A Son For Glory: Job Through New Eyes

Through New Eyes Bible Commentary

by Toby J. Sumpter

Toby Sumpter's commentary on Job is the latest entry in The Through New Eyes Bible Commentary Series. Bible-reading is more of an art than a science. The Bible is a story, not a lexicon of systematic theological definitions. With this in mind, The Through New Eyes Bible Commentary Series builds on the foundational Biblical-theology work of James B. Jordan and other like-minded scholars in bringing you a set of commentaries that will help you read, teach and preach through the Bible while picking up on the rich symphonic themes and the literary symbolism of the Scriptures. Because they are written for thoughtful Christians without being overly academic, these commentaries will serve as valuable resources for family worship, Sunday school or Bible studies.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Christianity

197 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2012

About the author

Toby J. Sumpter serves as pastor King's Cross Church in Moscow, Idaho. He holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Culture from New St. Andrews College (2002) and an M.A. in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Church History from Erskine Theological Seminary (2008). He is the author of Blood Bought World and Job Through New Eyes: A Son for Glory. He and his wife, Jenny, have four children, and his favorite hobby is eating peanut butter.

Reviews

[Peter Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book, that will make help you see Job in a whole new way. The main strength is that Toby takes the beginning and the end seriously and makes the dialogues function within those bookends. He ties the life of Job to Adam and Christ, as well as several other figures in Scripture. His view that God is helping Job mature as a son is great. This view helps explain a lot of actions by the Lord throughout the book, such as why he points Job out to Satan in the beginning and how Job can be blameless and yet still need to grow. I also really enjoyed Toby's writing style. I hope he has more books lined up.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend. Job is a complex book, easily misunderstood. This study is very accessible while also digging in deeply to the themes, narrative and details of the book, leading to a glorious conclusion. Taking it chapter-by-chapter, notating my Bible and relistening to the text each day was a highly profitable way to dig into Job this summer.

I think I'll take up "A Table in the Mist" next because Ecclesiastes is a favorite of mine. Though I'm tempted to continue my mission of reading everything Dr. Leithart ever wrote and do Matthew. 😆

[ThePrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good little volume, packing many a punch. I loved Sumpter's take on Job, the themes he emphasises, the way he takes a text that has been the playground of textual critics and uses the text's intricacies to further exalt the intentional theópneustos nature of Job. Sumpter does excellent work in his explanation of Job as a chronicle of a son of God growing up into maturity through trials. He repeatedly lauds the high poetry, which was helpful, being utterly illiterate in the Hebrew language as I am. Interestingly, for instance, the most complex poetry contained within Job is found whenever YHWH speaks. Sumpter describes a wonderfully dramatic tale, in which there is nearly a Princess Bride level-of-wits competition. He makes excellent points, such as the fact that both Job and his friends desire his death, but that the friends want him to go to the grave with guilt piled over his head like soil, while Job earnestly pleads for vindication in his death. A lot of really solid stuff in here, not least the wonderful typology that Sumpter expounds upon. Everyone who is unable to draw out Leviathan with a hook ought to read this.

[John Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here are but three of my many encounters as I read:
1 - Yes. Yes. Yes. And, Yes. That was my response to just page one of the Preface.
2 - Toby Sumpter clarifies the fine print for Covenant believers, that fine print which is so often never mentioned by evangelistic salesmen during blustery sales pitches: If you accept this life in Christ, it isn't about having fun and problem-free living, it's about being refined into the family. If you have love like that (like Job's) then you qualify for the fine print. In fact, if the fine print clause has not been activated in your life, what does this mean?
3 - Whether it's my natural inclination or the result of having grown up in the church for the last 40+ years, I confess it has been more likely that I would have the same attitude as Job's friends (cursed boils that they were) upon hearing of any tragedy to strike some believer (potential activation of the fine print disclosure). I repent and will think differently upon first assessments in the future -- including my own circumstance.

Most significantly, I enjoyed the way Toby set the stage, then came on stage as a sword-wielding swashbuckler, with courage, skill, resourcefulness, and a distinctive sense of sonship. Sumpter laid waste the academic "vultures of unbelief" as well quite frankly many of his own brothers among whom I historically call "the frozen chosen." Frequently such as these, with heads full of knowledge, look at a story on paper -- as if the paper itself is what is important, their pontifications meant to trump what God has put forth. In this case, Sumpter relentlessly highlights the Gospel call to active relationship. Real, tangible, delivered-as-promised in the Gospel, relationship. If you partake in THE relationship then Sumpter's take on the book of Job is THE take.

