(Proverbs 26:4-5 ESV)
Great for prompting thought about how you read the Bible. Rules for interpretation.
Wonderful article:
“…In the early 1990s, I met with a famous American evangelist in a five-star hotel in Beijing. The first question he asked was, “How many Chinese Christians have the spiritual gift of speaking in other tongues?” While I don’t disapprove of this practice (and have even had this experience), it seemed that this secondary issue was his main concern.
After I left China in 1996, I learned that tens of thousands of copies of that minister’s book, translated into Chinese as How to Speak in Tongues, had been distributed in China by underground printing networks. Now the tongues issue has become one of the most divisive issues among Chinese churches (those who can speak in tongues look down on those who don’t, while those who don’t speak in tongues think that those who do are possessed by demons). This man’s “ministry” deeply hurt the cause of the Gospel in China…
The Chinese mind needs logical, intellectually compelling truth that speaks to our culture. The Gospel answers the questions of my culture like nothing else. Missionaries to China should help Chinese ask difficult questions of the purpose of life and how man is going to find it in a materialistic, trustless society…
Those unable to work and help directly in China should reach out to the 150,000 top Chinese students and scholars on U.S. campuses. Demonstrate a healthy marriage, build real trust in a friendship, and invite them to investigate the life and teachings of Christ for themselves. This will influence them significantly, and they in turn will influence their compatriots once God has transformed their lives. Many of these students will serve key roles in Chinese society…”
This is something I am guilty of, and need to learn from.
1. It will save you heartache when your sin rips your life apart
2. It will keep you from disaster, disgrace, desolation and damnation
3. It protects those you love from living a life of hell that you will bring them
4. It frees you to enjoy life as it was meant to be lived by admitting your limitations and God’s omnipotence- with God as God, not you as God
5. It kills the sin that God’s wrath is against, and draws you in sweeter communion with Christ
6. It liberates you from living a life of emptiness and purposelessness and enables you to pursue Christ-likeness and joy
7. It allows your life to be a theater for God’s transforming grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to be revealed for all to see
8. It opens your eyes to a clearer view of the world in categories of sin, holiness, grace and eternity and helps the world make better sense
9. It awakens your spiritual tastebuds to savoring the joy of knowing God’s favor and will through your Christlikeness
10. It unites you to thousands of others whose desire and delight it is to live for something bigger than themselves
11. It gives you the power to withstand human disappointment, heartbreak and frustration because your life operates according to another agenda than the world’s
12. It prepares you for a eternity that best suits human beings
13. It helps you become more fully human, as Christ was the perfect man
14. It keeps you from chasing after the emptiness of the world when you see through the fleeting illusions to the true meaning of life
15. It opens your eyes to see how amazing God really is in His holiness, and gives you more reasons to love and adore Him
@5 months ago with 1 note
Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. - 1 Timothy 5:13
—-
“Practically, this means I set prayerful boundaries on time spent on websites. I choose appropriate times to give attention to it by choosing times where relationships aren’t ignored. Stewarding my time, means seeing “internet time” as a resource to be used with wisdom as worship to Jesus.
Internet busy-bodying is really just another form of laziness and escapism. The truth is, I will never perfectly steward my time and attention, but God does pay close and perfect attention. My heart is humbled by the struggle and eager to see redemption. By God’s lavish grace, I can steward my time with wisdom enabled by the Holy Spirit. Knowing Jesus is true satisfaction for my curious heart.”
Source: http://theresurgence.com/2011/11/17/are-you-an-internet-busy-body
“Up until now Ecclesiastes has told us what the Preacher said. Now the book tells us how he said it: “Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth” (Ecc 12:9-10). Although these verses refer most specifically to what we read in Ecclesiastes, at the same time they tell us some important things about how the whole Bible was written”.
The Preacher wrote with logical clarity. He took the time and trouble to evaluate all the wise sayings that he had heard and then included only the ones that were weighty enough to demand our full attention - proverbs like “anger lodges in the bosom of fools” (Ecc 7:9) for example, or “who can make straight what God has made crooked?” (Ecc 7:13)…Not only did the Preacher assess these proverbs studiously, but he also arranged them carefully. There is a logic to the way this book is put together. It is not the logic of a history or an epistle but a collection of proverbs. Ecclesiastes was not thrown together but constructed as a complete work of literature. After an opening statement of theme (Ecc 1:1-11), the Preacher told us the story of of his quest to find meaning in life (Ecc 1:12-6:12). Then, to help us know how to to live for God in this vain world, he showed the difference between wisdom and folly (Ecc 7-11). He ended appropriately enough, by talking again about death and dying (Ecc 12:1-7) before restating his primary theme the vanity of all vanity (Ecc 12:8).
