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Ecclesiastes 12

21 Oct

12 Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” 2 Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. 3 Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.

4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.

5 Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.

6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”

9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. 10 The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.

11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.

12 But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Ecclesiastes 12

Dear God, I have to say that this is an odd ending for this book. And I would say that verses 13 and 14 seem incongruous with the message Solomon has been teaching up until now. It seems like the previous 11 chapters have been about enjoying life as much as you can because that’s all you get, but this last chapter is about you. It’s almost like he read over everything else he wrote and looked for that deeper purpose. The other activities of eating joyfully and sucking every morsal out of life seem to fade away in this last chapter. Now, he realizes that it is about remembering you not in my old age, but when I am young.

I would certainly say that my knowledge of Solomon and how his life turned out helps to inform how I read this book. Knowing that he marries 700 women and has another 300 on the side. Knowing that a lot of these wives will lead him away from you with the idols of their home lands. Knowing that he makes treaties with people in the name of peace instead of fearing the attraction of their riches and their idols. Knowing that he ends up being harsh to his people. All of that makes me take his advice here with a grain of salt. I wonder how early in his reign he wrote this book. Of course, we aren’t even sure he wrote it.

I just read the summary of the book from my NIV Study Bible and it’s interesting to see how the biblical scholars position this book because it’s not at all how I read it. Perhaps I was wrong. Hear is what the author of the summary says about what the book teaches:

Life not centered on God is purposeless and meaningless. Without him, nothing else can satisfy (2:25). With him, all of life and his other good gifts are to be gratefully received (see James 1:17) and used and enjoyed to the full (2:26; 11:8). The book contains the philosophical and theological reflections of an old man, most of whose life was meaningless because he had not himself relied on God.

Father, the experience of spending the last two weeks with Ecclesiastes has been interesting. What have I gotten out of it? I’m not sure except to just really have my guard up against the pursuit of myself because chasing my own “happiness” is a fruitless path. It will not lead to anything but ultimate emptiness. But if I wake up wanting to love you and then love others I will have a chance at living a life that will be in touch with you and grow the fruits of your Spirit within me. It’s the fruit of your Spirit that I want for my time here. I want to have a life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Thank you for offering me that life through the relationship you want to have with me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 21, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 9

18 Oct

9 This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. 2 The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.

3 It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway. 4 There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”

5 The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. 6 Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth. 7 So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! 8 Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!

9 Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. 10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.

13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. 14 There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. 15 A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. 16 So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.

17 Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person
    than the shouts of a foolish king.
18 Better to have wisdom than weapons of war,
    but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

Dear God, once again, by doing a whole chapter that has artificial separations not done by Solomon, but by translators, I have some disparate thoughts on the content here.

The first thing I was thinking about as I read Solomon bemoan the idea that we just as well live for ourselves because we all end up in the same place anyway is that he is missing the point of living for you and you using our lives. Naomi’s move to Moab, her son marrying Ruth, her son dying, and her return to Bethlehem with Ruth was putting something in motion that would ultimately lead to Jesus’s lineage: the marriage of Ruth to Boaz. Our lives will have effect on other lives. I can’t remember the example right now, but I was talking to my wife this morning about a small thing that happened long ago that led to something wonderful now. I told her, “Those were the butterfly’s wings that made this happen (I really wish I could remember what we were talking about.” For good or ill, our lives do impact others. And even a bad life can bring good fruit because of your redemption. And good intentions can accidentally bring bad fruit. Frankly, we never know, but you know. But I would rather live my life worshipping you and loving others than feeling sorry for myself that I don’t get some sort of reward over someone else. That’s pitiful. So I reject the premise of Solomon’s argument and his self-pity. There are sorrows in my life, and I have let them bring me down and make me feel sorry for myself. But my life isn’t about me. It’s about loving you and loving everyone I can.

Now, for the part about the poor wise person not being respected due to their stature, well, this is very true. As a tall, middle class man, I have advantages in a group of people that others don’t have. I was thinking about this once when watching the movie 12 Angry Men. I thought about Henry Fonda’s character, Juror #8, and how it helped in the script that he was tall. Juror #2 (John Fiedler) was the small man with the mousy voice (the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh). It would have been interesting to see how the movie would go if they had switched the casting and made him Juror #8. What would it have been like to see the small man with a high voice being the lone holdout at the beginning of the movie? How would it have looked to see him standing up to people while they towered over him? I don’t think it would have worked, and the movie would not have been as good. It’s human nature. So the lesson to me is to look for the wisdom where my prejudices would tell me to avoid or ignore. And don’t ascribe wisdom and influence to the things the world tells me to admire and respect because of their appearance, stature, gender, or wealth.

Father, I would love to have seen Solomon and Jesus have a conversation over these things. I would love to have an account of Solomon going to Jesus in the night like Nicodemus did and laying out these feelings before him. I would love to hear Jesus tell him to let go, relax, worship, and love. Our lives are so small. I’m currently just one man sitting in a hotel room in a city with millions of people. My life is so small and yet it can seem so important in my own mind. And I’m know I’m important to you, but so is everyone else in the hotel, city, county, state, country, and world. We are your children. You love us all–even the ones who have wandered far from you. Help me to be about loving everyone you love, which is to say, help me to be about loving everyone!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 4

13 Oct

4 Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. 2 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 3 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

5 “Fools fold their idle hands,
    leading them to ruin.”

