Job 9

What may be said of Job may also be said of us: There is a lot about God that we know, but there is also a lot about God that we do not know. Job demonstrated that in this chapter. He said a lot of things about God that he knew from his experience with Him—He is the Creator; He is all-powerful; He is not mortal. But, as close as Job was with God, there were still some things he didn’t know about God. And those things made him uneasy.

This is a common predicament for sinners. We sense that, in our sinful condition, we are separated from God. That causes fear. Just think of what Adam and Eve did right after they first engaged in sin—they ran and hid! In this separated condition, we imagine that it would be a fearful thing to meet God. We imagine that He might not be so nice to us. So we do what Job did. We long for a mediator: "If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot." (vs 33-35)

Ironically, at the end of Job’s story, he discovered that he didn’t actually need a mediator with God. God showed up and talked to him... face to face. Now, as Christians, we refer to Jesus Christ as our mediator. But it is sooo important to remember who it is that requires the mediator!

Often, we have been quick to paint God the Father as the one who needs a mediator. We have painted Him as one who is offended by our sin and, thus, requires a mediator to plead with Him to take us back. We picture Jesus in that role. But that is just not true! God has never needed a mediator. We are the ones who need the mediator!

Our sin keeps us from believing that God is as welcoming, loving, and accepting as He is. Thus, we demand a mediator, afraid that He will reject us otherwise. But Jesus, as the mediator, is pleading with us to be reconciled to God. Not the other way around. Even more than that, Jesus is mediating with us along with the Father and Spirit—they plead with us as well! But if we have too many fears about coming face to face with the Father... if we are just a tad bit more comfortable with Jesus, then God is more than happy to begin with us at that point. Jesus can introduce us to the Father in good time.

We shouldn’t be ashamed to feel like we need a mediator. And we should remember that God is more than willing to mediate with us. But don’t get the roles switched around. Nobody is mediating with God. He is mediating with us!