In addition to writing with logical clarity, the Preacher also wrote with literary artistry. He sought to find “words of delight” (Ecc 12:10) - a marvelous phrase that describes the beauty of the Bible. Whether people agree with the Preacher or not, no one criticizes his writing style. The famous American writer Tom Wolfe described Ecclesiastes as “the highest flower of poetry, eloquence and truth” - “the greatest single piece of writing I have known”. This is the book that gives us phrases like “the sun also rises” (Ecc 1:5 NKJV), “to everything there is a season” (Ecc 3:1), “eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecc 3:11 NIV), “cast your bread upon the waters” (Ecc 11:1), “the almond tree blossoms” (Ecc 12:5) and “man does not know his time” (Ecc 9:12).
Praise God for the beauty of Ecclesiastes - not just what the book says, but also the way the book says it. This is one of the many ways that God reveals his character and shows us his grace. He is a God of exquisite beauty. It is only appropriate, then, for the book that tells the story of his salvation to please the ear, inspire the imagination, fascinate the mind, and delight the soul.
The Preacher also wrote with intellectual integrity. Once he found words of delight, “uprightly he wrote words of truth” (Ecc 12:10). To be real spiritual help, it is not enough for someone to write clearly and stylishly; he must also write truthfully. If there is one thing we can always count on the Preacher to do, it is to tell us the truth - not just the truth about God, but also the truth about life in a fallen world. This is why Moby Dick describes Ecclesiastes as a “fine-hammered steel of woe”. Whether he is talking about the agonies of old age or the anguish of losing a fortune, the Preacher never holds back from telling us what life is like under the sun.
The author of Ecclesiastes wrote with clarity, artistry and integrity. Thus, his book instructs our minds, touches our hearts and guides in the wisdom of God.”
Source: Phil Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters pp275-277.
@8 months ago with 6 notesKeith and Kristyn Getty leading worship at Lancaster Bible College with two hymns, ‘The Perfect Wisdom of our God’ and ‘In Christ Alone’.
“I am emotionally less resilient when I lose sleep. There were early days when I would work without regard to sleep and feel energized and motivated. In the last seven or eight years my threshold for despondency is much lower. For me, adequate sleep is not a matter of staying healthy. It is a matter of staying in the ministry. It is irrational that my future should look bleaker when I get four or five hours sleep several nights in a row. But that is irrelevant. Those are the facts. And I must live within the limits of facts. I commend sufficient sleep to you, for the sake of your proper assessment of God and his promises.”
“Knowing what the Preacher said and how he said it, we till need to ask the question why. Are these “words of delight” also words of purpose? If so, what was the Preacher’s reason for telling us about the vanity of life? Ecclesiastes closes with a clear purpose statement: “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are the given by one Shepherd” (Ecc 12:11)…
Think of Ecclesiastes then, as God’s cattle prod. The Preacher’s words push us not to expect lasting satisfaction in money or pleasure but only in the goodness of God. They steer us away from foolish age and mocking laughter. They spur us on to patience, contentment, humility and joy. When we forget about God, the Preacher prods us to remember our Creator, and the moment we begin to think that we will live forever, he pokes us in the ribs and reminds us that soon we will die…
All of these words - the wise sayings that get nailed into our hearts and that goad us into action - are given “by one Shepherd” (Ecc 12:11). Possibly this refers to the Preacher himself, since a pastor is a kind of shepherd. Furthermore, the Preacher has identified himself as “king over Israel in Jerusalem” (See Ecc 1:2) and in the ancient world kings were often identified as the shepherds of the people.
What seems more likely, however, is that the “shepherd” is none other than God himself (which is why the term is capitalized in the English Standard Version and some other translations). This is the first time that the title “shepherd” has appeared in Ecclesiastes, which seems to distinguish the Shepherd from the Preacher rather than to identify the two. Furthermore, “Shepherd” is one of the noble titles for God in the Old Testament, not only in Psalm 23, but also in places like Psalm 80, where is called the “Shepherd of Israel” (v1). Thus the “one Shepherd” in Ecc 12 is the one and only Shepherd- God Almighty.
