The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God - review

The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God by John Piper is a short book of poetry and photography based on the Book of Job. A kind of 'coffee table' book, Piper expands the story of Job to include interactions between Job and his wife and his daughter as well as some of the basic story elements. My version came with an audio CD that has the author reading his work.

The pinnacle of the poem (in my mind) comes in the fourth section as Job talks with his daughter:
"Jemimah, what I think
Is this: The Lord has made me drink
The cup of severity
That he might kindly show to me
What I would be when only he
Remains in my calamity.
Unkindly he has kindly shown
That he was not hope alone."

I guess I wonder if that is the point of Job's ordeal: to show that he was not hoping in God alone when calamity comes? Maybe since this poem is from Job's perspective, that is what Job thinks the point of all this was, but was that the real point? I guess I am not convinced.

Otherwise, this was a pleasant interpretation on Job. I am not a real big student of poetic literature, but having Piper read his own work was helpful. Without his reading, the poem was kind of hard to follow with the printed verses, forcing rhymes where grammar didn't allow. The pictures were very nice and added quite a bit. This is the sort of book that would be helpful when a person asks where God is during difficult times.