WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:02.860 Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience. 00:00:02.990 --> 00:00:04.050 Day three hundred and 10. 00:00:04.689 --> 00:00:06.579 Immersed in Ecclesiastes. 00:00:08.799 --> 00:00:12.849 The books of the Bible come together to tell the overarching story of 00:00:12.854 --> 00:00:18.489 God, the world and the way back to life and blessing after humanity's 00:00:18.489 --> 00:00:20.319 rebellion against the Creator. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:25.719 We don't live in a world where everyone follows the wisdom of God's good ways. 00:00:26.589 --> 00:00:28.929 Many things have gone terribly wrong. 00:00:29.829 --> 00:00:33.039 Therefore, our experience is a deep mystery. 00:00:33.729 --> 00:00:38.649 We know creation and life, but also brokenness and death. 00:00:39.879 --> 00:00:43.419 There is one place in the Bible where this mystery is a addressed 00:00:43.419 --> 00:00:46.269 headon, the Book of Ecclesiastes. 00:00:47.589 --> 00:00:52.389 Here, the author recognizes that things are more complex than the simple 00:00:52.389 --> 00:00:54.669 pattern generally found in Proverbs. 00:00:55.299 --> 00:00:58.119 Do good and good things will happen to you. 00:00:58.689 --> 00:01:03.699 The more probing wisdom of Ecclesiastes acknowledges hard truths. 00:01:04.449 --> 00:01:07.269 What is wrong cannot be made right. 00:01:08.169 --> 00:01:10.929 What is missing cannot be recovered. 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:16.989 This somber statement proclaims that life is inscrutable and 00:01:16.989 --> 00:01:18.669 unpredictable in many ways. 00:01:20.514 --> 00:01:26.424 Ecclesiastes sets out to look at the experience of life as it is really lived. 00:01:26.844 --> 00:01:32.634 Rather than trying to rationally explain everything, it relentlessly explores 00:01:32.634 --> 00:01:35.514 what actually happens under the sun. 00:01:35.934 --> 00:01:38.244 That is it, the world as we know it. 00:01:39.534 --> 00:01:44.424 Ecclesiastes contains the reflections of a man known as the teacher, 00:01:44.964 --> 00:01:47.214 traditionally associated with Solomon. 00:01:47.649 --> 00:01:53.049 Who should be respected because he was considered wise and he taught 00:01:53.049 --> 00:01:54.849 the people everything he knew. 00:01:55.449 --> 00:02:00.459 He listened carefully to many Proverbs studying and classifying them. 00:02:01.269 --> 00:02:06.279 The teacher knows all about the helpful and compact wisdom sayings of the 00:02:06.279 --> 00:02:12.519 sages, yet he is clearly frustrated by his experiences of life's injustices, 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.339 absurdities, and impermanence. 00:02:16.134 --> 00:02:21.684 The thing that is so hard to find in our world is good and fulfilling, meaning that 00:02:21.684 --> 00:02:25.194 lasts beyond a lifetime or even a moment. 00:02:26.334 --> 00:02:32.514 Often we find that significant portions of life are unfulfilling and superficial. 00:02:33.354 --> 00:02:37.824 The achievements and benefits of prolonged hard work can be quickly 00:02:37.824 --> 00:02:42.534 lost by unforeseen disasters and the poor stewardship of others. 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:49.059 Even gaining wisdom itself doesn't necessarily help us have success in life. 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:52.749 So what then is the point of it all? 00:02:54.009 --> 00:02:57.339 The teacher shares his insights over the course of seven 00:02:57.339 --> 00:03:00.309 reflections in these reflections. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:05.589 He carefully observes various aspects of life on this earth and meditates 00:03:05.589 --> 00:03:11.109 on what he sees alternating between poetry and prose in his explorations. 00:03:11.994 --> 00:03:17.454 On the surface, these reflections seem casual and rambling, mirroring 00:03:17.454 --> 00:03:21.174 life in a world where one never knows what to expect next. 00:03:22.164 --> 00:03:27.414 But the book of Ecclesiastes presents them all inside an elegant framework. 00:03:29.004 --> 00:03:36.174 Prologue the words of the teacher theme statement, everything is meaningless. 00:03:37.104 --> 00:03:40.704 Poem seven Major reflections. 00:03:41.619 --> 00:03:46.419 Poem, theme statement, everything is meaningless. 00:03:47.559 --> 00:03:50.139 Epilogue the words of the teacher. 00:03:51.489 --> 00:03:56.049 Ecclesiastes seems to offer two conclusions to its musings. 00:03:56.679 --> 00:03:58.359 One immediate, and one more. 00:03:58.364 --> 00:04:03.309 All ultimate in the short term, given the crookedness and futility 00:04:03.309 --> 00:04:05.109 that marks so much of life. 00:04:05.619 --> 00:04:10.239 The teacher declares that it makes sense to find enjoyment in the present moment 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:12.489 through the small pleasures of the day. 00:04:13.509 --> 00:04:18.609 As he says, there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and 00:04:18.609 --> 00:04:20.619 to find satisfaction in work. 