This makes Ecclesiastes 12:11 an important verse for the Biblical doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture (see also 2 Pet 1:21). Ecclesiastes is the very Word of God. The Preacher’s words are not merely the musings of some skeptical philosopher; they are part of the inspired, infallible and inerrant revelation of Almighty God. Therefore, it is not enough merely to admire their artistry and respect their integrity - we must also submit to their authority. As the Shepherd of our souls, God uses this book - as he uses everything written in the Bible - to prod us into spiritual action.
What Ecclesiastes says about the Shepherd’s words, takes on even greater force when we remember that our Shepherd is also our Savior. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11). Thus the words that we read in Ecclesiastes are really his words. Jesus is the one who calls us away from the vanity of life without God to find joy and meaning in his grace. We are not just living “under the sun” we are living under the Son - the Son of God who “loved us and gave himself for us” (Eph 5:2).”
Source: Phil Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters pp277-279
@8 months agoConcluding Ecclesiastes (Part 1 - What): Summarizing Life without God
Concluding Ecclesiastes (Part 2 - How): How Ecclesiastes is Written
Concluding Ecclesiastes (Part 3 - Why): The One Shepherd
“If there is no God, then there is no Judge. If there is no Judge, then there will be no Final Judgment. If there is no Final Judgment, there there is no ultimate meaning to life. Nothing matters.
This is the logic of Quentin’s argument in After the Fall by Arthur Miller. Quentin says:
For many years I looked at life like a case at law. It was a series of proofs. When you’re yong you prove how brave you are, or smart; then„ what a good lover; then, a good father; finally, how wise, or powerful…But underlying it all, I see now, there was a presumption. That one moved…on on an upward path toward some elevation where…God knows what…I would be justified, or even condemned. A verdict anyway. I think now that my disaster really began one day when I looked up one day…and the bench was empty. No judge in sight. And all that remained was the endless argument with oneself, this pointless litigation of existence before an empty bench…which, of course, is another way of saying - despair.
If there is no God to judge the world, then human existence is a pointless litigation that ends in meaningless despair. Then Preacher who wrote Ecclesiastes would have agreed. From the beginning of his book he has been saying that if there is no God, then there is no meaning. Nothing matters.
“Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 12:8). These are the Preacher’s first and also his last words (see Ecclesiastes 1:2) - a literary technique known as inclusio…
We should not think however, that the Preacher merely repeats himself. Ecclesiastes 12:8 does bring us back to the same place where we began, but we are not the same people. Reading Ecclesiastes has given us a bigger perspective on life. The Preacher has shown us in how vain life is; so when we hear him make the same statement at the end of his book, it strikes us with much greater force.
Now we know that work is vanity, that there is nothing for us to gain from all our restless toil under the sun (e.g. Ecc 1:3). IT is all “vanity and striving after wind” (Ecc 1:13-14, 2:18-23). We know that human wisdom is vanity, that it only increases our “sorrow” and “vexation” (Ecc 1:18). Whether we are wise or foolish does not even matter because we all die in the end (Ecc 2:15-16). We know that pleasure is vanity. Wine, women, song; parks, houses, and vineyards; gold, silver and treasure - there is “nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecc 2:11).
It is all vanity. Power is vanity: there is no one to comfort the tears of the oppressed (Ecc 4:1). Money is vanity too, because it causes no end of trouble as we look after our possessions, which may all be lost at a moment’s notice (Ecc 5:11-14). But even if we manage to hold on to our money, it cannot satisfy our souls (Ecc 5:10).
Then there is the last of vanities, which is the vanity of death. Nearly all of us will have to endure to indignities of growing old (Ecc 12:1ff.) and after that, the final vanity of returning to the ground from which we were made. Dust we are, and to dust we shall return (Ecc 3:20).
