Oh, That I Had Someone to Hear Me!

Job 31:35 Oh, that I had someone to hear me!
I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

Hebrews 7:22-24 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

Introduction

One of my favorite movies is "Castaway" with Tom Hanks. He plays a Federal Express executive who is the sole survivor of a plane crash and lives alone on a deserted island for five years. During that time he makes use of some of the cargo from the crashed plane that washes ashore. Among the things that wash up is a Wilson brand volleyball. Hanks character paints a face on the volleyball and has conversations with it throughout the movie. At one point he gets angry and tosses it out of the cave that he is living in. Almost immediately he panics, retrieves the ball, and begins to apologize profusely to "Wilson."

When he finally crafts a raft to attempt to get off the Island, he takes Wilson with him. One of the saddest moments in the movie is when Wilson is blown off the raft in the storm, and Hanks cannot retrieve him. God made us to need someone to talk to, especially in life's most difficult moments. Job had three friends who came to comfort him. However, as we near the end of his story, we find that he never really felt like they heard him. He cries out for someone to hear him. He doesn't feel like his friends have heard him, and he doesn't feel like God has heard him.

I. The Setting (Job 26-30)
A. Job acknowledges God's Sovereignty (Job 26).
B. Job affirms God's justice (Job 27).
C. Job appraises God's wisdom (Job 28).
D. Job appreciates God's blessings (Job 29).
E. Job agonizes over God's absence (Job 30).

II. The Summary (Job 31)
Job cries out for a hearing. He uses the language of the legal system of his day. Normally the accuser would read a written indictment, and the accused would have an opportunity to make a rebuttal. Job is saying that he has not heard the charges, no one has told him what he has done wrong, yet he has been attempting a rebuttal just the same. He feels that he is already suffering God's discipline, without ever knowing what he did wrong.

III. The Solution (Hebrews 7:22-24)
As the High Priest, Jesus provides our access to God. Because of him we can come boldly before God's throne of grace.
A. God's Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and calls us to repentance.
B. God's Son is our advocate before God's throne of justice, proclaiming our sin debt paid by His sacrifice on the Cross.
C. God the Father hears our prayers, and receives us to himself, because our sins are forgiven.

Conclusion
Even today we may not always feel like God hears us when we pray. But we know by faith that we can come into his presence because the sacrifice of Jesus takes away our sins.