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:26.439 These pleasures are from the hand of God, but at the book's end, we find 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:32.649 a bigger, more important lesson, even though we cannot always see the deeper 00:04:32.649 --> 00:04:35.049 meaning of life in how things work out. 00:04:35.544 --> 00:04:41.454 It is crucial to know that God is watching and working in ways that we can't discern. 00:04:42.144 --> 00:04:42.834 Indeed. 00:04:43.374 --> 00:04:48.474 One day he will make everything clear, bringing all our actions to light. 00:04:49.344 --> 00:04:54.624 As we learn later in the Bible's story on that day, the creation's 00:04:54.624 --> 00:05:00.324 futility will come to an end and all things in heaven and on earth. 00:05:00.804 --> 00:05:03.054 We'll find their full restoration. 00:05:08.124 --> 00:05:09.354 The book of Ecclesiastes. 00:05:11.604 --> 00:05:16.824 These are the words of the teacher, king, David's son who ruled in Jerusalem. 00:05:18.414 --> 00:05:20.904 Everything is meaningless, says the teacher. 00:05:21.624 --> 00:05:23.274 Completely meaningless. 00:05:24.774 --> 00:05:27.714 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 00:05:28.704 --> 00:05:33.204 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 00:05:34.044 --> 00:05:39.324 The sun rises and the sun sets then hurries around to rise again. 00:05:40.494 --> 00:05:45.504 The wind blows south and then turns north around and around 00:05:45.509 --> 00:05:47.934 and goes blowing in circles. 00:05:48.804 --> 00:05:52.284 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. 00:05:53.304 --> 00:05:57.174 Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 00:05:58.269 --> 00:05:59.619 Everything is weary. 00:05:59.619 --> 00:06:01.209 Some beyond description. 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:05.529 No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:08.349 No matter how much we hear, we are not. 00:06:08.354 --> 00:06:08.949 Content. 00:06:10.209 --> 00:06:12.189 History merely repeats itself. 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:14.199 It has all been done before. 00:06:14.979 --> 00:06:17.319 Nothing under the sun is truly new. 00:06:18.159 --> 00:06:23.019 Sometimes people say, here is something new, but actually it is old. 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:25.509 Nothing is ever truly new. 00:06:26.349 --> 00:06:31.179 We don't remember what happened in the past and in future generations, no one 00:06:31.179 --> 00:06:33.189 will remember what we are doing Now. 00:06:34.689 --> 00:06:39.339 I, the teacher was king of Israel and I lived in Jerusalem. 00:06:40.179 --> 00:06:44.799 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom, 00:06:44.799 --> 00:06:46.569 everything being done under heaven. 00:06:47.889 --> 00:06:52.029 I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 00:06:53.049 --> 00:06:56.919 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really it is all 00:06:56.919 --> 00:06:59.559 meaningless, like chasing the wind. 00:07:00.819 --> 00:07:02.649 What is wrong cannot be made right. 00:07:03.219 --> 00:07:05.259 What is missing, cannot be recovered. 00:07:06.429 --> 00:07:10.539 I said to myself, look, I am wiser than any of the kings who 00:07:10.539 --> 00:07:12.249 ruled in Jerusalem before me. 00:07:13.029 --> 00:07:15.639 I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them. 00:07:16.599 --> 00:07:20.979 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. 00:07:22.164 --> 00:07:26.454 But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind. 00:07:27.504 --> 00:07:32.004 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief To increase 00:07:32.004 --> 00:07:34.224 knowledge only increases sorrow. 00:07:35.454 --> 00:07:39.604 I said to myself, come on, let's try pleasure's. 00:07:39.624 --> 00:07:41.694 Look for the good things in life. 00:07:42.474 --> 00:07:45.624 But I found that this too was meaningless. 00:07:46.344 --> 00:07:48.864 So I said, laughter is silly. 00:07:49.419 --> 00:07:51.429 What good does it do to seek pleasure? 00:07:52.689 --> 00:07:58.179 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine, and while still seeking 00:07:58.179 --> 00:08:00.849 wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. 00:08:01.689 --> 00:08:06.009 In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find 00:08:06.014 --> 00:08:08.349 during their brief life in this world. 00:08:08.769 --> 00:08:14.199 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:16.059 by planting beautiful vineyards. 