Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day three hundred and 10.
Immersed in Ecclesiastes.
The books of the Bible come together to tell the overarching story of
God, the world and the way back to life and blessing after humanity's
rebellion against the Creator.
We don't live in a world where everyone follows the wisdom of God's good ways.
Many things have gone terribly wrong.
Therefore, our experience is a deep mystery.
We know creation and life, but also brokenness and death.
There is one place in the Bible where this mystery is a addressed
headon, the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Here, the author recognizes that things are more complex than the simple
pattern generally found in Proverbs.
Do good and good things will happen to you.
The more probing wisdom of Ecclesiastes acknowledges hard truths.
What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
This somber statement proclaims that life is inscrutable and
unpredictable in many ways.
Ecclesiastes sets out to look at the experience of life as it is really lived.
Rather than trying to rationally explain everything, it relentlessly explores
what actually happens under the sun.
That is it, the world as we know it.
Ecclesiastes contains the reflections of a man known as the teacher,
traditionally associated with Solomon.
Who should be respected because he was considered wise and he taught
the people everything he knew.
He listened carefully to many Proverbs studying and classifying them.
The teacher knows all about the helpful and compact wisdom sayings of the
sages, yet he is clearly frustrated by his experiences of life's injustices,
absurdities, and impermanence.
The thing that is so hard to find in our world is good and fulfilling, meaning that
lasts beyond a lifetime or even a moment.
Often we find that significant portions of life are unfulfilling and superficial.
The achievements and benefits of prolonged hard work can be quickly
lost by unforeseen disasters and the poor stewardship of others.
Even gaining wisdom itself doesn't necessarily help us have success in life.
So what then is the point of it all?
The teacher shares his insights over the course of seven
reflections in these reflections.
He carefully observes various aspects of life on this earth and meditates
on what he sees alternating between poetry and prose in his explorations.
On the surface, these reflections seem casual and rambling, mirroring
life in a world where one never knows what to expect next.
But the book of Ecclesiastes presents them all inside an elegant framework.
Prologue the words of the teacher theme statement, everything is meaningless.
Poem seven Major reflections.
Poem, theme statement, everything is meaningless.
Epilogue the words of the teacher.
Ecclesiastes seems to offer two conclusions to its musings.
One immediate, and one more.
All ultimate in the short term, given the crookedness and futility
that marks so much of life.
The teacher declares that it makes sense to find enjoyment in the present moment
through the small pleasures of the day.
As he says, there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and
to find satisfaction in work.
These pleasures are from the hand of God, but at the book's end, we find
a bigger, more important lesson, even though we cannot always see the deeper
meaning of life in how things work out.
It is crucial to know that God is watching and working in ways that we can't discern.
Indeed.
One day he will make everything clear, bringing all our actions to light.
As we learn later in the Bible's story on that day, the creation's
futility will come to an end and all things in heaven and on earth.
We'll find their full restoration.
The book of Ecclesiastes.
These are the words of the teacher, king, David's son who ruled in Jerusalem.
Everything is meaningless, says the teacher.
Completely meaningless.
What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?
Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
The sun rises and the sun sets then hurries around to rise again.
The wind blows south and then turns north around and around
and goes blowing in circles.
Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full.
Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.
Everything is weary.
Some beyond description.
No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied.
No matter how much we hear, we are not.
Content.
History merely repeats itself.
It has all been done before.
Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Sometimes people say, here is something new, but actually it is old.
Nothing is ever truly new.
We don't remember what happened in the past and in future generations, no one
will remember what we are doing Now.
I, the teacher was king of Israel and I lived in Jerusalem.
I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom,
everything being done under heaven.
I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
I observed everything going on under the sun, and really it is all
meaningless, like chasing the wind.
What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing, cannot be recovered.
I said to myself, look, I am wiser than any of the kings who
ruled in Jerusalem before me.
I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.
So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly.
But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief To increase
knowledge only increases sorrow.
I said to myself, come on, let's try pleasure's.
Look for the good things in life.
But I found that this too was meaningless.
So I said, laughter is silly.
What good does it do to seek pleasure?
After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine, and while still seeking
wisdom, I clutched at foolishness.
In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find
during their brief life in this world.
I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and
by planting beautiful vineyards.
I made gardens and parks filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.
I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves.
I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born in into my household.
I also owned large herds and flocks more than any of the kings who
had lived in Jerusalem before me.
I collected great sums of silver and gold.
The treasure of many kings and provinces.
I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines.
I had everything a man could desire, so I became greater than all who
had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me.
Anything I wanted, I would take.
