Burunche’s Blog

Ecclesiastes 12 Seek God in Early Life

12:1-4 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”: While the sun and the light, the moon and the stars, are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down; when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim; when the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of grinding is low; when one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of music are brought low.

5 Also they are afraid of height, and of terrors in the way; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden, and desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well.
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “All is vanity.”

 One of the biggest mistakes people make is holding God at arm’s length while they enjoy “fun.” But none of us knows whether we will live long lives. Accidents, shootings, illnesses-all can strike without warning bringing a sudden end to our existence. There’s an old saying, “Only one life-twill soon be past. Only what’s done for God will last.” God has given us all good things to enjoy; why can’t we give Him our lives while we are young and strong?  

This week we buried a close friend in America who had lived faithfully for God his entire life. The tributes given at our friend’s funeral were both awe-inspiring and humbling, for he had served God faithfully and the influence of this quiet man was vast-prayer group partners, fellow short-term missionaries, family members, former colleagues-so many people testified of the blessings of this man’s life.

This morning during my rounds, I cared for a man in his 40’s who had come in with a TIA-a transient ischemic attack. I warned this man that he had to be faithful in taking his antihypertensive meds plus low dose aspirin. I’m praying that he does well and never has an actual stroke, but we do see fairly young patients with incapacitating strokes.

The Whole Duty of Man

9-10 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 

11-13 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

This is Solomon’s final word on the matter. In this day of AI and pseudo-studies, it’s difficult to ascertain truth. Certainly, those of us who have carried back packs full of text books would agree that “of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.”

So Solomon ends Ecclesiastes by concluding “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Sadly, Solomon will fail to take his own advice and drift increasingly further away from God as he propitiates his idolatrous wives and concubines by creating places of worship for their demons.

Ecclesiastes is a fascinating and sometimes frustrating book. My advice remains: Chew up the meat and spit out the bones. Take the parts that point you toward God and follow those. But remember that when Solomon waxes negative, these are the thoughts of a man who has had it all and has found that things by themselves without God are not enough. May God help us to remember Saint Augustine’s observation and allow our hearts to find their rest in Him.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Value of Diligence

11:1-8 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good. Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun; but if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is coming is vanity.

Seek God in Early Life

9-10 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 in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity.

This chapter of Ecclesiastes is one of my favorites for several reasons. First, the admonition to be generous: Cast your bread upon the waters. At first, this seems weird; why throw good bread out into a stream indiscriminately? But this is really an admonition to be generous, giving with no thought of getting anything in return.We live in a small northeastern Ghanaian village, working in a mission hospital that serves very poor people. Our patients and their families have very little money, and we frequently must assist in buying medicines, paying blood donors when no relative is available, and even feeding families while they are in hospital. But it’s also quite common for us to receive guinea fowls, guinea fowl eggs, and tubers of yam months or even years after having cared for someone, once the grateful family is able to organize a donation. It’s quite true that you can’t out-give God, and God has all kinds of ways of providing.

The law of the Kingdom of God is simple and Jesus enunciated it clearly: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38) Rain falls on the earth whether anybody applauds it or not; rain falls because God has set natural events in motion and that is the nature of rain. In the same way, we are to be generous whether or not anyone is noticing.

“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” I grew up on an Illinois farm at a time when much of the work was done by hand. We were still caring for beef cattle, pigs, and chickens, and milking cows by hand. Our work had to go on no matter how bad the weather was. If an ancient farmer demanded a sunny day with no wind before he would sow crops, he would never reap a harvest, for such days are rare. You must determine God’s calling on your life and then do your best to fulfill it without waiting for conditions to become perfect. If you demand perfect conditions, you will waste your entire life.

Just as none of us can control the wind, none of us can control the development of a child in the womb. God is the One who makes all things possible.

“Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun; but if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is coming is vanity.” At first, this statement seems horrible as it speaks of “the days of darkness.” Days of darkness will come to all of us-losses, sickness, betrayals, disappointments. The important thing is to trust God in both the light and the darkness.  

