The Most Misunderstood Grieving Mother

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job 2:7-10

"Curse God and die!” 

“You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

We are quick to take sides in this couple's quarrel. Of course, it is obvious. Job is the pious one. His wife is the foolish one. We are even told that Job did not sin in what he said, which proves we are right to side with Job. "See? See? He is the one to emulate!" The problem, as I see it, is that we usually stop reading there. As this drama continues to unfold, we tend to skip Job's seven days of silence, overlook the flood of angry, depressive, and accusatory words which come out of his mouth next, and jump to the end of the story when God shows up, Job acknowledges his own foolishness, and he is restored to all things good. 

But that is Job's story, and I don't want to talk about Job. Enough has been said about him, and it's been applauded. I want to talk about his wife.

Have you stopped to think about his wife? Have you stopped to think about how deep her pain must have been in order for her to have uttered those words? How confused she must have felt? After all, they were playing by the rules, so this could not be happening to them! Have you ever experienced a blow to your head that has left you dizzy and confused? She pretty much did! We are not told what happened after she uttered those infamous words and was called foolish, but I think I have an idea.

She went to her room and closed the door. She fell on the floor in a panic and sobbed and screamed each of her sons and daughters' names, and she sobbed some more. She thought she would die. She wanted to die. What to live for? She fell asleep crying just to wake up and realize she hadn't been dreaming. It did happen! Her children were gone! Gone! She bellowed like an injured terrified animal. She felt she couldn't breathe. She cried some more until her eyes went dry. One, two, three days passed in silence, and then she screamed at God. She asked the same questions as her husband, but hers did not get recorded. She thought she must have been wrong all along. God was not like she had thought. He was a monster! Because, who else would do something like that? She emptied her soul in a stream of cries and angry words. "I want them back. I want them back!" She slept, woke up, and walked around lost. She no longer had anything to do. Nobody to cook for. Nobody to welcome home. Sunny days looked stormy to her. Water tasted bitter. Food was repugnant. Why was she still alive? She would rather be with her children under the dirt in perpetual darkness. Days, months, years?... An eternity went by. She continued to wrestle with God. The sobbing ceased. Her eyes were dry. Her heart was broken, but mending. She told God she was sorry, but did not stop talking. She didn't understand. Why? Why? Why? God is not supposed to be like that! Her questioning went beyond her family's tragedy. What about her neighbors? What about her country? What about the world? But little by little, and ever so gently, God's Spirit spoke to her and put salve on her wounds. They still hurt, but less. And she no longer felt alone.

#IAMJOB'SWIFE