Customer Reviews

Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance (Great Lives from God's Word Series, Vol. 7)

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Once again, Chuck Swindoll has written a fine book on a particular biblical character and shows how we can learn from the person's example (bad and good). Consistent with his other books, Swindoll pulls no punches in describing Job's character, his circumstances, and the people around him. Since the Bible also pulls no punches, Swindoll's writing style is particularly enjoyable and challenging.

Among the important points Swindoll covers include:

1. Mark of a true friend.
2. Job challenged his accusers at the appropriate time.
3. Like Job, you sometimes have to be direct and blunt with graceless people who do not have a clue.
3. Jesus often suffered false accusations.
4. Sometimes we just have to tune others out and focus on what God says about us and our circumstances (sometimes God has to tell us things we do not want to hear but need to).
5. Integrity is all that matters and 3 things to learn from Job's integrity.
6. Characteristics of a broken heart.
7. Excellent advice for staying young as you age.
8. 7 lessons Job teachers us about God.

In my humble opinion, the person who is most brokenhearted and hopeless will benefit most from the book - the self-sufficient or self-confident need not waste their time (the Bible says a lot about confidence in God instead of self). In other words, readers who need encouragment will be uplifted the most.

Read, enjoy, and be encouraged!

As he has done with other Great Lives biblical biographies (see David, Esther, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, and Paul), Charles R. Swindoll provides a deep look at Job. This is not a biblical biographical fictionalized account of the bible. Instead, he furbishes a study starting with the Old Testament passages that first paint a picture of a pious, happy and successful person until "Sahtan" challenges God to test the holiness of Job by stripping away his life. Job becomes the victim of the ultimate test of humankind's faith in God when even the Lord apparently abandoned him. Will he lose his belief, as he suffers from one Sahtan atrocity after another; or will his faith enable him to endure?

Mr. Swindoll goes over the passages with a fine toothcomb providing modern day examples to explain the underlying lessons of Job. Most people who have read the biblical book find it difficult to accept why God would allow such an extreme experiment especially on a good person. Besides providing obvious insight into Job, Mr. Swindoll offers intriguing insight into the key "characters" who star in this drama and a theory as to why the events occurred. Biblical readers will appreciate this powerful deep look into Job, a man with the fortitude to endure incredibly devilish torture.

Harriet Klausner

Swindoll has delivered a message of dignity not pity. He has given the reader a taste of the bitter reality which Job faced. Swindoll not only connects the reader to Job but also to modern/contemporary times and application. Swindoll comforts the reader by letting him know it's perfectly acceptable and normal to feel hurt, betrayed, frustrated, and victimized during hard-times; he offers the reader hope to hang on. This book should be required for all people who have never suffered or expierenced loss prior to offering their well-intentioned reasons, formulas, advice and "comfort". Swindoll has not only brought out the integrity and endurance of Job but also the dignity of Job in suffering. A must read for those going into (or active therein) ministry.

This is the sixth book I have completed in the nine book Great Lives series. I love this Old Testament book for a number of reasons. Job was a blameless and upright man who endured a life far more difficult than you and I will probably ever experience. Job lost his health, wealth, and children, and on top of that, he had lousy friends who provided a great deal of harsh criticism. In spite of all of this, Job did not curse God. The Book of Job might be considered a difficult or boring read for many, but Job ends on a happy note, and I am a total sucker for happy endings. In regards to this analysis of Job, I was disappointed with a couple portions of the book which I found to be out of line. I was quite surprised to read some inappropriate comments made about the late Steve Irwin ('Crocodile Hunter') and his wife as well as Chuck's delight when one of his sons got angry at a harassing classmate and rearranged his face. I have learned a great deal from Chuck Swindoll (a man that Christianity Today calls one of the most-influential preachers in the past 50 years), and I will continue to read his work, but this is a book I cannot whole heartily recommend.

I have read several books by this author and he always offers phenomenal insight. God has blessed this man tremendously to spread his word. I have read almost all of the Great Lives series and Job was one of the longest ones. I had no idea it would take me forever to get through this book. As always Mr. Swindoll offers great insight but he kept repeating the same thing over and over and over. I got the point the first time! This book is a good read because of the insight provided, if you are a person who enjoys repetition this book is for you.

I was really hoping this book would give a reason why God put Job through all that,since that has always bothered me,but it doesn't, except to say God can do whatever He wants!

We all know that He can,but that certainly isn't an explanation for why it was done. The only thing I can think,is that it is a learning lesson for us to see how to handle such adversity and what our attitude should be. This book does give a lot of excellent insights for that,and I am glad that I read it.
I would recommend it for those reasons.

I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure of the topic. You always hear how Job suffered. Swindoll takes the approach that Job endures. I loved the chapter on how to handle criticism with class. Just a different take on a great man of the Bible. It's long enough to cover the whole book of the Bible but short enough to keep your interest. I highly recommend this book and all the others in the Great Lives series.

Swindoll has such a gift for bringing people to life. Whether or not we beat up ourselves during severe trials, or it is left to "well-meaning" friends to take on that responsibility, this book gives encouragement and direction to our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. If you're going through a trial - or should I say WHEN you go through a trial that hurts - and hurts bad, give this book a read.

When someone gave me a copy of this book on Job my heart did not start palpitating with excitement. And it was quite a long book. I dutifully sat down to read it, thinking, well the opening chapters with the dialogue with God and Satan, that's going to be OK. But what about when we get into those long monologues. Mega depression from our hero; mega platitudes from his friends. Well...it was all very good. I actually looked forward to picking it up and reading on. And so I would like to thank Charles Swindoll in this space for never wasting my time. If there was going to be any book by him that could have gone down waffle street, this would have been the one. There's no waffle here. Indeed Swindoll shifts furniture in your mind. And you end up loving God more...the Lord gives, the Lord takes away - blessed be the name of the Lord. This is not just a brilliant book on Job, not the easiest of Bible books to write on, but a brilliant book full stop. Suffering is going to come to all of us, so if you have time, invest some of it in reading this book.

Job is a very confusing book. Face it, at first glance everybody sounds sort of right, but also vaguely wrong. Charles S. comes along like the hawker in a movie, "get your program, can't tell one gladiator from another without a program!" Charles seperates the characters, defines underlying themes hidden by verbiage, and shows why each statement is true, false, or could be. Instead of a mindless riot in printed form, it turns into a well choreographed ballet.