The Joy of JobAn Investigator's Perspective on the
|
|
Gold Medal Winner of the 2019 Illumination Book Award for Theology
Kirkus Reviews commends the book's "delightfully unrelenting interrogation of the Biblical text"
and its "profound, moral meaning." In a starred review, Publishers Weekly's BookLife recognizes Joy of Job for its
"excellent exegesis" and "refreshing insight." |
“The Joy of Job makes a remarkable contribution to Biblical studies, theology, and pastoral care. With compelling logic and convincing Biblical exegesis, it presents the case for an alternate viewpoint into the meaning of Job’s journey. The author’s grasp of the anatomy and activity of human pride is enormously relevant to our times. After reading this book, Job makes sense to me in a way it never did before.”
- The Rev. Dr. Daniel Meyer, Senior Pastor, Christ Church of Oak Brook, Illinois; a Board Member of Fuller Theological Seminary, and contributor to Christianity Today’s Preaching Today
"This is a provocative and important work. Relevant. Timely. Theologically tight. Twenty five years as a federal investigator gives me a profound appreciation for the author's investigative approach, which reveals powerful truths that have been obscured by centuries of passive reading of the Book of Job. This book forces the reader to think outside of the box and inevitably leaves one in a state of honest self-examination.”
|
- Mark Lundgren, Co-Founder of Secure Church, a national church security ministry
“This is such an impressive study and very relevant in the consideration of leadership in these disordered times. The book is a clarion call to consider Job in a new way.”
- Dr. Myrna Grant, Professor Emerita, Wheaton College Graduate School, author of 18 books, including Vanya, a classic that inspired millions
“This unique investigative approach to the book of Job opened my eyes to much that I had missed. The Joy of Job chronicles indictment, defense pleadings, and witness statements—from Satan, from Job, his friends, and his God. Pick it up; engage the argument. You’ll be blessed with a new grasp of the gospel!”
- The Rev. Dr. John Sittema, a pastor for more than 39 years in the Christian Reformed and Presbyterian churches and retired President and Chief Executive Officer of WorldServe Ministries. An author of two books, he has been a visiting lecturer at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C., and an adjunct professor at Mid-America Reformed Seminary.
“In a brilliant study, Maribeth Vander Weele challenges us to look behind the curtain to see a side of Job we may never have considered.”
- The Rev. David Freshour, Senior Pastor of Chevy Chase Baptist Church, Washington, DC
“Perceptive and fascinating. A unique and articulate presentation.”
- Bill Quinlan, General Counsel, Chicago Principal and Administrators Association and member of Old St. Pat’s Church in Chicago
"The Joy of Job is a Spirit-filled revelation of what the life of Job could have been like. Eye-opening and encouraging, The Joy of Job would definitely be helpful to those who want to study Job in-depth. The book reveals that God can change a person no matter what condition they may find themselves in. It reflects and reveals God's mercy, love and grace. A great study piece."
- Jose Gonzalez, Pastor, Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal, M.I., East Chicago, Indiana
“Vander Weele’s thesis in this book is as challenging as it is rigorous. Her painstaking interrogation of the biblical text is delightfully unrelenting. It also provides a philosophically sound lesson involving the dangers of pride and the eternal goodness not of Job, but of God. The author also furnishes an engaging account of Satan’s role in all this and the way in which he was essentially duped by God. Throughout, her prose is unfailingly clear and free of academic jargon, and her analytical results read like a true-crime mystery: dramatic, accessible, and full of profound, moral meaning. A brief but captivating look at an ancient story.”
- Kirkus Reviews
"Vander Weele provides a wonderful and refreshing new interpretation of the ancient book of Job in her book The Joy of Job. After reading the whole book in one day I came away with one main question, “Why had not anyone ever seen Job in this light before?” It took the eyes/mind/heart of a professional investigative reporter to point the way that is both logical and transformative."