Not that we never have any joy, of course. In spite of all the vanity, we can still rejoice in life’s many blessings. The Preacher has encouraged us to eat and drink and find satisfaction in our work (Ecc 2:4). He has told us that there is a time for healing and harvesting, a time for laughing and dancing, a time for loving and making peace (Ecc 3:1-8). He has told us to rejoice in the prosperity that God so richly provides (Ecc 5:19, 7:14) and to enjoy life with the one whom we love (Ecc 9:9). There is joy in the world under the blessings of a faithful God.
Yet what the Preacher mainly wants us to see is how meaningless life is without God, how little joy there is under the sun if we try to leave our Creator our of his universe…”
Source: Phil Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, pp273-275.
@8 months ago with 5 notes(Proverbs 26:4-5 ESV)
Great for prompting thought about how you read the Bible. Rules for interpretation.
Wonderful article:
“…In the early 1990s, I met with a famous American evangelist in a five-star hotel in Beijing. The first question he asked was, “How many Chinese Christians have the spiritual gift of speaking in other tongues?” While I don’t disapprove of this practice (and have even had this experience), it seemed that this secondary issue was his main concern.
After I left China in 1996, I learned that tens of thousands of copies of that minister’s book, translated into Chinese as How to Speak in Tongues, had been distributed in China by underground printing networks. Now the tongues issue has become one of the most divisive issues among Chinese churches (those who can speak in tongues look down on those who don’t, while those who don’t speak in tongues think that those who do are possessed by demons). This man’s “ministry” deeply hurt the cause of the Gospel in China…
The Chinese mind needs logical, intellectually compelling truth that speaks to our culture. The Gospel answers the questions of my culture like nothing else. Missionaries to China should help Chinese ask difficult questions of the purpose of life and how man is going to find it in a materialistic, trustless society…
Those unable to work and help directly in China should reach out to the 150,000 top Chinese students and scholars on U.S. campuses. Demonstrate a healthy marriage, build real trust in a friendship, and invite them to investigate the life and teachings of Christ for themselves. This will influence them significantly, and they in turn will influence their compatriots once God has transformed their lives. Many of these students will serve key roles in Chinese society…”
This is something I am guilty of, and need to learn from.
1. It will save you heartache when your sin rips your life apart
2. It will keep you from disaster, disgrace, desolation and damnation
3. It protects those you love from living a life of hell that you will bring them
4. It frees you to enjoy life as it was meant to be lived by admitting your limitations and God’s omnipotence- with God as God, not you as God
5. It kills the sin that God’s wrath is against, and draws you in sweeter communion with Christ
6. It liberates you from living a life of emptiness and purposelessness and enables you to pursue Christ-likeness and joy
7. It allows your life to be a theater for God’s transforming grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to be revealed for all to see
8. It opens your eyes to a clearer view of the world in categories of sin, holiness, grace and eternity and helps the world make better sense
9. It awakens your spiritual tastebuds to savoring the joy of knowing God’s favor and will through your Christlikeness
10. It unites you to thousands of others whose desire and delight it is to live for something bigger than themselves
11. It gives you the power to withstand human disappointment, heartbreak and frustration because your life operates according to another agenda than the world’s
12. It prepares you for a eternity that best suits human beings
13. It helps you become more fully human, as Christ was the perfect man
14. It keeps you from chasing after the emptiness of the world when you see through the fleeting illusions to the true meaning of life
15. It opens your eyes to see how amazing God really is in His holiness, and gives you more reasons to love and adore Him
“I am emotionally less resilient when I lose sleep. There were early days when I would work without regard to sleep and feel energized and motivated. In the last seven or eight years my threshold for despondency is much lower. For me, adequate sleep is not a matter of staying healthy. It is a matter of staying in the ministry. It is irrational that my future should look bleaker when I get four or five hours sleep several nights in a row. But that is irrelevant. Those are the facts. And I must live within the limits of facts. I commend sufficient sleep to you, for the sake of your proper assessment of God and his promises.”
