Levi Deatrick

My normal pattern of preaching and teaching is to go through a book of the Bible, verse by verse. For me, special days, like Mother’s Day, create a little bit of anxiety as I step out of my normal pattern to try to develop a message on a theme or topic in light of that day. I decided this year that I would allow the Lord to lead in my own daily Bible reading and use whatever passage of Scripture was before me the week before a special day. Last week I was reading the book of Job and so Job’s wife was the mother that was before me as I was preparing to preach for this past Sunday.

Job is one of my favorite books of the Bible; in fact, we gave the name of Job to our youngest son as his middle name. The book of Job became very personal and special to me in the fall of 2003. I had moved from the church where I was an assistant pastor to go back to school for an MA Degree. Our finances were tighter than they had ever been in our marriage, our second son was born early and had physical issues which caused us much concern and anxiety. During that first semester back in school, I took a graduate class with Dr. Surrett on the book of Job (my MA was in O.T. studies). That class was more than an academic step for me, it was nourishment for my soul at that very difficult time in our lives.

Job’s wife has been maligned mercilessly for millennia. In fact, after I preached about her yesterday for Mother’s Day, this morning I had a Facebook video show up on my feed that showed a comedian mocking the kind of wife that she was (it’s almost like Facebook can hear me preach). However, I believe she deserves another look. A second look at the life of Job’s wife might not only deliver her from infamy, but it may also help us to be more understanding and tolerant of some of the struggles that those around us may be enduring. Solomon warned in Proverbs 18:32 that “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” I wonder how often Job’s wife has been judged by people who haven’t given thought to the whole matter?

In the first 2 chapters of the book, the inspired narrative tells us the story of how God allowed Satan to afflict Job so that his integrity and faith would be revealed. Chapter 1 reveals that Job (and his wife) had 7 seven sons and 3 daughters; 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 she asses, and a very great household. He was the greatest of the men of the east. Satan was permitted to take all of this away – in a single day. The Sabeans came and stole the oxen and asses and killed all the servants except for the messenger. The sheep were consumed by a lightning storm along with the servants, save the messenger. The Chaldeans stole the camels and killed all the servants but the messenger. The most devastating news of all was last, a great wind destroyed the house where his children were together and killed all 10 at once. Job’s response is immortal, “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

The next chapter, Satan was still not satisfied that Job’s faith and integrity were real and was permitted to touch Job’s health and therefore afflicted him with boils that covered his body. His misery was such that he sat on the outskirts of the city and scraped his sores with broken pottery. Yet, he maintained his integrity.

Job’s wife came to him and spoke to him, “Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die.” Those are the only words that we have a record of her speaking in history. She has been judged severely by them. I do not justify her words (though I think they are likely misunderstood). Job did not justify her. In fact, he offered a rebuttal to her, though we have no way of discerning his tone and demeanor as he responded, “Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” He identified her unspiritual response when he said that she spoke as a foolish woman (the word “as” must not be overlooked; it was a comparison, not a reality of who she was). He then defended God before his wife. Job’s words could have been spoken harshly and in rebuke. The reality is that they could have also been, and I believe were, spoken in compassion! She had just lost 10 children! When Job was speaking to his friends a little later, he told them “miserable comforters are ye all” and then told them that if he was in their place he “would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.” Why would this offer of comfort not have been extended to his wife?

Again, I do not, God did not, and Job did not justify his wife. She did not respond in faith. It was possible for her to have done so; her husband had lost everything that she had and he had responded in faith, so she could have as well. She had a wrong view of God. Job recognized that she thought that God should only give good (her perception of good, that is). The reality is, sometimes what we perceive as bad through human eyes, God will use for our good in His eyes. She gave bad advice to her husband. Her idea was that he should take his leave of God on this earth and let death come. The word “curse” is the same Hebrew root word for “bless.” However, the context was obviously different; the idea is that when one was taking their leave or departing they would offer a departing salutation. I’ll mention more of this a little further down. Job’s wife’s response was not in faith, but I’m convinced she wasn’t what many have made her out to be.

She has been severely misunderstood, and therefore unjustly maligned. Let me explain.

If Job was the same kind of husband that he was father, his discipleship of his wife had been thorough. Chapter 1 records that Job had dedicated his children to the LORD and that he was continually offering sacrifices on their behalf before Him. When his friends started to speak after 7 days of grieving with him, one of the very first things that Eliphaz the Temanite acknowledged of him was that “thou has instructed many.” It would have been out of character for a man such as Job to have devoted so much time to the spiritual well-being of his children and ignored his wife. In chapter 31 Job made it clear that he had been faithful in his marriage. This couple was ideal! I’m absolutely positive that the response of Job’s wife in 2:9 was completely out of character for her!

How have we misunderstood this mother?

