Contemplative Bible Reading

Job 2:8-9 (New Living Translation)

8 Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. 9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”

Job’s misery. Yikes, that sounds painful. Job’s faithful wife chimes in with some advice. She talks about maintaining integrity and concludes with, “Curse God and die.”

How would cursing God help? Can a person simply choose to die?

Perhaps something is lost in time and translation. Her advice makes no sense to me. Perhaps if I were in Job’s miserable condition the words would help. Sitting here sipping coffee, I fail to find the connection.

Then there is the part about integrity. Job served God. A person of integrity would serve God always regardless of anything and everything. Job’s wife tells him to forget this integrity. Do something completely against everything you have ever done. Bad advice, but at least it makes sense.