“Knowing what the Preacher said and how he said it, we till need to ask the question why. Are these “words of delight” also words of purpose? If so, what was the Preacher’s reason for telling us about the vanity of life? Ecclesiastes closes with a clear purpose statement: “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are the given by one Shepherd” (Ecc 12:11)…
Think of Ecclesiastes then, as God’s cattle prod. The Preacher’s words push us not to expect lasting satisfaction in money or pleasure but only in the goodness of God. They steer us away from foolish age and mocking laughter. They spur us on to patience, contentment, humility and joy. When we forget about God, the Preacher prods us to remember our Creator, and the moment we begin to think that we will live forever, he pokes us in the ribs and reminds us that soon we will die…
All of these words - the wise sayings that get nailed into our hearts and that goad us into action - are given “by one Shepherd” (Ecc 12:11). Possibly this refers to the Preacher himself, since a pastor is a kind of shepherd. Furthermore, the Preacher has identified himself as “king over Israel in Jerusalem” (See Ecc 1:2) and in the ancient world kings were often identified as the shepherds of the people.
What seems more likely, however, is that the “shepherd” is none other than God himself (which is why the term is capitalized in the English Standard Version and some other translations). This is the first time that the title “shepherd” has appeared in Ecclesiastes, which seems to distinguish the Shepherd from the Preacher rather than to identify the two. Furthermore, “Shepherd” is one of the noble titles for God in the Old Testament, not only in Psalm 23, but also in places like Psalm 80, where is called the “Shepherd of Israel” (v1). Thus the “one Shepherd” in Ecc 12 is the one and only Shepherd- God Almighty.
This makes Ecclesiastes 12:11 an important verse for the Biblical doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture (see also 2 Pet 1:21). Ecclesiastes is the very Word of God. The Preacher’s words are not merely the musings of some skeptical philosopher; they are part of the inspired, infallible and inerrant revelation of Almighty God. Therefore, it is not enough merely to admire their artistry and respect their integrity - we must also submit to their authority. As the Shepherd of our souls, God uses this book - as he uses everything written in the Bible - to prod us into spiritual action.
What Ecclesiastes says about the Shepherd’s words, takes on even greater force when we remember that our Shepherd is also our Savior. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11). Thus the words that we read in Ecclesiastes are really his words. Jesus is the one who calls us away from the vanity of life without God to find joy and meaning in his grace. We are not just living “under the sun” we are living under the Son - the Son of God who “loved us and gave himself for us” (Eph 5:2).”
Source: Phil Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters pp277-279
“Up until now Ecclesiastes has told us what the Preacher said. Now the book tells us how he said it: “Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth” (Ecc 12:9-10). Although these verses refer most specifically to what we read in Ecclesiastes, at the same time they tell us some important things about how the whole Bible was written”.
The Preacher wrote with logical clarity. He took the time and trouble to evaluate all the wise sayings that he had heard and then included only the ones that were weighty enough to demand our full attention - proverbs like “anger lodges in the bosom of fools” (Ecc 7:9) for example, or “who can make straight what God has made crooked?” (Ecc 7:13)…Not only did the Preacher assess these proverbs studiously, but he also arranged them carefully. There is a logic to the way this book is put together. It is not the logic of a history or an epistle but a collection of proverbs. Ecclesiastes was not thrown together but constructed as a complete work of literature. After an opening statement of theme (Ecc 1:1-11), the Preacher told us the story of of his quest to find meaning in life (Ecc 1:12-6:12). Then, to help us know how to to live for God in this vain world, he showed the difference between wisdom and folly (Ecc 7-11). He ended appropriately enough, by talking again about death and dying (Ecc 12:1-7) before restating his primary theme the vanity of all vanity (Ecc 12:8).
In addition to writing with logical clarity, the Preacher also wrote with literary artistry. He sought to find “words of delight” (Ecc 12:10) - a marvelous phrase that describes the beauty of the Bible. Whether people agree with the Preacher or not, no one criticizes his writing style. The famous American writer Tom Wolfe described Ecclesiastes as “the highest flower of poetry, eloquence and truth” - “the greatest single piece of writing I have known”. This is the book that gives us phrases like “the sun also rises” (Ecc 1:5 NKJV), “to everything there is a season” (Ecc 3:1), “eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecc 3:11 NIV), “cast your bread upon the waters” (Ecc 11:1), “the almond tree blossoms” (Ecc 12:5) and “man does not know his time” (Ecc 9:12).
Praise God for the beauty of Ecclesiastes - not just what the book says, but also the way the book says it. This is one of the many ways that God reveals his character and shows us his grace. He is a God of exquisite beauty. It is only appropriate, then, for the book that tells the story of his salvation to please the ear, inspire the imagination, fascinate the mind, and delight the soul.