The book of Hebrews states that the Gospel was preached even to those in the Old Testament, and Job is clear evidence of one who did hear -- and responded to the invitation. Oh, to love like that.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. This book is definitely something to think about. I prefer books that are daring, taking chances and making mistakes, to tame, dry prose that simply sees Job as a mere affirmation of God's sovereignty.

I somehow fell back a little bit into my credulous James Jordan loving self, especially as he described Job sending his own sons into the presence of God's sons. There are all sorts of great things about the book, but I think the best is that Sumpter really respects Job and does not try to find fault with him. Finding Job's flaw is way too easy. I also appreciate all the dominion stuff. I've got a soft spot for it. I also find the way he describes the friends makes a lot more sense than one thinks at first glance, especially if you read Job's speeches in isolation. He was also kind to Elihu. Also, he has simply fantastic, amazing prose and whenever he starts applying things, it's just a joy.

Still, there are one-star deficiencies. He reminds me a bit of Doug Jones: the ideas are great, but it often feels like we're not reading the same book. From Leithart, he inherits a "creative fiction" approach to exegesis that brings in Adam and (more egregiously) Jacob in when there are the barest hints. The Balaam-Balak parallels make more sense and the Adam one grows on you, but I must beg to differ on the wrestling bits. The book's greatest weakness, to my mind, is he hasn't worked hard enough at moving beyond mere summary of the speeches to simplifying and picking out the imagery that we need to pay attention to. Anyone reading could have noticed the wind imagery.

Also, I wish he had not read so much Girard. This guy was a one-idea freak, and whenever he talks literature, it shows. It's great homiletics, just really bad exegesis.

Sumpter will is a very promising theologian. I think the more he writes about our culture and honestly pays attention to questions we all naturally ask, the better he'll be. He might even write the next "Sinners on the Hands of an Angry God" and we'll have it on tape and it'll be awesome. If God's good.

[Becky Pliego · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018: Do what pastor Douglas Wilson says in the back cover of the book: "...I need to plead with you to get this book."

****

2013: This a book that helped me understand how the story of Job is about silence, prayer, sea dragons, wind, and whirlwinds. How it is a story about storms of words and prayers that cry to God who brings peace into our storms. It is a book about discerning friends and their words, and one that teaches us how to be good friends who use well the Scriptures to encourage others and not to tear them down. It is a book of humble repentance and restoration, a book of hope. It is a story of a loving God pursuing his children and preparing them to go to war.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If someone were to ask you a place in the Bible that shows God's love for His children really well I don't think the first place that you would go is Job, but this book shows very clearly and powerfully that the book of Job is all about showing that God's relationship with man is a father-like relationship.
Read it. If you want to know more about the true meaning or Job, read it. If you don't care, read it, because you'll care after this!
Job Through New Eyes is exactly what I'm experiencing.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. I found it slow at different points and didn't find the points equally as intriguing, but there were plenty of highlights and high points. I enjoyed hearing the different perspective on Jacob (don't worry I do know that the book was about Job) I also enjoyed hearing an analysis on Elihu, he has always been an intriguing character to me.

Overall it was an enjoyable and well rounded read. Would recommend to anyone seeking a deeper look and understanding of the book of Job.

[William Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great commentary. Highly recommended. The way Toby interprets Job's relationship with his three friends in light of God's final verdict in Job 42.7-8 makes great sense of the book as a whole. While some want to sympathize with the friends throughout, Toby soundly shows why this approach will not work, and he does so from within the text. A great read for anyone interested in the book of Job. No knowledge of Hebrew is necessary to read this.

[Phillip G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Toby's commentary on the book of Job. Though I have held to Sumpter's identification of Job and his friends for decades, he fleshes out the implications of that presupposition in a way that makes the whole book come to life. Highly recommended.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful and accessible.

[Steve Hemmeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I’m not a Job expert. This is the first book length commentary I’ve read on it.

Strengths:
Draws strong parallels to Jesus. Job is a type of Christ in many ways. These are not artificial cut and paste statements, but come from digging deep into what is happening to Job and what he is doing in response.

