Job’s Wife

Chapter 2
Raging Emotions

We have been told that women feel things at a deeper level than men. Men feel the same emotions, they just handle them differently. In his book ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, author John Gray tells us that men handle stress by becoming increasingly focused and withdrawn, while women become increasingly overwhelmed and emotionally involved. So, as a woman, consider how you would have reacted if this same news had affected your home, your family. As a wife, I know that nothing happens to my husband and family that doesn’t also affect me. Most women, whether married or not, react with similar emotions and in varying degrees.

I was devastated when the storm that hit our ranch took the lives of so many baby goats; so frustrated that I could not save them. It seemed like such a simple thing to do, but it wasn’t. I hated bringing bad news to Gary each time I came in from the field. I felt inadequate and insecure; not just in my abilities on the ranch, but also in the newness of Gary’s love for me. How would he react? Would he blame me for allowing bad things to happen to the animals? Would he think I’m not good “ranch wife” material after all? Might he think he made a mistake in marrying me? Oh the thoughts went on and on. Then, I had to report that the pasture barn had collapsed. I felt like I was falling apart and it became personal. I felt that no one cared for me. When my focus moved inward, life got very difficult. I could no longer see the big picture. It was all about me and what I was going through and isn’t that what we so often do? When we turn our focus into ourselves; we allow Satan to make us the victim again and again.

So let’s imagine some of the emotions that Job’s wife may have been experiencing. I would say there was major grief. Perhaps she was inconsolable. Consider it, not only had she too lost all their animals and servants but she too lost all ten of their children at once. I cannot relate to how devastating that would be. Naturally we don’t expect to bury one child, let alone 10 children. I’m sure there was fear and bewilderment. Her whole life was being turned upside down and her and Job’s entire livelihood was destroyed. How would they survive? They had gone from being very wealthy and affluent to having nothing, all in one day. Can you just hear Satan whispering his lies in her ear? You have nothing left….no one is going to help you…God has abandoned you….your life has no meaning.

Now, it was Job that rent his clothes and sat in the ash heap as a sign of humbleness before God. He sought God in the midst of his grief. All the while, I imagine Job’s wife is in the house listening to Satan. The thoughts are multiplying in her mind. And as they do, the situation seems more and more hopeless to her. Possible thoughts like…here I am trying to deal with all this loss by myself while my husband is sitting in the ash heap….why is he not in here helping me cope with all this?...What will people say if they see him like this?… How will I survive this? Why is this happening? She was scared, lonely, grieving, insecure and probably not a little angry.

Meanwhile, in heaven, Satan appears again before the LORD. The conversation goes along the same path as the last time. God asks Satan where he has been and Satan replies that he had been walking up and down the earth. Once again the LORD points out Job to Satan as before and finishes by saying “and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedest me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (Job 2:3) Satan answers God with this idea “put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.” (Job 2:5) The result of this encounter is God agrees to turn Job over to Satan again, as long as he does not take Job’s life.

So Satan causes painful boils to form all over Job’s body. Now, he is not only sitting in the ash heap, he is scraping his sores with a piece of broken pottery. Possibly, his wife is looking through a window at her husband and somewhere deep inside she is experiencing embarrassment and humiliation at the sight. They have gone from being highly respected and very wealthy to questionable and destitute in a short moment of time. Her husband in his current state is but one more thing that adds to days of disaster. Her strength is spent and she feels she cannot handle anything else. Self-pity is taking over her emotions.

I imagine by now she is totally internally focused. Godly thoughts have gone out the window. She spirals from negative thought to negative thought, with each one feeling worse, more helpless and more anger. She’s humiliated, devastated, frustrated and possibly overwhelmed with shame. Finally, as the thoughts persist, she can hold her silence no more. She marches out to where her husband is sitting and all those pent up emotions come rushing forth… she blurts out in anger…….” Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die.”

i -– Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus; Author John Gray, Ph.D. 1st edition, Chapter 3 page 29. Copyright 1992 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022