Devotions

your reward in life

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

ENGAGE, BUT REMEMBER

Ecclesiastes 9:7-10

⁷ Go on, eat your bread with gladness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; because God has already shown approval of your works. ⁸ Let your clothes stay white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; because this is your reward in life, and for your work in which you have done under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your strength; because there is no working or thinking or knowledge or wisdom waiting in Sheol where you are heading.

your reward in life

Solomon is not teaching us that life is futile. He is telling us that it can be wonderful, but also warning us that it does not last. So, he does not advocate withdrawal from life in some kind of self-imposed monastic hermitage. Instead he challenges all of us to engage in life, and if we are fortunate enough to have work, a good marriage, or any of the other benefits of this life, consider it all a reward. Do not ignore those rewards. Enjoy them. Just remember that none of these things are permanent. Enjoy life’s temporary rewards, and also seek a more permanent kingdom.

LORD, give is the good sense to enjoy these few days, and the rewards that they bring. Give us also the wisdom to not turn away from the eternal hope that comes only from a relationship with you.

Posted in eternal life, joy, relationship with God, Solomon | Tagged Ecclesiastes 9 | Leave a comment

dogs and lions

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

NO HOPE WITHOUT CHRIST

Ecclesiastes 9:4-6

⁴ Because whoever is connected with all the living has hope, because a living dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ Because the living ones are aware of the fact that they will die, but the dead ones are aware of nothing, and they get no more wages, because people forget to even mention their name. ⁶ Their love and their hate and their envy have already been erased, and they have no more involvement in all that is done under the sun permanently.

dogs and lions

Solomon had first concluded that it was better to be dead than alive, but then he changed his mind. Now he argues that it is better to be alive, even though it is only temporary. Life means awareness: the dead are not aware of what is happening. Life means the ability to enjoy wages: the dead enjoy nothing. Life means being remembered by others. The dead are eventually forgotten.

His observations of life under the sun have led Solomon to reject all that religious nonsense about survival of death. He recommends enjoying life now because it is a precious gift from God. If there will be any life after this – that also will be a gift from God. Immortality is not a given. It is conditional. The conditions were met by Christ. He is our only hope or resurrection life. Without him, even great lions are just dead animals.

LORD, thank you for Christ, our only hope for eternal life.

Posted in conditional immortality, dependence upon God, resurrection, Solomon | Tagged Ecclesiastes 9 | Leave a comment

the same event

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

DEATH, then WHAT?

Ecclesiastes 9:1

¹ Because all this I gave to my heart, trying to figure it all out, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether God responds with love or hate, a man cannot know; both are possible with him. ² It is the same for everyone, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one fares, so fares the sinner, and someone who swears is just like someone who never promises anything. ³ This is an evil that effects everything that is done under the sun, the fact that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of human children are full of evil, and blindness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

the same event

Religions had taught that after death there would be a reckoning, and all evil punished, and all good rewarded. Solomon saw no evidence of that. He was left with the observable fact that death is the same event experienced by both the righteous and the wicked. He saw this a great evil, because it tended to lull the wicked into a false sense of security, and discouraged those who wanted to do well. It tended to create a world where all the children’s hearts were full of evil.

Jesus brought life and immortality to light by promising to raise the dead, and teaching us about the end-time judgment. Without that light, the whole world would be lost in the despair of inevitable death, with no hope for a future. Solomon posed the question. Jesus gave the answer.

LORD, thank you for the hope of a resurrection unto eternal life through Christ when he returns.

Posted in conditional immortality, dependence upon God, resurrection, second coming, Solomon | Tagged Ecclesiastes 9 | Leave a comment

mystery and joy

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

LET GOD SORT IT OUT

Ecclesiastes 8:14-17

¹⁴ Here’s another example of impermanence reigning in the land: that there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said that this also shows impermanence. ¹⁵ And I commend joy, because man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, because this attitude will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. ¹⁶ When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done in the land, how neither day nor night do a person’s eyes see sleep, ¹⁷ then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot comprehend the work that is done under the sun. However hard a person may work in investigating, he will not figure it out. Even if a wise man claims to know, he cannot comprehend it.

mystery and joy

The wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible in general (and conventional wisdom) teaches that if you do what is right, you will be rewarded with a better and longer life. But Solomon points out that this is not always the case. Some deserve judgment and do not get it in this life. Others deserve blessing and do not get it in this life. What happens to people is often a mystery that – like so manty of God’s other activities – remains unsolved. So, Solomon recommends going through life with a good attitude and experiencing joy anyway. Such is the mark of people who are not putting all their hopes in this life.

LORD, keep us every mindful of the mystery of life, and willing to let you sort it all out.

Posted in contentment, dependence upon God, joy, judgment, Solomon, wisdom | Tagged Ecclesiastes 8 | Leave a comment

look longer

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

ARE YOU SEEING THE WHOLE PICTURE?

Ecclesiastes 8:10-13

¹⁰ Then I noticed what happens when the wicked are buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and had been praised in the city where they had done such things. But that kind of praise is also impermanent. ¹¹ Because judgment against an evil deed is not meted out speedily, the heart of the children of Adam tends to keep doing evil. ¹² Even if a sinner does evil a hundred times and lives a long life, I still know that it will be well with those who fear God, because he sees their reverence. ¹³ But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he live a life as long as a shadow, because he does not revere God.

look longer

Solomon discusses the problem of the wicked person who lives a long life and is praised by others for his apparent godliness. Why is it better to live with integrity and to truly respect God? Solomon looked longer at the problem than we usually do. He watched the hypocrite die. He saw him buried. Then, he noticed that there was nothing left of his riches and reputation. But even for the poor honest person who lives a short life, there is hope that the God who lives will remember.

