Oh, what a bad rap the wife of Job has gotten! Imagine if you were judged solely on one sentence uttered at the worst moment of your life. Yeah, me too...I don't want to even think about that. I admit, I was totally harsh in my thinking of her too...when she told her husband to curse GOD and die, I still cringe at the cruelty of it. But I have been thinking about her a lot, attempting to understand, not judge, and trying on her shoes a bit. I have gained a few insights...
1. She was not one of the blessings GOD allowed to be taken from Job. Whether it was because she wasn't a blessing to Job or because GOD had a plan for her too (perhaps involved in restoring children to Job), she was there by his side when the worst came in force. To me, she was just another attack on Job, telling him to basically give up and die already. There was no support in that comment. No compassion. And yet, I had to remember...
2. She lost everything Job did. She lost her wealth. She lost her children. She lost servants she had probably known for years. She was drowning in her own grief before Job got sick. She probably had very little emotional health left to give by the time his sores appeared. And then to heap sorrow on top of sorrow...
3. In her grief she also played nurse to a very sick husband. She was there when Job was struck with sores. She probably had to help scrape the boils he couldn't reach, listening to his cries of pain while she was doing it. Her heart probably heard her children screaming with every cry or moan from her husband. I imagine she reached a breaking point, grieved even unto death, where dying became a viable option of relief from current pain...
4. She might have believed the rumors...Job's own friends came to the conclusion that he deserved what he got because there was some sort of sin in his life. Maybe in seeking understanding in the midst of her tragedy, she fell in line with those thoughts. They could have led her to blame him for her losses, to wanting his death as justice for the lives his 'sin' caused.
5. She wasn't part of the conversation. She didn't hear the questions. She didn't hear the protests of innocence. And she didn't hear GOD's response (at least, we don't see her having any part of it.) Without being in the discussion, she didn't get any GOD answers and all of her conclusions were hers alone. Not the best situation when your mind is so swayed by grief. And yet...
6. She was part of the redemption. The end of the story sees complete restoration for Job and his wife. And that includes more children. Now it doesn't make any sense to say that one child can replace another...it isn't that simple. But where Job's wife is concerned, she had part in bringing those children into the world. She had a role to fulfill in the completion of GOD's work. She got to bring life to a place where there had been so much death. And I like to think coming full circle like that, laboring in delivery of heart and womb, she came to a place of trust.
So this woman who is never named, who is often quickly judged, has a story. These are just a few small points to ponder, but I still wonder. What do you think about Mrs. Job, her story, and her motivations? She was human, after all, and I am always astounded by the depth of the human soul. Her story may bear a closer look after all.