00:08:17.124 --> 00:08:21.714 I made gardens and parks filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 00:08:22.464 --> 00:08:27.984 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 00:08:28.884 --> 00:08:34.014 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born in into my household. 00:08:34.734 --> 00:08:39.204 I also owned large herds and flocks more than any of the kings who 00:08:39.204 --> 00:08:41.064 had lived in Jerusalem before me. 00:08:41.874 --> 00:08:44.694 I collected great sums of silver and gold. 00:08:45.414 --> 00:08:47.874 The treasure of many kings and provinces. 00:08:48.984 --> 00:08:54.594 I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. 00:08:55.704 --> 00:09:00.594 I had everything a man could desire, so I became greater than all who 00:09:00.599 --> 00:09:05.034 had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 00:09:05.874 --> 00:09:08.424 Anything I wanted, I would take. 00:09:09.294 --> 00:09:10.314 I denied myself. 00:09:10.314 --> 00:09:11.064 No pleasure. 00:09:11.784 --> 00:09:17.274 I even found great pleasure and hard work, a reward for all my labors, but 00:09:17.274 --> 00:09:21.714 as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so 00:09:21.714 --> 00:09:24.834 meaningless, like chasing the wind. 00:09:25.944 --> 00:09:28.254 There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. 00:09:28.564 --> 00:09:34.884 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness for who can do 00:09:34.884 --> 00:09:37.824 this better than I the king I thought. 00:09:38.769 --> 00:09:40.929 Wisdom is better than foolishness. 00:09:40.989 --> 00:09:45.699 Just as light is better than darkness for the wise can see where they are going. 00:09:46.059 --> 00:09:47.709 But fools walk in the dark. 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:54.489 Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate, both will die. 00:09:55.389 --> 00:09:59.529 So I said to myself, since I will end up the same as the fool, 00:09:59.979 --> 00:10:01.899 what's the value of all my wisdom? 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:06.249 This is also meaningless for the wise and the foolish. 00:10:06.249 --> 00:10:06.819 Both die. 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:11.949 The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool In the days 00:10:11.949 --> 00:10:14.049 to come, both will be forgotten. 00:10:15.009 --> 00:10:20.289 So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. 00:10:20.859 --> 00:10:24.219 Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind. 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:29.649 I came to hate all my hard work here on Earth for I must leave to others. 00:10:29.649 --> 00:10:33.309 Everything I have earned and who can tell whether my successors 00:10:33.309 --> 00:10:35.109 will be wise or foolish. 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.459 Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:41.679 and hard work under the sun. 00:10:42.309 --> 00:10:43.449 How meaningless. 00:10:44.199 --> 00:10:49.569 So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world. 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:54.699 Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must 00:10:54.699 --> 00:10:57.519 leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn't worked for it. 00:10:58.389 --> 00:11:01.419 This too is meaningless, A great tragedy. 00:11:02.349 --> 00:11:03.939 So what do people get in this life? 00:11:03.939 --> 00:11:08.049 For all their hard work and anxiety, their days of labor 00:11:08.049 --> 00:11:10.119 are filled with pain and grief. 00:11:10.479 --> 00:11:13.119 Even at night, their minds cannot rest. 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:14.919 It is all meaningless. 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:19.269 So I decided there was nothing better than to enjoy food and drink 00:11:19.779 --> 00:11:21.669 and to find satisfaction in work. 00:11:22.719 --> 00:11:27.189 Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God for who can 00:11:27.189 --> 00:11:29.229 eat or enjoy anything apart from him. 00:11:30.294 --> 00:11:34.674 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. 00:11:35.304 --> 00:11:39.324 But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and 00:11:39.324 --> 00:11:40.764 gives it to those who please him. 00:11:41.664 --> 00:11:47.364 This too is meaningless, like chasing the wind for everything. 00:11:47.364 --> 00:11:52.824 There is a season, a time for every activity under heaven, a time to 00:11:52.824 --> 00:11:58.734 be born and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to harvest. 00:11:59.754 --> 00:12:02.184 A time to kill and a time to heal. 00:12:03.294 --> 00:12:05.874 A time to tear down and a time to build up. 00:12:06.924 --> 00:12:09.564 A time to cry, and a time to laugh. 00:12:10.794 --> 00:12:13.284 A time to grieve, and a time to dance. 