Job: The Wisdom of the Cross (Preaching the Word)

Regarding the many outstanding insights in Ash’s book, I encourage you to go to Books At a Glance and read Fred Zaspel’s very helpful review. However, there is one area of weakness in Ash’s commentary in which he appears at times to explain the text within a framework of secular humanistic thinking.For example, on page 146 Ash refers to the so-called “stages of grieving” calling that process “reasonable, indeed healthy movement for human grief.” These stages are not found in Scripture and have even been rejected by some secularists. On page 430, when writing about Job’s confession despising himself and repenting in dust and ashes, Ash says that is a good thing—and we can agree with him. But then Ash goes on to talk about how if we embraced that same thinking in regard to our fellowman it would be an “inferiority complex, pathological low self-esteem” and that it would be better to say, “ ‘ I’m OK; you’re OK’ as the pop psychology book had it.” While we might agree with the basic point, Ash’s explanation of its troubling aspects and his prescription for dealing with the issue are unhelpful. These remarks and others like them are in stark contrast to Ash’s otherwise brilliant commentary.As always, no matter the author, read with discernment. Despite these shortcomings, this commentary is excellent and I gained an understanding of the book of Job for which I am very grateful.

This commentary has to be the best that I have ever read on Job. Ash spares no details regarding the environment and customs which Job lived in and context determines meaning. Ash draws heavily from his former Old Testament instructor, Dr. Robert Fyall, at St. John's College in Durham, England. Fyall himself wrote a commentary on Job which I read with Ash's called "Now My Eyes See You" which provides deep insight into the symbol laden book of Job. Ash must have been an excellent student because when reading Fyall's book one can easily see Fyall's influence upon Ash, yet there is distinction between the two. In any event Christopher Ash is a masterful author and you will not find an easier to read commentary with the profundity of this one. Truly, The Wisdom of the Cross becomes more clear through Ash's style of writing.

Masterful work and approachAsh’s commentary on Job is a comforting and helpful reminder of the absolute sovereignty of God. There is much to learn about the normal Christian life, much to learn about helpful, “religious” friends who think unbiblically, and much to learn about evil.There was some discomfort for me where Ash was somewhat secularist in his observations of human behavior, but that mindset did not make itself overly apparent so did not detract significantly from his writing.Ash’s superbly powerful writing style reflects the ponderous times (i.e.: the friends’ rebukes of Job), as well as the AHA! moments (i.e.: where God uses behemoth and leviathan to open Job’s eyes) so that my emotions were fully engaged, and I was often breathless/spellbound at the end of a chapter.The book of Job seems to be the key to unlock all of Scripture. I deeply appreciate Ash’s helping me to “see” what Job saw.

Good commentaries on Job are hard to come by. Christopher Ash opens up to the reader a perspective not centered squarely not on Job's suffering, but on Christ's. I appreciated the book of Job, for many a daunting one, in a fresh and hopeful way. This is due to the fact that while this life's suffering (whether Christ's, or Job's, or the present-day believer's) will have no full explanation now, its fruits, by God's will and by His grace promise not only a wonderful unveiling in eternity, but the promise a clearer vision of God (Job 42:5), in this life. I received this commentary as a gift, and have since purchased it as a gift for others. I heartily recommend Ash's treatment of this ancient, but extremely relevant book.

I love this author’s writing style. It’s easy reading yet informative and holds my attention. I would easily buy other books of his

Christopher Ash explains this usually confusing and perplexing book. Job is confusing because it does not neatly say what we want it to say. In the same way, Ash explains that Job's friends express what God would not have them say. They come with the wrong conclusions about God and how He works. We also come to the book of Job with the same wrong conclusions. Ash tells us what is wrong with our thinking and what is right with God's working.

Ash does a great job taking the story of Job, and showing how so many aspects in the story point to Christ. I’d never considered Job as a type of Christ, but I do now. Job was a righteous sufferer, pointing forward to Jesus, the unparalleled, perfectly righteous sufferer.If you’re a pastor looking for a deep, yet sermonic, commentary on Job, get this one!

Ash is always very instructive to read. This book is very good for preachers and teachers of the Bible. Great job!