The key to happiness is to seek God early in your youth and to serve Him faithfully all the days of your life. The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us that the chief end of man is to “glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” This week, they buried one of our close personal friends who had served God faithfully for 84 years. At the funeral service, countless people came forward with testimonies of this man’s kindness, compassion, and good works. Our friend’s children “rose up to call him blessed.” Our friend remained faithful to God despite daunting health challenges that might have discouraged a lessor individual.

Happiness has little to do with circumstances, for the Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Philippians, one of the happiest chapters of the Bible, while in prison. Roman prisons were anything but luxurious; yet, Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)  

Be generous! Be faithful! Trust God and find your happiness in Him! These are the lessons from this sparkling chapter. May God help us so that we will internalize these lessons and make them part of our lives.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to be generous, faithful, trusting, and rejoicing in You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 10:1-4: Of fools and dead flies:

Dead flies in perfume make it stink, and a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom. Wise thinking leads to right living; stupid thinking leads to wrong living. Fools on the road have no sense of direction. The way they walk tells the story: “There goes the fool again!”

If a ruler loses his temper against you, don’t panic; a calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.

Many people living in climate-controlled environments might not appreciate how stinky dead flies can smell. My childhood farm had lots of animals and lots of manure, so we endured problems with dead flies. Sometimes we would have so many flies in our house in the summertime that we would have to close all the doors and windows, spray the whole house with insect spray, and then leave for a few hours. When we returned, we would have to sweep up piles of dead flies or they would fill the house with noxious odors.

Flies are so small that many people might not notice them; however, if enough dead flies are concentrated in one place, the odor can knock you off your feet. Foolishness mixed with wisdom can do the same thing. We have satellite TV, and one of the programs is devoted to proving that there were ancient aliens on planet earth. Sadly, highly educated people who refuse to believe in the One True Living God are more than willing to believe in ancient aliens. (Actually, there were ancient aliens; one third of the angels fell from heaven to earth with Lucifer. Sadly, those demons are still around and very active. But these programs are holding out for extraterrestrials.)

5-7 Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth, an error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge: Immaturity is given a place of prominence, while maturity is made to take a backseat. I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style, while experienced veterans are put out to pasture.

In 1969 Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull wrote a book entitled The Peter Principle. Wikipedia tells us: “The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to “a level of respective incompetence”: employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another…. Peter and Hull intended the book to be satire,^[4] but it became popular as it was seen to make a serious point about the shortcomings of how people are promoted within hierarchical organizations.”

Part of the advice from that book was that if you wished to remain in a position in which you were doing well, practice a little “creative incompetence,” in other words, mess up small things that would not matter just sufficiently to prevent you from being elevated to a level of incompetence. Such thinking appears counter-intuitive. After all, why not strive for the highest position possible? But Shakespeare wrote, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” There’s a lot to be said for not being the boss, the ultimate authority, for then you are the one most culpable if things go wrong.

8-11 “Caution: The trap you set might catch you. Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you. Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous. Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous. Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work; use your head: The more brains, the less muscle. If the snake bites before it’s been charmed, what’s the point in then sending for the charmer?

12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious. The talk of a fool self-destructs—He starts out talking nonsense and ends up spouting insanity and evil.

14-15 Fools talk way too much, chattering stuff they know nothing about. A decent day’s work so fatigues fools that they can’t find their way back to town.

Many of us need a sign that reads “Engage brain before acting.” If you don’t consider the consequences of your actions, those consequences can become injurious or even fatal. A few years ago, young people in my home area were engaging in “ditch surfing,” that is, running a vehicle with most of it in the roadside ditch. But roads have culverts and bridges and ditches have unexpected pot holes. Several people were injured or killed before this practice was abandoned.

16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup, and whose princes party all night. Lucky the land whose king is mature, where the princes behave themselves and don’t drink themselves silly.

Sober mature leadership is a jewel beyond price. Matter what kind of organization you are discussing, leadership always sets the tone for the entire organization. The same thing is true for nations.

