Job 16:17-22: a reflection

17although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure. 18“Earth, don’t cover my blood. Let my cry have no place to rest. 19Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high. 20My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God, 21that he would maintain the right of a man with God, of a son of man with his neighbor! 22For when a few years have come, I will go the way of no return.

Scorned by his friends and misunderstood by all around him, Job appeals beyond them to a witness and advocate in heaven, who knows the truth of his case. Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, Job says; he who vouches for me is on high. My friends scoff at me, but my eyes pour out tears to God. Job's friends had turned against him, scoffing, accusing him falsely, adding to his suffering. He was misunderstood by everyone around him, with no one on earth to take his side or vouch for the truth of his case. But Job does not despair; he looks beyond the friends who scorn him to a higher court: he has a witness in heaven, one on high who vouches for him and knows the truth. He appeals to God, who sees rightly, over the heads of those who misjudge him. This shows appealing to a witness and advocate in heaven when scorned and misunderstood on earth. When scorned and misunderstood by all, you have a witness in heaven who knows the truth. Appeal beyond those who misjudge you to God, who sees rightly. God is your witness even when everyone on earth turns against you. Take your case to the one on high who vouches for the truth.

Notice where Job turns when everyone on earth has turned against him. His friends, who should have comforted him, scoffed at him instead, accusing him falsely, misjudging his suffering. He was misunderstood by all around him; there was no one on earth to vouch for him, to take his side, to testify to the truth of his case. In such a situation, Job might have despaired of ever being understood or vindicated. But he does not. He looks higher, beyond the human court that has misjudged him, to heaven: even now, my witness is in heaven; he who vouches for me is on high. Job appeals to God, who knows the truth of his case, as a witness and advocate on high, over the heads of those who scorn and misjudge him. This holds a comfort for us when we are scorned and misunderstood. There are times when we are misjudged, misunderstood, falsely accused, scorned by those around us, with no one on earth to vindicate us or vouch for the truth. In such times, we can feel utterly alone in our situation, with no one who understands or takes our side. But like Job, we can appeal beyond the human court that misjudges us, to God, who sees rightly, who knows the truth of our case, who is a witness and advocate in heaven. Even when everyone on earth turns against us or misunderstands us, God knows the truth and sees rightly; and we can take our case to him, the one on high who vouches for the truth. And this points to Christ, our advocate with the Father. We do well, when scorned and misunderstood by all, to appeal to God, our witness in heaven, who knows the truth and sees rightly. When scorned and misunderstood by all, appeal to God, your witness in heaven. God knows the truth of your case even when everyone on earth misjudges you. You are not without a witness; God on high vouches for the truth. Take your case to the one who sees rightly, over the heads of those who misjudge you.

That is worth taking to heart, for when scorned and misunderstood by all on earth, we have a witness in heaven who knows the truth, as Job appealed beyond his scoffing friends to God on high. We can feel utterly alone when misjudged by everyone; but Job looked beyond his friends to a witness in heaven who vouched for the truth of his case. God knows. When you are scorned and misunderstood, with no one on earth to vindicate you, do not despair; appeal to God, your witness in heaven, who knows the truth and sees rightly. When you are scorned and misunderstood by all on earth, with no one to vindicate you, appeal to God, your witness and advocate in heaven, who knows the truth of your case and sees rightly, as scorned by his friends and misunderstood by all around him Job appealed beyond them to a witness in heaven who knew the truth, saying his witness was in heaven and he who vouched for him was on high, while his friends scoffed at him and his eyes poured out tears to God; for Job's friends had turned against him and accused him falsely, and he was misunderstood by everyone around him with no one on earth to take his side, but he does not despair but looks beyond the friends who scorn him to a higher court, having a witness in heaven who vouches for him and knows the truth, appealing to God who sees rightly over the heads of those who misjudge him, which holds a comfort for us when we are scorned and misunderstood, since there are times when we are misjudged, falsely accused, and scorned by those around us with no one on earth to vindicate us, and in such times we can feel utterly alone, but like Job we can appeal beyond the human court that misjudges us to God who sees rightly and knows the truth of our case and is a witness and advocate in heaven, even when everyone on earth turns against us, and this points to Christ our advocate with the Father, so that we do well to appeal to God our witness in heaven.

Lord, scorned by his friends and misunderstood by all around him, Job appeals beyond them to a witness and advocate in heaven, who knows the truth of his case. Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, Job says; he who vouches for me is on high. My friends scoff at me, but my eyes pour out tears to God. Job's friends had turned against him, scoffing, accusing him falsely, adding to his suffering. He was misunderstood by everyone around him, with no one on earth to take his side or vouch for the truth of his case. But Job does not despair; he looks beyond the friends who scorn him to a higher court: he has a witness in heaven, one on high who vouches for him and knows the truth. He appeals to you, who see rightly, over the heads of those who misjudge him. Show me where Job turns when everyone on earth has turned against him. His friends, who should have comforted him, scoffed at him instead, misjudging his suffering. He was misunderstood by all; there was no one on earth to vouch for him. In such a situation, he might have despaired of ever being understood or vindicated. But he does not. He looks higher, beyond the human court that has misjudged him, to heaven: even now, my witness is in heaven; he who vouches for me is on high. He appeals to you, who know the truth of his case. This holds a comfort for me when I am scorned and misunderstood. There are times when I am misjudged, falsely accused, scorned by those around me, with no one on earth to vindicate me. In such times, I can feel utterly alone, with no one who understands or takes my side. But like Job, I can appeal beyond the human court that misjudges me, to you, who see rightly, who know the truth of my case, who are a witness and advocate in heaven. Even when everyone on earth turns against me, you know the truth. And this points to Christ, my advocate with the Father. Take that to my heart. When I am scorned and misunderstood by all, with no one on earth to vindicate me, keep me from despair; help me appeal to you, Lord, my witness and advocate in heaven, who knows the truth of my case and sees rightly, taking my case to the one on high who vouches for the truth over the heads of those who misjudge me.