Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 7-12.

The writer tells us that the day of death is better than the day of birth and that endings are better than beginnings.  He also says that mourning is better than partying.  His point appears to be that when we die we know that there will be no more suffering.  Further, he tells us that we should be happy when times are good, but accepting when times are bad, because both good times and bad times come from God.  Out of these things grows the understanding that those who fear God avoid extremes.  They neither present themselves as especially righteous, nor do they seek to present the “bad boy” image.  They do not look down on those whose behavior society deems unacceptable, nor do they look down on those whose behavior society extols.  Enjoy the life which God has given you, understanding that every accomplishment worth achieving has risks associated with it.  Remember and serve God when your days are good and when they are bad.  God knows every deed, whether done in the open or in secret, whether good or evil.  Nothing is hidden from God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 1-6.

The writer of Ecclesiastes begins by declaring that everything is meaningless.  Really, a large part of what he has to say can be summed up by what he writes in verse nine of his first chapter:
What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
This counters the arguments of many who say that certain biblical teachings should no longer apply because things are different now than they were when the Bible was written.  I am not going to go into the different things where people make that argument, but a study of history will show that they are mistaken.  We may have different technology today than they had in the past, but human nature has not changed.  The author studied to expand his wisdom and knowledge.  He discovered that as he gained wisdom and knowledge he merely increased his sorrow and grief.  So, he chased after pleasure, which he found to be just as empty and meaningless.  That led him to pursue great projects, and after much toil those also led him to feel empty and unfulfilled.  He concluded that wisdom was better than folly, but that it still provided no meaning.  Ultimately, he says that we should toil at the work God has given us and strive to serve God and do good while we live.  Only that which is of God will endure.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 7-12.

Solomon continues to write about the meaninglessness of life, while showing us that serving God gives it the only meaning possible.  He writes that it is better to go to a funeral than to a party because everyone is going to die and we need to face up to this fact.  If we recognize that nothing we do will keep us from dying at some point, he tells us that we will not over emphasize righteous and/or wise behavior nor will we become wicked and/or a fool.  Those who fear God will avoid extremes.  While we live, he writes, we should enjoy our lives, because the day will come when we will no longer be able to do so.  After discussing how everything is meaningless without God, Solomon concludes that we should remember our Creator, fear God, and keep His commandments.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 1-6.

The Book of Ecclesiastes begins with a statement with which I have struggled, but which helps us deal with many arguments made today.  The writer, who tells us that he is King Solomon (and I have no reason to doubt him), says that everything is meaningless.  Solomon explains that everything that happens today happened in the past.  No one remembers what was done by those who came before, even if we try to teach people to record what they have done, those who come after them will forget them.   Truly learning the truth that this passage teaches us allows us to deal with those who claim that biblical teachings no longer apply because things are different now.  However, if you spend some time studying history you quickly find that things are not as different as people would like to think.  In fact, things have not really changed all that much, if at all.

So, the fact that things do not really change all that much is an important thing to learn from this passage, but how do we deal with the existential depression which the writer expresses.  Solomon writes that nothing we do really makes a difference, nothing we do changes things.  Whether we act wisely or foolishly, we are all going to die at some point.  And if we work really hard to acquire great amounts of wealth and build great monuments, when we die we will hand them over to someone who may not work to maintain them.  Even if they do, what difference does it actually make?  I could continue to write on this, but Solomon tells us “the more the words the less the meaning.”  So, I will conclude with what Solomon says in Chapter 3.  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity.    There is nothing better than to be happy and do good while we live.  God made us for that and everything He has done will endure.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 7-12.

Near the beginning of today’s passage the writer tells us that the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning and the heart of the fool is in the house of pleasure.  Yet later in the passage he also writes that there is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and be glad.  This might seem to be a contradiction, but the writer also writes that we should not be too good nor too wicked.  The wording there seems to me to suggest being neither too concerned with doing what is right nor too willing to ignore the rules.  In light of that, I think he means that his teaching about mourning being better than pleasure means that we should keep everything in perspective.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 1-6.

The writer tells us that everything is meaningless, but he also tells us that there is nothing better than to do what is good and be happy.  He writes that there is nothing new, that everything that happens has happened before.  One could argue that when the first man walked on the Moon, that was something new.  But that misses his point, he means that human nature does not change.  People today are neither better than they were in centuries gone by, nor are they worse.  Sometimes we look around and think that people today behave much worse than they did in the past.  But, if we study history, we will quickly see that there have been times in the past when people were every bit as depraved as they are today.  The same is true when we think that people are better today than in the past.  The writer tells us that nothing we do today really changes anything, which makes all of our effort meaningless.  Everything we do is only temporary and we will all die, sooner or later.  Yet, he sees that a part of us focuses on eternity which leads him to conclude that there is nothing better in life than to be happy doing what is good.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 1-6.

I always find the Book of Ecclesiastes challenging.  The writer tells us that everything is meaningless, that there is nothing to be gained from striving, and yet strive we must.  However, he also tells us that there is nothing better than to be happy and do good.  Perhaps the most important lesson we can learn from today’s passage is that there is nothing new under the sun: human nature does not change.  People argue that traditional morals have become obsolete because times have changed.  They argue that we should not follow the rules laid down in the Bible because they applied to a different time and place.  However, a study of history reveals that whenever it appears that human nature has changed it is because the majority of people are following the moral code revealed in the Bible.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ecclesiastes 7-12.

I want to start with a verse which seems strange, chapter 7 verse  16, where the writer tells us that we should not be too good or too wise.  What does he mean by that? Is it possible to be too good or too wise?  Since I believe the answer to the second question is “No”, the answer to the first must be something other than the literal meaning of what he wrote.  I think the answer here is not acting as if you are better, or wiser, than other individuals.  Don’t try to run other people’s lives for them because you think you are better than they, or wiser than they.  Perhaps the writer also means that we should not present ourselves in a way which leads others to be afraid of acting naturally around us for fear of appearing wicked or foolish.  When we look at verses 16 through 18, it seems to be advice about doing all things in moderation.

The writer also warns us that no one can know everything that God has done and is doing in the world.  We may witness the wicked thrive and the righteous suffer, but the writer assures us that those who fear God will be better off than the wicked.  Everything is in God’s hands and we should strive for contentment in the lot which He has given us.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ecclesiastes 1-6.

While I find the Book of Ecclesiastes slightly depressing, I also find it very insightful.  When the writer tells us that we do not remember what happened in the past and that those in the future will not remember what we did, he is challenging us to break that pattern.  As a result of our failure to remember what happened in the past we think that we can reject the lessons which have been passed down to us from that past.  From time to time people think that they have come up with a new and better way to do things then have ever been thought of before.    If they had a better understanding of the past they would realize that they were mistaken.

The writer goes on to tell us that we should be content in the lot God has given us and take pleasure in it.  There is a balance in life.  I really like how the writer sums that up in the first eight verses of chapter three.  There is a time for everything.  There is a time for the good things in life and a time for those which are less pleasant.  We should not reject the times of laughter just because we experienced a time to cry, and we should not try to turn the time for grief into a time of dancing.  During the time of war and division we must remember that there will come a time for peace.