Ecclesiastes 1-3, 11-12
A Worthy
Purpose

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Psalm 71:1-13 God's Our Rock and Refuge

In You, O Lord, I Take Refuge

1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
 let me never be put to shame!
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
 incline your ear to me, and save me!
3 Be to me a rock of refuge,
 to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
 for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
 from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,
 my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
 you are he who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

7 I have been as a portent to many,
 but you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
 and with your glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
 forsake me not when my strength is spent.
10 For my enemies speak concerning me;
 those who watch for my life consult together
11 and say, “God has forsaken him;
 pursue and seize him,
 for there is none to deliver him.”


12 O God, be not far from me;
 O my God, make haste to help me!
13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
 with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
 who seek my hurt.

Application

We need to build an early track record of trusting God and praising Him for deliverance, so that when the stakes get higher, our hope in His salvation and deliverance also increases.

Prayer

Trustworthy God, I know that I can always rely on You to help and deliver me from those opposed to You. Be my Rock and Refuge, and give me a calm confidence in Your rescue. Thanks. Amen.

Proverbs 18:14-16 Sustained and Healed

14 A man's spirit will endure sickness,
 but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
 and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man's gift makes room for him
 and brings him before the great.

Application

Fixing our hope on God's providence, His help, and healing can sustain us through all kinds of difficulty.

Prayer

Great Physician, thanks for being the sustainer of my life and soul; make me whole, so I can serve You with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 1-3, 11-12 A Worthy Purpose

Solomon is trying to figure out what's worth doing with his life during his stay on earth. It's a classic pursuit of a worthwhile purpose to give meaning and direction to his life. Both the quest and conclusion are little disappointing, especially for the world's wisest guy. The problem is that Solomon is looking under the sun, and it's not until he looks above the sun to the Creator, that life under the sun makes sense (a lot like Job). Solomon tries everything, to see what's worth doing, and concludes it's all vanity, a vapor, a meaningless chasing and grasping the wind. He should have been able to figure out what is good by understanding what God had revealed, but we know spending time in God's word wasn't Solomon's strong suit. (See posts on Dt 17 and 1Kg 11.) Then again, some folks learn best by experience; so for those who don't grasp principles easily, Solomon's pursuit yields some practical insights to spare them the folly of going down the wrong paths. For all his wisdom Solomon misses the secrets to daily and eternal delights which his father David espoused in the Psalms.

Ecclesiastes 1 What's A Worthy Purpose for Life?

Preceding Generations Forgotten
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
 vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3 What does man gain by all the toil
 at which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
 but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
 and hastens to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
 and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
 and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
 but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
 there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
 a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
 nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
 and what has been done is what will be done,
 and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
 “See, this is new”?

It has been already
 in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things,
 nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
 among those who come after.
With Wisdom Comes Sorrow
12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
 and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”

 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

18 For in much wisdom is much vexation,
 and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Application

Find out what's worth living for, and go for it with gusto.

Prayer

Gracious God, I thank You for revealing the paths to joy, peace, and prosperity in Your word. Don't let me fall into the trap of seeking it in the world, for that is a fool's errand. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 2 Pursuit of Power, Pleasure & Possessions

The Futility of Pleasures
1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.”

But behold, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. 4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.
9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
The Wise and the Foolish
12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
The Futility of Work
18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Application

Pleasing God and enjoying Him is the path to satisfying pleasures forevermore.

Prayer

God, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore; You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. May my ways be pleasing in Your sight, and my highest joy be abiding in Your presence. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 3 Time and Eternity

To Everything There is a Season
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
The Excellence in God's Works
9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
From Dust to Dust
16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Application

A purely temporal, material mindset misses the present and future delights of a vibrant relationship with God.

Prayer

Eternal God, thanks that You created us for a relationship with You that transcends the death and decay syndrome of our world. Thanks that I can find pleasure in You, now and forevermore, regardless of my circumstances. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 11 Following Our Desires or God's

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

1 Cast your bread upon the waters,
 for you will find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
 for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
 they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
 in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
 and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Enjoy Your Years
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Application

Decreasing our consumption of the temporal increases our appetite for the eternal and yields present and future joy.

Prayer

God, my ambition is to be pleasing in Your sight, by obeying You and living for Your desires, because that is my greatest good and highest happiness. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 12 Fear God and Keep His Commandments

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
The Fear of God is Utmost
9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Application

Prayer

Digging Deeper

The fact that there is nothing new under the sun, means that truth (our understanding of reality) can be discovered through our senses in any time or culture. The moronic and myopic view of some “scholars” that because Ecclesiastes has elements of Epicureanism and Stoicism, it must be influenced by them is ludicrous. Historically, it would have been the other way around, since Solomon wrote a over half a millennium before Greek philosophy hit its heyday. An alternative view is that most truth, (apart from the infinite realities which must be revealed by an infinite Being to finite man), can be observed and induced by those who observe and think, and therefore would be found where such individuals are found.

God in a nutshell: God is the Creator, and Judge of us and our world. He has eternal purposes which are realized during our fleeting time on earth. (What we do on earth echoes throughout eternity.) He's designed life to be imperfect and incapable of being fully enjoyed apart from dependently pleasing Him. He gives those who please Him the ability to enjoy what they have. He will judge everything that we do, both good (with accompanying blessing) and evil (with accompanying unpleasant consequences).

Us in a nutshell: We have limited time during our stay here on earth and need to use it wisely if we are going to enjoy it, and our future. We will not be satisfied, nor find enduring joy in merely temporal, vain things like power, pleasure and possessions. Our ability to enjoy such things is dependent upon pleasing God. Living for all this world has to offer is a vain and futile pursuit. It won't satisfy. Pursuing God's pleasure and purposes is the path to happily ever after, and a joyful journey along the way.

Where to go for more

Truthbase.net


Wise Lessons from the Life of Solomon

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