Study of Job 12:18
He undoes the sash of kings,
And removes the girdle from their loins.
With the Thanksgiving holiday just past, it is time to get back into the routine of life before Christmas. I still have the big goal of getting the garage better organized and several weekends to get that done. I also must get a handle on my taxes before the year ends. That one is more important than the garage, but not by much.
‘Undoes’ was ‘loosens’, ‘takes off’, ‘unties’, and ‘opens’. Undoes seemed to carry more breath of meaning. ‘Sash of’ was also ‘bonds of’, ‘shackles put on by’, and ‘belts of’. The idea was not that God saved others from the kings, but that God let the kings continue in their excess.
‘Removes’ was also ‘binds’, ‘ties’, and ‘fastens’. Again, the idea was not that God limited the kings, but allowed them to continue. ‘Girdle’ was also ‘waist cloth’, ‘loin cloth’, ‘belt’, and ‘sash’. The item discussed was something that allowed the king to look less like a slob in front of everyone as he grew fatter and fatter. ‘Loins’ was also ‘waist’, but no biggie (pun intended).
Over the holiday, I had one day where I got my whole to do list done. Of course, it was mostly stuff that had to be done that day, but I did sneak in a few longer-term tasks like hanging my new paintings. My office is still crammed full of too much, but the wall space is currently well balanced with at least one open spot left. My mind often tries to figure out how to do more with less in this space, but everything has a use and I feel less stress when I do different activities in different spots. I do feel like if I took off the constraints of the room, I would just add more stuff and spread out further.
When I worked out of the office downstairs, I put all my papers on the wall as a sign of my achievements. When I see the various views of me in this office for Teams meetings, I kinda wish I could figure out a way to have a nice background. But at the same time, if it was my achievement wall, it would just be bragging. My main two views have my old paintings sticking out from behind my old tv that I use for a monitor on one desk. It’s not pretty, but it exposes both the non-work side of me and the practicality of how I use resources. Kinda like how my belt now is not just for looks, but to keep my now too big jeans from falling down.
In some Bible study situation recently, I voiced how God made us to have a relationship with Him. That is fundamental to who we are supposed to be. God would love us to be fit and health and treat everyone well, but He does not want us to do it because He has restrained us, but because we love Him and chose to do so out of this love. The phrase ‘just enough rope to hang ourselves’ comes to mind, but God saves us from death, and that overcomes our nature to push the boundaries.
Written 11/27/23 Posted 1/10/24 Job 275