Daily Devotional

  Ecclesiastes 3:11; Galatians 4:4-5 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.   But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Throughout A Christmas Carol, Scrooge—a man who demanded accuracy and precision in his life and business—had zero control over time. The Ghost of Christmas Past appeared at the right time, but Present was late, and Future was early! Also, he had no idea how much time had passed for the dreams to occur; it seemed like days. How relieving when he got the attention of a boy to ask what day it was, and it was Christmas day. He didn’t miss it! He gets a second chance to benefit from more time on earth, but this time to make amends!   Just like Scro...

  Ecclesiastes 4:13-16  13  Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. 14  For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom. 15  I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who stands in his place. 16  There was  no end of all the people over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also  is  vanity and grasping for the wind. Tony Danza portrays a veteran pitcher in a cheesy movie from my childhood, “Angels in the Outfield.” His career is ending abruptly, and people are remembering how great he once was. As he’s signing autographs, a star-struck boy gets his attention, exclaiming “You used to be Mel Clark!” He dejectedly replies, “Yeah, I used to be.” In Ecclesiastes, Solomon proclaims he “was king over Israel” (Ecc. 1:12). Of course, he was still the king, just like Mel Clark...

  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 9  Two  are  better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him  who is  alone when he falls, For  he has  no one to help him up. 11  Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm  alone? 12  Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” There is something considerably more stinging about Ebenezer’s words than a simple refusing to be charitable. In stave three of A Christmas Carol, he gets to see that in his clerk’s frail son, Tiny Tim Cratchit. As the Ghost of Christmas Present reminds him of what he said to the gentlemen seeking a donation to help the poor, he now has a face. A face of a young boy soon to succumb to ...

  Ecclesiastes 4:7-8 7  Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: 8  There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet  there is  no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But   he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also  is  vanity and a grave misfortune. Work, work, work…get, get, get…take, take, take…spend, spend, spend…More, More, More! It’s the mantra of many who strive to be the best in their respective fields. There’s not much room in that chant for personal time either, especially bringing others into that time like family and friends. Ebenezer Scrooge is the epitome of loneliness. He had a business partner, but they seemed to be in business together and each alone in the business at the same time. Also, Dickens clearly points out a potential heir: his nephew, Fred. Ebenezer could have been investing his time and business sense into F...

  Ecclesiastes 4:4-6 4  Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also  is  vanity and grasping for the wind. 5  The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh. 6  Better a handful  with  quietness Than both hands full,  together with  toil and grasping for the wind. Since Christmas is next week, the next few devotions will look at Ebenezer Scrooge as an example. The main character from Charles Dickins’ popular novella, A Christmas Carol, captures the essence of the skillful man described in verse 4 of this passage. Along with his partner, Jacob Marley, he built a respectable counting house (financial investments, money lending, etc.) in Victorian-era London.  Scrooge is the stereotypical pathetic, stingy miser who refuses to heat his business (especially for his employee), properly light his home and business, or give to any charitable cause. His tight-fisted wicked...

Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— On the side of their oppressors  there is  power, But they have no comforter. 2  Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. 3  Yet, better than both  is he  who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. Thus far through Ecclesiastes, we’ve seen the vanity of our lives when we choose not to trust in God’s direction. Oftentimes, God will steer us through lives that don’t give us the greatest of pleasures. We work hard, and from that work we hope to earn enough money to take care of our needs and bills. If we have a little extra, and develop the discipline to save it, we could enjoy a needed vacation or a nice toy. Then there’s the need to negotiate how we will support the winter season of our li...

Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 16  Moreover I saw under the sun: In  the place of judgment, Wickedness  was  there; And  in  the place of righteousness, Iniquity  was  there. 17  I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For  there is  a time there for every purpose and for every work.” 18  I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are  like  animals.”  19  For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all  is  vanity.  20  All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.  21  Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?...

Ecclesiastes 3:12-15 12  I know that nothing  is  better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,  13  and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it  is  the gift of God. 14  I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does  it,  that men should fear before Him. 15  That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past. In this passage, we begin to see one of the main thrusts of Ecclesiastes: fearing God. In verse 14, God’s omnipotence is affirmed (God is all-powerful, He can do all His holy will); whatever He accomplishes, it is as perpetually and as thoroughly completed as He intends. We have no ability to add or take away from what God decrees, and that is a good reason to honor and respect Him. From this respect of God, we can view a...

Ecclesiastes 3:9-11 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. This passage contains probably my two favorite phrases in Ecclesiastes: “He has made everything beautiful in its time,” and, “He has put eternity in their hearts.” Sometimes I forget that these phrases are said back-to-back and belong in the same verse! They take us back to creation, when God saw everything He created and declared it to be “good.” Also, to the end, with the creation of the New Jerusalem, with everything perfect and more beautiful than what is possible on earth (for example, gold isn’t clear here). These phrases are easy to misunderstand and get out of context, because we want to see them fulfilled in the here and now. In other words, we...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 To everything  there is  a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 2  A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck  what is  planted; 3  A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4  A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 5  A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6  A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7  A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8  A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace. Maybe the 1960s hit from the Byrds flows through your head when you read this passage. Another song that comes to my mind is from the acclaimed musical Fiddler on the Roof , “Sunrise, Sunset...

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 Nothing  is  better for a man  than  that he should eat and drink, and  that  his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who  is  good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to  him who is  good before God. This also  is  vanity and grasping for the wind. We are all sinners, so we get stuck with the task of “gathering and collecting” as a way of life. In a sense, this is part of God’s original design for a sinless world (subdue the earth, have dominion over animals: Genesis 1:28-30), but due to sin, the task is considerably more difficult. Thorns, weeds, pests, diseases, fatigue, poor health, death, a bunch of other awful stuff. With all this toil and trouble, wouldn’t it be nice to at least h...

Ecclesiastes 2:17-23 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun  was  distressing to me, for all  is  vanity and grasping for the wind. Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also  is  vanity. Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. For there is a man whose labor  is  with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also  is  vanity and a great evil. For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days  are  sorrowful, and his work burdensome;...

Ecclesiastes 2:12-16 12  Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what  can  the man  do  who succeeds the king?— Only  what he has already done. 13  Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness. 14  The wise man’s eyes  are  in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all. 15  So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also  is  vanity.” 16  For  there is  no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now  is  will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise  man  die? As the fool! Are you rich, poor, or somewhere in between? Are you wise or foolish (or somewhere in between)? No matter the state of your bank account ...

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also  was  vanity. I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” I searched in my heart  how  to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds  of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasur...

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 12  I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.  13  And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.  14  I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all  is  vanity and grasping for the wind. 15  What is  crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. 16  I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.”  17  And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. 18  For in much wisdom  is  much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. About twenty ...

Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 8  All things  are full of labor; Man cannot express  it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. 9  That which has been  is  what will be, That which  is  done is what will be done, And  there is  nothing new under the sun. 10  Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this  is  new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11  There is  no remembrance of former  things, Nor will there be any remembrance of  things  that are to come By  those  who will come after. Sometimes I appreciate pessimists. If there was an all-time pessimism Olympics, Solomon might win it with these words and others in Ecclesiastes! The Debbie Downers of our world can be helpful though, for from pessimism often comes realism. These few verses make an excellent summary for our mundane lives, especially the phrase in this passage,...