REMEMBER THE CREATOR

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 / Keywords 12:1

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"—

12:1 Remember your Creator

    in the days of your youth,

before the days of trouble come

    and the years approach when you will say,

    “I find no pleasure in them”—

2 before the sun and the light

    and the moon and the stars grow dark,

    and the clouds return after the rain;

3 when the keepers of the house tremble,

    and the strong men stoop,

when the grinders cease because they are few,

    and those looking through the windows grow dim;

4 when the doors to the street are closed

    and the sound of grinding fades;

when people rise up at the sound of birds,

    but all their songs grow faint;

5 when people are afraid of heights

    and of dangers in the streets;

when the almond tree blossoms

    and the grasshopper drags itself along

    and desire no longer is stirred.

Then people go to their eternal home

    and mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,

    and the golden bowl is broken;

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

    and the wheel broken at the well,

7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

    and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[a]

    “Everything is meaningless!”

The Conclusion of the Matter

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.[b] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

13 Now all has been heard;

    here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

    for this is the duty of all mankind.

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,

    including every hidden thing,

    whether it is good or evil.

Footnotes

a. Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10

b. Ecclesiastes 12:11 Or Shepherd

 

1. The Teacher starts his conclusion by bringing our attention to the creator God. He urges us to remember him in our youth. The foolish live without recognizing God (Psalm 14:1). But wisdom will remind one that God is the creator and controller of the world. When we become physically weak and vulnerable, we will not be able to enjoy the things that we used to find pleasure in. While everything else in the world may seem meaningless, one who has been seeking God from his youth will have peace knowing that he is going back to God, who gave him life (7).

 

2. In the final verses 9-14, the narrator affirms that the wise Teacher has carefully put together the words to deliver the truth and wisdom (10), and the words did not just come from his wisdom but were given by God (11). Then he concludes with “fear God and keep his commandments (13)”. When we fear God and live according to his will, we can be free from all the worries of the world because God brings the right judgment to every good and evil (14). This true wisdom leads us to live our earthly lives to the fullest.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for the life you give us. Sometimes I feel confused by what is happening in this world. But I trust you are faithful. Help me to have faith to trust in you and live a meaningful life fully.

One Word Fear the Lord

LIVING A LIFE OF WISDOM

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10/ Keywords 11:9

Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

Invest in Many Ventures

11:1 Ship your grain across the sea;

    after many days you may receive a return.

2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;

    you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

3 If clouds are full of water,

    they pour rain on the earth.

Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,

    in the place where it falls, there it will lie.

4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;

    whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

5 As you do not know the path of the wind,

    or how the body is formed[a] in a mother’s womb,

so you cannot understand the work of God,

    the Maker of all things.

6 Sow your seed in the morning,

    and at evening let your hands not be idle,

for you do not know which will succeed,

    whether this or that,

    or whether both will do equally well.

Remember Your Creator While Young

7 Light is sweet,

    and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

8 However many years anyone may live,

    let them enjoy them all.

But let them remember the days of darkness,

    for there will be many.

    Everything to come is meaningless.

9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,

    and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.

Follow the ways of your heart

    and whatever your eyes see,

but know that for all these things

    God will bring you into judgment.

10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart

    and cast off the troubles of your body,

    for youth and vigor are meaningless.

Footnotes

a. Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or know how life (or the spirit) / enters the body being formed

 

1. While wisdom is to know that what comes tomorrow is beyond us (7:14), the wise teacher tells us to prepare today to cope with the possible hardship of tomorrow. One should overcome the fear of failure and invest his assets in different trades with potential profit (1,2). A farmer should not waste time speculating about the wind and the rain. Instead, he should plant the seeds and work on whatever he can get his hands into to succeed (6).

 

2. Everyone is given youth which is like the sweet light. As God has allowed us this precious time, we are to enjoy the time working toward our heart’s desire and passion. If we do so in the reverence of God, knowing that we will all stand before his judgment seat, we will be free from the anxiety and troubles of youth (10).

 

Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us know that you are in control of our time. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity in this world to live in freedom and to bear fruit. Be with the youth in our generation to come to know you personally to enjoy the light in your presence.

One Word Live with wisdom

CAUTION OF THE FOOLISHNESS

Ecclesiastes 10:1-20 / Keywords 10:12

Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.

