The Bible Companion Book 5 Job by Karen Westbrook Moderow Blog Tour Book Review

About the Book

Book: The Bible Companion Book 5 Job

Author: Karen Westbrook Moderow

Genre: Bible Study/ Devotional

Release Date: August 26, 2024

Does God care when you suffer?

The Bible Companion Book 5 helps you face hard questions about pain and evil from a perspective of hope. A simple one-chapter-a-day format lets you engage with Scriptures without the pressure of schedules, homework, or heavy reading loads. Short daily readings and thought-provoking questions connect your story to God’s Word. For personal, group, or homeschool Bible Study.

In the Books of Wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs), God speaks to us in poetry—the language of the heart. These books reveal a God who is concerned not only about our minds and bodies, but also our emotions. Our journey begins with Job, a man who loses everything. Like us, he fears for himself and his family. What he discovers through his pain surprises him and challenges many of our assumptions about God.

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My Review

Moderow gives a good introduction to biblical poetry in general and Job in particular. I like her insight that Job is a book that is approached differently than historical books, for example. It engages our emotions. It is a book to experience, not analyze. Other insights include that the book refutes retribution theology, that we might think a righteous life is blessed by God while a sinful life results in suffering. Job turns that theology on its head. Moderow also helps us understand what we can and cannot conclude about God from reading this book.

She goes through the book of Job with chapter by chapter commentary and includes questions to get us thinking about what we are feeling in response. It can be read for personal study or used in a group as there are suggestions to do so at the end. I recommend this series as Moderow continues to impress me with her study books. 

My rating: 5/5 stars.

You can read my reviews of earlier books in this series, Book 1 and Book 2. 

About the Author

KAREN WESTBROOK MODEROW is a Bible teacher and author who brings a storyteller’s perspective to Scripture. She holds master’s degrees in theology and creative writing and loves introducing others to Jesus through the stories told in God’s Word.

More from Karen

Most of us have had a Job-like season in our lives. Mine came in 1996 when my eighteen-year-old son was in a terrible car accident that left him with a permanent traumatic brain injury. Mike was in a coma for four months. His prognosis was grim. We were told he would never walk, talk, or live independently.

Come Christmas, he was still in the hospital. I had no heart for celebration, but I wanted to buy a gift for my husband. He loves art so I stopped by a local gallery. Inside, I saw a bust of a man that I immediately recognized as Job. His face was twisted in pain. Behind the hand clutched to his chest, I saw a hole. Inside was a bleeding heart. I stepped back. Job looked just like I felt. Raw. Exposed. Bleeding. I stared at the sculpture a long time. I wanted to buy it, but couldn’t. I just couldn’t.

I walked out of the shop in tears wondering if I would ever smile again. The next months were spent in rehab with Mike. We renovated our house, brought him home, hired caregivers, and prayed that somehow God would heal Mike’s body and our broken hearts. The Lord comforted us during this time, assuring us He had a plan. He would take care of us and there would be an end to our suffering. Every day brought new challenges, but Mike began to improve. More importantly, our faith took root. The Lord brought people, resources, and hope. Against all odds, Mike learned to walk, talk, feed and dress himself. And against all odds, we found ourselves joyful as we journeyed with our son through each milestone. The story is long and complicated. One I’ve journaled in my book, Back Roads Home, but the point is, God was right. There can be joy, even in sorrow. There is hope, even in the dark. There are things in Mike’s life and ours that remain broken, but God’s presence during that difficult time saw us through. Pain was not the end of our story.

Time passed in roller-coaster fashion. As I rode the highs and lows, I often thought about the Job I saw in the art gallery and wondered how he was faring. Then one year, while looking for an anniversary gift to celebrate our anniversary, Job came to mind. Enough time had gone by that I could now embrace him as a fellow-sufferer and be glad our paths crossed. I called the artist and learned she still had the piece. (Either there isn’t much of a market for art depicting tortured souls or else he was waiting for me.) My husband smiled when I unveiled him. He hugged me and said, “We’ve been through it, haven’t we?” Yes, we have. And we had to wait until we were on the other side to appreciate him. Now when I look at him, I don’t just remember the pain; I remember the gifts of suffering—patience, perseverance, trust, love, hope, and so much more.

As I was going through the book of Job chapter by chapter for The Bible Companion, Job’s sculpture sat not five feet from me. His tortured face and silent tears reminded me that this world is full of sorrow. But the Bible—the book I ran to while in such pain—compels me to carry his story forward. Job-in-clay may be frozen in agony, but Job, the man-who-contended-with-God is not. He comes to trust his all-wise Creator and finds peace. So can we.  At its core, Job is a story of hope. Hope is woven throughout the book that bears his name. As a writer, my desire is to make that thread visible, especially to those who suffer in the dark.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 19

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 20

Texas Book-aholic, September 21

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 22

She Lives To Read, September 23

Lots of Helpers, September 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 25

Cover Lover Book Review, September 26

For Him and My Family, September 27

Simple Harvest Reads, September 28 (Author Interview)

Dana Barrett, September 28

Book Butterfly in Dreamland, September 29

Guild Master, September 30 (Author Interview)

Girls in White Dresses, October 1

Fiction Book Lover, October 2 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, October 2

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)