The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

Category: Ecclesiastes

March 13, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 9

Ecclesiastes 9 (click here)
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)

Reflection
Why are we surprised when evil, suffering, and pain come upon us? Why do we all fall prey to the false notion “that could never happen to me…”? We clearly see that this world is broken and full of suffering, but somehow we continue to think that we are immune so that when suffering comes we are as surprised as a bird caught in a snare.

This self-deception runs deeper than simply thinking suffering will not come for us…the root lie we actually tell ourselves is this, “I am in control.” Through pursuing health, wealth, knowledge, power, beauty, popularity, etc we find a false sense of security as if any of these things put us in a position to control our lives.

Yet, if we do what Solomon does…step back and observe the world…we see that suffering is no respecter of persons. Pain and death come for the righteous and unrighteous, the wealthy and poor, the healthy and unhealthy, the wise and the foolish. Nothing under the sun provides any kind of permanent promise.  If we are honest, when we look to ourselves and all that we possess…there is nothing in which to put our faith.

That is why we must look away from ourselves. We may not know our time or what suffering is headed our way, but we can trust the one who does…God. We can trust his promises that he is with us amidst all our suffering and will bring us through it all into eternal joy-filled rest in himself. He is the only one that can make permanent promises…so he is the only one in whom we place our faith.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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March 12, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 8

Ecclesiastes 8 (click here)
Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. (Ecclesiastes 8:10-13)

Reflection
Perspective changes everything. Solomon often speaks of the injustice in all he observes “under the sun.” Many times, the wicked seem to enjoy the “rewards” of life while the righteous suffer. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Doesn’t this make pursuing righteousness vanity?

It would…if “under the sun” was the only perspective from which to view the world. However, Solomon is able to step back and somewhat view things from God’s perspective…an eternal perspective. From the vantage point of eternity he sees that it will be well with those who fear God…and for those who don’t fear God…well…let’s just say it “won’t be well.”

God is just and his justice enables us to live in peace amidst a world of seeming injustice. We can bless when we’re cursed, forgive when we’re wronged, worship amidst suffering…because we know that God will set all things right. We know that what happens under the sun is not the end, but that God will bring all to account when our days under the sun are done. He is just, and this frees us to live lives of love and forgiveness.

 

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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March 11, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 7

Ecclesiastes 7 (click here)
Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:27-29)

Reflection
Solomon has not only sought to understand his own life and search for satisfaction, but he has studied other people as well. He has tried to find out/figure out what makes them tick…what is everyone searching for in life…and at the end of the day he cannot make anymore sense of other peoples lives than he can of his own.

Every now and then he feels like he can understand another man (1 out of every 1000…not an impressive statistic), but he has never found a woman he can figure out…Ha! At least he’s honest.

After observing himself and others, he is only able to come to one conclusion…we are all broken. God made us upright and he did so for a reason. God made us with purpose and meaning, but we have gone astray from the plan and purpose of God and sought out our own schemes. This is ultimately why life feels pointless…because we have walked away from the point for which God designed life.

What is that God given point/purpose? I have a feeling that only God can tell us… and I have an even stronger feeling that he already has told us. Perhaps that is where Solomon is leading us.

 

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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