18 A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack; a lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

19 Laughter and bread go together, and wine gives sparkle to life—But it’s money that makes the world go around. These observations are self-explanatory.

20 Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath, and don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home. Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around. Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide. Even before the advent of smart phones and social media, gossip spreads faster than the speed of light. And when it comes to complaining about leaders, you can readily get yourself into trouble. Best advice: Keep quiet!

The major lesson from all these various remarks is simple: Avoid foolishness and be as discrete as possible. Where does true wisdom come from? Proverbs 8 tells us, “I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity; Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.
The Fear-of-God means hating Evil, whose ways I hate with a passion—pride and arrogance and crooked talk. Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics; I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out. With my help, leaders rule, and lawmakers legislate fairly; with my help, governors govern, along with all in legitimate authority. I love those who love me; those who look for me find me. Wealth and Glory accompany me—also substantial Honor and a Good Name. My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus…

^32-36 “So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don’t squander your precious life. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day’s work. When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God’s good pleasure. But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul; when you reject me, you’re flirting with death.”

May God help us to humbly seek wisdom and to be discrete!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to seek Your wisdom and insight before we speak or act. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

9:1-3 “Well, I took all this in and thought it through, inside and out. Here’s what I understood: The good, the wise, and all that they do are in God’s hands—but, day by day, whether it’s love or hate they’re dealing with, they don’t know.

Anything’s possible. It’s one fate for everybody—righteous and wicked, good people, bad people, the nice and the nasty, worshipers and non-worshipers, committed and uncommitted. I find this outrageous—the worst thing about living on this earth—that everyone’s lumped together in one fate. Is it any wonder that so many people are obsessed with evil? Is it any wonder that people go crazy right and left? Life leads to death. That’s it.”

These statements reveal a lot more about Solomon than they do about life. Solomon is trying to justify not living a righteous life by claiming that “everyone’s lumped together in one fate.”

How tragic! This is the same guy who had a personal interview with the One True Living God, who promised him knowledge and riches. But Solomon is already being spiritually seduced by the demons his wives and concubines are worshiping. The result is that Solomon needs spiritual glasses!

Solomon’s father David was a man of great faith who wrote at least half the psalms that have encouraged believers for centuries. Sadly, David failed to pass on his faith to his son, as we see from the rest of this chapter. Did David try and Solomon refused to listen or to remember, feeling that he was so intelligent he didn’t need to remember his father’s teachings? While Solomon’s case of ennui might frustrate us, we must ask ourselves what we are teaching our children and those around us.

We need to learn as much as possible from Solomon’s mistakes. Here is a man so renowned for his wisdom that rulers are coming from the ends of the earth to consult him, bringing rare gifts; yet, he refuses to commune with God.

Seize Life!

4-6 “Still, anyone selected out for life has hope, for, as they say, “A living dog is better than a dead lion.” The living at least know something, even if it’s only that they’re going to die. But the dead know nothing and get nothing. They’re a minus that no one remembers. Their loves, their hates, yes, even their dreams, are long gone. There’s not a trace of them left in the affairs of this earth.”

7-10 “Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, for there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think in the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.”

Well, if you want an excuse for hedonism “if it feels good, do it!” then Solomon is handing you one. The problem is that actions today have eternal consequences, no matter how much Solomon would like to object.

11-12 “I took another walk around the neighborhood and realized that on this earth as it is—The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor satisfaction to the wise, nor riches to the smart, nor grace to the learned. Sooner or later bad luck hits us all. No one can predict misfortune. Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds in a trap, so men and women are caught by accidents evil and sudden.”

Wisdom Is Better than Muscle

13-15 “One day as I was observing how wisdom fares on this earth, I saw something that made me sit up and take notice. There was a small town with only a few people in it. A strong king came and mounted an attack, building trenches and attack posts around it. There was a poor but wise man in that town whose wisdom saved the town, but he was promptly forgotten. (He was only a poor man, after all.)”

