Author : William Stewart
reprinted from “…And They Shall Become One Flesh” available on Amazon.com in Kindle format.
And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. (Job 1:21)
Dealing With Loss
Job and his wife were wonderfully blessed with children and possessions. Their blessings are described as:
…seven sons and three daughters … seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East (Job 1:2-3).
Job is revealed to be a spiritual man (Job 1:1, 5). In fact, God set Job before Satan as being among the greatest of His servants (Job 1:7-8; 2:3). We know nothing of his wife’s spiritual focus prior to their tragedy, but she was definitely negative about faith after trials came.
A great day of calamity came their way. In a single day:
- Sabeans stole Job’s oxen and donkeys, killing the servants who were with them (Job 1:14-15).
- Fire came from heaven and burned up Job’s sheep and the servants with them (Job 1:16).
- Chaldeans stole Job’s camels, and killed the servants who were with them (Job 1:17).
- A great wind toppled the house of Job’s oldest son, and all his children perished inside the house (Job 1:18-19).
- And then on a subsequent day, Satan struck Job with boils from head to toe (Job 2:7).
Job and his wife had lost almost all their possessions, all of their children, and Job’s health.
Consider the difference in how they responded to such adversity. Job did not understand what was going on, but he would not accuse God of wrongdoing. Whether he had plenty or little, he would still acknowledge the greatness of God (Job 1:21). His wife was not of the same mind. Her words are words of anger, words of disdain for both her husband and the LORD (Job 2:9). The implication of her statement is that Job’s faith was in vain – Job, why be faithful to a God who would allow such calamity to come upon you? Job defended God, and his faith in the LORD, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10)
Losses are never easy to bear, whether it be the loss of loved ones, of possessions, of employment, etc.. Our ability to endure such things successfully will be determined by the degree of faith which we have – how well do we understand the eternal picture?
Support In Difficulty
Solomon wrote about the blessing of having a companion. We read:
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. And, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
Though his wife and friends were with him, Job must have felt alone. They did not pick him up; they did not comfort him; they did not stand with him. As disappointing as it may have been to not have the support of his friends, his wife’s failure to comfort and help him must have been more so. These trials demonstrated that his friends were not true friends; but worse, it revealed that his wife was not a true friend either.
“Curse God and die!” These are cutting words. Not only in this did she withdraw her endorsement of him, but she trampled underfoot the faith which he determined to keep, despite the current trial. Those who ought to have been on Job’s side (his wife and friends) became a tool of Satan to further torment him. Give up your faith! You’re guilty! God is not faithful! You must be an evil man!
Christians, who are one body in Christ, are commanded to bear one another’s burden (Galatians 6:1-2). How much more important for husband and wife, who are “one flesh” to be a source of encouragement and strength in times of trial?
