Sunday School Lesson, Outline

October 12

Lesson 6

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH

DEVOTIONAL READING: 1 Chronicles 16:28–34

BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Job 19; Psalm 57

JOB 19:1–7, 23–29

1 Then Job answered and said,
2 How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.
4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach:
6 Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
28 But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
29 Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

Photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

KEY VERSE
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.

—Job 19:25

SUSTAINING HOPE

Unit 2: Dark Nights of the Soul

LESSONS 5–8

LESSON AIMS

After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:

1. Summarize Job’s reply to Bildad.

2. Explain how Job’s confidence in his “redeemer” affects our understanding of his complaint.

3. Express faith in the Redeemer, Jesus, and tell how that faith helps in times of trial.

LESSON OUTLINE

Introduction
      A.      Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
      B.      Lesson Background
          I.      Job’s Complaint (JOB 19:1–7)
      A.      Repeated Reproach (vv. 1–3)
      Friends Like … You?
      B.      Remaining Innocent (vv. 4–7)
          II.      Job’s Hope (JOB 19:23–27)
      A.      Written Record (vv. 23, 24)
      Let the Record Show …
      B.      Living Redeemer (vv. 25–27)
          III.      Job’s Warning (JOB 19:28, 29)
      A.      Continued Blame (v. 28)
      B.      Eventual Judgment (v. 29)
Conclusion
      A.      Hope
      B.      Prayer
      C.      Thought to Remember

HOW TO SAY IT

Bildad

Bill-dad.

Edom

Ee-dum.

Eliphaz

El-ih-faz.

Esau

Ee-saw.

Ezekiel

Ee-zeek-ee-ul or Ee-zeek-yul.

Messiah

Meh-sigh-uh.

Obadiah

O-buh-dye-uh.

Teman

Tee-mun.

Temanite

Tee-mun-ite.

Zophar

Zo-far.

Introduction

A. Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

The legal concept of presumption of innocence (also known as innocent until proven guilty) goes back many centuries. It means that the burden of proof is on the prosecution to show that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before a conviction can be secured. Although this principle lets some guilty parties off the hook, it is one of the best safeguards to keep innocent people from being unjustly convicted.

Going back centuries more, we see that God himself gave Israel laws to protect the innocent. Within the Ten Commandments is the law against bearing false witness (Deuteronomy 5:20). When violated, the penalty to be placed on the false witness was to be the very consequence that he or she was willing to see the innocent undergo (19:16–21). Two witnesses were required to secure a conviction (19:15).

Job believed in this kind of justice. One problem, as far as Job could tell, was that his friends were not extending the benefit of the doubt to him. After evaluating his sorry state, they seemed to presume him guilty until proven innocent.

We may go through times when it seems that we are being punished for no reason. We are frustrated, we pour out our hearts to God and friends, and still nothing changes. People around us may think we deserve what we are getting. They become desensitized to our situation. But we are not willing to give up, holding out hope that God will do something about the problem. That’s where Job was in today’s text.

B. Lesson Background

Though he lived a righteous life—righteous enough to receive a divine endorsement in that regard (Job 1:8)—Job experienced terrible adversity. God, unbeknownst to Job, was in the process of disproving Satan’s contention that Job lived an upright life only because God had blessed and prospered him (1:9, 10). God then granted Satan permission to test Job. Would great disaster cause Job to crumble and curse God to His face as Satan claimed (1:11)?

The bulk of the book of Job features conversations between Job and the friends who came to console him. Their dialogue was different from the one between God and Satan. Job and his friends shared the simplistic view that bad things happen only (or primarily) to bad people. According to that view, if you want to know whether people are righteous or not, all you have to do is see how well they are faring. Are they thriving? They must be doing right. Are they suffering? They must be doing wrong.

Since the friends saw that Job was suffering terribly, they assumed he was guilty of some grave offense (example: Job 4:7, 8). Perhaps Job would have agreed under normal circumstances. But Job was the one suffering, and he could recall no wicked action or set of habits that warranted the magnitude of his downfall. Job had no defense other than his own claim of innocence.

We don’t know when Job lived. One proposal places him in the twentieth or nineteenth century BC. This is based on the description of Eliphaz (one of Job’s friends) being “the Temanite” (Job 2:11). Abraham’s grandson Esau (also known as Edom; see Genesis 25:30; 36:1, 8) had a grandson named Teman (Genesis 36:11). Teman is mentioned as a place within the territory of Edom (Jeremiah 49:7, 20; compare Ezekiel 25:13; Amos 1:12; Obadiah 8, 9). The length of Job’s life (Job 42:16) fits this period of time (Genesis 25:7; 35:28).

Job is mentioned by name in Ezekiel 14:14, 20 and James 5:11, so we are certain that he is not a fictional character.

Nugent, John et al. “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth.” The KJV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2014–2015. Ed. Ronald L. Nickelson & Jonathan Underwood. Vol. 62. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2014. 51. Print.