16-18 “All the same, I still say that wisdom is better than muscle, even though the wise poor man was treated with contempt and soon forgotten. The quiet words of the wise are more effective than the ranting of a king of fools. Wisdom is better than warheads, but one hothead can ruin the good earth.”

Compare these grim statements with those of David, Solomon’s father, in Psalm 27: “27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle he shall hide me; he shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.

Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence.
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

Life is all about choices: We can copy Solomon or David. Choose wisely! And remember that as long as we hope in the Lord, we will have eternal life.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to remember to worship You while we are enjoying Your bounty. Help us to trust You when things become difficult and not to lose faith. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 8 Wisdom is great…if you don’t get stuck on yourself!

“There’s nothing better than being wise, knowing how to interpret the meaning of life. Wisdom puts light in the eyes and gives gentleness to words and manners.” Is Solomon referring to himself here? Possibly. Here in Ghana, there are many lorry drivers who turn their rear-view mirrors so that they can admire themselves, rather than watching traffic. Solomon is busy admiring himself…and it gets worse, just wait.

No One Can Control the Wind

2-7 “Do what your king commands; you gave a sacred oath of obedience. Don’t worryingly second-guess your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You’re serving his pleasure, not yours. The king has the last word. Who dares say to him, “What are you doing?” Carrying out orders won’t hurt you a bit; the wise person obeys promptly and accurately. Yes, there’s a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part. It’s true that no one knows what’s going to happen, or when. Who’s around to tell us?”

Okay. No doubt about the reference here. Solomon wants to make sure that everybody KNOWS that he is king and that HE HAS THE LAST WORD AND YOU HAD BEST GET WITH IT AND OBEY NOW!!! But even powerful King Solomon has his limits.

8-9 “No one can control the wind or lock it in a box. No one has any say-so regarding the day of death. No one can stop a battle in its tracks. No one who does evil can be saved by evil. All this I observed as I tried my best to understand all that’s going on in this world. As long as men and women have the power to hurt each other, this is the way it is.”

Well, this is fascinating. Immediately after declaring that he is sovereign and everybody must follow orders, now Solomon is backing off, talking about the wind and death and battle and how uncontrollable those things are. And then Solomon follows up those statements by figuratively shrugging his shoulders and saying, “As long as men and women have the power to hurt each other, this is the way it is.” Does this mean that Solomon realizes that some things are not under his control? And then Solomon proceeds to register more complaints.

One Fate for Everybody

10-11 “One time I saw wicked men given a solemn burial in holy ground. When the people returned to the city, they delivered flowery eulogies—and in the very place where wicked acts were done by those very men! More smoke. Indeed. Because the sentence against evil deeds is so long in coming, people in general think they can get by with murder.”

Obviously, there were plenty of sycophants (boot lickers) in Solomon’s day, prepared to publicly praise the wicked at elaborate funerals in hopes of gaining something from the dead person’s family or supporters. Why doesn’t God punish wicked people immediately for their evil deeds? God gives the wicked many opportunities to repent; in fact, God is far more merciful than most of us.

12-13 Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I’m still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a “good” life. No matter how many days he lives, they’ll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn’t fear God.

* * *

14 Here’s something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: Good people get what’s coming to the wicked, and bad people get what’s coming to the good. I tell you, this makes no sense. It’s smoke.

15 So, I’m all for just going ahead and having a good time—the best possible. The only earthly good men and women can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good time—compensation for the struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth.

16-17 When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, you’ll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you’re not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won’t get to the bottom of it.”

Solomon is completely frustrated with God! Why can’t God simply deal with people the way Solomon would? Punish the wicked! Reward the virtuous! Settle everybody’s problems at once, instead of allowing evil to continue to triumph! Many of us might share Solomon’s feelings, but the Bible has a different answer.