Christopher Ash's marvellous new commentary on Job is without any doubt one of the best Christian books I have ever read - and I have read an awful lot! It's certainly in my all time top 5. Bear in mind this is a commentary but it is not like ordinary commentaries. It's warm, pastoral and speaks straight from the heart of God. To me, for the first time in my life going through suffering its like a personal message from the Lord. I can't recommend this book highly enough for anyone experiencing suffering, either themselves or in their family or friends. It is a God send. You can and should read it cover to cover and if you do I pray like me you will receive enormous help.Ash makes the central point right at the start that we can only ultimately make sense of Job if we look at it in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ. Otherwise the ending is in a way we may say only a partial answer to the question "what kind of world do we live in?". For Job, as a good friend of mine said "ends happily". Job is fully restored to his health and his prosperity. But for many people in this life, people who trust in God, suffering humanly speaking doesn't have a happy ending. What then? Only when we see the pointers in Job - the desire for a mediator, a person to stand for us with God as our ambassador, more than that someone who went through suffering far beyond anything we can imagine - does Job finally make sense. For Job (thank God) is not Everyman. He is Mr Extreme. Ash points out "he foreshadows one man whose greatness exceeded even Job, whose sufferings took him deeper than Job and whose perfect obedience...was anticipated in faint outline by Job". Job is not at its heart about suffering in general, rather it is about how God treats his children. And to understand that we have to understand how and why God treated his Son. For the comforters have no place for the cross, no room at all in their system for innocent suffering. Nor is there room for an arbiter, an intermediary who opens up a way to God. Heaven is inaccessible for mere mortals.But obviously the book is also very much about Job. Ash reminds us that Job was not a Hebrew, Gods chosen people, he lives outside the covenant God established with Abraham and his descendants. Yet though he knew little about God, yet he trusted in God. And somewhat surprisingly he is fully vindicated by God, in fact God tells his "comforters" that Job must pray for them to be forgiven.The book is also timely in that as Ash points out the Christian church is infested with two closely related heresies - the prosperity gospel ( believe in God and you will be rich) and the therapeutic gospel ( believe in God and you will feel good). And the book opens with the Satan - the devil, the accuser of Gods children - accusing Job of bing an early devotee of these errors. After all, Satan says, Job fears God because he has it made. Who wouldn't believe in God if that's what you get out of it? And the rest of the book is Gods answer to that. Because argues Ash, in some deep way it is necessary for it it to be publicly seen by the whole universe that God is worthy of the worship of a human being not because of his gifts but for himself.So God allows terrible suffering to come on Job, the loss of his entire family (apart from his wife who seems of little help), the loss of all his possessions and the loss of his health. Then, he has a long dialogue with three "comforters". If ever there as a misnamed group, these three men are it. Ash argues that they have a number of serious errors - a closed "theological system", no place for the devil and no compassion or empathy. This tone is highly self confident. Everything is tidy and in its place. By a closed system Ash means that the comforters believe that being good means you will be prosperous and happy. As Job is neither he must be bad. What he must do is confess this evil and perhaps God will forgive him. Job interestingly to some extent is locked into the same thought pattern. Starting from the same premise that being good means being prosperous and happy, he argues that since he has been a man of integrity (not blameless but not a hypocrite) then since God is treating him this way, that God is unfair.Ash is very perceptive on Job himself. It's easy to say "we should have faith like Job: he suffered: he trusted: so should we." But Job like us is far from one dimensional. He curses the day of his birth. He goes on lamenting chapter after chapter. As pointed out, he accuses God of being unfair. Job is restless and senses something is wrong, but as Ash points out this is a sign of hope. He doesn't give up. He addresses God, so logically, he believes that someone is there and that he will answer. And of course in the end God does answer Job, he speaks to him out of the storm. Job cannot reply to Gods message which is essentially that I am God and you are mortal. Again Ash points out helpfully that a full comprehension of why God lets his children suffer has to go beyond this truth. "Christian sufferings are in part a taking up of the cross, a sharing in unjust suffering, a participation in the sufferings of Christ in order that glory and honour may be brought to God." Only the cross makes sense of suffering, allows it to be redemptive. Only the cross, argues Ash leaves room for what Christians call "grace ". Grace means God precisely doesn't dispense slot machine justice but gives us what we don't deserve. This Ash points out is vital in pastoral work. We absolutely cannot deduce the spiritual state of anyone from their current happiness or suffering.I hope the above captures the essence of the book. i have tried to capture the main points. If the length is a bit daunting (480 pages) then by all means start with Ash's excellent "Out of the storm" which is to some extent an earlier much reduced version of this. But every pastor or evangelist should have this, the full version. It makes such good sense of an immensely puzzling book, one which is "sui generis" in the biblical canon. On top of that it is a very useful resource as a classic commentary, with interesting insights into some of the complex textual and literary questions in Job. If you want to find out, for example, what these strange animals "behemoth" and "leviathan" represent (are they the hippopotamus and crocodile?) you can find some very carefully considered analysis. But its great strength is that it takes Gods revelation of how he treats his friends and lays it out warmly and faithfully in a way that anyone can benefit greatly from reading it. Especially anyone going through suffering. And it leads us through Job to Gods final answer to suffering and evil - that God himself willingly subjected himself to suffer and even to die to rescue his children, through faith, from suffering and evil. Why? Because he loved us

Not the easiest book read but worth the effort. It deals well with the problem of evil and suffering

This study gave many a new insights into the Book of Job, and constantly related the teaching to the Cross of Christ. First rate!

The best book I've come across on the book of Job. He takes the text and its details seriously and at the same time sees it in the sweep of Biblical revelation culminating in Christ. Indeed he sees as distinctly Christological yet does so with sacrificing the particulars of the situation 3000 or 4000 years previously. Read it!

A faith-challenging and life-changing commentary! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I honestly feel privileged to have read it. Why! It elucidates succinctly on the sovereignty of God.