I denied myself.
No pleasure.
I even found great pleasure and hard work, a reward for all my labors, but
as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so
meaningless, like chasing the wind.
There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness for who can do
this better than I the king I thought.
Wisdom is better than foolishness.
Just as light is better than darkness for the wise can see where they are going.
But fools walk in the dark.
Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate, both will die.
So I said to myself, since I will end up the same as the fool,
what's the value of all my wisdom?
This is also meaningless for the wise and the foolish.
Both die.
The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool In the days
to come, both will be forgotten.
So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling.
Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
I came to hate all my hard work here on Earth for I must leave to others.
Everything I have earned and who can tell whether my successors
will be wise or foolish.
Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill
and hard work under the sun.
How meaningless.
So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.
Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must
leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn't worked for it.
This too is meaningless, A great tragedy.
So what do people get in this life?
For all their hard work and anxiety, their days of labor
are filled with pain and grief.
Even at night, their minds cannot rest.
It is all meaningless.
So I decided there was nothing better than to enjoy food and drink
and to find satisfaction in work.
Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God for who can
eat or enjoy anything apart from him.
God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him.
But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and
gives it to those who please him.
This too is meaningless, like chasing the wind for everything.
There is a season, a time for every activity under heaven, a time to
be born and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry, and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search, and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
What do people really get for all their hard work?
I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.
God has made everything beautiful for its own time.
He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people
cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.
So I concluded there was nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as
long as we can, and people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their
labor for these are gifts from God.
And I know that whatever God does is final.
Nothing can be added to it or taken from it.
God's purpose is that people should fear him.
What is happening now has happened before and what will happen in the future has
happened before because God makes the same things happen over and over again.
I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom.
Yes.
Even the courts of law are corrupt.
I said to myself in due season, God will judge everyone, both
good and bad for all their deeds.
I also thought about the human condition, how God proves to people
that they are like animals for people, and animals share the same fate.
Both breathe and both must die.
So people have no real advantage over the animals, how meaningless.
Both go to the same place.
They came from dust and they returned to dust.
For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of
animals goes down into the earth.
So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work.
That is our lot in life, and no one can bring us back to
see what happens after we die.
I, again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun.
I saw the tears of the oppressed with no one to comfort them.
The oppressors have great power and their victims are helpless.
So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living.
But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born for, they have not seen
all the evil that is done under the sun.
Then I observe that most people are motivated to success because they
envy their neighbors, but this too is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
Fools fold their idle hands leading them to ruin, and yet better to have one
handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.
I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.
This is the case of a man who was all alone without a child or
a brother yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can.
But then he asks himself, who am I working for?
Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?
It is all so meaningless and depressing.
Two people are better off than one for they can help each other succeed.
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help, but someone
who falls alone is in real trouble.
Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm.
But how can one be warm alone?
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can
stand back to back and conquer.
Three are even better.
For a triple braided cord is not easily broken.
It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish
king who refuses all advice.
Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed.
He might even become king, though he has been in prison.
But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him.
Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation
grows up and rejects him too.
So it is all meaningless, like chasing the wind.
As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut.
It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.
Don't make rash promises and don't be hasty in bringing matters before God.
After all, God is in heaven and you are here on earth.
So let your words be few.
Too much activity gives you restless dreams.
Too many words make you a fool when you make a promise to God.
Don't delay in following through.
For God takes no pleasure in fools.
Keep all the promises you make to him.
It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.
Don't let your mouth make you sin and don't defend yourself by telling
the temple Messenger that the promise you made was a mistake that would
make God angry and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities fear God instead.
Don't be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful.
And if justice is being miscarried throughout the land, for every
official is under orders from higher up and matters of justice, get
lost in red tape and bureaucracy.
Even the king milks the land for his own profit, those who love
money will never have enough.
How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness?
The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it.
So what good is wealth?
Except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers.
People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat a little or much, but the
rich seldom get a good night's sleep.
There was another serious problem I have seen under the sun
hoarding riches, harms the saver.
Money is put into risky investments that turns sour and
everything is lost in the end.
There is nothing left to pass on to one's children.
We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty handed
as on the day we were born.
We can't take our riches with us, and this too is a very serious problem.
People leave this world no better off than when they came.
All their hard work is for nothing like working for the wind.
Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud.
Frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
Even so I have noticed one thing at least that is good.
It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun,
during the short life God has given them and to accept their lot in life.
And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good
health to enjoy it, to enjoy your work and accept your lot in life.
This is indeed a gift from God.
God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take
no time to brood over the past.
This concludes today's Immer Reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.