Douglas Bond and Todd Shaffer collaborate to present you and
the young ones in your life with “A Poem with a Promise”: God's Servant Job. Bond reworks the
Ancient Near East verse into a readable, bouncing poem for children of all
ages. The meter is easy and true—except for a few notable breaks when sinful
dialogue is prominent, ultimately leading to better poetry and influence. Bond
follows remarkably well to the text we’d find in modern translations, putting
new words to ancient ideas that had me thinking: I’ve heard this before! And of
course, what else would we want from a book that attempts bring Scripture to
the hearts of little ones? Bond is sure to add a poetic exposition of what he
believes to be the central thrust of the book of Job: “I know that my Redeemer
lives!” and to relate it to the fulfillment of this truth in Jesus. He also
includes a “Big Words,” “Quiz,” and “Let’s Think!” section which will aid
parents and Sunday school teachers in discipleship, or even the self-motivated
learner. (There are several ‘chapter’ divisions as well.)
Shaffer contributes excellent artwork to partner along the
text. If you look at the cover picture, you will get a grasp of the overall
style: angular, an almost ‘sketched’ look which seems to remind us of the
temporal gap between this world and theirs. The color palette ranges, though,
finding appropriate hues to show us the spectrum of the story: from bright heaven,
to Satan’s technicolor; from dusty potsherds to the vast mysteries of God’s creation—the
mood fits.
All in all, this book is great at the theological,
aesthetic, and audience level. I do have a few recommendations for the author, and
one disagreement.
First, the least controversial: I think the Big Words section
could have included a few more (e.g. covenant, cornerstone, Redeemer).
Second: just preferentially, I would have liked to see an
extra stanza devoted to Christ as the fulfillment of the Job typology.
Third: I do not believe that Elihu was condemned in concert
with the three other friends of Job. Scripture itself is silent on this matter,
but the author says, “My servant Job has seen the light, / But you, his
friends, go nothing right.” The illustration likewise includes Elihu amidst the
others. The author seems to recover from this when in the “Let’s Think!”
section he highlights a parallel between Elihu’s words, Job’s words, and the
message of the book.
Those recommendations notwithstanding, this is an excellent
addition to any children’s library; even an adult’s. It accurately retells the story
found in Job including some of its most famous lines, with simple, up to date
poetry, showing forth the message of our Redeemer and the hope his children
have of righteousness, justification, and forgiven sins. It’s easy to talk to
adults, and oh so difficult to communicate the same things to children, but
Bond and Shaffer have done just that.
4/5 stars. I recommend it to you and yours. I discourage,
the Kindle (.mobi) version, however because of the division of artwork.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in
exchange for my honest review.
