Job 24:11
Among rows of olive trees, they press oil out,
They tread the wine vats, yet remain thirsty.
When the song ‘Choosin’ Texas’ came out, it was immediately one of my favorites. A good bit later it has been the number 1 song on the charts for longer than any other. I am no musician, but I knew the song was good when I heard it. At one point, with movies, and songs and such, I wondered if I had a thing to spot hits. Never sure how to make money at that, I ignored the impulse.
‘Rows of olive trees’ was also ‘their terraces’, ‘within their walls’, ‘rich man’s walls’, and ‘groves’. ‘Among’ was also ‘between’, ‘mid’, ‘within’, and ‘in’. ‘Press out oil’ was also ‘crush olives’, ‘make oil’, and ‘make olive oil’.
‘Vats’ was also ‘presses’. ‘Remain thirsty’ was also ‘suffer thirst’ and ‘thurst’.
One of the things I want to do is to be an encourager. The sermon this morning contrasts that with complaining, which I do tend to do. I remember being an encourager at Aggie Awakening and really received joy from that. I feel like I am prepared to do that now, but I am not great at it.
The social norm to pull from this verse is to pay a living wage to your workers. One of my many heartaches over one of my first jobs was the owners’ tendency to under pay whoever they could. It went against the beliefs that they spoke about, but they hid it as best they could, as it allowed them to succeed. I see that in others today, and it does not sit well with how I think the workers should be rewarded.
The Astros season is over and soon the news will be dominated by MLB vs MLBPA trying to wrangle who gets how much money from ripping off baseball fans. As I fan, I wish I could have a seat at the table to present the fans interests. I may not know everything, but I have a knack for seeing stuff that others do not. I spend way too much on baseball, but I do not spend much of it directly into the team’s hands. I wouldn’t mind doing so if I could shake the feeling that they are just out to extract as much profit as possible for the least amount in return. Still need to work on how being content fits in.
Written 10/4/26, Posted 11/2/26, Job 575/~1070