THIS IS TABLE ROCK FELLOWSHIP – PASTOR RYAN LADEN
| Ecclesiastes There is a book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes that follows the Wisdom materials known as the books of Psalms and Proverbs. The two books of Psalms and Proverbs are compendiums of Spirit-inspired wisdom from the Lord that the people of God have embraced as authoritative from as early as the sixth century BC. Like them, Ecclesiastes is a message of wisdom that can be traced back to the same timeframe as that of the book of Proverbs. Ecclesiastes does not have a named author, but speaks in the voice of “The Teacher,” a title that was used extensively by the pre-Christian group called the Essenes, who ran a massive religious compound in Qumran, the source of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This community quoted extensively from the book of Ecclesiastes and saw its Spirit-inspired wisdom as a guide for cultivating a God-focused perspective on life. Meaningless When I first read Ecclesiastes, I was not impressed. I found the material to be too pessimistic, too harsh and unwilling to acknowledge the good and beauty of the created order. The author surmises that all things in this world are meaningless, like dust flying through the air. Not what a young man seeking to build his life wants to hear. However, with time and maturity, I have come to love the wisdom expressed in this book. Yes, its harshness still does not sit right with my optimistic outlook on life, but I see the truth of God in it more now than ever. Example Below is an example of the kind of evaluation that The Teacher provides on life: “What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”Ecclesiastes 2:22-26 NIV11 Summary The Teacher walks the reader through a series of examinations of almost every element of life, the good and the bad, and draws the same conclusion after each. There is no higher calling and greater joy in life than to enjoy the goodness that God provides in an attitude of thankfulness and worship. We cannot do better than to take what the Lord provides and enjoy each day as it comes. Highlights Below you will find a few of my favorite highlights from the message of wisdom provided in the book of Ecclesiastes. Reflect on them, and if you want to hear more, give it a read. It is NOT a meaningless endeavor. In Christ,Ryan Laden “I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.”Ecclesiastes 3:10-14 NIV11 “Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.”Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 NIV11 “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.”Ecclesiastes 7:14 NIV11 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NIV11 |
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