Job 15:23

They wander about for bread – asking ‘Where is it?’,

    Knowing the day of darkness is ready for them.

 

For whatever reason, I was reminded this morning of my efforts long ago to run a raffle associated with our company Christmas party. The first thing I remembered was the flak I received for a dress one of my helpers wore. I didn’t pick the dress, but I guess I wasn’t supposed to pick someone to help me who would wear a dress like that.

‘Bread’ was also ‘food’.

‘Knowing’ was also ‘certain’. ‘Is ready for them’ was also ‘awaits them’ and ‘is at hand’.

I’m working on Job 39 and the ox, and I watched a Star Trek episode about people basically waiting on their caretaker for everything, and yes, I mean everything. I learned that the ox will work for you if you strap a bucket of feed in front of its mouth. I also learned that people will become docile if you meet their every need. I imagine the ox perfectly happy to pull the plow as long as it is eating. I imagine the lower classes if the wrong people come to power.

When I looked at the difference between food and bread for the first stitch, I liked bread better because someone has to work to make it. The vulture is dependent as it waits for something to die before eating it. Most animals have to wait to eat until God provides. Man can go out and grow something or cook something or boil something up in a vat. But at the same time, I ask God every day for my daily bread and never consider it to be food.

‘The day of darkness’ left me wondering if ‘the’ was important. ‘The’ in ‘The Day of Judgement’ is vitally important, but the average fool is not worried about hell as much as the next day with no food, drink, drug, or whatever fix gets them through a day. It is supposed to snow tomorrow, and of course after the freeze of a few years ago, everyone is on the edge of panic that the power will go out again. We made one change to the house and learned of a safety feature we had but weren’t aware of, so we are in slightly better position, but if the power goes out and the outside temperature dips to 18 F (-10 C), we won’t be warm inside.

My cats wander about asking ‘Where are the treats?’ and sometimes they get quite loud and/or bothersome in the process. They do so in spite of the bowl of food that is almost never empty. I learned they crave the carbohydrates. Sometimes, they beg to go outside so they can eat grass and throw up a hair ball.

I put in a lot of effort to make each of those raffles a success, and I never seem to recall the good so much as the bad that came of it. I can’t even seem to recall what we did with all the money we raised. I know it was something good, but kinda weird how all that is overshadowed by a dress. Not sure how to apply it now, but the good got done for a long time in spite of that hiccup.

 

Written 1/10/25, Posted 2/18/25, Job 360