Job's Wife – Falsely Accused?

 

Job's Wife – Falsely Accused?  

I have heard it too often: Job's first wife died. Alternatively: Job's first wife left/divorced him.

Job's wife did not die as a result of the Adversary testing her husband. There is no basis in scripture to think that she left him.  She did not have a petty and bitter personality. 

…and I am playing to win the argument.

The accusations against Job's wife are often Arguments from Silence, based on the absence of evidence. They go something like, if she was still with Job at the end then (a) Job would have prayed for her when he prayed for his friends, (b) she would have been mentioned in the restoration, after all, Job's daughters were named, or (c) 

• Job's Wife is Often Mischaracterized as a Foolish Woman.

⁸Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your integrity [and your faith and trust in God, without blaming Him]? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰But he said to her, “You speak as one of the [spiritually] foolish women speaks [ignorant and oblivious to God’s will]. Shall we indeed accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” In [spite of] all this Job did not sin with [words from] his lips.

-  Job 2:8-10 Amplified Bible 

In this passage, Job calls his wife foolish for not discerning God's will, and it is easy to find devotionals and Bible study guides that take Job's word for it, ergo, his wife is foolish. But Job was not racking up extra discernment points either—turns out that he too was oblivious as to the source of his testing. He tells his wife they should accept adversity from God. He is ignorant of what the reader already learned in Chapter 1, that Satan is causing his troubles.

After losing seven children and all the household wealth in a day, Job's wife finally had a meltdown when she saw her husband sitting in ashes and scraping his boils.  If we are going to accept Arguments from Silence at all, then this is one of the rare places that might actually apply: Notice that she did not accuse her husband of sin, as his friends would be doing. She blamed God. Blaming God shows that at some level, she was aware of spiritual warfare. She was "foolish" only because she had not correctly discerned what spirit was attacking them; it was satan, not God. Of course, Job was also cuckolded and could not help her with that. 

• The Bad Breath Argument

¹³“He has put my brothers far from me,

And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

¹⁴“My relatives have failed [me],

And my intimate friends have forgotten me.

¹⁵“Those who live [temporarily] in my house and my maids consider me a stranger;

I am a foreigner in their sight.

¹⁶“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;

I have to implore him with words.

¹⁷“My breath is repulsive to my wife,

And I am loathsome to my own brothers.

¹⁸“Even young children despise me;

When I get up, they speak against me.

¹⁹“All the men of my council hate me;

Those I love have turned against me.

²⁰“My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,

And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth.

²¹“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,

For the hand of God has touched me.

²²“Why do you persecute me as God does?

Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?

-  Job 19:13-22 Amplified Bible

 

This passage comprises a long list of people by whom Job feels abandoned.  Verses 13 through 16 are about alienation: brothers (biological brothers) are far, acquaintances are estranged, relatives have stopped coming by, close friends have forgotten, maidservants consider him a stranger or foreigner, and his other servants will not answer him, even when he begs.  When he mentions his wife, her offense is being repulsed by his halitosis.  The list continues: his brothers (cousins) find him loathsome, children despise him, and the men he once trusted for advice hate him.  Amid all the abhorrence and desertion, his wife's big issue is bad breath (exhalation)? Really?  She is never accused of being mad that she is now a pauper's wife.  

Devotionals that call Job's wife "petty" for finding his breath offensive fail to recognize the spiritual aspects of Job's attack.  Obviously she did not set out to abandon him; she got close enough to smell his breath. She was driven off by the stench.  Foul odors go right along with foul spirits at work. This was not his wife's action toward him as much as it was her reaction to the demonic. It was caused by Job's Adversary who wanted to deny Job his wife, just as he had already taken Job's flocks (his ability to make sacrifices) and his children (Job's fruit).  

 

• Covenant Stronger Than Satan

So why could Satan only drive Job's wife back as far as smelling-distance? Why didn't he kill her? He surely would have desired to.  It is because the marriage covenant is strong enough to withstand the adversary. From the beginning, Genesis 2:24, "a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."  This is also reaffirmed in the New Testament, cf Mark 10.   Remember that in the second round of Job's testing, the Lord had laid out this ground rule, "So the LORD said to Satan, 'Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life,' Job 2:6."  They were one flesh. Satan could not take the life of Job's wife as long as she remained in covenant.

