4 out of 4 stars
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The Legacy of Job's Wife written by Cynthia J. Koelker is a book that will reach into your mind and show you rather than just tell you the story that is unfolding. This book is an account of the story of Job and Ix'ises his wife. This story starts at the beginning of their time together, when Job first experiences true love, at Ix'ises birth. We get to experience their innocence together as children who are the best of friends. As time goes on we observe how their friendship blossoms into love. Throughout the book, we see as Ix'ises struggles to understand a part of Job's world she doesn't share, his religion. She is open to learning but struggles with the parts of his religion that are not easily explained.
The story continues into their teenage years, both of them exploring the world around their homes in their own ways. Job works for the magistrate securing trade routes and working with caravans while Ix'ises helps her father and brother in their trading. Their stories come back together when Job finally asks for her hand in marriage. This is when we can feel the intense happiness and love that is shared between them. Their story continues as their household grows to encompass ten children. Tragedy strikes and Job and Ix'ises fortunes start to wither away, their children are all lost in an accident and Ix'ises is overcome with the grief. In trying to care for her Job becomes ill and degrades quickly. In his moment of greatest weakness, Ix’ises asks him to “Curse God and die” but Job holds strong to his beliefs and is rewarded by his returning health and fortunes.
This book is perfect for audiences who are open to new perspectives and with a goal to learn a side of a well-known story that can reach into your heart. It is a good fit for most adults and one that most can relate to. The moral and life lessons included in the book are exponential and something that we can all learn from, in particular, I found comfort in Job’s unending belief that all will end well in their lives.
I rate this book 4 out of 4. It was phenomenally well written and edited, you do not just read the story of Job and Ix'ises, you live it. The only part that I did not fully enjoy were the quotes at the beginning of the chapters as they gave too much information about what was to come later on in the story, this still did not take away from the overall effect of this story.
Even though I am not coming from an overly religious background I feel like I understand the story of Job and now have a view of what could have possibly happened to Ix’ises to make her the way she was in her most desperate hour. I can say that this book has a way of reaching into your heart and making you think about your lives and how important it is to be grateful for all that you have.
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The Legacy of Job's Wife
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