Job 16:18-19 – My Witness Is in Heaven

Summary

Even though he should die without receiving justice, Job hopes that a witness in heaven will step forward to take his side and to declare him innocent. Since none of his friends will do it, he hopes for a heavenly figure to take his case.

Analysis

Job seems to have in mind the story of Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel where there were no witnesses. But God heard Abel's blood crying out from the ground, and God responded to bring justice (Genesis 4:10-12). Since there were no humans to testify on Abel's behalf, justice was only possible if God intervened. Similarly, Job has received no words of comfort and affirmation from his friends. His only chance is for some divine action to hear his cry and take his case.

Who does Job have in mind when he speaks of a "witness"? Clearly, it is not another human. So, who in heaven has the proximity and clout to argue with God on Job's behalf? Is it some angel or other heavenly being? Christians tend to see Christ in passages like this. At least, the function that Job wants from the witness is similar to the way they hope that Christ makes the case for their justification before God. Perhaps Job is appealing to one side of God's nature against the other side. He wants the good God who made him and loved and sustained him to appeal to the harsh side of a demanding God. He wants God's mercy to prevail over God's demands for obedience. He wants God, who is both merciful and just, to lean in the direction of mercy.

• Job 1:1-5
  The Pious and Affluent Job Is Introduced
• Job 1:6-12
  The First Encounter between God and Satan
• Job 1:21
  God Gives and God Takes Away
• Job 2:11-13
  Job’s Well-Intentioned Friends
• Job 3
  Job Curses the Day of His Birth
• Job 4:1-5
  Easy Answers Fade When Reality Contradicts Them
• Job 4:7-8
  Those Who Sow Trouble Reap the Same
• Job 5:17-21
  Accept Suffering as the Discipline of the Almighty
• Job 6:14-27
  Job’s Rebuke of His Counselors
• Job 7:1-6
  Nights Are Too Long and a Life Is Too Short
• Job 8:8-10
  Trust the Spiritual Teachings of the Past
• Job 9:13-20
  How Can One Win an Argument with God?
• Job 9:22-24
  God Is Unjust
• Job 10:8-12
  Job Remembers That God Lovingly Created Him
• Job 11:7-12
  God’s Ways Are beyond Human Understanding
• Job 13:1-12
  Do Not Lie for God
• Job 14:7-17
  If Mortals Die, Will They Live Again?
• Job 19:20
  Job Escapes by the Skin of His Teeth
• Job 19:23-27
  I Know That My Redeemer Lives
• Job 28
  Only God Knows Wisdom
• Job 29:1-6
  Job Longs for the “Good Old Days”
• Job 31:35-37
  If Only I Knew the Indictment, I Would Wear It Proudly
• Job 33:13-18
  God May Be Speaking to Job through His Suffering
• Job 38:1-18
  God Finally Speaks to Job
• Job 39:1-8
  God Cares Even for the Offspring of Wild Animals
• Job 41:1-11
  Humans Are Helpless before the Ferocity of Leviathan
• Job 42:1-6
  Job Accepts His Limits and Will Not Continue to Protest
• Job 42:10
  Job Receives a Double Restitution