The Preacher also wrote with intellectual integrity. Once he found words of delight, “uprightly he wrote words of truth” (Ecc 12:10). To be real spiritual help, it is not enough for someone to write clearly and stylishly; he must also write truthfully. If there is one thing we can always count on the Preacher to do, it is to tell us the truth - not just the truth about God, but also the truth about life in a fallen world. This is why Moby Dick describes Ecclesiastes as a “fine-hammered steel of woe”. Whether he is talking about the agonies of old age or the anguish of losing a fortune, the Preacher never holds back from telling us what life is like under the sun.
The author of Ecclesiastes wrote with clarity, artistry and integrity. Thus, his book instructs our minds, touches our hearts and guides in the wisdom of God.”
Source: Phil Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters pp275-277.
Concluding Ecclesiastes (Part 1 - What): Summarizing Life without God
Concluding Ecclesiastes (Part 2 - How): How Ecclesiastes is Written
Concluding Ecclesiastes (Part 3 - Why): The One Shepherd
“If there is no God, then there is no Judge. If there is no Judge, then there will be no Final Judgment. If there is no Final Judgment, there there is no ultimate meaning to life. Nothing matters.
This is the logic of Quentin’s argument in After the Fall by Arthur Miller. Quentin says:
For many years I looked at life like a case at law. It was a series of proofs. When you’re yong you prove how brave you are, or smart; then„ what a good lover; then, a good father; finally, how wise, or powerful…But underlying it all, I see now, there was a presumption. That one moved…on on an upward path toward some elevation where…God knows what…I would be justified, or even condemned. A verdict anyway. I think now that my disaster really began one day when I looked up one day…and the bench was empty. No judge in sight. And all that remained was the endless argument with oneself, this pointless litigation of existence before an empty bench…which, of course, is another way of saying - despair.
If there is no God to judge the world, then human existence is a pointless litigation that ends in meaningless despair. Then Preacher who wrote Ecclesiastes would have agreed. From the beginning of his book he has been saying that if there is no God, then there is no meaning. Nothing matters.
“Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 12:8). These are the Preacher’s first and also his last words (see Ecclesiastes 1:2) - a literary technique known as inclusio…
We should not think however, that the Preacher merely repeats himself. Ecclesiastes 12:8 does bring us back to the same place where we began, but we are not the same people. Reading Ecclesiastes has given us a bigger perspective on life. The Preacher has shown us in how vain life is; so when we hear him make the same statement at the end of his book, it strikes us with much greater force.
Now we know that work is vanity, that there is nothing for us to gain from all our restless toil under the sun (e.g. Ecc 1:3). IT is all “vanity and striving after wind” (Ecc 1:13-14, 2:18-23). We know that human wisdom is vanity, that it only increases our “sorrow” and “vexation” (Ecc 1:18). Whether we are wise or foolish does not even matter because we all die in the end (Ecc 2:15-16). We know that pleasure is vanity. Wine, women, song; parks, houses, and vineyards; gold, silver and treasure - there is “nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecc 2:11).
It is all vanity. Power is vanity: there is no one to comfort the tears of the oppressed (Ecc 4:1). Money is vanity too, because it causes no end of trouble as we look after our possessions, which may all be lost at a moment’s notice (Ecc 5:11-14). But even if we manage to hold on to our money, it cannot satisfy our souls (Ecc 5:10).
Then there is the last of vanities, which is the vanity of death. Nearly all of us will have to endure to indignities of growing old (Ecc 12:1ff.) and after that, the final vanity of returning to the ground from which we were made. Dust we are, and to dust we shall return (Ecc 3:20).
Not that we never have any joy, of course. In spite of all the vanity, we can still rejoice in life’s many blessings. The Preacher has encouraged us to eat and drink and find satisfaction in our work (Ecc 2:4). He has told us that there is a time for healing and harvesting, a time for laughing and dancing, a time for loving and making peace (Ecc 3:1-8). He has told us to rejoice in the prosperity that God so richly provides (Ecc 5:19, 7:14) and to enjoy life with the one whom we love (Ecc 9:9). There is joy in the world under the blessings of a faithful God.
Yet what the Preacher mainly wants us to see is how meaningless life is without God, how little joy there is under the sun if we try to leave our Creator our of his universe…”
Source: Phil Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, pp273-275.