The main theme is that God is refining and maturing Job through this suffering. God uses Satan’s accusation and attack to accomplish God’s prior purpose. Since this is a commentary, Sumpter doesn’t extend application of this, but it is rich soil for speaking to those who are suffering and asking why.

Job’s response is right, while his “friends” did not represent God well (42:7). This was well argued, especially that the friends are another calamity upon Job, another way the Satan accuser comes at him. Job’s repentance in 42:6 is really him being comforted. Intriguing, and very possible according to the original Hebrew. A lot rides on how you interpret these two verses, and part of the point of the book is that things aren’t crystal clear and certain when you’re going through hard times. I found it compelling that the friends are another attack of Satan against Job. They accuse him, as Satan accuses Job to God. They use half-truths to make it sound really convincing, as Satan did with Eve in the Garden. The kicker is that those true parts in Job are hallmark Calvinist doctrines: none are righteous before God; the wicked are paid out in the end. This has many siding with the friends against Job. Part of the irony of the book is that God favors Job, though he may cross the line to accusing God of wrong, and God condemns the friends, though they have spoken true (but irrelevant) things. Chalk this up to God’s grace, to His justice that sees beyond the surface of things (1 Sam 16:7; John 7:24), and to His pattern of blessing those who wrestle with Him until He blesses them.

This is another strength: bringing in larger biblical themes. Sumpter appeals to Abraham, Jacob, Hezekiah and others and really weaves Job more tightly into the canon more than other writers. Most of us see Job as a unique book with little connection to the rest of Scripture. Toby clears away that mist nicely.

Weakness
The case that Job’s friends are conspiring a political coup against Job is more assumed than argued. I counted only a handful of verses cited in support of the idea, and they are a bit shaky. I’ve always viewed Job’s friends as sophomoric theology wonks or misguided clunky handlers of truth. They may also be out to take him down politically, but this is not clear in the text.

Overall, kudos to Toby Sumpter for a fresh reading of Job.

[Troy Lizenby · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is common for readers and interpreters of Job to treat it as an isolated piece of dramatic literature that pictures an extreme form of suffering that everyone hopes will never come near their life experience. But, what is the context of Job in the midst of the whole message of biblical revelation? And, how does its message correlate to the biblical message to every child of God? Such are the questions that Toby Sumpter’s A Son For Glory answers with full satisfaction.

The story of Job, says Sumpter, is framed with didactic, fairy tale prose – the story of a great king growing up into greater glory – the story of a wise king growing up into the wisdom of a child (of God) – the story of a king emerging from the smoke of battle to become an even more glorious king. It is ultimately the story of a faithful Father who uses the evil intentions of The Accuser as an opportunity to sanctify his son Job through suffering. It is the story of one man growing to maturity, from one type of glory to being ushered into the whirlwind glory of the presence of God.
The story of Job becomes our story as sons of God who wrestle in hope with the storms of life that God sends our way to mature us. Job’s hope in His Redeemer becomes our hope in the God who turns darkness into light, weakness into strength, and shame into glory. And, while we truly wrestle, we have the patience of Job that is not always silent, but turns to the Judge and pleads for mercy. This kind of patience allows no room for stoicism or apathy, but strives to come into the presence of God, to see Him, and to commune with Him.

The story of Job is a story of sacrifice, of a blameless sacrifice who goes through the ordeal of sword and fire but who emerges through the smoke into the presence of God. It is the story of the Father who takes all his sons, pours his Spirit upon them and draws them to himself through the sword and fire.

A Son for Glory is a revealing book that opens up many other areas of Scripture for our benefit and comfort. It will be my companion for future readings of Job. I highly recommend it.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I'll admit to being a bit surprised at just how good this book actually is. Toby Sumpter can definitely keep up with the Leitharts and Wilsons of the world (and our library). This book has been a great help to me in better understanding what I have always thought of as a rather difficult book. I'm only sorry to see that there aren't many other books available either by Toby Sumpter or as a continuation of this series of books.

Favorite quotes:

"In one sense, we can see Job as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes arrayed for battle" (11).

"A believer who has been struck with particularly difficult circumstances is not in sin for not feeling the peace of God at every single moment. However, a fierce love for and faith in God turns to God and pours out all the fear, the uncertainty, and the pain in the hope of peace. Crying out in anguish and fear to the God of heaven is not giving in to anxiety; it is declaring war on that anxiety. It is refusing to give up the fight" (82).

