head. Let this royal regalia and horse be delivered to the hands
of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man with whom
the king delights to honour, and make him ride on horseback through the streets
of the city, and proclaim before him, ‘This is how it should be done to the man
whom the king delights to honour!’” Then the king said to Haman, “Make haste,
and take the royal regalia and the horse, as you have said, and do even so to
Mordecai, the Jew, who sits at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that you
have spoken.” Then Haman took the royal regalia and the horse, and decorated Mordecai,
and led him on horseback through the streets of the city, and proclaimed: ‘This
shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honour!” After this Mordecai
returned to the king's gate, but Haman ran hastily to his house mourning,
having his head covered in shame.
This is a vindication of the righteous. I
remember preaching a sermon titled, “My
Wedding, Their Funeral.” That message revolved around Mordecai and Haman. I
also preached another sermon titled, “Satanic
Interference, Divine Intervention.” When you serve God, whenever the enemy
interferes in your life and activities, God will always intervene. Isaiah 59:19
says:
“…When the enemy
shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard
against him.”
When push comes to shove, the Book of Remembrance will become your
last resort. With a death verdict hanging on King Hezekiah, he resorted to beckon
on God and requested Him to go back to His Records. II Kings 20:1-7 tells us:
In those days
Hezekiah was sick to the point of death. And Prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz
came to him, and said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order because it
time for you to die, not to live.’” Then he turned his face to the wall, and
prayed to the LORD, saying, ‘I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have
walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which
is good in thy sight.’ And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass that before
Isaiah could go out into the middle court, that the LORD said to him, “Go back
to Hezekiah, the captain of my people and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the
God of David, your father, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears:
behold, I will heal you: on the third day you shall go up to the house of the
LORD. I will add fifteen years to your days and I will deliver you and this
city out of the hand of the king of Assyria and I will defend this city for Mine
own sake, and for my servant David's sake.” And Isaiah said, ‘Take a lump of
figs’. They did as he had instructed and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
God
Remembers. He
does not forget and will never forget. When He goes into His Book of Records,
He will see the things we have done and then reward us accordingly.
When King Hezekiah called on God and said, “…remember now how I have walked before thee
in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy
sight’ (II Kings 20:3), God checked His Records and saw that what Hezekiah
said was true. He then went on to restore his health and extend his life by
fifteen more years.
THE RIGHTEOUS AND HIS/HER VINDICATION
King David who has been described variously
as, “The Sweet Psalmist of Israel”
(II Samuel 23:1) and a “Man after God’s
Heart” (Acts 13:22) was a man who served God. At Psalms 37:25 and 27, he
said:
I have been young,
and now I am old, yet, I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread….Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of
that man is peace.
It pays to be righteous. However, the life of
a righteous person on this plane of existence is not an easy one. More often
than not, it is filled with thorns and thistles. Psalms 34:19 says:
Many are the
afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
The righteous are not immune to the vagaries
of life. In fact, the world is against the righteous. It makes living on this
plane of existence a difficult experience. At II Peter 2:7-8 we read:
“…and if he rescued
Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless
(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his
righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) - if this is so, then the
Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for
punishment on the day of judgment.” (NIV)
As a righteous person, the world is not out
to help you, but to frustrate you. If you expect the world to be sympathetic to
you and to your cause, you are mistaken. The goal of this world is to
asphyxiate your faith and make you cow-tow to their whims. Often, what the
world presents to the righteous are troubles. At John 16:33 Jesus said:
“I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In the game plan of the world, if you do not
subscribe to its ideals, you would be shown troubles to make you bend or break.
In fact, the more righteous you are the more likely your troubles. II Timothy
3:12-14 says:
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from
bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what
you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom
you learned it.”
JOB AND THE VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS
At Job 19:25, Job said: “For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, and at the last He will take His stand upon the earth” (Amplified Bible).
If there was (and is) a man who had (or has) suffered, Job was (is) the man. Are you a Job or Jobella? Are you caught in the web of difficulties and situations that threaten your faith and make life and living challenging? If you are, you need some encouragement from Job, a man who had travelled that route before.
There is no doubt that Job was a righteous man. Job 1:1 says:
“In the land of Uz, there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”
Everything was working out for Job: a wonderful family, a prosperous business life and a burgeoning public image. Life had never been better. Job 1:2-3 tells us of the kind of life that defined Job’s existence:
He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
Job had an ideal life. He was soaring with the Heavenlies until the enemy decided to interfere in his life. Job 1:6-12 says:
One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Job’s troubles stem from the fact that he was righteous. The contest between God and Satan was whether Job was blessed because he feared God or he feared God because he was blessed. God’s position was “I blessed Job because he feared Me.” Satan’s position was, “No, he fears you because you blessed him. Therefore, take his blessings away and he will curse you.” At Job 2:4-5, Satan said:
“Skin for skin! ... A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
God accepted Satan’s challenge and that was the genesis of Job’s tortuous life of pains, losses, accusations, defense and ultimately triumph. At Job 2:6-7 we read:
“The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.’ So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.”
Most times, Satan interferes in our lives, seeking to counterbalance us. At Luke 22:31-32 God’s Word says:
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Has Satan visited you lately? Is your business, health, education, relationship, marriage or career under attack? When adversity hits, life can become devastating. In his book, Iacocca: An Autobiography (1984), Lee Iacocca, former President of Ford Motors wrote:
“When I became President of Ford Motors, I was on top of the world. But then fate said to me: “Wait. We are not finished with you. Now you’re going to find out what it feels like to get kicked off Mt. Everest!” … It was gut-wrenching.’
