My Musings – Arbitrate: to settle (a dispute between two people or groups) after hearing the arguments and opinions of both.
Some say that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, in which case Job is “unwittingly” making the earliest prophecy about the coming Messiah.
If you browse the internet, you’ll find various opinions on what makes a good arbitrator. Among them are competence, character, courage, commitment, compassion. I would add at least one more: an intimate knowledge of both parties in the dispute. Ever wonder why God became man though His Son Jesus Christ? While this is undoubtedly a multi-dimensional question, perhaps this was one of the reasons.
Christ already had the divine perspective. For He “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being (Hebrews 1:3, NIV 1984).” When He became man, He acquired the human perspective. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15, NIV 1984).”
My Advice – In the most important “dispute” of our lives, one with eternal consequences, we want more than a good arbitrator. We want the best. Jesus is the best. As a matter of fact, He is the only arbitrator that is able to “remove God’s rod from [us].“
