Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

Solomon gives us in this chapter a series of proverbs. The meaning of some is up for debate or dispute. For example, verse 1 has been interpreted as a reference to planting rice, caring for the poor, transporting grain on ships, or sowing seed from a boat when a river is in flood stage. Deep study would be profitable, but for now let's look at the big picture.

Most of the book has been a search for ultimate meaning by a morose and dark teacher. His conclusion is that all of life is smoke, misery, and pointlessness. But here he gives advice more along the lines of “be active doing something productive, and that will make life enjoyable.” Consider, if you will, the days of the winter months, an academic semester, or the drudgery of work. The days are short, and it's dark by suppertime. The weather is gray, cold, and wet; everything is soggy and dull. Thinking work is grim, gray, and trending toward pessimism. We slog and slug through responsibilities at work with grim co-workers. 

But then there is the other side. One day spring comes; bright skies and pleasant warmth have replaced a cold winter rather than gray, cloudy days. The colors are bright with vivid blue skies, white clouds, and flowers of every hue. Rather than the company of grim coworkers or dour professors, we are in the company of delightful people. Rather than walking to class in a gray, cold mist or commuting to work to the rhythm of windshield wipers, we ride with the windows down to go on a picnic or to enjoy a pickup game of softball. Rather than come to the end of the day depleted and drained by the dark thinking and dull work, we end the day energized with joy and love of life.

It is good for us to think and work hard, but we need and must have the joy and delight of love and fun. The strength and energy of a life found in youth are fleeting. The wisdom of years comes slowly. We must have both experiences and make the most of them.

“Lord, in the dull days, moments, and seasons of life, give me the hope of the coming of joy. AMEN.”

Ecclesiastes 10:1-20

Ecclesiastes 10:1-20

As Solomon moves toward the conclusion of his book, he starts to offer a series of proverbs. Proverbs are short, pithy observations that have a much wider application. These proverbs illustrate the point of the last line of Ecclesiastes 9:18, “One sinner destroys much good." For example, in verse 1 it is clear that rotting flies ruin the scent of perfume. But there's a wider application, which is that foolish behaviors ruin the bigger context in which they occur.

Verse 2 sets the pattern for understanding many of the Proverbs that follow. Many contemporary political conservatives apply this jokingly to contemporary political theory, but that is not the point. You can understand this verse by means of a simple test. Write your name and address with your right hand and then with your left. Most of the time we will do our best with our right hand. The point Solomon is making is that a wise person always works from and toward their strength, but a fool doesn't. In the proverbs that follow, Solomon will illustrate that a fool's direction is toward weak decisions.

“Lord, help me move toward the strength you provide. AMEN.”

Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

Ecclesiastes 9:1-18

If we are not careful, it would be easy to reach wrong conclusions based on this chapter. Remember verse breaks are imposed on the text and we're not in the original text. 

So we need to look back at the text as a whole. A critical turning point in this passage is in the second part of verse 3. Solomon laments the universality of human evil and madness. Madness is not insanity or mental illness; it is a behavior contrary to God's will or way. Solomon would have known about the palace intrigues of men with godless agendas. Successful or not, sooner or later all of these plotters die. Think for a moment of the plots and plans of great political movements whose leaders are dead. Do you think Lenin, Marx, Washington, Lincoln, or Alexander the Great currently cares about all their political aspirations? It is pure folly to pour one's life into something that is so transitory as politics, business, or culture shaping. Better is a day spent on a date with your wife than in high-level plotting. Even the rescue of a city by a humble man is soon forgotten.

“Give me, Lord, the right priorities for the life You have given me. AMEN." 

Ecclesiastes 8:1-17

Ecclesiastes 8:1-17

One gets the impression that Solomon looks back over the years and his reign with a less than positive opinion. How many people in their youth enter their career or adulthood with high expectations and dreams but get caught up in the process and come to an end and say it's “meaningless”? In the first part of chapter 8, we see that Solomon was aware that his high expectation for his rule may have been polluted. As his edicts were filtered through members of his court with less noble goals, they were corrupted. His dreams of a golden age of justice got lost between his youthful heart and the street-level reality near the end of his reign. 

Verses 10 and 14 asked the question, “Why did bad things happen to good people and vice versa?” Verses 16-17 offer the conclusion that no one, not even the wisest king in all the world, can find the answer to that question. Verse 15 seems to be a concession to the enigma of life. Enjoy while you can the life God gives you. Aspirational goals and dreams tend not to end up as our legacy. Our legacy is in the sum total of the joy in the moments we live.

“Lord, help me hold every moment as precious. AMEN.”

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

In every generation there are those who want to ‘appear’ holy in the extreme, and there are those who want to appear to be super intellectual, v. 16. Others work for a reputation of being the ‘bad, tough guy,’ v. 17. All of us, to some degree, live as posers, pretenders, and hypocrites; no one is completely free from the evil of this kind of personal facade.

Solomon sets out on a discovery process to, by careful research, discover the headwaters of wisdom, evil, and foolishness. Here is where that journey takes an unexpected turn. We might expect this intellectual savant to finally render a concise, cogent theory and explanation. Instead, we see him delve into a discourse on the misery of bad women. The number 1,000, in verse 28, is no fluke. That was the approximate size of Solomon's harem. 

Solomon couldn't treat intellectual endeavors apart from the condition of his own heart. Our intellect and emotions are not two engines that operate separately. The bitterness of the soul always shapes or corrupts our thinking. God gave us the option of being upright, and we wrecked it. 

“Lord, help me see how my soul and mind must work together. AMEN.”

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

 Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

After the low point of chapter 6, Solomon answers the unasked question, “Where might wisdom be found?” The answer is counterintuitive to most of our lives.

We spend a great deal of time, energy, and resources attempting to distract ourselves from difficult things. But there are times when the shallow, banal, and tinny entertainments are blown away like dust in the wind. In this passage Solomon mentions several unpleasant occasions that can be times for real and meaningful maturing. It is in suffering that we have real spiritual growth and progress. Who has ever said, “I had a great spiritual insight at an amusement park"? But at the funeral of a loved one, after a bad diagnosis, or in the midst of suffering, we tend to ask better questions. 

Much of our culture is built around the industry of frivolous distractions. This is like burning thorns in a fire; they burn fast and bright. Not nearly long enough to give off any heat. Enjoy life, but also gain value from or out of adversity.

“Lord, keep me from the shallowness of the soul and teach me in the difficult moments of life. AMEN.”

Ecclesiastes 6:1-12

Ecclesiastes 6:1-12

One is apt to wonder if this chapter is not the emotional autobiography of Solomon. It is easy to imagine the aged king, knowing that his end is near, reflecting on his life and coming to the conclusion that he climbed to the top of the ladder and found the ladder was in the wrong place. With massive wealth, numerous children, and years of reign, he wonders if he would have been better off as a miscarriage. Was Solomon envious of his brother who died in infancy? 

Note the discontentment that Solomon has in his inner being in verse 9. The Vulgate translates this as “It is better to see what one desires than to covet what one knows not." Having achieved everything possible, Solomon still had an emptiness in his soul. It seems the more he talked about it, the less meaningful the conversation was. In his prime the question was “What next?” With the end near, the question has become, “What is to follow? What is my legacy?" Suddenly the life of power, wealth, luxury, and pleasure is not a life to be envied.

“Lord, grant me a life that will grow more full before You. AMEN.”