Tag Archive | Ecclesiastes

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 171

Jun21

Day 171  Reading Ecclesiastes 7 – 12

Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God stays in your mind?

Ecclesiastes 7.

Solomon reverts back to the style of his Proverbs in this chapter.

It’s interesting in verse 20 that he states a truth that Paul repeats in Romans 3:10-23.  Solomon says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” 

.

Ecclesiastes 8.

Verse 15. “I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.”

This makes me think of Nehemiah 8:10, “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

.

Ecclesiastes 9. 

Solomon here comes to the conclusion that we all do at some point. “This is an evil in all that is done under the son, that the same even happens to all …” death. Verse 3.

And so, he decides, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.”  “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life … .”   “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…. for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in the grave to which you are going.”  Verses 7-10

He continues with his sad refrain … “Again I saw under the sun that the race is NOT to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.”  Verse 11.

.

Ecclesiastes 10.

Again with more Proverbs, with a rye, humorous twist.

“A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.”

“Bread is for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.”

“Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.”

.

Ecclesiastes 11.

Verse 5. “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the woman with child, so you do not know the word of God who makes everything.” 

(Yes, the formation of a child, out of cells from a man and a woman, with bones, organs, skin, and a mind … and a living soul … is indeed unfathomable.  Only God can create such.)

11:9 “REJOICE, O YOUNG MAN, IN YOUR YOUTH, AND LET YOUR HEART CHEER YOU IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH.”

Ecclesiastes 12.

12:1 “REMEMBER ALSO YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH…”

And then Solomon writes a section of humorous but sad allegory, a vivid picture of the aging process, if you will take the time to read carefully and consider. (verses 12:1b -7

If you are still young, perhaps these word pictures won’t have much meaning, but for those in their 80’s and 90’s, they will ring very true.

Verse 7 – pictures final death. “and dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

.

And so what does Solomon get from all his testing and trying everything under the sun and have considered everything via his great wisdom?  He sums it all up in verses 12-14 – pointing back to God.

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

And there you have it.  What have you gained from reading Solomon’s proverbs and speeches as the Preacher?  Me?  He has too much time and money and “stuff.”  A warning about accumulating things.  But he does point to God as creator and controller (sovereign) of all things.  Thank You, God, for you ultimate perfect wisdom!

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 170

Jun19

Day 170.  Reading Ecclesiastes 1 – 6

 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
What truth about God stays in your mind?
 

Ecclesiastes 1.

Written by wise King Solomon in his latter years, perhaps after trying everything to find peace and happiness.  He had enough wealth to buy anything, but did it satisfy? And it seems his wisdom failed him, too, because he strayed from the Law of God. 

“Ecclesiastes” means the “Preacher,” or one who gathers a group or congregation of people together to hear a message. Older Solomon here is passing down what he’d learned about “life” to the younger generation.  And what has he discovered? Everything in human life is “vanity,” “vapor & smoke.”  It is all “meaningless.” 

A downer, right?

  • Verse 2. “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” 

He says, “I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem, and I applied my heart to seek and search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.  It is an unhappy business.”

He continues, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I applied my heart to know wisdom … and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is a “striving after the wind.”  In much wisdom is much vexation…”

.

Ecclesiastes 2.

First, Solomon, the Preacher, decides to test “pleasure and enjoyment.”  (And he had the wealth to buy anything he desired.)

  • First, he searched for ways to cheer his body with wine.
  • Then, he made great works, built houses, planted vineyards for himself, made gardens, and parks, and orchards.
  • He made pools of water for himself.
  • He acquired a multitude of slaves to serve him.
  • He gathered for himself silver and gold, the treasure of kings and provinces.
  • He got male and female singers to entertain him.
  • He acquired many concubines (women) to “serve” him.
  • He became great and surpassed all who were before him.
  • Whatever his eyes desired, he did not keep from them.  He held back no pleasure from his heart.

And what did all this get him?  “Behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Next, Solomon tested wisdom, and… MADNESS AND FOLLY. What??  He discovered being wise is better, but in the end … both the fool and the wise man experience tragedy.  And both are eventually forgotten.