We don’t understand her pain. It is easy to judge her based on her advice to her husband. But consider this poor woman. She was a pawn in Satan’s attack against her husband. She didn’t know of the conversation going on in heaven between God and Satan. She didn’t know that it was her husband’s faith and integrity that was being tried. But she had just lost 10 children! I can’t bear the thought of losing 1 of my 8! But all of them, at one time! I admire the strength of the woman to even be able to speak to her husband. But not just her children. Their wealth was gone. Their status was completely reversed; her husband’s friends now looked on him in pity and blame. Her husband was in physical misery. Her theological expectation had been completely upended and unfulfilled. She was certainly confused; she knew her husband’s integrity more than anyone, yet here he was apparently under the curse of God. This would seem to be more than a mortal could bear, yet her husband did. There is no way we can understand her pain.

We don’t understand her temptation. I wonder why Satan did not kill her with the children? I wonder why Satan didn’t afflict her with the same sickness as her husband? The only thing which God had restricted from Satan was Job’s life. I think that Satan (though the Scripture doesn’t record this) anticipated and hoped that Job’s wife would be a tool to cause him to forsake his faith and integrity. What were the influences that Satan was exerting on her to get her to be a stumbling block to Job?

Furthermore, her suggestion to Job was an escapist solution. I’ll also address this in a little more detail in a moment, but in her mind, Job would find relief if he could die. Job himself acknowledged that he longed for death in chapter 3 and chapter 6. The principle has been asserted many times that we should “look for grace to go through the trial, not for rescue from the trial.” It is in our trials that the grace of God is manifested on our behalf.

We don’t understand her faith. You might remember that I stated above that “she didn’t respond in faith.” There is a difference in not possessing faith and not responding in faith. Sadly there are many times that believers have not responded in faith in a trial. As I wrote above, I’m convinced that she was a person of faith and that her response was out of character for her. Even so, 21st Century New Testament believers live in an entirely different context than she did.

Think carefully on these things, she did not possess a Bible! She did not have the written Word of God to comfort her. She didn’t have Psalm 23, she didn’t have Philippians 4:6-7, she didn’t have James 1:2-8, she didn’t have 1st Peter 5:7-9 or countless other passages of Scripture which we habitually run to when we are in trials!

She did not have the indwelling Spirit of God. Theologically, we recognize that the Holy Spirit of God came upon people of faith in the O.T. for times of empowerment and need, but it wasn’t until the N.T. at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit of God began to indwell believers. Remember that Jesus had promised the disciples that after His ascension back to heaven that the Father would send the Comforter to be with them forever. If you are a believer who has learned the submission of being filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit, you know what it is like to have His empowerment and comfort. She didn’t have the indwelling Spirit of God at her point in history.

Her theology was developed by creation, conscience, experience, and limited special revelation. I have the completed canon of 66 books of the Bible to reveal the nature, the attributes, the works, and the design of God. Other than the general revelation of God in creation and conscience (Psalm 19:1-6; Acts 17:22-31; Romans 1:19-20; Romans 2:14), the ancient understanding of God was passed down by those who had experienced interaction with Him. Job acknowledged at the end of the book, 42:5, that to that point in his life even he had only heard things about God. I have a complete Bible. I have thousands of books written by men who have been studying God’s revelation of Himself for thousands of years, she (nor Job) had any of that.

However, she most likely believed in a resurrection! How Job knew what he knew of God, we don’t know. But Job most definitely believed in a resurrection and eternal life. Some of the most well known verses from the book of Job are found in 19:25-27, which I’ll put in writing here because of their importance to this thesis. Job, in the midst of his grief said, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” To be concise, Job acknowledged “after I’m dead and worms have eaten this body, yet in my flesh I’ll see God.” I don’t know how he knew that or how it was revealed to him, but he believed it. Now, going back to my previous assertion that “If Job was the same kind of husband that he was father, his discipleship of his wife had been thorough.” I’m convinced that Job had communicated his belief in the resurrection to his wife. That belief would have made the loss of her children far easier to bear, as Paul told the Thessalonians believers several thousand years later in Biblical history, “ye sorrow not, even as those which have no hope.” This belief would also help us to understand her advice to Job in 2:9, “curse God, and die.” Obviously she had an escapist mentality, but the idea could be interpreted as “Job, bid God farewell in this life and die!” Job recognized that this was a foolish thought coming from her and so he would not accept it. However, her motive was not much different than many Christians facing difficult circumstances, “God, do whatever is necessary to get me out of this situation!”

There are some lessons which can be learned from Job’s wife.

1. Circumstances do not justify a sinful response.
2. Our judgment should be tempered by sympathy and the knowledge of our own finite understanding.
3. We don’t know what God is doing behind the scenes, yet we still should trust Him. The Scripture does not record for us that Job and his wife knew of the conversations between God and Satan.

P.S. God restored and doubled everything to Job in chapter 42. However, God only gave them 10 children the second time, not 20. Yet in eternity, because of the resurrection, Job and his wife have 20 children. People have questioned if Job’s wife from chapter 2 was the mother of the second group of 10 children? I believe she was. Nothing in the text indicates that she left Job, that she died, or that Job found another wife. That being the case, the blessing of God on her husband also came back upon her.

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