Job 12:23

He makes nations great,

   Then destroys them,

He expands nations,

   Then forsakes them.

 

When I was a kid, one of our dogs changed its behavior. I always assumed it was something that my stepfather did to it. One of our cats is super scared whenever we carry something of any significant size. I assume something happened to it, and it has changed its behavior to avoid a repeat. I think of these two pets and know that I can learn to overcome things because I am a human.

‘Makes great’ was also ‘increases’, ‘exalts’, ‘elevates’, and ‘raises high’.

‘Expands’ was also ‘enlarges’, ‘spreads traps’, and ‘leads them away’. ‘Forsakes’ was also ‘leads them away’, ‘disperses’, ‘guides’, ‘straighteneth again’, and ‘guides them safely through’. Apparently this second stitch had some variation that the first did not. At first, I assumed the ‘spreads traps’ was just wrong until I read the ‘flattens’. Looking for context, the previous verse is pretty clear, but unhelpful, and the following verse is quite obscure and also unhelpful. I picked my favorite sources answer as the two stitches complement each other and it matches traditional meaning. My guess is that the underlying Hebrew is a little off.

I feel that I have matured to the point that I can now set goals and change my behavior in ways that used to irritate what must be my pride. I still do not like others to tell me what to do. I still want to put things off as long as I can. And I still do not want to be driven by meaningless goals. But if I am to be the me that God can use more, then I must put the prideful me away.

Every so often, I try to be a little more disciplined, a little more thoughtful, and a little more ‘better’. It is never enough, and I am always still the same old me. Not that I am that bad, but I could be better.

As I am reading through Jeremiah, I am confronted with the idea that God was only asking that the people love Him. As American culture is being torn from its godly foundations, we are experiencing some fraction of the turmoil Jeremiah was telling His people about. Everyone needs God, and everyone tackles this need in their own way. They can be destroyed, forsaken, flattened, lead away, or dispersed. But how much better to be straightened out and guided safely through? God has placed the Holy Spirit within His believers, and we therefore have our guide to lead us safely through the destruction around us. Let me follow that lead.

Written 1/29/24, Posted 2/15/24 Job 280