10:1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,

    so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,

    but the heart of the fool to the left.

3 Even as fools walk along the road,

    they lack sense

    and show everyone how stupid they are.

4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you,

    do not leave your post;

    calmness can lay great offenses to rest.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,

    the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

6 Fools are put in many high positions,

    while the rich occupy the low ones.

7 I have seen slaves on horseback,

    while princes go on foot like slaves.

8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;

    whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;

    whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.

10 If the ax is dull

    and its edge unsharpened,

more strength is needed,

    but skill will bring success.

11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,

    the charmer receives no fee.

12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,

    but fools are consumed by their own lips.

13 At the beginning their words are folly;

    at the end they are wicked madness—

14     and fools multiply words.

No one knows what is coming—

    who can tell someone else what will happen after them?

15 The toil of fools wearies them;

    they do not know the way to town.

16 Woe to the land whose king was a servant[a]

    and whose princes feast in the morning.

17 Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth

    and whose princes eat at a proper time—

    for strength and not for drunkenness.

18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;

    because of idle hands, the house leaks.

19 A feast is made for laughter,

    wine makes life merry,

    and money is the answer for everything.

20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,

    or curse the rich in your bedroom,

because a bird in the sky may carry your words,

    and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

Footnotes

a. Ecclesiastes 10:16 Or king is a child

 

1. While the teacher has made his point clear that wisdom alone cannot save us, folly, the lack of wisdom, can harm us greatly. It is not the intellectual level that makes one foolish, but the lack of the fear of the Lord (Proverb 1:7).

 

2. Foolishness can determine a person’s eternal destiny (2, Matt 25:33). Their earthly lives may also be ruined by their thoughtlessness (10,11), wicked words (12,13), and lack of direction (15). They may talk a lot because they think they know something without understanding the simple truth that no one can tell the future (14).

 

3. However, the most harm is done when the foolish are put in a leadership position (16). The king who lacks wisdom and does not guide the princes properly brings the kingdom into ruin (18, 1 Kings 16:33) as he depends on his worldly possessions (19) and puts the wrong people in ruling positions (6,7).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for providing the lamp to my feet through your words. Please help me gain wisdom as I seek and fear you. Be with those who are in leadership positions to fear you and to have the wisdom to manage what you have given them.

One Word Watch out for foolishness!

WISDOM TO DEAL WITH COMMON DESTINY

Ecclesiastes 9:1-18 / Keywords 9:10

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

A Common Destiny for All

9:1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,[a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,

    so with the sinful;

as it is with those who take oaths,

    so with those who are afraid to take them.

3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope[b]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

5 For the living know that they will die,

    but the dead know nothing;

they have no further reward,

    and even their name is forgotten.

6 Their love, their hate

    and their jealousy have long since vanished;

never again will they have a part

    in anything that happens under the sun.

7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift

    or the battle to the strong,

nor does food come to the wise

    or wealth to the brilliant

    or favor to the learned;

but time and chance happen to them all.

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,

    or birds are taken in a snare,

so people are trapped by evil times

    that fall unexpectedly upon them.

Wisdom Better Than Folly

13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded

    than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

    but one sinner destroys much good.

Footnotes

a. Ecclesiastes 9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad.

b. Ecclesiastes 9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope

 

1. While life is a mystery and no one knows what the future brings, we all share one destiny and die one day. Some try very hard to hold on to life, fearing that there is no more to hope for after death (4). Such thought may take their livelihood away as they think death will end everything (5).

 

2. However, as we understand that our lives belong in God’s hands (1), the teacher advises us to enjoy the blessings that God has given us now (7) and work hard while we can (10).

 

3. Life is unpredictable, and success does not always depend on one’s ability and effort (11,12). The teacher shares his amazement at seeing a wise man completely forgotten after he delivered his city with wisdom that was better than the weapons the king carried. Yet nobody remembered the wise man because of his humble appearance (16). The man’s wisdom did not bring him reward and recognition in this world (18), yet what we do each day matters. We must celebrate God’s grace and blessing, giving our best in all things possible (7,8).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for the life you have given me. Help me not to waste my life in fear of death, but live my life, loving and serving those whom you have put in my life and do your will to fully rejoice in you each day.

