A 2nd test - Lent #3

Job's second test came from an unlikely source... his wife. She had seen all the destruction that had come upon her family and so she urged Job to turn his back on God.

"His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’" - Job 2:9

However, she was not just asking him to turn away from God, but also to give up his integrity. Out of anyone, Job had the best reasons to turn away from the Lord, but he knew that he couldn't. In fact, he was even able to reason with his wife.

^"He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’" - v.10

He makes a powerful point. Why is it that we are always happy to accept "blessings" and good things as if they have come from God, but as soon as we face trouble, we are tempted to turn our backs on God. And so, despite his heartache and pain, Job was still able to believe in the grace and goodness of God. He was a wise man.

Is it possible that there is some connection between Job's experience and that of Solomon in Proverbs 2: 16-19:


16Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
¹⁷ who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.
¹⁸ Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
¹⁹ None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.

Wisdom means trusting in God despite the circumstances around us and even when popular opinion suggests otherwise.

Living in Grace
D3LM3