Job 23:9

Left to the North, concealed I do not behold Him,

   Right to the South, hidden I cannot see Him.

 

Trying for three in a day. I hope it is a good thing. Over the weekend, I got all our old computers as ready to leave my possession as I think I can. In the end, I want to give them away to someone who might be able to use them. In theory, this will get me down to three computers and a server.   Down from fifteen computers. Fifteen was a little too many, but I had a hard time letting them go. I do still have eleven hard drives I need to wipe and dispose of. For someone who did not get their own computer until after college, it’s hard to believe we have gone through so many. Two of the ones I am keeping, I have had since about 2016, so its not like I have been running through them quickly. (That went sideways as I have added at least five more since I wrote this.)

Following 23:8, I kept the dual direction element. It does not seem as brilliant today as then. “Behold” and “see” were almost unanimous with “glimpse” and “make out” each used once.

The real challenge for me was where did “conceal” and “hidden” fit into the discussion. “Concealed” was also “works”, “makes”, or “acts”. The theory was that this word somehow told of what God did in the North. “Hidden” was also “turns”, “twists” or “veils”. The turns or twists was thought to apply to Job, but one source was adamant that it was “hidden” and matched the sentiment that it described something about God and the South.

Taken as a whole, I think these two verses might allude to:

• A feeling that the religions East of Job are not worshipping God, but man made up gods.
• A feeling that there are no people practicing religion to the West.
• A feeling that God is not allowing people to learn more about Him by venturing towards other groups in the North and the South that are trying to find God among the realities of nature.
• A feeling that when we look to the right, left, behind or out in front of us, that we do not find God.
• A feeling that (I can’t spell feleign) God can only be found when we are still and seeking Him exactly where we are.

This weekend was one of the two big baseball card shows in the city each year. I used to go every time scouting for cards I needed. I actually got tired of buying nothing and stopped going as often. I really wanted to go this weekend, but I did not want to go at all. It was a strange crossroads. Now that the gambling aspect is out of my system, it is really down to collecting. The new challenge to collecting is finding something I want more than the money it takes to get it or finding the time required to get rid of the stuff I have, but do not want. Kind of like the computers, I struggle to find the will to throw something of value away. Giving away is a lot easier, but its even harder to find the time energy to do that than to try and recapture some value by selling.

The outcome of all this thinking is that patience is a Spiritual gift and often times I only seem to practice it by being lazy. I have many things that I have not gotten rid of through the years and some have a future use (like paper and pens and envelopes) and some do not, like notes from my first jobs and books I’ll never read (or at least never read again). The Scout motto includes thrifty and that is part of who I am. Watching our wedding video and seeing our friends talk about what they saw in me, I know that God made me who I am and has a use for the way I am. I pray that I can have patience and take advantage of this thriftiness. But there is a huge desire to whittle down the not needed.

 

(Written 2/6/23, Posted 10/5/26, Job 557/~1070)