September 22nd
Ecclesiastes 10
1:
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a
stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for
wisdom and honour. 2:
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his
left. 3:
Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom
faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. 4:
If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place;
for yielding pacifieth great offences. 5:
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which
proceedeth from the ruler: 6:
Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7:
I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants
upon the earth. 8:
He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an
hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 9:
Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth
wood shall be endangered thereby. 10:
If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put
to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. 11:
Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no
better. 12:
The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool
will swallow up himself. 13:
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end
of his talk is mischievous madness. 14:
A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and
what shall be after him, who can tell him? 15:
The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he
knoweth not how to go to the city. 16:
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in
the morning! 17:
Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy
princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 18:
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of
the hands the house droppeth through. 19:
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money
answereth all things. 20:
Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in
thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that
which hath wings shall tell the matter.
Ecclesiastes 11
1:
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many
days. 2:
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what
evil shall be upon the earth. 3:
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth:
and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the
place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. 4:
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the
clouds shall not reap. 5:
As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones
do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest
not the works of God who maketh all. 6:
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine
hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or
that, or whether they both shall be alike good. 7:
Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to
behold the sun: 8:
But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him
remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that
cometh is vanity. 9:
Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in
the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in
the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God
will bring thee into judgment. 10:
Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy
flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Ecclesiastes 12
1:
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil
days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have
no pleasure in them; 2:
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not
darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 3:
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the
strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they
are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4:
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the
grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and
all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; 5:
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall
be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the
grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man
goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or
the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the
cistern. 7:
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it. 8:
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. 9:
And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the
people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in
order many proverbs. 10:
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was
written was upright, even words of truth. 11:
The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the
masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 12:
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books
there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13:
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep
his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14:
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Today
we are reading Ecclesiastes ch 10, 11 & 12. in yesterdays reading
we saw that Solomon began in ch 9v11 to talk about his personal
inspections of life ‘under the sun’. This section continues on to
ch 10v15. In v1 he declares that though a man might have wisdom yet a
little folly can spoil it all. Just like a poisonous fly spoils the
whole batch of ointment causing it to ferment. It’s the same when a
fool walks by, he knows he is a fool and tells everyone he is a fool.
Solomon says if the spirit of a ruler rises up against you do not
yield your place because yielding prevents great outrages. Solomon
says I have seen a great foolishness ‘under the sun’ it is when
the fool is credited with great dignity and the rich sit in the low
place. He says I have seen servant riding horses with their masters
walking. Then Solomon gives us one of his proverbs. The man who digs
a pit will fall into it and the one who breaks down a hedge to snakes
gets bitten by one. The man who removes stones that are set at
boundaries will get hurt and the man who cuts wood stands in a
dangerous place. If a man does not sharpen his axe then he has to
work harder but if he sharpens it, it makes him more successful. A
snake will bite even without being enticed and a babbler will speak
without any encouragement. The words of a wise man are gracious and
the lips of a fool will choke himself. A fool is one who doesn’t
know when to stop and nobody can figure out what he is saying or what
he has said. The work of the foolish makes them tired because he does
not know where he is going. From v16 to ch 12v8 Solomon talks about
man in his different places in life. He begins with the king saying
woe to the land when the king is childish and the princes feast in
the morning but the land will be blessed when the king is the student
of nobles and the princes are moderate in feasting for physical
strength not for excess (Drunkenness). Those who are lazy find that
the home decays and through lack of maintenance the thatch will fall
in. When you have a feast do it to have fun, drink to lift your
spirits and money will purchase food and wine. Solomon says do not
curse the king – even in thought and do not curse the rich even in
your bedroom because a little bird will hear it and spread to all and
sundry. From ch 11v1-6 he speaks of the sower saying cast your grain
on
the waters – in other words give to those in need, because you will
reap a reward much later. He says give some of your food to seven or
even eight men because you do not know when you will face a famine
(And then they might help you) When the rain falls it come straight
down and when a tree falls to might fall to the south or north but it
remains where it fell. Many of these saying are obscure and it takes
wisdom to apply them but they are all observations of life on earth –
under the sun. He says if a man constantly waited for better weather
he would never get on with his life of sowing or reaping. The
ploughing must be done even in the face of storm and tempest or there
will be no harvest. No-one knows how the things of the spirit are nor
how a baby’s bones grow in the womb. And no-one knows all the works
of God. So go out and sow your seed because you do not know what seed
will grow. It’s a wonderful thing to see the sun and if a man lives
for many years he must remember that dark days are coming. Solomon
says, Young men, be happy while you are young and walk faithfully
before the Lord (keeping in the Mosaic law) because in the end the
Lord will hold you to account. So don’t downcast and put away the
deeds of the flesh because remaining a child would be pointless.
There was no provision under the law to conquer the fleshly appetites
but the fear of the Lord and the judgments that might follow. In the
last chapter Solomon speaks of the seriousness human life and
responsibility. He begins saying do not forget God when you are young
when life is good before life becomes hard. Then he talks about the
body as if it were a house. One day your arms will shake and your
legs will bow and your teeth will be few! and your eyes dim. Your
will loose your hearing and you will have no teeth to grind any food.
When you will not hear the birds sing high notes anymore you will
only hear the low notes. When you lose your steadiness and you are
afraid to walk because you might fall. When the white hairs grow on
your head. When you will find difficulty in passing water and loose
your libido. And you are on your way to your long rest and the
mourners – your own mourners leave your funeral. When your spinal
cord is severed and your skull is broken. When your heart ceases to
beat. When the whole of the bodily functions has ceased forever. Then
the body will become dust again and return to the soil and the spirit
of man with return to God who gave it. Then will become true that
all the great things done, will be pointless after all. So Solomon
brings his book to an end He had taught the people all the wisest of
things he knew. He tried to find words to express all he discovered.
He says the ‘words of the wise men’ were like cattle prods and
like brackets built into the wall which men could hang their ideas.
Solomon says don’t become over excited writing books because there
is no end to what could be written and nothing would be the last
word. And much study can be just a weariness of the body. Then
Solomon brings his masterpiece to an end saying what is the
conclusion of all this book. Two things. No 1. Fear God and No 2.
Keep his commandments. So there we have it. The final word on how to
live under the Law of Moses. It is all that God expects of a Jew. And
God will bring all that a man does to account in judgment. There was
no mention under the law of Christ’s death, burial and
resurrection. No mention of the salvation of the soul. Of the new
birth or eternal life. Of justification by faith or the blessings of
being in Christ and part of the body of Christ the church. All these
things were far in the future in another age when salvation would be
by faith in Christ’s atoning blood.
- Select a proverb from each chapter that is interesting to you and talk about it.
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