LORD, when we are tempted to envy the dishonest and hypocritical, show us how to look a little longer, and see their true end.

Posted in dependence upon God, hypocrisy, integrity, judgment, Solomon | Tagged Ecclesiastes 8 | Leave a comment

those whose time is up

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

DO NOT FLIRT WITH DEATH

Ecclesiastes 8:7-9

⁷ Because he does not know what is yet to come, who can tell him how it will be? ⁸ No one rules over his own breath, nor rules over the day of death. There is no discharge from that war, not even wickedness can deliver those whose time is up. ⁹ All this I realised while thinking about all that is done under the sun, when someone had power over another to his detriment.

those whose time is up

Some think of Ecclesiastes as a justification for throwing away all self-control, and just enjoying life regardless of the consequences. That is a misreading of Solomon. He advocates caution and self-control here. His advice is to enjoy life all you can, but remember that there are a number of things not under your control. Your death and destiny are in someone else’s hands. So do not flirt with death, because wickedness will not save you when your time is up.

LORD, give us the wisdom to make proper decisions which honour you, and to respect the limits that are on our lives.

Posted in discernment, mortality, self-control, Solomon, wisdom | Tagged Ecclesiastes 8 | 2 Comments

the price of doing it our way

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHO DO YOU IDOLIZE?

Ecclesiastes 8:4-6

⁴ Since the word of the king rules, and who is going to ask him, “What are you doing?” ⁵ Whoever keeps a command will not know the suffering that disobedience causes, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the appropriate way to act. ⁶ Because there is a time and a way for everything, even when a man’s trouble is bearing down on him.

the price of doing it our way

We live in a generation that idolizes disobedience and rebellion. We need to know the wisdom that sees rebellion as a cause of suffering. As long as we keep putting rebels – people who insist on doing things their way – on pedestals, we are going to keep creating more suffering. Whether politicians, poets or performers, we need to choose heroes who know how to play by the rules.

LORD, give us the wisdom to honour those who do things the right way, not their own way.

Posted in integrity, obedience, rebellion | Tagged Ecclesiastes 8 | Leave a comment

the badge

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

OBEY THE KING’S COMMAND

Ecclesiastes 8:1-3

¹There is nothing like the wise person — someone who knows the interpretation of a thing. A man’s wisdom can make his face shine, and change the hardness in his face. ² I warn you to obey the king’s command, because you affirmed before God that you would. ³ Do not hurry to get out of his presence. Do not take your stand in partnership with evil, because he will do whatever he pleases.

the badge

I made a mistake in judgment on the road. I knew it was a mistake when I was doing it, I am sorry I did it, and I am grateful nobody got hurt. Someone behind me saw it, called the police, and in a few minutes, I was pulled over. The man with the badge was gracious to me, but he had all the authority he needed if he felt I needed more than just a talk.

Obeying the law – or, as Solomon calls it, the king’s command – is something we should seek to do because we affirmed before God that we would. It is not just about fearing the badge. It is a test of integrity.

LORD, give us the discernment to be obedient to the law at all times because of our relationship to you.

Posted in discernment, law, obedience | Tagged Ecclesiastes 8 | Leave a comment

made straight

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

GET IT STRAIGHT, WE ARE CROOKED

Ecclesiastes 7:27-29

²⁷ Take notice, this is what I found, says the Collector, while adding one thing to another to find how things work- ²⁸ something my soul has searched for consistently, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I figured out, but not a woman among all these have I figured out. ²⁹ Watch, this alone I did figure out, that God made Adam straight, but they have sought out many ways to deviate from the original design.

made straight

The collector has discovered that all of the species homo sapiens has a flaw, but it cannot be traced back to the original design. Adam was made straight, but there has been a consistent deviation in us since the fall in Eden. We do not all deviate in the same way, but we all deviate.

Most English translations make it seem that Solomon is saying that he found one man honourable out of a thousand, but no women. No, as my translation shows, Solomon’s point was that he could figure out some men, but no women. His point about depravity has no exceptions. He never met Jesus.

LORD, straighten us, we all need you.

Posted in depravity, Solomon | Tagged Ecclesiastes 7 | Leave a comment

snares and nets

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

ESCAPE THE NET

Ecclesiastes 7:23-26

²³ All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will act wisely,” but it was far from me. ²⁴ That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can discover it? ²⁵ I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. ²⁶ And I discover something more unbearable than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are traps. He who wants to please God will escape her, but the sinner gets trapped by her.

snares and nets

Solomon had followed the ancient near east practice of marrying foreign wives for the purpose of solidifying alliances with other nations. These hundreds of marriages proved to be a trap for Solomon, because they “turned his heart away from the LORD.”[1] This choice was a direct disobedience to the Law.[2] He confesses the sin of apostasy here.

His words are also a general warning for everyone to proceed with caution when considering a relationship. He had warned his sons in his Proverbs of the adulteress, whose lips drip honey and whose speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, and following her leads to death.[3] He was speaking from experience.

Young person, you will be enticed by images and words and people who invite you to throw off all constraint and indulge in improper conduct. It is a trap! That is not the way to life. Escape pornography and the “party life” before it destroys you.

LORD, protect today’s youth from the snares and nets, because they are everywhere.

[1] 1 Kings 11:1-3.

[2] Deuteronomy 17:17.

[3] Proverbs 5:2-5.

Posted in confession, marriage, pornography, sexuality, Solomon | Tagged Ecclesiastes 7 | Leave a comment