Isaiah 55:8 tells us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

One of our pastor friends was fond of saying that we are only in Advertising while God is in Management. God is the One who knows the end from the beginning, and only God can judge the human heart. There’s a saying in the American South that “Everybody’s trying to swallow something he just can’t get down.” No matter how wise we might be, we still have no idea of the challenges others are facing and therefore we are not qualified to judge. Besides that, let’s remember Jesus’ admonition to his disciples “Judge not so you won’t be judged.” Many of us are ready to make snap decisions about others’ behavior; however, the last thing we want is to be on the receiving end of somebody else’s verdicts.

May God help us to be gentle and merciful with those around us, just as we hope they will be gentle and merciful to us!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to remember that You are the Ruler of the universe and You are the only One qualified to judge. Help us to be gentle and merciful to those around us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29 Stay in Touch with Both Sides

15-17 “I’ve seen it all in my brief and pointless life—here a good person cut down in the middle of doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil.”

 “Why do many good people die young while many evil people live long miserable lives?” That question has existed since the human race began. The problem is that our knowledge is faulty. Obviously, we want our beloved friends and family members to stay around as long as possible. Sometimes good people live long lives so that they may continue to bless others. One philanthropist died at age 92, having given away 8 billion dollars. He left a small apartment, a modest amount of clothing, and money that didn’t even amount to $50. On the other hand, some wicked people live long lives because God is giving them every opportunity to repent.

How does God view things? Psalm 116:15 tells us, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” While we view death as a disaster and irreparable loss, God welcomes dying believers into heaven. God’s ways are higher than ours. The recent death of Charlie Kirk at age 31 shocked millions of people. But God is using Charlie’s death to galvanize believers who were merely lukewarm before.

“So don’t knock yourself out being good, and don’t go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won’t get anything out of it. But don’t press your luck by being bad, either. And don’t be reckless. Why die needlessly?”

Wait, Solomon! What do you mean? All of us are sinners in need of a savior; there is no such thing as being “too good.” Sadly, these statements sound like Solomon is making excuses for himself, trying to wriggle away from truly following God. When it comes to Solomon’s advice, not all of it is valid. To quote a saying from the American South, “you have to chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” When you study Solomon’s life, you realize that the only time he humbles himself to God is at the beginning of his reign. Once the wealth and the wives start coming, Solomon loses touch with God.

“It’s best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it. Wisdom puts more strength in one wise person than ten strong men give to a city. There’s not one totally good person on earth, not one who is truly pure and sinless.” Hmm. Now Solomon is directly contradicting his earlier statement. Go figure!

21-22 “Don’t eavesdrop on the conversation of others. What if the gossip’s about you and you’d rather not hear it? You’ve done that a few times, haven’t you—said things behind someone’s back you wouldn’t say to his face?” Do these statements need comment? MYOB-Mind Your Own Business!

How to Interpret the Meaning of Life

23-25 I tested everything in my search for wisdom. I set out to be wise, but it was beyond me, far beyond me, and deep—oh so deep! Does anyone ever find it? I concentrated with all my might, studying and exploring and seeking wisdom—the meaning of life. I also wanted to identify evil and stupidity, foolishness and craziness.” Sounds as if Solomon has been looking for wisdom in all the wrong places. In the modern age, Solomon would be trying all kinds of drugs to expand his consciousness. All we can say is “Don’t copy Solomon!”

26-29 “One discovery: A woman can be a bitter pill to swallow, full of seductive scheming and grasping. The lucky escape her; the undiscerning get caught. At least this is my experience—what I, the Quester, have pieced together as I’ve tried to make sense of life. But the wisdom I’ve looked for I haven’t found. I didn’t find one man or woman in a thousand worth my while. Yet I did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things.”

Remember that these sentiments have been written by a man with 700 wives and 300 concubines. Certainly, this guy has experience, much of it bad. But consider the politics of surviving in an enormous harem. To survive such a situation, a lady would have to be a schemer of some kind. While Solomon is certain that he is assessing his ladies, the ladies are tasking their brains to find new means of manipulating Solomon. The best summary of this situation is the last statement: “we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things.”

