"As for me, I know that my redeemer is living and 'after this' he will raise me up out of dust. In the 'hereafter,' when my (leprous) skin is removed and I'm no longer in this body, I shall see God—I shall gaze at him for myself—and I will see one who is my friend. Oh, how my heart yearns for this" (Job 19:25-27).
This text was in my Lenten reading this morning and the translation is my effort to better understand it. It’s Job's Great Confession, "wherein he himself plants the flag of victory above his own grave" (D.J. Wiseman).
"You can write this indelibly in a book, or carve it ineradicably in stone," Job insists (19:24). "This is what I know and what my heart yearns for: Someday I shall shed this pain-plagued body and see my Old Friend face to face.
Oh, how our hearts yearn for this.
David Roper
3.13.21
PS: There’s an old joke about the author that asked his friend, “Have you read my last book?”—to which his friend replied, “I sure hope so.” Well, I may have written my last book. It’s entitled Walking in Grace and Glory, 90 days in the Psalms. It can be ordered from Amazon, or the Our Daily Bread site: odb.org
