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WHAT IS THE MEANING OF JOB 19:25-27?
By Rev, Robert Adams.
A class of men and ladies has recently com
pleted, under my guidance, the study of Ram
sey 's "Questions on Bible Doctrine." While
we were on the last lesson, a very thoughtful
member of the class asked for some informa
tion about the above passage, which led me
to undertake a more thorough investigation of
it than I had hitherto made.
We are all familiar with the language of
the Authorized Version, containing the words,
"in my flesh shall I see God." But the mar
ginal rendering there is, "After I shall awake,
though this body be destroyed, yet out of my
flesh shall I see God."
The Revisers place in the text, "Without
my flesh," and in the margin, "Prom my
flesh."
These various renderings are somewhat con
fusing, and tend to leave one in doubt as to
what Job really meant.
Desiring to get as clear a view as possible
of the entire passage, I wrote two of the lead
ing Hebrew scholars of our Church, asking
each to give me what he regards as the cor
rect, translation, and also to say whether he
thinks Job meant to express his belief in the
resurrection of the body, or only his faith in
the immortality of the soul. Their transla
tions are as follows:
(1) "But I know that my Vindicator liveth
And in after time He shall appear upon
the earth :
And after they (i.e., the ravages of my
disease) have destroyed my skin, this
shall be ?
Even in my flesh I shall look upon God,
Whom I shall see for myself, and not as
a sojourner."
(2) "And I, I know that my vindicator liv
eth, and (as) an afterman he shall arise upon
the dust. And after my skin they have de
stroyed this (body) ; but without my flesh I
shall behold God, whom I shall behold for my
self, and mine eyes shall see, and not (as)
one estranged."
This latter translation is explained to be
literal. In, reply to my second question, one
of my honored friends, whose translation is
given first, says: "As you will see from the
translation given, I regard Job as looking for
ward. not only to immortality, but to a resur
rection of the body." But he further says:
"It is only fair to add that the exegetical evi
dence is ambiguous."
The other writes: "In my judgment, the
immediate reference of this passage is to im
mortality and to Job's vindication from the
aspersions of his friends in a life after death.
But, in the Hebrew mind and theology, the
resurrection was a corollary of immortality.
This final blessed existence was thought of as
involving the restoration of the body, and so
the Jews were accustomed to include the lat
ter in the former."
So there is substantial agreement between the
two, that the language does point to the resur
rection of the body.
My study has led to the following conclu
sion as to the legitimate deductions to be drawn
from the record:
1. The passage presents some peculiar dif
ficulties to the translator. My friend first
quoted above says, "Almost every clause in it
is susceptible of more than one translation."
2. Job had not the slightest doubt of a life
beyond the grave.
3. He expected to be vindicated, not in this
life, but in that.
4. This assurance of final vindication enabled
liim, in the consciousness of his integrity, to
bear with some degree of equanimity the as
persions of his friends, though they galled him
to the quick.
5. God, not man, would be his judge and
vindicator; therefore, he could, with absolute
confidence, expect a righteous judgment and a
complete vindication.
6. God was still his friend ? was on his side
? and would continue to be so in ternity,
though appearances seemed to indicate the con
trary.
7. There is this most valuable lesson for
God's people of every age: Whatever may be
our circumstances; whatever perplexing prob
lems may arise ; however mysterious the order
ings of Providence may seem to us; however
others may misunderstand us: we can afford
to wait until God, the Vindicator, shall right
all wrongs, bring order out of confusion, and
declare our justification from His own judg
ment seat.
Pendleton, S. C.
WHY THE NORTH KIANGSU MISSION
DECLINED TO APPROVE OF A
NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL
IN CHINA.
The following is a statement of the reasons
assigned by the North Kiangsu Mission of our
Church to the Executive Committee of Foreign
Missions and to the Church for not approving
the National Christian Council, which was the
main result of the Conference held in Shanghai
in May.
It is doubtless known that the North Kiang
su Mission, at its recent meeting, by a vote of
20 to 7, requested that our Church do not re
cognize or finance the so-called National Chris
tian Council of China, proposed by the National
Christian Conference held in Shanghai last
May. Our report on the action of this Confer
ence was virtually iinanimous. The only del
egate whose name was not signed to it was
Rev. W. F. Junkin, D. D., who was thoroughly
in accord with us and our views, but is now in
America. While there was no minority report
from the delegates, yet the Mission authorized
those holding views pro and con to write cov
ering letters. We therefore give our grounds
for presenting the report as we did.