This part of Ecclesiastes 7 illustrates Solomon’s shilly-shallying attitudes as he makes one statement and then contradicts himself shortly thereafter. These differences demonstrate that we must be careful which parts of Scripture we take to heart. May God help us so that we learn His lessons from His Word and remain true-hearted, not copying Solomon.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to gain the lessons from Your Word that You have for us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 Don’t Take Anything for Granted

“A good reputation is better than a fat bank account. Your death date tells more than your birth date. You learn more at a funeral than at a feast—After all, that’s where we’ll end up. We might discover something from it.”

Psalm 90 tells us “So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” By the time Moses wrote these words, he had likely herded sheep for 40 years and had then led the Israelites for nearly 40 years as well. There must have been many times when Moses longed to be back with the sheep where the only thing they could say was “BAAAA!” The Israelites were a quarrelsome and whiny bunch, and anytime we feel we are special to God, we should remember that the Israelites were God’s chosen people and yet they behaved abominably!

Some people have pointed out that our lives occur between parentheses, for example, (….-….) What are we doing with the lives we live from birth to death? Are we living them for God of for something less? What can we learn from funerals? There are no bank trucks following hearses. Someone was watching a funeral procession for a rich man pass by and asked another onlooker “What did that fellow leave?” The second man replied, “He left all of it.” There’s a song called “Oh may those who come behind us find us faithful.” Faithfulness to God brings peace to everyone-peace to you while you live and peace to your friends and loved ones when you die.

“3-5: Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face but it scours the heart. Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving. Fools waste their lives in fun and games. You’ll get more from the rebuke of a sage than from the song and dance of fools.”  We might laugh for all kinds of reasons, but when we cry, we divest ourselves of pretense-that is, unless you are an extremely skilled actor or actress. We are far more likely to face our shortcomings when we are grieving than when we are rejoicing. God uses our grief to bring us to repentance.

There’s also another aspect of these verses. How can we “invest ourselves in hurt and grieving” without being morbid? We can pray for others! My Facebook feeds give me lots of reasons for prayer. There are missing children, cancer patients and those recovering from tragic accidents, those grieving the loss of friends, relatives, or beloved pets. I don’t have to know those people to pray for them, for God knows all the details. I pray for these people to be healed, comforted, and strengthened, to enjoy the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control-Galatians 5:22-23.)

When traveling, I pray for the towns through which I pass, that God will sovereignly move, sending revival throughout those communities. I pray for street venders pushing carts with their wares, that God will protect them from harm and danger and that they will sell everything so they can support themselves. Prayer is an amazing thing; the more you pray, the more subjects you find for prayer.

6-7 “The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs under the cooking pot. And like smoke. Brutality stupefies even the wise and destroys the strongest heart.”  Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” When computers first became popular in the 1980’s, the phrase GIGO also came in. GIGO stands for “Garbage in, garbage out.” Computers are only as good as the people who program them and they can mislead if fed wrong information. Foolishness and brutality can warp our minds and our hearts if we feed on violent video games, movies, and violent podcasts. Truly, “brutality stupefies even the wise and destroys the strongest heart.”

8-9 “Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out. Don’t be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.”

I grew up near a town that was so small that everybody knew everyone else’s business. The guys down at the feed mill could tell you which men were reliable workers and which men would go to the end of the field and loaf where nobody could see them. As for anger, we had one local farmer who was so angry and impatient that he couldn’t take the time to disengage the power takeoff on the tractor before trying to clean corn husks out of the snapping rolls. (This was in the days of corn pickers mounted on tractors. With the power takeoff engaged, you could lose a hand or even an arm!) Sadly, this man paid for his anger and his impatience by being so severely injured that he had to retire from farming.

10 “Don’t always be asking, “Where are the good old days?” Wise folks don’t ask questions like that.” Fixating your attentions on some mythical time past when things were allegedly perfect wastes energy and depresses you. We envelop our childhood memories in a rosy glow, little realizing that our parents were shielding us from harsh realities. Looking back, I realize that my mother baked bread, made butter, and sewed my school clothes to save money, not because she was simply rising trying to be Susie Homemaker.