00:12:14.304 --> 00:12:17.634 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones. 00:12:18.594 --> 00:12:21.654 A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 00:12:22.944 --> 00:12:25.854 A time to search, and a time to quit searching. 00:12:26.904 --> 00:12:29.814 A time to keep and a time to throw away. 00:12:30.984 --> 00:12:33.174 A time to tear and a time to mend. 00:12:33.984 --> 00:12:36.924 A time to be quiet, and a time to speak. 00:12:38.094 --> 00:12:40.344 A time to love, and a time to hate. 00:12:41.364 --> 00:12:44.784 A time for war and a time for peace. 00:12:46.404 --> 00:12:48.834 What do people really get for all their hard work? 00:12:49.944 --> 00:12:52.464 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 00:12:53.394 --> 00:12:56.064 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. 00:12:56.784 --> 00:13:01.704 He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people 00:13:01.704 --> 00:13:05.424 cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. 00:13:06.054 --> 00:13:10.194 So I concluded there was nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as 00:13:10.194 --> 00:13:15.294 long as we can, and people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their 00:13:15.294 --> 00:13:18.294 labor for these are gifts from God. 00:13:19.554 --> 00:13:21.954 And I know that whatever God does is final. 00:13:22.629 --> 00:13:25.209 Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:28.239 God's purpose is that people should fear him. 00:13:29.199 --> 00:13:33.279 What is happening now has happened before and what will happen in the future has 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:38.949 happened before because God makes the same things happen over and over again. 00:13:39.359 --> 00:13:44.559 I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. 00:13:45.009 --> 00:13:45.339 Yes. 00:13:45.339 --> 00:13:47.349 Even the courts of law are corrupt. 00:13:48.369 --> 00:13:52.689 I said to myself in due season, God will judge everyone, both 00:13:52.694 --> 00:13:54.819 good and bad for all their deeds. 00:13:55.809 --> 00:13:59.439 I also thought about the human condition, how God proves to people 00:13:59.444 --> 00:14:03.999 that they are like animals for people, and animals share the same fate. 00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:06.969 Both breathe and both must die. 00:14:07.719 --> 00:14:11.889 So people have no real advantage over the animals, how meaningless. 00:14:12.609 --> 00:14:14.109 Both go to the same place. 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.109 They came from dust and they returned to dust. 00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:21.759 For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:23.589 animals goes down into the earth. 00:14:24.729 --> 00:14:28.419 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:33.309 That is our lot in life, and no one can bring us back to 00:14:33.309 --> 00:14:35.019 see what happens after we die. 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:40.809 I, again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:45.609 I saw the tears of the oppressed with no one to comfort them. 00:14:46.389 --> 00:14:50.259 The oppressors have great power and their victims are helpless. 00:14:51.189 --> 00:14:53.949 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 00:14:54.939 --> 00:14:59.979 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born for, they have not seen 00:14:59.979 --> 00:15:02.049 all the evil that is done under the sun. 00:15:03.459 --> 00:15:07.449 Then I observe that most people are motivated to success because they 00:15:07.449 --> 00:15:12.099 envy their neighbors, but this too is meaningless, like chasing the wind. 00:15:13.209 --> 00:15:19.779 Fools fold their idle hands leading them to ruin, and yet better to have one 00:15:19.779 --> 00:15:24.429 handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind. 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:29.109 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 00:15:29.439 --> 00:15:33.939 This is the case of a man who was all alone without a child or 00:15:33.939 --> 00:15:37.359 a brother yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:40.819 But then he asks himself, who am I working for? 00:15:41.649 --> 00:15:43.749 Why am I giving up so much pleasure now? 00:15:44.979 --> 00:15:47.679 It is all so meaningless and depressing. 00:15:48.669 --> 00:15:52.449 Two people are better off than one for they can help each other succeed. 00:15:53.079 --> 00:15:57.849 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help, but someone 00:15:57.854 --> 00:15:59.979 who falls alone is in real trouble. 00:16:00.969 --> 00:16:04.839 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. 00:16:05.529 --> 00:16:07.329 But how can one be warm alone? 00:16:08.289 --> 00:16:12.399 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:14.469 stand back to back and conquer. 