I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Ecclesiastes 10-12:14
Today’s passage is a series of wise sayings that everyone should read from time to time. It starts by warning us that a single foolish act can ruin a lifetime of wisdom and honor. All constructive activity has inherent dangers, prepare for them. The wise person makes sure that their tools are properly prepared before starting a task. If you start with bad (foolish) assumptions, your conclusions will be bad(foolishly wicked), no matter how logical the thoughts that lead from the assumptions to the conclusions. No one can predict the future. Spread your investments out over multiple ventures so that a single disaster will not wipe you out. Watch what you say about others because your words might reach their ears unexpectedly. We cannot understand all of what God does, it is beyond our ability.
The writer concludes all of his thoughts on wisdom and life by telling us to fear God and obey His commands. God will judge us for everything we do, including the things that we do in secret.
2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Paul tells the Church in Corinth that God has been working strongly in Macedonia. The members of the Macedonian churches were facing many troubles and had very little wealth. Nevertheless, they were determined to aid the believers in Jerusalem (a project which was started by the Church in Corinth). Paul tells the believers in Corinth that the believers in Macedonia were giving all they were able to afford and even more than they could afford. Their first action was to give themselves to God with all of their hearts.
Paul then asks the Church in Corinth to follow through on their commitment to aiding the believers in Jerusalem. He makes it clear that he is not asking them to sacrifice themselves the way that the believers in Macedonia had done. He reminds them that not only were they the first to give but they were the first to have the idea to give in order to aid the believers in Jerusalem. Now he is urging them to follow through and see their idea through to the finish. Paul asks them to give according to their ability and to do so eagerly. He stresses that they are to give according to what they have, not according to what they do not have. He makes it clear that he does not want them to give to the point that they will suffer hardship from it.
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This is a great passage about being charitable. First, Paul commends the Macedonian believers for being generous beyond their means, but he does not hold them up as an example to be emulated (although neither does he discourage us from emulating them). Then he emphasized the importance of giving eagerly. We should only give as much as we are able to do without regret. If we cannot give an amount without worrying how we will pay our bills, we should not give that much. On the other hand, if we have more than we need to meet our basic needs and another believer has less than they need, we should share with them. Our goal should be equality in the body of believers, Paul does not speak of it here, but elsewhere he instructs that those who do not do all that they can to care for themselves and their loved ones should not be given aid from the body of believers (except so as to show them how they can do more).
Paul tells us that we are each to decide for ourselves how much we can and should give. Then we are to give that amount eagerly. This passage is both a challenge and a comfort to me. It is a challenge because I have not been giving as much as I feel that I should lately. On the other hand it is a comfort because I have suffered some financial hardships (a period of unemployment and unanticipated care troubles, among other things) over the last year that have made it difficult for me to cover all of my bills. This passage tells me that God does not expect me to give to the point where I experience hardship as a result of giving to others. However, it also tells me that I should
eagerly give to those less fortunate than myself. I have made some poor decisions regarding my finances in the past that led the financial setbacks of the last year or so to be difficult. I have resolved to not make those mistakes going forward and this passage has strengthened my resolve to give God complete control over my finances.
Psalm 49:1-20
The psalmist tells us that we should all listen to his message, whether we are rich, or poor, politically powerful, or without power, socially influential, or not. He tells us that there is no reason to fear trouble from our enemies, no matter how wealthy or powerful they may be. Our enemies will all die in due time, no one has sufficient wealth or power to give a ransom to God to rescue themselves from death. No one can pay enough to live forever and never see the grave. There is only one way to have life eternal. That is if God redeems us from the grave and takes us to Himself. The wicked may grow rich, but they will die. And when they do, they will take none of that wealth with them.
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I much prefer the NIV translation of verse 13 and 14.
This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
There are many people who are completely self-reliant, who think that they do not need God. They are destined to die and will end up rotting in the grave. In time they will be forgotten, no matter what they may think they accomplished in this life. I am not too proud to declare that I need God, for He can redeem me from that fate (and He has).
Proverbs 22:20-21
Once again I prefer the NIV translation. In the NIV the writer tells us that he has written sayings of counsel and wisdom which teach us to be honest and to speak the truth. There is more to being honest and speaking the truth than not saying things which you know to be untrue. Being honest and speaking the truth means that I will not say things which I expect others to interpret falsely.
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