Learning from Job’s Wife

Seele Faith Editor, KB Chakela asks us to look at the wife of Job in a different way. Instead of vilifying her, Chakela asks us to look at her as a victim like her husband, trying to make sense of all the tragedy that befell her…

August was Woman’s month here in South Africa, a time for remembering the 1956 August 9th Woman.  During that time, women of all races marched to the Union Buildings to fight against an oppressive regime that wanted to extend the Apartheid pass laws to Black woman.

The August 9th woman’s message was clear: “You Strike a woman, you strike a rock.” Often when the history of South Africa is discussed and talked about, the August 9th woman becomes a forgotten part of that history.  This forgotten history made me think about the Biblical woman in The Bible who are equally forgotten, or their story is altered to suit a certain narrative.  When we speak about women in The Bible, some receive high praise while others are mentioned as a cautionary tale, and this is the same for Job’s wife.

A while ago on the Soulful Side of Life Podcast we did a series of women in the Bible and although we covered a lot of women in The Bible, we didn’t cover all. 

One of the woman we never covered in the podcast was Job’s wife.  Recently, I was speaking to my best friend about Jobs wife, and that whenever she is spoken about, she is painted in a bad light.  Many pastors and preachers have even suggested that the reason why Job’s wife’s life was spared was to be a tool for the devil to torment Job.  But, what of we paused for a moment and put ourselves in her shoes.  She too had lost children, she too had lost wealth, livestock, and life as she knew it had changed. But more than that, she had a husband who was now terribly sick and suffered daily.  Yes, when Job was sitting in anguish in Job 2:9 she said “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die.”

What if those were the words of a woman who had simply seen the man she loved suffer so much, and wanted an end to his suffering.  What if they were the words of a grieving woman?  Have you ever watched a loved one suffer as a result of a prolonged illness?  Have you ever prayed for God to take away their pain, even if it meant taking them home?  

If you have ever taken care of a loved one who had to suffer with a long time sickness you understand.  Sometimes you become so desperate to bring an end to the suffering of a loved one, you begin to pray they find peace and healing at any cost.  Job’s wife knew who her husband was before all the suffering, she understood that Job was a man who loved God and was blameless before the sight of God, and yet, all these things had befallen him.

Was she right to say what she said to her husband? No, but she was not the villain of the story of Job because, was she not the same woman God used when He restored Job? 

We often speak of Job’s losses, but never speak about what Job’s wife lost.  She too lost children, wealth, servants and so much more but often our focus is always on the losses of Job and she so easily becomes the villain in the story.  Why have we preached about Job’s grief and simply forgotten hers? She too was a victim but because she did not deal with the grief in a manner that is acceptable to us, she has become the villain.

Often many woman in The Bible who were themselves victims of circumstances became villains in our eyes.  Women like Job’s wife, who lost everything, then went on to watch the man she loved suffer.

Perhaps, before we make a woman the villain of a story, let us pause long enough to ask the right questions.

TRENDING

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