Job’s Wife

“The Gospel According to Job” Blogpost #3
by Jason

Job lost everything. So did his wife. Have you ever thought about Mrs. Job? She too had experienced the same loss as her husband had. She too experienced the pain of losing her wealth and lively hood, and yes, even all ten of children. Unimaginable pain!

Job 2:9 — Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

The same man who had privately worried that his children might silently curse God (1:5), was now being asked to do that very thing, his worse nightmare, and to do so verbally! Scandalous! Someone imagined that Job probably smelled the sulfuric breath of the devil in his wife’s wicked words (2:9).

What did she mean? According to Augustine, she was diaboli adjutrix = the devil’s advocate! According to Calvin she was organum satani = the tool of Satan! And Aquinas had suggested that Satan had spared her in order to use her against her husband! But, I wonder if you should not have some sympathy for her? Was she some “second Eve” tempting her husband to sin? Was she really so filled with anger and revenge that all she can now think of is cursing God and talking His man into doing the same?

Perhaps not. She may have seen her husband suffering under the same weight of grief as she, so she schemes as to how to help him end this torture quickly. Whatever her real intention, Job regarded her as “foolish,” not stupid but filled with unbelief. Nevertheless, whatever Mrs. Job really felt, Job would not be tempted to be unfaithful to God, even in the midst of his trials.

Job 2:9 — Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Husband and wives can handle incredible amounts of stress together. But when they are not in agreement, their troubles are escalated.

The late Bruce Gill once told me that Satan will always try to destroy a man of God. “If he can’t destroy you,” advised Bruce, “then he will destroy someone whose destruction will destroy you.” When one approach to destroy Job failed, the Devil tried another and another, steadily increasing the pressure, the seductiveness, and the subtlety of his strategies. Finally, Satan employs a different strategy and brings Job’s wife along to sow strife and contention in their marriage. She ridicules his religion; he calls her a fool. Alienation sets in.

When couples get married they vow to remain faithful “for better or for worse.” But does anyone really know the definition of “worse?” Is it when a spouse has a nervous breakdown and seemingly turns into someone different? Or when a spouse contracts a serious illness, where days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into depleting all one’s assets to cover the doctor bills. So Job’s wife had a plan: “Curse God and die.” This was a plan to “get out of it!” Sadly this is usually Plan A for many. But it is never God’s plan.

The plain fact is, in this life you may find yourselves absolutely alone, cut off from everyone. You may find yourself alienated from your children, from people at work, from friends, from your spouse, and yes even from your church. Just consider what happed to Joseph, Elijah, David, Daniel, Paul in Ephesus, John exiled to the Isle of Patmos, the wilderness temptations of Christ, and even the rejection of Christ and his lonely walk down the via Delarosa to hang on the Cross. There is no way around it: without tasting this experience no Christian can become fully Christlike.

Metaphorically speaking, the narrow gate to heaven is only wide enough for us to enter one at a time — alone. In the Christian life, I believe God will at times require you to feel isolated, alone before God. You may feel bitter… angry… darkly frustrated. You may even feel like God doesn’t care about you. Job’s wife had hit rock bottom just like this and the mask was removed and she acted a fool.

Where did she go wrong? Frankly, she went wrong were everyone goes wrong in this spot – she didn’t trust God. Job noticed this, saying, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10) Notice that Job is not getting bogged down with all the nagging unanswerable questions… at least not at this point. Rather he exudes resilient faith, even to embrace “trouble from God.”

After decades of man-centered preaching, many Christians like to reduce God to one verse, some positive promise that conveniently accommodates one’s personal needs. They will find a verse, ignore its context, and claim it as a “word from God.” Interestingly, they never choose a verse that promises something negative or even unpleasant. The sad truth is, we would rather diminish God than enlarge our own hearts.

But not Job. Perhaps that is why James says of Job that he was “patient and steadfast.” Compared to his wife he stood firm, he persevered, he endured the trial (Jam 5:11).

We all have seen people who cannot seem to wait for anything, who cannot endure or persevere. Patience is listed fourth in Galatians 5 among aspects of the Spirit’s work. Spirit-filled Christians do not bail out in the midst of troubles. Spirit-filled Christians do not bail out of bad marriages. Spirit-filled Christians do not abandon a hurting church. Spirit-filled Christians do not ask, “How can I get out of this?” but “What can I get out of this.” Spirit-filled Christians accept God’s blessings and God’s trials. They glorify Him in the good times with thanksgiving and will glorify Him in the difficult times by showing the same kind of patience and longsuffering as did Jesus himself.

Considering all of this…
I encourage you to be as faithful to God… as God is patient with you.