Job 9:25
My days are swifter than a runner,
They flee without seeing happiness.
Our country was built on the right to pursue happiness. Happiness itself is not a right, just the chance to pursue it. I like the thought of happiness and I do experience it and I do things that I hope end in happiness, but I do not feel a burning desire to pursue it. My goal is joy and I want to pursue that and I want that to be the value that is protected by our country.
“Swifter”(7) had one option of “lighter”. “Runner” (5), had alternatives of “post” (1) admittedly old English from King James, and “courier” with the same meaning, and “courier’s feet” that went with the option of “lighter”. While I do like the idea of lighter than a courier’s feet, I think the swiftness of the runner is more aligned with the intent.
“Happiness”(1) was also “see no good”(4) or “without a glimpse of joy”(3). I picked happiness as it was external and emotion.
One of my near constant thoughts about the Bible while I look at the verses of Job is how great it is to dive this deep into God’s word and how others are missing out by not doing so. The phrase “meditate on it day and night” always sounds so hollow, but there are times I can see the appeal of being a monk with almost no responsibility except to study the Bible. I see how Paul did this for three years before he began his ministry and I think how gifted by God he must have been to do so in such a short time.
The buzz about expertise is it takes 10,000 hours to get there. Whether it is piano, or guitar, or engineering, they look at this 10,000 hours as required to really get it. In our daily reading today, it was pointed out that Christ was a carpenter by trade passed down by his earthly father Joseph. I have always envisioned Christ’s carpentry as the best ever, kind of like the wine He made from water.
I know I will not spend 10,000 hours on Job, but at the end of my study, I expect to know about it as well as I possibly can. It is a goal. I think it will make me happy, but I know it is bringing me joy all along the way. With about 1,000 verses, that would be 10 hours per verse to be a “expert”. Hopefully, I can get where I want to be at less than a half hour a verse. But I do hope to spend 10,000 hours studying the Bible as a whole (if I have not already), but I know that being an expert on the Bible is not even a goal to contemplate as it is the living breathing Word of God and has more meanings than all of the people who ever lived can possibly understand if they spent their whole lives on it. When we understand how great that makes Him, we begin to see the futility in our pride.
(Written 9/6, Posted 9/26, Job #197)