The Message of Job

The Bible Speaks Today: Old Testament

by David John Atkinson

The fact of suffering in the world challenges us with its questions. The book of Job is all about human suffering. Its portrayal of one man's sufferings, the ineffective responses of his friends, and his struggle for faith and understanding mirrors our own experiences in the world. David Atkinson offers a pastoral exploration of Job's story. His compelling exposition shows the power of the book of Job to reach into our human situation and to engage with our human needs. It offers, he believes, the strong comfort which comes from knowing that someone else has been there before. The message of Job is both a comfort to us in our own suffering and a model for our ministry to others in pain.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Reference, Theology, Old Testament, Christian

188 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1991

About the author

The Rt Rev. David John Atkinson is the former Bishop of Thetford. He was born on 5 September 1943 and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and King's College London. After a short career as a chemistry teacher he was ordained in 1973. His career began with a curacy at St Peter Halliwell Bolton, after which he was Chaplain (and a Fellow) of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, then a Canon Residentiary at Southwark Cathedral and finally (before his elevation to the Episcopate) Archdeacon of Lewisham. In 2009 he became an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Southwark. Bishop David is married with two children and six grandchildren. He retired on 16 September 2009.

Reviews

[Rachel Dasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What matters most from this book is not the preaching or the theology, nor orthodox belief or even Job’s upright character. Important as all of these are, they find their place only in light of that which is more important than them all, namely walking with God in fellowship with him, to enjoy him in his world.”

“…from this perspective, we can take heart from the depths of Job’s suffering. Suffering will end: but when, we do not know. But we do know that the Lord will come, and he will transform our ‘wounds into worships’.”

🤍🤍🤍

[Annie Riggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Job wrote the book on human suffering. Job IS the book on human suffering! The anguish of feeling that God is absent, the fruitless search for answers in the midst of pain, has not changed since the 7th century B.C.

It takes a great deal of concentration to read Job, because much of it contains long passages of misleading advice from Job’s friends. (Note: we must keep our wits about us as we suffer and counsel others who suffer).

The book of Job isn’t about patience, and it doesn’t resolve the problem of suffering. We do not have a distant God who can be categorized and understood by logic, reasoned into control—we don’t have a “tame lion”, so to speak. The book of Job shows us that instead, we have a free, living God of wisdom and grace. In suffering we encounter God who is both knowable and mysterious, who comes to us in love.

Atkinson showed me this. He is able to incorporate the realities of suffering with the mystery of God for a full-bodied call to faith: a faith that knows it does not honor God for naught.

[Brian Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid little devotional/pastoral commentary on the book of Job. Nothing super deep or tremendous, but some good insights. At the least, the author was able to connect Job to Jesus, which is something that some Old Testament commentaries neglect to do, to their detriment.

[Brent Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suuuuper thoughtful commentary on Job. Not technical, and very helpful as a roadmap for the book. The Helmut Thielicke quotes were the cherry on top.

[Paul Dubuc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great companion to the reading of the book of Job. Instead of going though the book in sequence, Atkinson treats each speaker in separate sections. This allows the reader to see the development of the dialogue more clearly, I think. This book provides a very interesting, helpful and balanced perspective on Job, the nature of human suffering, and its involvement in our relationship to God. There are no easy answers here, but it's important to know why there can't be adequate answers to some questions from a human perspective and why it is necessary to accept both the understanding that we are given and that there are truths also beyond our understanding because the alternatives to this are either unrealistic or without essential hope.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Atkinson provides a warm, brief, readable look at the book of Job. He says his book “is less a commentary, more an exploration” (p. 10). That is true in the best sense. In a meditative style he walks us through this complex and sometimes daunting book, breaking it down into manageable pieces. In doing so we get to the gist of this book which is often less about suffering than it is about God’s ways in the world, ending on the note of God’s grace.

[Rylan S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helped me to profit from the book of Job. If you are anything like me, Job is often read with eyes glazed over (especially the middle, where Job and his friends are debating). This little book may not answer every question sufficiently, and it summarizes some of the friends' points with extremely broad strokes, but it is thoughtful, informative, and pastoral. Sparked many conversations with friends and family as I read through it and gave me many insights to chew on.

[Dan Perik · Rating 4 out of 5]

My men's Bible study group used this as a guide for our study of Job. This was a very good commentary and provided different insights for each of the men each week.

[Adam Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alright and relatively brief commentary on the book of Job.

[David Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raymond Brown & Alec Mother together form a exciting rendezvous of gifted theologians for today. I was very pleased to have the honour of reading with such folks. I am deeply indebted. Great work !!

[Jonathan Wylie]

This book uses Job to help understand the grief process that Job is going through and in the end points us to understand all of life is about our relationship with God. This book will be used by me as a resource if I ever have to give a presentation or advice to a friend on grief.