 

• How We Know

 The Bible provides additional (beyond the fact that her life was preserved) evidence that Job and his wife remained faithful in their marriage covenant. This is found in Chapter 31 (notably the same number as Proverb's chapter on the virtuous woman).  In this chapter Job is making what will be his final appeal, and he is using covenant language.  Among the arguments he makes is the defense of his marriage. Some have tried to make verse 10 into a curse rather than a defense: 

Let my wife grind [meal, like a bond slave] for another [man], And let others kneel down over her, Job 31:10.

When read from the perspective of an ANE (Ancient Near East) culture, this verse is not wishing harm on his wife.  Rather, Job is using a curse to demonstrate how serious he is. We see this other places in the Bible where a person will swear to his own hurt.  The surrounding verses show that his meaning here is to reinforce his faithfulness to his wife; "If I was unfaithful, God would be justified in giving her to another man. But I was not. "

 

• The Other Implications

At this point, Job is making his final appeal before God steps in, makes His longest speech in the entire Bible, and begins Job's restoration.  Job's wife would still be around and faithful at this point or Job's willingness to curse himself would have been moot. 

Those who try to build a case that Job's wife must have left him or died because he did not pray for her when he prayed for his friends have missed a major point.  In Chapter 42:7, the Lord begins speaking to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has. ⁸So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me…"  Verse 10 is among the most beautiful of all verses: "And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends…" 

Making an Argument from Silence that speculates Job did not pray for his wife because she was not there is hollow and empty.  If any Argument from Silence can be made, it would be the one that Job did not pray for his wife because God was not mad at her!  On Job's second trial, she had a temporary meltdown. Give her a break! Apparently the Lord did.  She could not deal with the stench of Job's breath because she did not know its real source, and because Jesus had not yet spoken, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you." The Lord did not blame her for that one either. She was not held accountable for ignorance. The others were held accountable for presumption. 

It is not a sin to be distraught when Satan is actively attacking a family member. Even under extreme duress she did not blame Job. It is not a sin to retreat to a safer distance when Satan is trying to overpower your senses.  Backing off is not the same as leaving for good. Nothing in scripture indicates she died between Job's dissertation in Chapter 31 and his restoration in Chapter 42.   

Job's wife has gotten a bad rap.

 

 

Why Picking Sides is Complicated for US Citizens who are Disgusted with their Theiving Rulers.

 

 18 U.S. Code, section 1752, —  

NATO's original 12 nation alliance has grown to 30 countries, many without seacoast on the north Atlantic; it has become a tool of the globalists. Ukraine was *promised* a chance to join—but why would NATO desire Ukraine? (Globalists do not have a tender-hearted desire of liberty for all.) At the least, this is poking the bear, and it could be much bigger.

George Soros has held a dominating influence there since 2012, and there are traceable connections between him and Zelensky; not proof of corruption but a definite red flag for its potential. There is video of Soros bragging that his Open Society Foundation was central to the overthrow of Ukraine in 2014, and it stands to reason that the leadership was installed with his approval.
search: https://youtu.be/BuZ4IgTqqVc   

Citizens and residents of Ukraine (not a government bank account) gave more money to the Clinton Foundation than other foreign donors during Hillary's runs for office, (time period includes her 2008 primary). The Fair and Balanced media has opted to not investigate allegations of CF money laundering. (perhaps balancing prospects of death by untimely suicide)

The area now known as Ukraine with its Black Sea shipping route has been a hotspot in Europe's white slavery, going back centuries. The breakup of the USSR did not shut that down.  
Involvement of Dark State bankers colluding with Obama
search: https://21stcenturywire.com/2014/03/21/the-latest-heist-us-quietly-snatches-the-ukraines-gold-reserves/

Obama's Department of Defense invested in Ukrainian medical labs, their number may have reached 13 or more. These were not aspirin factories.
search: https://web.archive.org/web/20170130193016/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/dtro-kharkiv-eng.pdf

Obama's administration perpetrated a coup,
search:  https://archive.ph/N7Iv1

Ukraine was one of the regions that received Jewish immigrants in the diaspora that occurred under the rule of Hadrian (135 AD/CE). One of the DNA surveys conducted in Odessa, a seaport in southwestern Ukraine, estimated that half the residents have some Jewish blood. God made promises to Abraham concerning his offspring, and centuries later after giving Moses the Ten Commandments, God renewed that commitment with a promise of "showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments." The 1K has not yet run out. 

And then there are the Elders of Zion...

 

 

 
*** But the Good News is that a conservative, alternative news source with a contact close to Marine Corps General David H. Berger was reporting that the Biden you saw giving the SOTU speech Tuesday evening does not have the launch codes.