He thought about all the works he had done … and hated them.  Why?  Because another would enjoy them after he was gone.  Whether a wise man or fool, HE would enjoy the things Solomon left behind, not having worked a minute for it!!  “Vanity and a great evil!“

And so  what did Solomon decide?  “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.”  (This is a simple, family man with a job…better off that a wealthy, wise king.)

BUT … he DOES ACKNOWLEDG GOD.  “But this is also from God. Apart from Him, who can eat or have enjoyment?  For the one who pleases Him, God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy….”

.

Ecclesiastes 3.

This chapter gives a familiar list of opposite things for which there is a “season” or time. 

  • birth, death
  • planting, harvesting 
  • killing, healing
  • breaking down, building up
  • weeping, laughing
  • mourning, dancing
  • cast away stones, gathering stones
  • embracing, not embracing
  • seeking, losing
  • keeping, throwing away
  • tearing, sewing
  • silence, speaking
  • love, hate
  • war, peace.

“God has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart….”

And, “All (man and beasts) are from the dust, and to dust all return.”

.

Ecclesiastes 4.

Solomon also writes of the evil and oppression that he has seen “under the sun.”

The lonely, vulnerable person who has no one, no family or friend, is worse off.  For TWO can help each other if one falls, TWO can keep warm together, and TWO can stand against an attacker.

Better to be a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.

.

Ecclesiastes 5.

And then a caution:  “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.”  “Be not rash with your mouth, no let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God. Let your words be few.  God is the One you must fear.”

Next, Solomon (the wealthiest man alive then) talks about MONEY.  “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income.”

.

Ecclesiastes 6.

This statement is truly sad, for it shows Solomon’s dissatisfied heart.  “If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things …I say that a stillborn child is better off than he!”  EVEN IF THIS MAN LIVES 2,000 YEARS, he still has to die and go to the grave like everyone else. (Oh, boo-hoo, Solomon!)

.

(I think, like sometimes Solomon does, that uber wisdom and wealth are NOT a blessing. The person who lives a simple life with a job and a family is WAY better off. 

THANK YOU, LORD, for the simple life you have given me. YOU are wise, and good.)

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 170

Jun18

   Day 170—We are in the 6th month of Bible reading.  Today we are reading in ECCLESIASTES.

 Day 170 – Ecclesiastes 1 – 6. (The words of “the Preacher,” the son of David, king in Jerusalem)

This is the third book of Solomon’s “wisdom.”  Whereas the Song of Solomon seems to have been written in his youth, and Proverbs in his middle years, Ecclesiastes seems to have been written after most of his life is past, in the “evil days of old age.” (See 12:1) 

Thirty-eight times, he sighs and proclaims that “all is vanity” (vapor, nothingness).  Ecclesiastes 1:2. “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

It seems then that Solomon takes a survey to test himself. He tries “everything under the sun” to see if it lasts and is good. 

First is PLEASURE. He tries everything he can imagine – wine, women, and song. He built houses and vineyards, gardens and parks, fruit orchards, and pools. He possessed slaves, herds, and flocks more than any other person. He gathered silver and gold and the treasure of kings. He gained prestige and honor. WHATEVER his eyes desired, he acquired.  

2:11. “…and behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Next, Solomon tries wise living and hard work. He discovers that in the end, both the fool and the wise man die and are forgotten. 2:17-18. “So I hated life because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after the wind. 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, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?”

But we see a glimpse of “sanity” in 2:24-26.  “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. THS ALSO I SAW is from the hand of God, for apart from Him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases Him, God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy…”

Chapter 3 begins with the well-known comparison of seasons.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven;
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

3:20. “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.” 

In Chapter 4, Solomon looks at all the evil under the sun. “I saw all the oppression done under the sun. And behold the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead were more fortunate than the living who are still alive.”

4:13. “Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.”

5:10. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income. This also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them.” 

5:12. “Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.”,

5:18, 19b-20.“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.  ...and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil, this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.”