Job 16 Devotional

A Witness in Heaven

“Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.”Job 16:19 (BSB)

Job has heard enough from his friends. They are poor comforters, and their speeches never end (16:2-3). Then he describes God, in raw language, as an enemy who has torn him, set him up as a target, and broken him with wound after wound (16:9-14). His face is red with weeping, yet he insists he has done no violence and prays with a clean heart (16:16-17).

Then comes one of the book's surprising turns. Even now, Job says, he has someone in heaven who will testify on his behalf, an advocate above (16:19). While his friends scoff, he pours out tears to God and longs for someone to plead with God for a man, the way one pleads for a neighbor (16:20-21). Job does not know who this advocate is. Yet he looks to heaven itself for help against what heaven has allowed. Hebrews says the risen Jesus lives forever to plead for those who draw near to God through him (Hebrews 7:25). The witness Job hoped for has a name.

To think about: What would change in your prayers today if you remembered that Jesus is pleading for you right now?