11-12 “Wisdom is better when it’s paired with money, especially if you get both while you’re still living. Double protection: wisdom and wealth! Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner.” Wisdom that does not energize is merely wishful thinking, no matter how wise it might seem. Wisdom is more important than money, for if you are wise, you can manage small amounts of money correctly, while if you are foolish, money will slip through your fingers.

13 “Take a good look at God’s work. Who could simplify and reduce Creation’s curves and angles to a plain straight line?”  Psalm 8:3-4 tells us, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” God is the Supreme Creator and is constantly doing new things. We can only examine and copy what God is already doing. Many times, architects and inventors have looked to nature for design inspiration. Simple example: Velcro was inspired by seeds from weeds that had hooks allowing the seeds to cling to clothing or to the fur of animals.

14 “On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted.” Who wants bad days? When faced with difficult times, most of us are far more ready to whine than to learn or to examine ourselves. We blindly assume that God’s will and ours are identical; meanwhile, the reverse might be the case. Suffering is the last thing any of us would choose; yet, God uses suffering to perfect us.

Tomorrow we will continue with this chapter, but for today, the question remains: How are you investing the time represented by your parentheses, the time between birth and death? Once more, we must pray with Moses, “So teach us to number our days, that we might gain hearts of wisdom.”  Guard your hearts!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to be faithful stewards of the lives You have given us. Help us to gain hearts of wisdom. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 6 Things Are Bad

6: 1-2 I looked long and hard at what goes on around here, and let me tell you, things are bad. And people feel it. There are people, for instance, on whom God showers everything—money, property, reputation—all they ever wanted or dreamed of. And then God doesn’t let them enjoy it. Some stranger comes along and has all the fun. It’s more of what I’m calling smoke. A bad business.

3-5 Say a couple have scores of children and live a long, long life but never enjoy themselves—even though they end up with a big funeral! I’d say that a stillborn baby gets the better deal. It gets its start in a mist and ends up in the dark—unnamed. It sees nothing and knows nothing, but is better off by far than anyone living.

6 Even if someone lived a thousand years—make it two thousand!—but didn’t enjoy anything, what’s the point? Doesn’t everyone end up in the same place?

7 We work to feed our appetites; Meanwhile our souls go hungry.

8-9 So what advantage has a sage over a fool, or over some poor wretch who barely gets by? Just grab whatever you can while you can; don’t assume something better might turn up by and by. All it amounts to anyway is smoke. And spitting into the wind.

10 Whatever happens, happens. Its destiny is fixed. You can’t argue with fate.

11-12 The more words that are spoken, the more smoke there is in the air. And who is any better off? And who knows what’s best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?

Well, if you thought some of Solomon’s previous sentiments were depressing, this chapter is even worse. The wealthiest king in the world feels dejected. After all the complaints are finished, the most telling phrase is verse 7: “We work to feed our appetites; Meanwhile our souls go hungry.” Solomon has already confessed that he’s sought every kind of pleasure available. Now he’s complaining that everything is up to fate and that destiny is fixed and that nobody can tell anyone the next chapter of their lives. But is Solomon correct?

The Bible answers, “Absolutely not!” 1 Peter 1:3-5 tells us, “What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.” The good news of the Gospel is that God has loved us so much that He sent his son Jesus to die for our sins. No matter how difficult life is, believers can count on eternal life because of that sacrifice.

In many respects, Solomon is a tragic figure. Despite incredible wealth and knowledge, Solomon refuses to acknowledge God or to truly worship Him. Solomon’s father King David began worshiping God as a child and continued to do so throughout his life, eventually authoring at least 73 of the 150 psalms. (Some authorities say 75.) But Solomon rapidly wandered away from the One True Living God, spiritually seduced by idolatrous wives and concubines.  