- Charles L. Webber, Jr., Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Cell and Molecular Physiology, Loyola University, Chicago
"With masterful investigative analysis, Ms. Vander Weele refutes the traditional understanding of the Book of Job."
- Charles V. Hogren, Co-Founder, Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic, Chicago, Illinois
"Startling and insightful. Maybe Job was not at all the patient patriarch we have always thought him to be. Just maybe the book of Job has a new and far more important message for contemporary society."
- Ed Gabrielse, Wheaton Christian Reformed Church, Wheaton, Illinois
"Throughout the book, the nature of our very compassionate, loving, just, and forgiving God shines."
- Alice Nelson (Excerpt of Review from Amazon)
"Growing up, I puzzled over the Book of Job. I didn't much like it, in part because I hated all the terrible losses Job suffered. In her highly readable dive into the traditional interpretation of Job as righteous, author Maribeth Vander Weele . . . reinterprets the Book of Job. Using more than 350 Biblical Scriptures, she demonstrates that Job was filled with religious pride and more concerned with the loss of his reputation than the loss of his children. No wonder God turned Satan loose on him! This thoughtful, detailed examination helps me understand Job better and maybe God, too."
- Rebecca Chown (Excerpt of Amazon Review)
"In the grand tradition of the early Christian Church Father Origen of Alexandria, The Joy of Job submits a serious and provocative theory of Job. It is refreshing, to say the least, and encourages deep introspection of ourselves."
- Sherwood De Visser, President Great Lakes Investigation LLC and Member of Hartland United Methodist Church, Harland, Michigan
"The Joy of Job is a brilliant reading of the enduring story of Job in a real-world context. It is eminently applicable to contemporary times."
- Samuel William Sax, Chairman of FRI Global, ranking Commissioner of the Public Building Commission of Chicago, and retired chairman of Exchange National Bank
"You won't be the same after reading The Joy of Job. This book is revolutionary."
- Coretta McFerren, Chicago
"When he finally comes face to face with God, the creator of the world, repentant Job discovers that God is both just and merciful. Flowing out of Maribeth Vander Weele's own journey of faith, this well-researched, clearly and engagingly written book, "The Joy of Job" offers a unique captivating perspective on the story of Job. A must read."
- Rev. Dr. Gerrit Haagsma, BA,BD, Dmin.
"This book is anointed."
- Pastor Dr. Steve Greene, Publisher and Executive Vice President of the media group at Charisma Media and Executive Producer of the Charisma Podcast Network
Making Unexpected Sense of the Ancient Story of Job
The Old Testament story of Job has confounded followers of God throughout the ages. Perplexingly, God enters into a pact with the devil to test Job’s loyalty, resulting in cataclysmic losses for this righteous man of antiquity. Job clings to his faith, winning worldwide renown for his perseverance and patience. The traditional interpretation of Job’s journey is that even the most righteous man on earth can suffer without reason. Left unsaid is the unnerving sense that Job was the victim of a cruel cosmic battle. The Joy of Job builds a remarkable case for a new interpretation of this ancient mystery. Using exacting Biblical exegesis, it challenges the belief that Job was righteous and that the Lord was capricious in allowing him to suffer. The book offers sacred lessons about self-examination, religious pride, and discerning leadership. Surprisingly, the book of Job emerges as one of the greatest stories of repentance and restoration ever told. |
Why Job Matters. |
|
What Kirkus Reviews says about The Joy of Job
“Vander Weele’s thesis in this book is as challenging as it is rigorous. Her painstaking interrogation of the biblical text is delightfully unrelenting. It also provides a philosophically sound lesson involving the dangers of pride and the eternal goodness not of Job, but of God. The author also furnishes an engaging account of Satan’s role in all this and the way in which he was essentially duped by God. Throughout, her prose is unfailingly clear and free of academic jargon, and her analytical results read like a true-crime mystery: dramatic, accessible, and full of profound, moral meaning. A brief but captivating look at an ancient story.”
|
|
About the Cover Art
|
Are you a Book Reviewer? |
Reputation
Imagine being a newcomer in a place of worship when you overhear two men speaking together. One of them says:
“Hey, did you notice that when I walk through services, people part to make a path for me?”
