Job 9:31
Yet you would plunge me into a pit,
Till my clothes were loathsome to me.
I read Fahrenheit 451 this week. I did not read it in school, but had free time waiting on a doctor, so I gave it a shot. I am not sure it is appropriate for kids, but maybe college/young adults. The author grew up Baptist, so I probably align with several of the positive elements of the book, but the negatives seem to outweigh them. The main sinner in the book got to the point where his clothes were loathsome, and my brain stalled there as I got this one started.
“Plunge” was also “dip”, but dip seemed lame. “Pit” was “filth”, “ditch”, and “muck”. I probably picked pit as it made me think of the pits of hell.
“Clothes” was also “robes”, but robes seemed too specific for our times. Interestingly, the loathsome item was either the clothes or the person. I chose the clothes, but maybe the other way around would be better. “Loathsome” was “abhor”, “defile”, and “sicken”.
I actually prefer the sentiment that he would become loathsome to his clothes, but the feeling I get is that the word order does not make it clear, and the feelings of an inanimate object seem out of place. I am not sure of this, so maybe in the future I will take more time to review this. Also, how can the condition of Job be any worse than it is when he is speaking?
Our Bible study group this morning was at the outset happy to find something simple, and then totally throw off by short seemingly simple questions about seemingly simple verses. As I sometimes do, I deferred on some questions when they asked my opinion so that I could string together my answers based on all the questions at once. It was probably impressive to an outsider (had one been listening) but in reality, I did not have an answer until I heard theirs. The lesson for me was that there is huge benefit in studying the Word of God with other mature Christians.
In reading Fahrenheit 451, I read a book about books and could see the author try to reinforce the idea that studying great literature improves civilization. But even as reading it, I felt the best option was not to spend so much time on “classics”, but on the one book that actually has real wisdom from God in it. It is a message I feel the desire to pass along, but as I mature, I recognize that I can only influence my circle and having the influence of a famous author is not needed.
(Witten 9/30, Posted 10/20, Job 203)