Suffering often doesn't have an obvious reason. Even as Christians we can't always conjure an explanation for the awful things human beings experience. Job couldn't—but his faith carried him through (what was to many of us) unimaginable suffering. Yet his suffering is not the guiding theme of the biblical book that bears Job's name. The central focus of the Book of Job is the Gospel of Christ, and its abiding presence in times of blessing and in times of suffering and disaster.
Crying Out for Vindication is an exploration of the life ofJob, a righteous man, and his response to suffering. His desire to understand the source and reason for his hardship is not substantially different from ours, and the book's emphasis on the sufficiency of grace and righteousnesslinks Job's experiences to our own hopeinChrist. Illuminating the continuity between the life of an Old Testament saint and the experiences of contemporary Christians lends relevance to the entirety of Scripture and reveals the comforting effect of the whole Bible.
We can never be "prepared" for suffering. Just as Job was unaware of Satan's machinations against him in heaven, we don't know when death or illness or any other kind of evil will throw our lives into disarray and confusion. As author David Jackson points out, repudiating God only increases our suffering—our best response is to praise Him in spite (and even because) of our circumstances. Complete with reflection questions after each chapter, this topical rather than verse-by-verse commentary of the Book of Job helps lead readers to such praise and divine reliance rather than the self-righteousness and pride our sinful natures often direct us toward.
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