Job’s Wife

As we saw in yesterday’s passage, Job’s wife's response to his suffering was to advise him to curse God. At this stage, it is worth remembering that everything that had happened to Job had happened to her, too. She, too, had lost her children. She had witnessed her husband lose his income and her house had been destroyed. Now she faced the prospect of nursing her sick husband alone (all their servants had been killed). It’s no wonder she gave Job the advice she did.

So, what’s the takeaway? It’s clear from the passage that Job’s wife gave Job bad advice. But when I reflect on her circumstances, I can understand how and why she got to where she did. Job’s wife reminds us that many people face challenging circumstances. Whether we agree with their responses to such circumstances is not the point, our role is to show compassion and try to walk alongside people through the worst experiences they face. If Job’s wife had a compassionate, shoulder to cry on in the form of a friend or sister, perhaps Job would not have called her a foolish woman. Perhaps she would have had a different response and better advice. And maybe she would have been described as an asset to her husband just as Abigail was to Nabel.

1 Samuel 25:32-34 - David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.” (NLT)

Questions for reflection: Do I have friends I can mourn and grieve with? Who in my circle can I be a shoulder to cry on?

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