Job 33:24, “Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom.”
[See all of Job 33:23-28]
This is an amazing passage. In it Elihu is envisioning a heavenly scene of intercession where “an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand,” is merciful to a sinful human and intercedes with God on his behalf. The imagined mediator’s words are amazing, he says:
“Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom.”
Wow. First, see how Elihu recognizes the need for help from above, help from a source greater than and outside the human family. The human condition is such that we need merciful help from outside of ourselves.
Secondly, see that the mediator is merciful toward the sinful man. The sinner does not deserve this intercession, but mercy moves the mediator. And what does the mercy move him to do? Not just to speak up, but to offer a ransom on behalf of the condemned man.
We are not told what the ransom is, but the word used כֹּפֶר , is used elsewhere for a “life price,” an amount paid for the redemption of a forfeit life. The sinner is condemned, his life is forfeit, he is justly being sent to the pit, but the mercy of a heavenly mediator steps in and interposes a ransom for the sinners life. What is the result?
The ransom is accepted and, on that basis, the man’s prayers are heard and he is folded into holy fellowship with God (v.26).
Then, in verse 26-27, we see the ransomed man’s response:
“He sings before men and says: ‘I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. He has redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.'”
How amazing! See that the man’s worship of his redeemer IS his witness to the world. He sings, he sings His witness…..oh that our witness to the world, whether lyrical or prose, spoken or lived (though it must ultimately be spoken), written or painted or drawn or preached–oh that our witness would be singing! He worships through witness and his witness is worship. See how the man leads with his own sin, his own failure, his own destitution. The gospel–by design–humbles man and exalts God–hallowed be His name!
See also the statement, “I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me.” The man’s words imply that someone had to pay for his sinning and perversion of what was right. It does not simply disappear. Where does the payment for sin go, then, if it is not repaid to the man? We have to conclude that it was dealt with by the ransom that was found by the merciful mediator of verse 24.
So, what do we see in Job 33:23-28? We see a hypothetical situation envisioned in which a sinner is justly convicted to death, but is then forgiven and restored to relationship and righteousness before his God because a merciful mediator stepped in and paid the ransom for his life–the punishment for the man’s sins being repaid through the ransom–so that the ransomed man might sing of his redeemer and look upon the light of life.
Is this not the gospel? Of course, what Elihu could never have guessed is that the mediator in his scenario, the one who he labels as “an angel…one of the thousand,” would actually be the only begotten, eternal Son of God. Our mediator is not “one of the thousand,” He is utterly and eternally unique. He is the beloved and co-divine Son of the Father. And the ransom He pays is His own self, His own life-blood poured out into the dust of the world His word formed and sustains (1 Peter 1:18).
How the seraphim must have been silenced and the angelic hosts stilled by the sheer weight of wonder and glory when–from the heart of eternal Trinitarian communion–the sweet and strong voice of our Lord called out, “I have found a ransom….”
Hallowed be His Name.