00:16:15.219 --> 00:16:16.569 Three are even better. 00:16:16.749 --> 00:16:19.839 For a triple braided cord is not easily broken. 00:16:21.249 --> 00:16:25.359 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish 00:16:25.364 --> 00:16:28.029 king who refuses all advice. 00:16:28.809 --> 00:16:31.629 Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. 00:16:32.229 --> 00:16:35.319 He might even become king, though he has been in prison. 00:16:36.384 --> 00:16:40.464 But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. 00:16:41.274 --> 00:16:45.114 Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation 00:16:45.119 --> 00:16:46.764 grows up and rejects him too. 00:16:47.484 --> 00:16:50.934 So it is all meaningless, like chasing the wind. 00:16:51.344 --> 00:16:56.484 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. 00:16:57.414 --> 00:16:59.994 It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. 00:17:00.564 --> 00:17:05.304 Don't make rash promises and don't be hasty in bringing matters before God. 00:17:06.249 --> 00:17:09.849 After all, God is in heaven and you are here on earth. 00:17:10.389 --> 00:17:12.189 So let your words be few. 00:17:13.509 --> 00:17:16.179 Too much activity gives you restless dreams. 00:17:16.869 --> 00:17:21.249 Too many words make you a fool when you make a promise to God. 00:17:21.549 --> 00:17:23.199 Don't delay in following through. 00:17:23.769 --> 00:17:25.779 For God takes no pleasure in fools. 00:17:26.589 --> 00:17:28.779 Keep all the promises you make to him. 00:17:29.889 --> 00:17:33.449 It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. 00:17:34.434 --> 00:17:39.054 Don't let your mouth make you sin and don't defend yourself by telling 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:43.254 the temple Messenger that the promise you made was a mistake that would 00:17:43.254 --> 00:17:47.394 make God angry and he might wipe out everything you have achieved. 00:17:48.414 --> 00:17:55.464 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities fear God instead. 00:17:56.544 --> 00:18:00.294 Don't be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful. 00:18:01.044 --> 00:18:05.304 And if justice is being miscarried throughout the land, for every 00:18:05.304 --> 00:18:09.174 official is under orders from higher up and matters of justice, get 00:18:09.179 --> 00:18:11.394 lost in red tape and bureaucracy. 00:18:12.174 --> 00:18:16.824 Even the king milks the land for his own profit, those who love 00:18:16.824 --> 00:18:18.384 money will never have enough. 00:18:19.614 --> 00:18:22.674 How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness? 00:18:23.424 --> 00:18:26.964 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. 00:18:28.074 --> 00:18:29.124 So what good is wealth? 00:18:30.114 --> 00:18:32.724 Except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers. 00:18:33.834 --> 00:18:39.174 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat a little or much, but the 00:18:39.174 --> 00:18:41.184 rich seldom get a good night's sleep. 00:18:42.234 --> 00:18:45.204 There was another serious problem I have seen under the sun 00:18:45.924 --> 00:18:48.384 hoarding riches, harms the saver. 00:18:49.284 --> 00:18:52.974 Money is put into risky investments that turns sour and 00:18:52.974 --> 00:18:55.734 everything is lost in the end. 00:18:55.974 --> 00:18:58.914 There is nothing left to pass on to one's children. 00:18:59.664 --> 00:19:04.314 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty handed 00:19:04.314 --> 00:19:05.904 as on the day we were born. 00:19:06.684 --> 00:19:12.564 We can't take our riches with us, and this too is a very serious problem. 00:19:13.614 --> 00:19:16.464 People leave this world no better off than when they came. 00:19:17.184 --> 00:19:20.784 All their hard work is for nothing like working for the wind. 00:19:21.564 --> 00:19:24.204 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud. 00:19:25.014 --> 00:19:27.564 Frustrated, discouraged, and angry. 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:32.259 Even so I have noticed one thing at least that is good. 00:19:33.399 --> 00:19:37.899 It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun, 00:19:38.379 --> 00:19:42.519 during the short life God has given them and to accept their lot in life. 00:19:43.749 --> 00:19:47.139 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good 00:19:47.139 --> 00:19:52.389 health to enjoy it, to enjoy your work and accept your lot in life. 00:19:53.139 --> 00:19:55.209 This is indeed a gift from God. 00:19:56.244 --> 00:20:00.024 God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take 00:20:00.024 --> 00:20:02.304 no time to brood over the past. 00:20:04.134 --> 00:20:07.014 This concludes today's Immer Reading experience. 00:20:07.134 --> 00:20:08.334 Thank you for joining us.