Job 10:18
Why did you bring me forth from the womb,
Better I had perished before any eye had seen me.
One of my goals/struggles is where is the line between being a good steward and not. Is an extra percentage on a new credit card or savings account worth the effort? Is a bigger car for a potential third person to be comfortable worth it? Is changing airlines during a trip worth saving extra time while giving up other opportunities? Job was pining away for an alternative.
“Forth from” was also “out of”, “forth out of”, and “from”. I just picked the two f’s. “Bring me”, was also “brought me”, “let me come”, and “take me”. Bring just sounded better. The other variation was “why did you ever” but it seemed unneeded.
“Before any” was also “no”, but I liked the time element of before. “Perished” was also “died”, “expired”, “given up the ghost” and not fitting for one in a womb “breathed my last”. Perished just seemed less human. The oddity was sources who did not include the “better” element in this second stitch. Alternatives were “would that”, “I wish”, “oh that”, I “could”, and “would”. I much prefer it being clear Job was wanting to have not experienced his pain.
I have made decisions that I wish I had not. I generally feel that God has led me to where I am, so I try not to waste energy on wishing, but I do want to learn how to be more obedient for the future decision making that I know is coming. Flying out of Hobby may have better times, or costs, or amenities, but I have a mental hang up about driving that direction over driving to IAH that often renders those options moot. I probably need to find a better search engine for flights, but it is hard to change this paradigm.
We are ten chapters in, and Job is still moaning about wishing he were dead. I am currently working in Chapter 22, and it seems he should be past this by now. (He is, but I am out of sync.) I’d like to get more in sync, but the writing aspect is where I wrestle with the learnings, and I just have a hard time doing it more often. I have a new goal of doing a side study of Christ’s actions and that seems more balanced than two posts on Job a day.
Two ideas in this verse I like. One is the recognition that God brought Job into this world. The second is that we have the opportunity to impact others. Job is not living for himself. He was supporting his kids and those around him. He was an example and followed the call of God. We too can recognize the authority of God and allow Him to live through us to impart this knowledge to others. There is no higher calling and we can be strengthened by studying Job and Christ and others in the Bible.
(Written 1/9, Posted 1/18, Job 226)