JOB'S WIFE: WOMEN WHO MARRY FOR A LIVING

"His wife said to him, 'Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!' " (Job 2:9 NIV)

One of the qualities of a virtuous wife, that is, a wife of noble character worth marrying is, that she works with her own hands, thus, earns her own living to provide support for herself, her own husband and family.

"She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands." (Pro 31:13 NIV)

"She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard." (Pro 31:16 NIV)

Thus speaking I am not discouraging husband and wife agreeing for the wife to sit at home to take care of the kids while the husband earns a living to take care of the home. This may be an excellent decision for a couple to take, provided the husband earns enough to meet the basic needs of the family. The emphasis here is on women who have made a decision to not work with their own hands, that is, not earn their own living, but rather, depend on the housekeeping money that their husbands will give to them. Job's wife provides a lesson for both men and women who are making a decision for marriage. 

Many wives are mentioned in the Bible. Talk of Adam's wife Eve, the mother of all humans, Job's wife, Lot's wife, Abraham's wife Sarah, Isaac's wife Rebekah, Jacob's wives Leah and Rachel, Moses' wife Zipporah, Boaz's wife Ruth, David's wife Abigail, King Ahasuerus' impeccable wife Queen Esther, Zacharia's wife Elisabeth and Joseph's wife Mary. Of all the wives mentioned in the Bible, the most obnoxious among them, in my view, is Job's wife. Job's wife symbolizes fair-weather wives—wives who show up for their husbands only in good times. Again, Job's wife stands for wives who depend on their husbands' income for a living, and when their husbands' wealth is gone, and times become tough for them, they quit the marriage since the marriage was their source of livelihood. 

Most husbands do not relate to this message. This is because, scarcely will any husband use marriage as his source of livelihood. Mostly, it is women who use marriage as source of their livelihood. Men have been cultivated to be the breadwinner for the family, and women have been cultivated to provide support for their husbands in caring for the family. 

Job is described in the Bible as a very wealthy man, in fact, the wealthiest in the East. The East was a region of the world. In all the region, Job was reputed to be the wealthiest, and he feared God. Is he not every Christian woman's dream? To get a husband who is wealthy and fears God is every Christian woman's dream. Amazingly, God himself bore this testimony about Job, and so it was true. We hear nothing about the spirituality of Job's wife, but since he was a pious man, we suppose that his wife must be God-fearing too, at least, in part. The couple lived happily together until Job lost all his wealth suddenly. As painful as it was, Bible says that Job did not turn his back on God or lose his integrity, but his wife, after all the wealth was gone, approached Job with her luggage and baggage, and told him, "Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!"

Job's wife appeared to be God-fearing until her husband's wealth was gone. Then she unleashed her beastly attitude and arrogance. She decided to curse God and to quit the marriage, leaving her poor and sickly husband alone in his misery. The revelation about Job's wife helps us to know and understand that some people, both women and men, are wolves in sheep's clothing, belligerent in heart and mind but pretending to be kind when all is cosy. Both wives and husbands must be careful about who they decide to marry. 

Job's wife was not working to earn her own living. She did not provide anything to support her husband to take care of the family since her husband was the richest person in the whole region. She depended solely on Job's wealth, but when all the wealth was gone, then she realised that she had returned to her emptiness. If she had been earning her own living, she would have been able to provide support during the hard times of the family. Her financial support would have energized her husband to regain his feet early enough. Since she had returned to her emptiness, she had nothing with which to offer support to her husband. She could not bear the shame of returning to her miserable life, and so, she quitted the marriage leaving her husband in fear, torment and misery. This is the way many wives treat their husbands when tragedy befalls them. 

Lessons for husbands and wives

Husbands

1. Seek God first, before you seek a wife. Be like a wife unto God, enjoying intimacy with him before you enjoy intimacy with a wife. 

2. Do not build your marriage on only affection, but more importantly, on decision, and decision-making takes time. Be sure that you have studied your woman prayerfully during the courtship, identifying her strengths and weaknesses, before making decision to tie the knot. 

3. You must stay spiritual throughout your marriage, praying and fasting together with your wife. This will increase her power to withstand temptations and pressures of life. 

4. Be sure that she loves your God the same way you love your God. Do not leave her out of your spiritual duties and responsibilities. Do everything with her. This will make her understand your roles better and offer you her full support.  

Wives

1. A marriageable woman is first and foremost, a God-fearing woman. Seek God first, before you seek a husband. God must be your first husband. 

2. Decide to work with your own hands or earn your own living before you get married. 

3. Before you stop working to earn a living, it has to be by agreement, it has to be in the best interest of the family, and it has to be on the premise that your husband is able to adequately provide the basic needs of the family. 

4. Decide to not be a fair-weather wife, showing up only in good times. Once you get married, support your husband to be better or richer, but should he get worse or poorer, do not renounce him. 

5. Stay prayerful, so that in the evil day, you will not quit your marriage, but will continue to offer emotional, psychological, sexual and financial support.

#Verity Haven