6 And yet,

“Better to have one handful with quietness
    than two handfuls with hard work
    and chasing the wind.”

7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

13 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. 14 Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. 15 But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. 16 Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4

Dear God, there are three main topics in this chapter.

Human suffering: This is the one that is hard for so many of us. “How can a loving God allow such things to happen?” That’s the question a lot of unbelievers (and believers) ask. I think about the women who are trapped in sex trafficking, or any human trafficking. I think of children in abusive situations. Or the women. I think of the people who are sick with diseases that painful such as ALS. Horrible. What about those who are in war zones? Those who are born and live in dangerous neighborhoods? Now, there is some of this that is our responsibility to remedy. It’s my responsibility. The trick is, how? What can I do? If I gave $10,000 to a charity that works in this area, would it free one person from slavery? We give money to a local domestic violence shelter. To a food pantry. To all kinds of nonprofits. But the suffering is still out there. I don’t have any great answers for this except to say that sin is in the world and we, your creations, are capable of terrible atrocities against each other. I’m sorry for any role I have played or inadvertently continue to play in human trafficking. For example, I have heard that a lot of chocolate comes from cocoa beans harvested in Africa with slave labor. When I buy my favorite candy bar, am I contributing to their victimhood? Some buy drugs that fuel drug cartels. Some watch porn that is filmed with trafficking victims. There are all kinds of ways in which we can be complicit and even encouraging of these great sins.

Alone: There’s a line from Ted Lasso (spoiler alert) in which he says there is something worse that being sad. There is being alone and being sad. I am fortunate that I am not alone. You have given me a wife who I truly enjoy and love. You have given me a few close male friends. And you have given me good coworkers. I am the opposite of alone. But some are not. Help me to be sensitive to those who are alone, and show me how to minister to them.

Wise vs. Foolish: When I think about decision making and the best ways to do it, I think of two things. First, is the friend who tried hiking the Appalachian Trail alone. He injured himself three days in, but he told me later that after two days he found his decision making was compromised because he didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of. The other is an exercise we did in a team building day at work when the leader gave us a problem to solve individually. Then he put us in small groups to solve the problem. Then he brought the whole group together to solve the problem. The small group and then the whole group came up with answers that were better than the individual. In this way, this is a continuation of the concept of alone. And some people can be surrounded by people and still be alone. Insecurity can drive it. Arrogance. Hubris. And maybe the insecurity drives the arrogance and hubris. Either way, I am always better when I take input from others.

Father, remind me to be willing to let go of the foolish. Help me to embrace the people you have put around me. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. And show me how to 1.) alleviate the suffering around me and 2.) not contribute to any suffering.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 13, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 2

11 Oct

2 I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.

4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

12 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?). 13 I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. 15 Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” 16 For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

17 So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

18 I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! 20 So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.

21 Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22 So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.

24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 2

Dear God, as I read this chapter this morning I thought of a friend of my dad’s. I might have his philosophy incorrect, so I don’t want to use his name. Or my dad might have misinterpreted his philosophy to me. Either way, when I read this this morning, I thought of my perception of his philosophy which is, “Make your money and accumulate your wealth in the first half of your life and then use the second half of your life doing something or multiple things that are significant for God.” He even wrote a best selling book that showed people how to use the second half of their lives effectively. I think it was mainly designed for men and women who already found themselves in a midlife crisis, and it wasn’t written for the 20-year-old who was setting out on their career.

My dad and I were talking about this book recently, and he recounted this philosophy to me again. I told him that I disagreed with it. And now, reading this passage in Ecclesiastes, I kind of know why. Even this search for significance in the second half of life is chasing the wind. It is grasping for the things Solomon is grasping for in this passage. The money and wealth sought in the first half of life are just replaced with significance and joy.

There are two great commands Jesus gave us: love you and love others. Then he gave us this amazing sermon in Matthew 5-7 that basically outlines the standard we should strive for as we live out our salvation. Part of that living out of our salvation is to reframe my life. My life is not about my significance! The sooner I come to peace with that and accept it, ironically, the happier I will be.

My wife and I were talking yesterday about how, other than the constant sorrow that is in our lives through broken relationships, we are in a very good place. We have no complaints. Basically, life is good right now. Even as she was saying the words, I wanted to look over my shoulder for another shoe that could drop. Maybe one of us will have a health issue. Maybe I’ll have an unforeseen problem at work. We could have a health issue with another family member. Really, the possibilities are endless. And I don’t want those things. I like it easy. But I hope that should calamity or headwinds come, I won’t complain to you.

Father, I’ve been disappointed with you before. But you used that disappointment to teach me these lessons. And I know I still have more to learn, and sometimes the only way I can learn them is through struggling. So I am absolutely not inviting those struggles, but I pray that when you have something for me to learn, you will give me a teachable heart that will take the lesson and worship you for the rest of my days.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 11, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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