September 4, 2022
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes Week 10: The Value and Limits of Wisdom
August 28, 2022
Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20 The author of Ecclesiastes, QOHELETH in Hebrew, continues talking wisdom as he has done throughout large parts of the book. Wisdom is the greatest asset we can have in life, apart from God himself. But there is a word of caution here about wisdom. We should not count on wisdom to guarantee us… Read More »
“Ecclesiastes Week 9: Joy-Filled Living”
August 21, 2022
Ecclesiastes 8:9-9:10 In case you haven’t noticed yet, the author of Ecclesiastes, QOHELETH in Hebrew, keeps coming back to the same answer, again and again: Find joy in the experiences of life. Even if there are aspects of life we find troubling, perplexing, or frustrating, we can and should still find joy in the moment.… Read More »
Ecclesiastes week 8: The Way of Righteousness
August 14, 2022
Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8 In our journey through the book of Ecclesiastes, the author, QOHELETH, offering wisdom for living. What is wisdom? A definition I saw is that wisdom is “seeing life from God’s perspective so we can choose the best paths in it.” QOHELETH continues, “In my life I have seen both a righteous man destroyed… Read More »
Ecclesiastes week 7: Growth is Better than Ease
July 31, 2022
Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 This little section of Ecclesiastes is a series of proverbs. Most proverbs in the Hebrew tradition basically followed a pattern of “A is better than B.” They are not difficult to understand, for the most part. Sometimes there are cultural things that need to be explained. Sometimes we lose something reading them in… Read More »
Ecclesiastes week 6: The Lure of Wealth
July 24, 2022
Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 (Dorsey Translation at the bottom) The author of Ecclesiastes, QOHELETH as he calls himself, Solomon, we presume, has touched on the subject of wealth several times here in this middle section of the book filled with practical wisdom. Here he takes a deep dive into the subject. “Money can’t buy happiness,” we often… Read More »
Ecclesiastes week 5: Wisdom for Life
July 17, 2022
Ecclesiastes 4:7-5:7 In our journey through the book of Ecclesiastes, we are continuing in a section, several chapters long, that is full of wisdom for life. As is the case with most pieces of wisdom literature, there is not necessarily a single idea tying it all together. But there is plenty of good wisdom to… Read More »
Ecclesiastes week 4: Making the Most of the Situation
July 10, 2022
Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:6 If we are thoughtful and observant about the world, it is impossible to miss that things are not as they should be. Or at least not as they should be if there is a good and just God who has created the world. If there is no such God, then who knows what… Read More »
Ecclesiastes Week 3: The Big Picture
June 26, 2022
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 If you know anything about Ecclesiastes, it’s probably chapter three, verses 1-8. These are by far the best known words from this book, and probably with good reason. There’s a wonderful rhythm to these contrasting experiences of life; some we choose, and some that are simply thrust upon us. There is that part… Read More »
Ecclesiastes Week 2: Finding Fulfillment
June 19, 2022
Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26 What will give us lasting satisfaction in life? What will make life worth living? People have been trying to answer that question from the beginning of civilization. And frankly, I don’t think a whole lot has changed in the answers. They all seem to be variations of about the same half a dozen… Read More »