Focusing on What Is Best - Ecclesiastes #21

 

Ecclesiastes 5:13-17

¹³ There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
¹⁴ But those riches perish through misfortune;
When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
¹⁵ As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.

¹⁶ And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?
¹⁷ All his days he also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

This passage carries similar themes that have been discussed in a previous devotions (link here and here). In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the impressive tomb of the pharaoh who became known as King Tut. The tomb was about the size of a Brooklyn apartment, filled with many precious treasures and figurines (much of it missing due to theft). The discovery opened many opportunities for more research, some of them centering on the lavish wealth enjoyed by Egyptian royalty in Tutankhamun's day (14^th century B.C.).

Much of what was hoarded in the tomb didn’t simply show off the wealth of this pharaoh, the goods would provide significant service to him in the afterlife (according to their religious beliefs). In the new world they would continue to live at the top of the heap, and they would need to continue to fund their lifestyle. The figurines in the tomb would come to life in “heaven,” providing farm labor and other manual service. Lots of info is out there talking about this tomb and ancient Egyptian burial practices and afterlife beliefs, but think about the amount of toil and focused thought it took to prepare for this burial.

As Christians, we know that the possessions we have in this life do not “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” with us. We do not know how helpful or harmful they will be to our descendants. When we spend our lives focused on ensuring retirement, our children’s education, a nice house, etc., we miss out on the more important things in life that grow wealth in Heaven. Our lives may last for decades, but they come to an end. Eternity never ends!

In Christ,

Dan