Walking With Christ

Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”(ESV)

There are certain movies where it is potentially vital to pay more attention to the background than the main story. The bible has a lot of characters who, while not being the main focal point of the story, help to push the story along and are often impacted as much, perhaps more than, the main characters.

In the book of Job, Job’s wife suffered many of the same afflictions that Job did. She also lost ten children and the comforts of a wealthy lifestyle. She, as a mother, was affected by this loss in a different way than Job since she carried each of the children. Despite being so close to the narrative, she is only mentioned twice in the bible, Job 2:9 and Job 19:17. There is no mention of anyone coming to comfort her in the face of this loss. The only things we know about her is that she tells him to “curse God and die” and that she despises him. She obviously blames him for the catastrophe that claimed their children.

Lot’s wife (Genesis 19), Dinah (Genesis 34—daughter of Jacob and Leah), Miriam (Exodus 15 and Numbers 12), Naomi (Book of Ruth), Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12), Hagar (Genesis 16, 21), Zipporah (Exodus 2, 4, 18), Michal (1 Samuel 18–19, 2 Samuel 6), Lazarus (John 11), Joseph (husband of Mary) (Matthew 1–2, Luke 1–2), Jethro (Exodus 2, 18), Barabbas (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 18), Jonathan (1 Samuel 18–20), Eli (1 Samuel 1–4), Onesimus (Philemon), Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26), and many more.

You might be the main character in your story, but you certainly are not the only character in your story. Some will suffer because of decisions you make, while others will prosper and be blessed by the choices you make. You may not know in this life which is which. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to be aware of it. You never know when you are playing a vital part in a much bigger story.