Ecclesiastes Chapter Eleven, Generosity

Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. [2] Give your serving to seven, and also to eight. For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

The preacher begins by suggesting that the reader share willingly with many. He also assures the reader that once he has shared, he will find his “bread,” after many days, meaning his act of kindness will reap fruit. This principle may be found elsewhere in Scripture. We read, “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart,” Galatians 6:9.

Peripherals: Every day Alike, Halloween

 

With another Halloween on the horizon, the debate always arises as to the validity of participating in the holiday from a Christian viewpoint. Is celebrating Halloween acceptable for a Christian? If so, why? And if not, why? As it happens, the Bible is very clear about observed days, and whether or not the saints can partake.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, Cursing The King

Ecclesiastes 10:20 Do not curse the king, even in your thought; do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter.

The final admonition to his readership before chapter ten concludes is a warning not to curse the king or the rich, whether you are in private or even in your own thoughts. The idea of cursing here simply refers to speaking ill of them. If you are a disgruntled employee hating on your manager, in a sense this warning is befitting you.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, Feasts, Wine, And Money

Ecclesiastes 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money answers everything.

We read just two verses prior that a feast is inappropriate for drunkenness amongst the land’s rulers. Two verses later, the preacher explains with some brevity the point of three different things, beginning with feasting. This of course refers to more than simply eating; when one eats a robust meal it can be referred to as feasting. But this type of feast is of course a party with eating, drinking, and music.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, Impropriety & Sloth

Ecclesiastes 10:16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! [17] Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast at the proper time–for strength and not for drunkenness!

This pair of verses once more contends with the idea of reversal. What is bad is good, and vice versa. As has already been noted, Ecclesiastes has several themes, this being but one of them that the preacher returns to periodically. Why? Because of its universality. Being king in Jerusalem and knowing so many potentates and ambassadors, he sees the incongruity of life play out from the greatest to the least, and it constantly baffles him. Again, why?

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, Prognosticating Fools

Ecclesiastes 10:14b No man knows what is to be; who can tell him what will be after him? [15] The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city!

The latter portion of verse 14 has been repeated numerous times in Ecclesiastes. This refrain may be found in Ecclesiastes 6:12 and 7:7. Here, then we have lucky number three. It is an earnest plea from a hopeless worldview that only sees as far as the horizon permits. Life under the sun is concerned with daily life and everything within the earth’s grasp.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, Choosing One's Words

Ecclesiastes 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. [13] The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, and the end of his talk is raving madness. [14a] A fool also multiples words.

Again it seems like a verse from Proverbs as we approach this passage. There is a simple contrast between the wise man whose mouth, or words, is gracious. Meanwhile, the fool’s lips (or words) swallow him up. A wise man knows what to say, when to say it, and when to keep silent. Yes, there is such a time to keep silent rather than speak. We read, “He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit,” Proverbs 17:27. Elsewhere we are instructed, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,” James 1:19.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, On Jobs & Babbling

Ecclesiastes 10:8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. [9] He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it. [10] If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success.

The idea in the first two verses is simply one of exposure to risk when one labors. Manual labor can harm the body, either through wear and tear or accident, or carelessness. The adages, “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” or “no risk, no reward,” seem apropos here. The preacher merely reminds his readership that there is risk involved in one’s effort; but also that there will never be results unless effort is applied.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, Role Reversal

Ecclesiastes 10:4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for conciliation pacifies great offenses. [5] There is an evil I have seen under the sun, as an error proceeding from the ruler: [6] Folly is set in great dignity, while the rich sit in a lowly place. [7] I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground like servants.

Verse 4 is addressing the offense given to someone who lords over you, likely for negligence in duty. The solution, according to the preacher, is to continue at what you have been assigned to do. The key word to this passage is the term, “conciliation.” In the Oxford Dictionary it simply means, “make calm and content.” The KJV uses the word, “yielding” in its place. The Hebrew word is, “marpe,” and means, “lit. a medicine or deliverance, abstract, a cure or placidity.”

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, The Seat Of The Heart

Ecclesiastes 10:2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left. [3] Even when a fool walks along the way, he lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

Verse 2 is a reference to strength. The right hand is always a reference to strength in Scripture. Take the name Benjamin, for instance. Jacob named his final son Benjamin, which means in the Hebrew, “Son of the right hand,” or “son of my strength,” Genesis 35:18. Furthermore, when Jesus answered the Sanhedrin as to whether He was the Christ, He told them, “Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven,” Matthew 26:64.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Ten, Putrefied Ointment

Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.

The preacher elicits a contrast in this verse. He invokes the idea of dead flies somehow being mingled with expensive perfume, likening that to a man renowned for wisdom, giving way to folly, even if for a moment or just a little. For someone lacking an outstanding reputation for internal integrity and honesty, erring through folly seems like a slight thing. It might be hardly noticed by most, and forgiven more easily. But when someone who is held to a high level of esteem, especially in religious circles, falls through folly, it is cataclysmic.

Exploring Grace & Worship, Part Two

The second subject for our consideration is worship. Unlike grace, worship is a somewhat harder term to pin down as far as what worship constitutes within the church of God. To begin with, if grace is God’s condescending, unmerited love toward mankind, then worship is man’s humble, ascending love toward God. If we find this an acceptable definition, then it stands to reason that we may not approach the subject of worship in terms of defining what act is considered worship and what is not. Instead, it is the spirit in which an act is performed that would make something worship.

Exploring Grace & Worship, Part One

After having an edifying discussion with my wife this last weekend while we were at a local coffee shop, she wanted me to discuss the topic of grace and worship. More specifically, how to define the terms and what they generally mean. Much can be said about both words and what they are meant to convey when used. But some Christians do seem a little confused when it comes to clearly understanding what grace and worship are. To that end, I would like to touch upon the subject and God willing, shed a little light on what both mean, and perhaps what they do not mean.

Molehills: The Doctrine Of Soul Sleep, Part Two

Moving to the final chapter in the book of Ecclesiastes we read, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it,” Ecclesiastes 12:7. This is preceded by the preacher’s warning to remember your Creator before the day of death, Ecclesiastes 12:6. God created the spirit in man, and when we die, the body molders in the earth, but the spirit returns to God. In this dispensation believers enter into immediate conscious fellowship with Christ. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit for my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better,” Philippians 1:21-23.