More than ever, amidst the swirls of disinformation, it is by faith that we must walk and not by sight. (cf 2 Cor 5:7) Back here at home, the left is having anger issues; But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Cor 2:14.
 

Dealing with Romans 13:1 — Submission to Government Authority

 These are three answers I wrote to two persons who had asked questions about submitting to government authority in an online conversation. The scripture in question, quoted below, is at the beginning of Romans 13.

 ¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. ²Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. ⁴For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. 

Q -  Was the founding of America just? Was it not a rebellion against King George? I mean depending on your interpretation of Romans 13 this could all be quite confusing; at what point do we rebel or obey the governing authorities? But some say it was over taxation without representation. However, Romans 13:6 says, "For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing."

A -  Oh, go read the Declaration of Independence! There was a lot more than taxation involved. King George was an accuser like satan and lawless, like the devil.
The American Revolution was a rebellion that was rational in this realm (as outlined in the Declaration of Independence) and ordained by God in the spirit realm (for overcoming evil).

Q - I was just trying to get a grasp on the correct interpretation of Romans 13... It could be easily stated in a Romans 13 context that King George was bearing not the sword and vein [sic] and he should be feared. Again I'm not advocating that; I'm just saying Romans 13 is a perplexing chapter.

4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

A -  Personally, I got over my being perplexed about Romans 13 on January 6, 2020. Then I went on to blog about why the National Association of Evangelicals got it all wrong when they sided with the Legacy media and whined that Christians must be peacemakers.
Where does the Bible say to blindly obey Evil? The verses 4 through 7 that you quoted refer to "God's servant." Not all officials are God's servants.
If there is no authority except from God, was King George God's servant following God's authority? If not, he made himself illegitimate, forfeiting authentic authority.
King George was being a "terror to good conduct" v.3. He ordered the farmer to quarter (house and feed) the king's mercenary soldier at the farmer's expense. The farmer obeyed. The soldier raped the farmer's daughter. King George sets up a kangaroo court to exonerate the mercenary. Was King George being "an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil? v.4. Hardly.
Letting the wicked go free is NOT the sign of a legitimate "ruling authority." It is the sign of a collaborator with satan. God did not put that person in charge, Satan stole that spot and put his own tyrant in.
Was King George "praising good works" v.3?" Not according the the over two-dozen complaints that our founding fathers declared against him.¹ A legitimate authority placed by God would praise those who do good, not further enslave them!
Jesus didn't submissively "obey the Pharisees." Surely they believed that they were installed by God! And Peter... He came at them with this pithy argument: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. " 🤔 Peter probably remembered the day that Jesus said following the authority of the Pharisees could make a person twice as much a son of hell as they were! (Mt 23:15)
I tell you, God has abandoned Biden, That point of no return was crossed by him a year ago; he is a dead man walking. God will not partner with deceit, fraud, and greed.
>>Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? Psalm 94:20 <<
We have rulers making evil laws, calling evil good, and trying to make their laws legitimate. 😕 Do you want to try that Romans 13 excuse on Judgment Day, "But God, I was just obeying the guy YOU put in authority!" Good luck with that.

 

Q - then what is Paul talking about in Romans 13:1?

He is talking about—as Romans 13:1 says—authorities He has established. Just because someone holds an office, that does not mean GOD established them there. Currently the US has authorities set in place by fraud. God does NOT use fraud to seat leadership! God will not set satan over His earth either. Currently we have many fraudulently elected and appointed government officials who are practicing witches (and Masons who have risen to the level of performing animal sacrifices count in that category).
I am not saying that God appoints only Christians; no, that's not how it works. But scripture (MT 12:30, MK 9:40, LK 9:50) gives us a baseline qualification of not opposing God and not having a heart-motivation in rebellion against God. Even a person who does not know God personally has in innate sense of natural law. See Romans 1:18-23. God can work with a baseline respect for natural law, but He will not set in authority someone who has incurred His wrath—who "by their unrighteousness suppress the truth," Romans 1:18.
God does not establish authority that opposes Himself and pursues the devil because "a house divided cannot stand," MK 3:25. God is not suicidal.  Devils should be resisted, not served!
To simplify it: Romans 13:1 is speaking of legitimate authority established by God, not authority instituted by lies, deception, and fraud. "Let every person be subject to the valid governing authorities. For there is no authentic authority except from God, and those that exist legitimately, without fraud or avarice, have been instituted by God." 

 

Footnote

¹ the complaints against King George as listed in the Declaration of Independence

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

 

(1776-era spelling rules)