I do not know how you feel and how life treats you. For Job, it was not palatable. When he came crashing, his wife told him, “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). His three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar spent the entire Chapters 4 through to Chapter 23 to reason with him. He was accused of wrong doing. He was told that his wrongdoing was the reason for the evil that befell him. Fact is, it is not sin that is responsible for the sufferings of Christians, but Satan. If sin is the reason, why then do sinners prosper? Psalms 73:1-7 says:
How good God is to Israel - to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff! My feet were slipping and I was almost gone. For I was envious of the prosperity of the proud and wicked. Yes, all through life their road is smooth! They grow sleek and fat. They aren’t always in trouble and plagued with problems like everyone else, so their pride sparkles like a jeweled necklace, and their clothing is woven of cruelty! These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! (The Living Bible)
Most times those who are not privy to the real causes of your life’s challenges would sit back to make uncomplimentary remarks. They may accuse you of unfaithfulness, and all manner of ills. Those who come to sympathize with you may end up tormenting you by their words and lack of understanding. This was what happened to Job. His friends lacked empathy and insight. Their words stung like arrows. Because of this he called them “Miserable comforters.” At Job 16:2, Job said:
“I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you!”
In spite of the challenges he faced, Job resolved not to give up and to give in. At Job 13:15 he expressed implicit faith in God to see him through his challenges: “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him....” At Job 23:10 he said, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” Why? At Job 19:25 he said:
“For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth.” – Job 19:25 (Amplified Bible).
Bill and Gloria L Gaither song, “Because He lives” has gladdened the hearts of many and spoken peace to millions of souls. It says:
“Because he lives I can face tomorrow
Because he lives all fear is gone
Because I know, I know he holds the future
And life is worth the living just because he lives.”
Your Vindicator lives! Because He lives, you can face
whatever challenges that come your way and become victorious.
In the course of Job’s trials and tribulations, we
can safely say that he saw ninety-nine and that hundred was nothing to him. He
went through fire and water experiences. In the end, God vindicated him. Job
42:10-17 tells us that God restored to Job everything he had lost:
The Lord restored the fortunes of Job …,
and gave him twice as much as he had before. Then all his brothers and sisters
and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in
his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the (distressing)
adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of
money, and each a ring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job
more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of
oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters. And he
called the name of the first [daughter] Jemimah, and the name of the second
Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. In all the land there were
found no women so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an
inheritance among their brothers. After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his
sons and his grandsons, four generations. So Job died, an old man and full of
days. (Amplified Bible).
I do not know what you are passing through. I do not
know what life is for you as we speak. I do not know what you have lost.
Whatever and, however, God’s Word says that God will restore to you whatever
the cankerworms and grasshoppers have
eaten in your life. At Joel 2:25,
God’s Word says:
… “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts….”
Job has become for us an example that God vindicates
the righteous. James 5:10-11 says:
Brothers and sisters, as an example of
patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of
the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have
heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (NIV)
WHAT TO DO WHEN LIFE IS UNFAIR
Know That
You Are Not Alone
Challenges are universal. The things we go through in life are not peculiar to us, that is, we are not the only ones going through such situations. I Peter 5:9 says:
“Whom resist steadfast in the Faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, Who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.”
Challenges Help To Develop Our Characters
Seneca observed that as “Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men.” For God to make you, He may need to break you. If you are not breakable, then you are not malleable. The refinements you go through in life are what God uses to make you into who and what He wants you to be. Therefore, if He cannot break you, He cannot make use of you.
Because we are all diamonds in the rough, Romans 5:3-4 explains the processes through which God refines us:
”And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation works patience and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope makes not ashamed….”
Maturity is one attribute of character. Character is not learnt in school or through reading books, but by personal experiences. Experiences are what toughens character. This, perhaps was what informed Lynsay Sands to say:
“Time is not the great teacher. Experience is. A man may live a whole life, but if he never leaves his home to experience that life, he dies knowing nothing. A mere child who has suffered and lived can be the wiser of the two.”
Kahlil Gibran observed, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” This is why God, at Isaiah 48:10, says: “I have purified you not with silver or gold but through the fires of affliction.” Orson F. Whitney observed:
“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father…in heaven.”
As far as life is concerned, we grow through what we go through.
Be
Patient
You need patience. At Luke 21:19 Jesus says, “In your patience possess your soul.” One of the most powerful tools you need to weather storms in your life is patience. Hebrews 10:35-37 enjoins:
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
To Speak To Yourself
No one understands us better than ourselves. When faced with difficult situations, learn to speak to yourself. This was what the Psalmist did. At Psalm 42:5, he asked himself:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why art you disquieted in me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of His countenance.”
Remember
That What Has A Beginning Has An End
Someone remarked that one of his favourite Bible passages is, “… and it came to pass….” Psalm 30:5 assures:
“… weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
CONCLUSION
God will always vindicate the righteous. Who you are and what you are passing through now do not in any way represent who you are and what you will be tomorrow. God’s Word assures us that even though the present may be hard and challenging, tomorrow will be better. At John 16: 22 Jesus says,
“Now, you have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man takes from you.”
May God continue to strengthen us in our
daily walks with Him in Jesus’ Name!
_________________________________
Hilary
Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah (Evangelist) is an itinerant minister of the Word. He
operates a professional editing and publishing firm. He can be reached via E-mail: hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com. Phone: 0803 959 6919.
