Job 19:25

Job 19:25 is a sudden burst of light in the darkest stretch of Job's suffering: "I know that my redeemer liveth." Surrounded by accusers and abandoned even by his closest relations, Job lifts his eyes above his ruin to a Redeemer who is alive and will one day act on his behalf. The word "redeemer" draws on the role of a near kinsman who would step in to rescue, defend, and restore a family member who could not save himself. Job is convinced that, despite present silence, there is One who will vindicate him -- and Job says "I know," not "I hope." From the bottom of his anguish he reaches the summit of his faith.

The confession stretches toward the future: this Redeemer "shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." Job looks past his immediate crisis to a final reckoning where wrongs are set right. In the verses that follow he goes further, expressing confidence that even after his body is destroyed, in his flesh he shall see God. Generations of readers have heard in these words a longing that points beyond Job's own day -- a hope that the living Redeemer will at last stand upon the earth and that those who trust Him will see Him with their own eyes. Out of grief, Job speaks one of the most hope-filled lines in the Bible.