"God is growing up his children to become his fierce friends. God wants sons who are fiercely loyal friends, who strive and wrestle for glory and blessing, and the story of Job is the story of one son's hunger for that glory and blessing" (135).

"Then 38:1: 'Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind.' Elihu is wrong. The whirlwind speaks. The storm speaks. The God of lightning and thunder, rain, snow and ice; the God of the wind, the God of all these terrors, answers Job. Job serves the God who answers" (164).

[Zan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot to ponder in this book, especially the premise that Job's "friends" were part of his trial and that they weren't well-meaning fools but were instead bent on destroying him. I appreciate the author's desire to look at Job sympathetically rather than critically. I may be missing something, but I think that the author needs a lesson in the difference between "effect" and "affect." Overall, I enjoyed it, but I really don't know enough to say whether it is ultimately persuasive. It seemed speculative at points, but then again, I don't know how to read biblical narratives without including some speculation because a lot of details we'd ordinarily expect just aren't laid out specifically. It's possible that I don't understand how good this book really is and that it deserves more praise than I'm giving it. Overall, I'm wavering between 3 & 4 stars.

[Scott Moonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I posted some reflections on this book here: http://scottmoonen.com/2013/09/30/pro...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

I did a lot of thinking about this commentary so this will be a long review, the tl;dr version is, an okay commentary on Job with some good insights on how it points to Christ, but also some sketchy interpretations of the overall book. Onward...

It seems like Mr. Sumpter would say that the overall purpose of the book of Job is: "Job has been struck and he has suffered, but he is being made perfect through suffering. He is going from perfect to perfected," or something along those lines. I would disagree with this thesis and because of his thesis, he interprets the book in ways that often do not make sense to me.

Mr. Sumpter doesn't really put Job into the overall context of the wisdom books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. Proverbs seems to be about figuring out how God "normally" works in this world. "If you do x, then you will receive y." Ecclesiastes turns around and asks the question, "what if you do x, and do not receive y?" (Probably why I love the book so much. Sometimes God does not work in ways we expect him to, how do we explain that? Short answer: We do not.) In this view then, Job is about one extended example of how God works in one man's life (Job) in a way that neither he, nor his friends understand. What is God doing? Why is he allowing Job to be punished? How is this just? The reader, because he is privy to more information than Job, at least knows where things will end up, Job does not. Indeed, God never really "tells" Job why he allows him to go through such a brutal period, it is merely reported and we are left to our own devices to "understand" it if we can.

It is true that Job is receiving a new view of God through suffering, I do not believe it is true that this is God's "purpose" for Job, or even for the book of Job. God's purpose is to tell us, "some times you are going to suffer and there is no rational "explanation" for it, in those times, you must just trust.

Mr. Sumpter jumps off from his thesis and has some weird interpretations as a result. He takes a very dark view of Job's three friends (which according to him are no friends at all) and a very positive view of Job. He insists, without internal evidence, that Job is a metaphorical and literal king. I just don't see this in the text. I feel like his three friends were wrong, because they were running Job's experience through their incorrect theology, but I don't think it was maliciously wrong. Mr. Sumpter seems to think it was malicious.

Mr. Sumpter has an interesting interpretation of Job 42.6. It reads: “Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6 NAS20) This is Job's reaction to God's many questions of Job, none of which Job can answer. Mr. Sumpter has an interesting interpretation that the word "repent" really means "comforted" which it can mean in Hebrew. The only problem with this is that not one translation I consulted agreed with him, and I must have looked at 15 or 20. If your interpretation differs from literally everyone else's, maybe you are wrong.

Still, Mr. Sumpter often has really good, very eloquent insights. I particularly liked this one: "James says that Job is an example to rich and poor alike to be patient and wait for the Judge. He teaches us that patience is not always silent, and it cries out to the Judge for justice. Faithful patience does not grumble, but faithful patience turns to the Judge and pleads for mercy." Amen on that one, brother.

This insight is quite profound, marred only by his insistence that Job is a king: "The only thing Job has is certain hope in his Redeemer. Everything else is darkness, weakness, and shame, but it is in that darkness, weakness, and shame that the light shines forth. God turns darkness into light, weakness into strength, and shame into glory. The suffering king Job proclaims that gospel of hope."