One Word My life belongs to God

WISDOM TO DEAL WITH LIFE’S FRUSTRATION

 Ecclesiastes 8:1-17 / Keywords 8:12

Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.

 

8:1 Who is like the wise?

    Who knows the explanation of things?

A person’s wisdom brightens their face

    and changes its hard appearance.

Obey the King

2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,

    and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,

    though a person may be weighed down by misery.

7 Since no one knows the future,

    who can tell someone else what is to come?

8 As no one has power over the wind to contain it,

    so[a] no one has power over the time of their death.

As no one is discharged in time of war,

    so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

9 All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own[b] hurt. 10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise[c] in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the labor that is done on earth—people getting no sleep day or night— 17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.

Footnotes

a. Ecclesiastes 8:8 Or over the human spirit to retain it, / and so

b. Ecclesiastes 8:9 Or to their

c. Ecclesiastes 8:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (Aquila); most Hebrew manuscripts and are forgotten

 

1. Wisdom brightens a person’s face as it helps him overcome frustrations in life (1). The teacher brings up an example of the authority of a king. In ancient times, the king held power over the subordinate’s life. And the Teacher advises us to honor that authority and follow the proper protocol when we appeal to the king. The advice may sound apprehensive. But the wisdom is to refrain from acting emotionally in the moment and instead seek the right time and course of action to address the matter (5).

 

2. We expect to see the miserable end of the wicked and the exaltation of the righteous. So, when we find the evil and righteous ending up in what they do not seem to deserve, we feel frustrated. But wisdom is living in the reverence of God instead of trying to make sense of what we receive in the world, whether good or bad (12). When we know that God is in control and has a purpose and goodwill above all our wisdom, we can find peace in him (17).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for showing me that there is much more than our physical world. Knowing you are much bigger than what my wisdom can ever comprehend helps me to have the strength to hold on to you and live according to your will.

One Word Justice of God is beyond our wisdom

WISDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29 / Keywords 7:29

This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.

 

7:15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,

    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

16 Do not be overrighteous,

    neither be overwise—

    why destroy yourself?

17 Do not be overwicked,

    and do not be a fool—

    why die before your time?

18 It is good to grasp the one

    and not let go of the other.

    Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.[a]

19 Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful

    than ten rulers in a city.

20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,

    no one who does what is right and never sins.

21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,

    or you may hear your servant cursing you—

22 for you know in your heart

    that many times you yourself have cursed others.

23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

“I am determined to be wise”—

    but this was beyond me.

24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—

    who can discover it?

25 So I turned my mind to understand,

    to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things

and to understand the stupidity of wickedness

    and the madness of folly.

26 I find more bitter than death

    the woman who is a snare,

whose heart is a trap

    and whose hands are chains.

The man who pleases God will escape her,

    but the sinner she will ensnare.

27 “Look,” says the Teacher,[b] “this is what I have discovered:

“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—

28     while I was still searching

    but not finding—

I found one upright man among a thousand,

    but not one upright woman among them all.

29 This only have I found:

    God created mankind upright,

    but they have gone in search of many schemes.”

Footnotes

a. Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both

b. Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly

1. The wise teacher reminds us that the righteous and the evil do not always meet their fair end in the fallen world. Trying to be righteous is not only an unachievable goal (20, Mark 10:18), but one may also burn himself out in the process (16). One who fears the Lord will understand that he always needs the grace of the Lord and to be humble instead of relying on his own strength.

 

2. Wisdom has great value. One who has wisdom is more influential than one with great political power. One who has wisdom can avoid unnecessary emotional waste. Then should we spend our lives seeking wisdom?

 

3. Well, the teacher gives his own experience as a man. His search for wisdom had been hindered by a woman who ruined his heart and left him bitter (26). Ultimately, he realizes God already created mankind upright, and a man seeking wisdom on his own in a world full of schemes may end up deviating from righteousness.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for giving us the simple truth of your love and righteousness. Thank you for the truth that gives us salvation that no wisdom can provide. Help us, Father, to come to you knowing that your wisdom is greater than our thoughts and find our peace in you.

One Word Righteousness and Wisdom in the Lord