Intrigued, you edge closer. This must be a powerful man, you think. Is he a preacher? A rock star? A politician? A sports hero?
“Everyone stops talking when I enter the room. They hang on my every word. I’m the wisest person around,” he says. “And look. When I smile at them, they can’t believe that they came this close to me!”
Did he really say that?
If he were a preacher or politician, would you like him? If he were a famous musician, would you respect him? If he were a sports champion, would you want your son or daughter to make him a role model?
Most importantly, would you leave thinking that someone so fixated on his own acclaim—someone who so loved the stage of human approval—was truly righteous?
Yet, these are the sentiments of Job, who in Job 29, vs. 7-11, recalls his way of life before catastrophe afflicted him.
When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet; the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me.
Job continues in Verses 21-24:
People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel. After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears. They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain. When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
The Bible instructs God’s followers to glorify God, and the Lord states in Isaiah 42:8, “I will not yield my glory to another,” but Job focused on another type of glory: his own. Job explained, simply, that he expected that his own glory would not fade. Like the New Testament Pharisees, who loved honor and recognition, Job was filled with religious pride. The Joy of Job, An Investigator's Perspective on the Most Righteous Man on Earth, recounts these and other hidden truths of a book that has confounded God followers for generations.
“Hey, did you notice that when I walk through services, people part to make a path for me?”
Intrigued, you edge closer. This must be a powerful man, you think. Is he a preacher? A rock star? A politician? A sports hero?
“Everyone stops talking when I enter the room. They hang on my every word. I’m the wisest person around,” he says. “And look. When I smile at them, they can’t believe that they came this close to me!”
Did he really say that?
If he were a preacher or politician, would you like him? If he were a famous musician, would you respect him? If he were a sports champion, would you want your son or daughter to make him a role model?
Most importantly, would you leave thinking that someone so fixated on his own acclaim—someone who so loved the stage of human approval—was truly righteous?
Yet, these are the sentiments of Job, who in Job 29, vs. 7-11, recalls his way of life before catastrophe afflicted him.
When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet; the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me.
Job continues in Verses 21-24:
People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel. After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears. They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain. When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
The Bible instructs God’s followers to glorify God, and the Lord states in Isaiah 42:8, “I will not yield my glory to another,” but Job focused on another type of glory: his own. Job explained, simply, that he expected that his own glory would not fade. Like the New Testament Pharisees, who loved honor and recognition, Job was filled with religious pride. The Joy of Job, An Investigator's Perspective on the Most Righteous Man on Earth, recounts these and other hidden truths of a book that has confounded God followers for generations.
To read more from The Joy of Job, click HERE
One of the
|
A Quote from the Rev. John Fry, a Nineteenth Century English Rector
“Being lifted up with pride, (Job) had fallen into the snare of the devil, who had ‘desired to have him, that he might sift him as wheat.’ God had ordered that it should be so, not to gratify the malice of the devil, but to expose and correct in a child whom he loved something that did offend his heavenly eyes; and, no doubt, for an example to others, that those who think, that, as our common corruption will permit, they ‘do righteousness” and ‘love mercy,’ may learn also ‘to walk humbly with their God.”
The Rev. John Fry, B.A., A New Translation and Exposition of the Very Ancient Book of Job: with Notes, 1827, Page 457. The Rev. Fry was of University College, Oxford, and Rector of Desford, Leicestershire, England. He authored at least seven books.
The Rev. John Fry, B.A., A New Translation and Exposition of the Very Ancient Book of Job: with Notes, 1827, Page 457. The Rev. Fry was of University College, Oxford, and Rector of Desford, Leicestershire, England. He authored at least seven books.