His last paragraph could hardly be more eloquent: "Though there is dust and ashes all around, though the storm has wreaked its havoc, all who trust in the Son of God have the Spirit of God speak the Father, the Lord of the storm, and he promises to listen and answer. You are a son of the Father. You are a beloved son of the God of the storm, and his Spirit is drawing you in love into his glory."

[Jared Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly insightful popular commentary about Job. It changed my view of Job from a book primarily exploring the philosophical question of why bad things happen to good people to a book pointing to the Messiah to come, Jesus of Nazareth. Sons is one of the most prominent themes of Job. Job is the greatest of the sons of the East. He has seven sons. His sons feast. The sons of God present themselves before God. God loves his sons and sends them to battle the forces of evil. He does this for good purposes--humiliating and defeating Satan, and promoting His sons to glory. As a blameless and upright son of God who in suffering overcomes evil with good, Job foreshadows the only begotten Son who would become flesh and dwell among us, die for our sin, and rise from the dead so we could walk in newness of life.

[Samuel Sadler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful analysis of Job. Up until now, I had interpreted the "answer" to suffering in Job was, "God is more powerful than we are so get over it." Sumpter reveals some of the deeper patterns running through the poetry which reveal Job as a book about man growing in glory and becoming a Son of God through suffering. At the heart of the dialogues is Job resisting the lies of Satan and pleading to be seen by God.
Sumpter leans heavily on the interpretation of Job as a king, which I think he leans on too much without sufficient evidence presented in his case.

[Caleb Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sumpter says what I have been saying for some time: God let Satan loose after Job so that Job could, by his perseverance and maturity, enter into an eternal glory and vindication. He also adds important royal and sonship dimensions, and he makes several great and helpful points of both literal and typological interpretation.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book to read as I read through Job recently. This series of commentaries has impressed me as very accessible. I really enjoyed the way this one especially brings out connections with other parts of the Bible.

[Douglas Gates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful. Enlightening.

[Josh Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good!

[Ben Palpant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Careful scholarship. Wonderful applications. Truly enriched my reading of Job.

[Pamela Mogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sumpter's A Son for Glory revolutionized my understanding (poor as it was) about the purpose of the story 0f Job completely as it delineates the role of suffering in the Father's school for glory.

[Jeremy]

"Through New Eyes" suggests a James Jordan influence, which the book bears out. The book is part of a Through New Eyes commentary series.

Update (July 2019): Toby Sumpter has distanced himself from Biblical Horizons and Federal Vision.

[Leila Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first big-kid commentary, and parts of it were fantastic. I especially like how Sumpter frames the frames - how he looks at the big picture and nestles the narrative of Job all within the *goodness* of God. A potential danger - and one I'm not sure how to rightly evaluate - is his (and others within his slice of the Evangelical pie's) penchant for seeing symbolism and Story laced through everything. Is it right to read Job as another Adam, who begins in a beautiful garden with great things, and then, when the Tempter enters, must endure testing? And to what end? At one point he discusses the wildness of God, and then describes God as a dragon. My archetypal English senses couldn't quite handle that comparison.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. The author nailed my reservations about the book of Job... it's kind of depressing; you're kind of thinking, "O Lord, please don't love me this much...don't do the Job thing to me." Really though, this author drew out the images that I had read over all these many years. The kids and I read this together as were reading through Job this year and we will never read the book of Job the same again. I love the "Through New Eyes" authors and series and they always help me to see more of the beauty, order, and truth of God's Word.

[Adam Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best books I've read the whole year. Toby Sumpter tackles the complexity of Job, providing a helpful sprint through the book, drawing attention to its connections both with the Mosaic law and sacrifices, and ultimately with Christ, while focusing on the transformative nature of the story - God is using trials to transform Job into wisdom through the tasks of maturity, growing him up into a prophet, one who God will include in His prophetic counsel. Great, great stuff.

[Matthew Robison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This commentary really clarified Job for me. The most radical and most obvious point of the book, I think, is that we should actually pay attention to what Job is saying. Too often we just think he's whining, and so we ignore him, whether we admit it or not.

If you want to better understand one of the more difficult books of Scripture, buy this short book. It goes down smooth and leaves you wanting to read Job again. That's the highest compliment I can pay to a commentary.