Solomon’s mistakes can easily become ours if we do not guard our hearts. May God help us, so we will continue to be true to Him. Otherwise, we will become as soured on life as Solomon.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to remember that we always have an eternal hope in You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

In 1977 the musical group Kansas popularized a song that expresses Solomon’s sentiments in this chapter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbEf0MbkSv8&t=30s

[Verse 1]
I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment’s gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity

[Refrain]
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

[Verse 2]
Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see

[Refrain]
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

[Bridge]
Ohh-oh-ah

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]
Now, don’t hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won’t another minute buy

Ecclesiastes 5: Fulfill Your Vow to God

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

“A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.”

Make no mistake-God takes our vows very seriously, much more seriously than many of us do. It’s easy to make promises to God when we are in a pinch, only to conveniently forget about those vows later. Meanwhile, God continues to wait for us to fulfill our promises. Make rash vows and you might find yourself struggling with nightmares. Far better not to make ridiculous vows in the first place. In Solomon’s day, vows made to the temple would be enforced by temple messengers, who would come to collect, hence the statement “And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.”

God takes vows so seriously that He has given strict laws concerning them. Numbers 30:1-16 outlines several different kinds of vows and the divine regulations governing them. V. 2 says, “When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.” The remainder of that passage outlines regulations for women who make vows, depending on their marital status and whether their fathers or husbands agree or choose to invalidate the vow. Even in Moses’ day, ladies couldn’t beg off if a father or husband allowed their vow to stand.

Deuteronomy 23:21-23 tells us, “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.”

Riches Are Meaningless

“If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.”

If you think corrupt politics is a recent phenomenon, you’re wrong! Even in Solomon’s day, the corruption might extend all the way up to the king. But such practices exactly contravene God’s Word, for God orders us to care for the poor.

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.”

One of the challenges of wealth is caring for it without becoming greedy, obsessed, or selfish. And it’s true that the more wealth, the more people appear to demand part of that wealth. Are rich people happier than poor people? Here are the results of an internet search:

Research indicates that happiness does not strictly correlate with wealth. Various studies suggest that:

Key Findings:

• Basic Needs Matter: People with sufficient resources to meet their basic needs tend to report higher levels of happiness.
• Social Connections: Strong relationships and community ties often contribute more to happiness than financial status.
• Life Satisfaction: Some studies show that individuals in lower-income brackets can experience high life satisfaction, particularly if they have supportive social networks.

Cultural Factors:

• Happiness can vary significantly across cultures. In some societies, communal values and relationships may outweigh material wealth in contributing to overall happiness.

“I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction, and anger.”

What if your family was previously wealthy but lost their wealth? Shortly before the Great Depression, my mother’s family was considered one of the wealthiest families in their small town. The family owned a car agency, the local movie theater, and the local bank. But a series of business reverses forced the family to liquidate their assets, paying off bank customers, and moving to a large farm inherited by my great-grandmother. That farm was half tillable ground and half forest, with a stream running through the property. As a place to sit out the Depression, it was actually an excellent location. Although the family suffered a loss of status, they actually lived comfortably. My grandfather hunted and fished in addition to farming, the family maintained a large garden, and my mother even ran a trap line, selling the pelts of the animals she caught.

What about “eating in darkness, with great frustration, affliction, and anger?” Someone once said that people are just about as happy as they want to be. Part of the family felt the loss of status keenly while the rest of the family coped with the challenges and enjoyed life as much as possible.

“This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.”

Wealth can be a gift from God to be enjoyed; however, it will be more enjoyable if shared. It begs the question to blame God for keeping the wealthy “occupied with gladness of heart.” Why does God give us wealth? Each of us lives in a different situation; however, the poor area always there, although not always visible. If we will only look around us, we will realize that there are plenty of opportunities to help others-students who lack proper clothes or who go hungry for lack of money to pay for school lunches, workers depending on public transportation who need bus passes. The possibilities are endless.

May God help us so that we will use the resources He gives us to help rather than spending them on ourselves!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to fulfill our vows and to be generous with the resources You have given us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.