Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Labels:
Important messages
Chapter 2
The Vanity of Self-Indulgence
1. I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with
pleasure; enjoy yourself." But behold, this also was vanity.
2. I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure,
"What use is it?"
3. I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my
heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might
see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few
days of their life.
4. I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for
myself.
5. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds
of fruit trees.
6. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing
trees.
7. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in
my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who
had been before me in Jerusalem.
8. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of
kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines,
the delight of the sons of man.
9. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in
Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
10. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my
heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this
was my reward for all my toil.
11. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had
expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and
there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Solomon’s power, fame and
riches and the experience gained by living in their glory are what gave him
exceptional qualifications to present his perspective on human existence. His arguments
are basic, powerful and incontrovertible, but the average person can find
little, by which he can relate to this ancient king. He was endowed with unique
gifts and in chapter one, he recounted his devotion and pursuit of more wisdom
and knowledge. His conclusion is that his efforts brought no true satisfaction;
it was striving after wind, he confessed.
However, as we begin chapter
2, King Solomon takes up projects, pleasure, laughter, diversion and entertainment. I
submit that in this area, we can find common ground. I think that everyone of us have had times in
our lives, when we have spoken to our souls, “I have some free time and a
little money to spend. Come now, I will
test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself."
Ecclesiastes 1:8-18
Labels:
Important messages
Nothing is new; nothing satisfies
8. All things are full of
weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the
ear filled with hearing.
9. What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the
sun.
10. Is there a thing of which it is
said, "See, this is new"? It has been already in the ages before
us.
11. There is no remembrance of
former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be
among those who come after.
I wonder if a person can
understand the insufficiency of human language, if he has not studied the
Bible. Because the Scripture is devoted to an attempt to put spiritual,
heavenly thoughts and matters into earthly languages, we continually see in it, the limitations of man's communication. I need not belabor the obvious, but only to clarify, what the
preacher means, when he says, “A man
cannot utter it”, I offer a few examples. Who can put the love of God into
words? Who can express or comprehend eternity or infinity? Of course, above all
else, who can describe Almighty God and His uniqueness, the incomprehensible
trinity and the endless wonder of omnipresence and omniscience. All this goes
far beyond expression.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-7
Labels:
Important messages
The Vanity of Life on Earth from an individual
perfectly qualified to write of it
Chapter 1
1.
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3.
What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
Liberal minds pervert society in
general, along with its politics and religion. I am convinced that they enter
the world of religion, prepared and energized by the devil to be his advocates
and disrupt the quest of the one seeking for truth. They have no part or parcel
with the things of God. They ignore His ways and attempt to fit their mindset
into a sphere that is completely opposite the one, in which they live. They
exist in the realm of twisted human logic and reasoning, rather than in the
kingdom of healthy faith.
As they try to date the book of
Daniel much later than when it actually was written and attribute the
authorship to someone, living between the Old and New Testaments, so they
meddle with the book of Ecclesiastes. They allege also that it was written at a
much later date by someone other than King Solomon. These claims are easily
refuted by good theologians, who take the text at face value, giving credit to
the claims of the authors and the setting, in time and place, which they
designate. To do otherwise is to tamper with divine inspiration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
Recommended Books
