January 21 Daily Discovery
January 21 Daily Discovery
Read Ecclesiastes Chapter 1
The Emptiness of the Self-life
Oft repeated phrases and concepts in the book of Ecclesiastes are "vanity and vexation of spirit" and "under the sun." The book of Solomon tells his own experience of pursuing life in order to fill life without the spiritual life being considered.
His conclusion is recorded at the close of the book.
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.
~ Eccl. 12:8-14
Much of Life Seems to be Meaningless
Read Verses 1-11
Do we really make a difference? Much of life "seems" to be meaningless. I suppose much of life IS meaningless when life is being lived only for self.
But God did not create us to live for ourselves. God created us for His own pleasure. We were created to bring pleasure to God. We were created to "make God happy."
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
~ Rev. 4:11
All things were created to please God and they exist to please God. When are are living with the purpose of putting a smile on God's face, we are living with purpose.
Life "under the sun" or "life down here" from a casual observer is simply cyclical. Life goes on whether we are here or not. There is nothing new.
Nothing that we can do "under the sun" or "down here" brings any lasting satisfaction.
It is great to know that we were not made only for life under the sun or life down here!
The Preacher
When Solomon arrested God's attention and God said, "OK, Sol, ask me for anything and I'll give it to you", Solomon asked for the wisdom he needed to rule Israel.
As a result, God gave him wisdom like no other man had ever had with the bonus of wealth and notoriety.
People gathered around Solomon to learn from him. These gatherings or assemblies were common for him and that is why the book is called Ecclesiastes. (A Greek transliteration of the Hebrew meaning of the book).
It could have been named: "The sermons of the preacher". Solomon was a preacher or assembler or teacher of groups of people.
One of the ways we can learn wisdom is from listening to preaching or teaching in a group that is assembled for that purpose.
Solomon's Sensuous Pursuit of Wisdom
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
~ Eccl. 1:16-18
Solomon was not content to have information, knowledge, and understanding. He wanted to know things by experiencing them.
For sure, one of the best ways to learn is through experience, but only a fool would insist on that being the only way. Experience can often become a quite painful way to learn, and Solomon will reveal in this book.
He gave his heart to know or experience not only wisdom, but madness and foolishness.
It is an error to believe that you must experience something to know it.
It is not desirable to have this level of learning on many things in life. It is better to learn from instruction, which is more gentle, or even by observing the pain of others, rather than to endure it yourself.
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Continue Your Search
In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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