Job 18:6
The light goes dark in their tent,
The lamp above them fails.
“‘It was never about me.” is a quote some journalist attributed to the person who was recently assassinated. The hope from my perspective is that it was always about Christ. Based on many opinions I have heard, this was true. Many of the lost do not have that perspective. My accountability partner might propose that it is to them that we are called to announce the Kingdom of God.
‘Goes’ was also ‘is’, ‘becomes’, ‘shall be’, ‘grows’, and combined with dark to ‘darkens’. ‘Tent’ was also ‘home’ or ‘tabernacle’ (once each). Tabernacle lending a curious twist.
‘Lamp’ was also ‘candle’. ‘Above’ was also ‘beside’, ‘before’, or ‘in his hand’. ‘Fails’ was also ‘put out’, ‘goes out’, and ‘gutters’. There was also one source who had ‘His candle shall be put out with him’ as a variation on the above, and therefore puts a different twist on the phrase.
If one were to combine the twist of tabernacle and the light going out with him, ‘The light goes dark in his tabernacle and the lamp goes out with him.’ This would seem to be that once their religion/hope goes bad, they die too. Probably not the original intent, but definitely something to consider as I dig through the chapter again.
As I walk through my days, my goal is to give consideration of what God asks before I chose any course. I nominally assume no one else is also doing this. But as I think through the topics of the Kingdom of God, the lady who almost ran a stop sign to cross in front of me, and how I might could have reacted; I wonder if other people are actually thinking something like ‘How can I take advantage of this situation for my good and everyone else’s disadvantage?’ That lady might have gained a few seconds by going before me, but she would have had to break the law to do so. Was she just trying to best me? Was she just trying to gain a few seconds? Was she thinking she had the right of way since she was to my right even though she didn’t stop? Was she trying to slow me down just to do me wrong? Although it might not be obvious, I clearly saw her and beat her to the stop and to going before she could get much past her stop sign. I could have just let her go. I could have not yelled at her from the comfort of my car. I have started to practice forgiving people like her as soon as the encounter is over, but should I not try to forgive them before they even sin?
My devotional this morning touched on the desire we have for those that wrong us to be punished immediately. I carry a desire that some how they would change their behavior. I have more recently come to grips with the fact that most people will not change their behavior no matter what I do, so I should be safe and engage no one in a futile attempt to do so. Should that apply to my kids teacher who is not as good at his/her job as I might wish?
My hope, my light, I hold to be the hope and light of Christ. I was to take action that reflects a love of others. I want to avoid action that pushes others away from Christ like action. Somewhere in this mess of my brain, I pray I am still learning and still becoming more Christlike every day.
Written 9/23/25, Posted 10/16/25, Job 416/~1070