Permit us to state that our report, and the
Mission's vote on it, were actuated by no cap
tious or fault-finding spirit, nor by any lack of
desire to cultivate fraternal relations and co
operate with sister churches. The action was
taken after due consideration and prayer, and
with the earnest desire to do what was best
for the honor of God and the advancement of
His kingdom.
The grounds on. which our action was based
are as follows:
The establishment of such a National Council
is highly undesirable:
I. Because of the great expense of the un
dertaking. The promoters of the Conference
and Council prepared a budget, a copy of which
has been submitted to yon. This budget calls
on the churches to pay not less than Mex.
$84, 240,00 annually, with the additional ex
penses of collateral and subsidiary work
amounting to Mex. $68,132.00. CSee the item
ized statement.) Tn addition it is proposed not
only to establish this expensive Council and a
General Conference of nil Mission churches,
but also to hold regularly no less than .30 Re
gional Conferences to prepare for the General
Conference. (See report of Commission V,
page 32, section C.) For the report states
that "a paid staff would be necessary," and
that proper working of the scheme "demands
National gatherings every four or five years."
(I*. 33, last paragraph of section C.) Thus
there are wheels within wheels, all involving
a heavy and growing expense to be borne by
the various Boards who enter the agreement
and assume responsibility for its maintenance.
But if under ordinary circumstances it would
seem unwise to undertake such financial bur
dens for what its own advocates sometimes
call an "adventure," an "experiment," what
will our Southern Church say in view of the
grave financial situation which confronts it,
the debt it is already laboring under, the heavy
cut of 10 per cent on all appropriations for
work in hand, the* consequent impossibility of
enlarging the work and entering new fields
which beckon us, and the necessity of refus
ing for lack of funds the many promising can
didates who have offered for mission work?
Would it not be a ruinous policy to take tlie
money needed for preaching the gospel and
given for that purpose, and use it to establish
this expensive Couneil, leaving the work for
which our Church has made itself responsible
unprovided for, and undertaking some new
hazard for which we are not responsible and
-which, if launched, will prove of very doubtful
benefit?
II. The North Kiangsu Mission did not ap
prove the proposed National Council because
it is not needed. Our Church already has
abundant agencies to do all the work Provi
dence has entrusted to us. Our commission is
to preach the gospel, heal the sick, teach the ig
norant and relieve the distressed ; and accord
ingly we have chapels, hospitals, schools, or
phanages and have done more than our share
of famine relief work. We believe in hearty
cooperation and brotherly relations with fel
1owt missionaries of other Societies, and there
already exists a most cordial and growing spirit
of fellowship among us. We believe the true
spirit of Christian unity prevails largely in
China. We .can and do have what our Saviour
prayed for. Spiritual unity, not external one
ness of organization, with our present machin
ery. If so, why add this cumbrous and expen
sive instrument now proposed by some? The
unity of such a National Council woidd be the
unity of the Church of Rome, external, visible,
not real and spiritual, what our sainted teacher
of blessed memory. Dr. Peek, used to call the
unity of a barrel, the separate staves of which
are held together by an iron hoop.
Again, denominations all agree that the
Church is already overorganized. At home and
abroad the groan is often heard, "there is too
much machinery." If we are already overor
ganized and have too much machinery, why
The North Kiangsu Mission for this reason,
therefore, is right in not approving the scheme,
increase the evil and add a burden which neith
er our Mission nor our Church is able to bear?
The friends of the proposed National Couneil
are suffering acutely with a maTady which Dr.
Egbert Smith is reported to have called "com
mittee-itis." Is not what the Church at home
and on the mission field needs, less organiza
tion and more of the Spirit's power, less of
human methods and machinery and more of
the living Christ ? The proposed Council and
accompanying General and Regional Confer
ences are not what is needed. They draw val
uable men from doing direct mission work in
preaching and teaching the gospel, to "serving
tables" and doing routine work on committees.
III. The National Council with its train of
National and Regional Conferences is not ad
visable because many influential Chinese pas
tors and Church leaders oppose it. One is
asked, "What will be the good of it?" "Far
better spend those thousands in preaching the
gospel and saving souls." " If established, how
can the Chinese Church ?-er support such an