Day 171—We are in the sixth month of Bible reading.  We are reading in the book of ECCLESIASTES, the last of the books of “wisdom.”

 Day 171 – Ecclesiastes 7 – 12. (More wisdom, parables, & truth from Solomon.)

Chapters 7 and 10 are full of sayings that are reminiscent of the book of Proverbs. 

7:1 – A good name is better than precious ointment…

7:9 – Be not quick in your spirit to become angry…

7:20 reminds me of Romans 3:10-23: “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”

In his old age, Solomon seems increasingly concerned with death. 8:8 “No man has the power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death.”  8:4-5 “…a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward…”

Solomon almost seems bitter in his advice to the young. 9:7-10.  “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that He has given you under the sun because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the grave), to which you are going.”

I chuckle at 10:20 about “a little birdy told me.”  “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 will tell the matter.” 

Then, so very WISE advice to the young men that Solomon now seems to envy. 11:9 – “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 theses things God will bring you to judgment.”

Instead, 12:1 says, “REMEMBER also your Creator in the days of your youth…”

Then Solomon writes a beautiful but humorous allegory of extreme old age in 12:1b-7 See if you can see how he has pictured:

weak muscles and bones,

loose teeth,

dimmed eyesight,

hearing loss,

poor sleep,

fear of heights,

graying hair,

loss of desire,

a broken, bent back,

mind and heart failure,

and final death.

THEN, it seems as if he shakes himself from all this melancholy and writes an epilogue… and THE final word of wisdom.

He enjoyed teaching people knowledge, and studying and arranging many proverbs. He sought out words of delight and wrote words of truth. He cautions his son about seeking MORE than all this he has written and of “making many books of which there is no end.” You can almost hear Solomon sigh, “Much study is a weariness of the flesh.”

BUT the truth to remember in all this folly, vanity, and meaninglessness IS: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”