Lynn Atwell

The Words of Job's Wife Lynn Atwell

In the story of Job is found every kind of suffering that a human can go through, and it comes upon one man in a very short period of time. This man, in a few days, loses his entire wealth and is reduced to poverty; he loses his social standing and is abandoned by almost everyone that knew him; he suffers the loss of all his children in one tragic event; and finally, he himself is struck with a most hideous and painful disease. Now if Job were to be accounted as an extremely evil man, we might say that he was only getting what he deserved. However, herein lies the dilemma-because Job, by any human standards, was accounted by all who knew him as a godly man. Here was a man who was a good father, faithful husband, generous to those in need, and who worshipped and served God as best he knew how. To examine this conundrum we base this book upon the one remark made by Job's wife. To many, her words merely added further suffering to her already besieged husband. However, we would like to invite the enquirer to look at what she said in a different light, and in a way, that we believe, unlocks the real message of the Biblical account of Job.