Ecclesiastes 1:9 "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
Wow, what a bleak chapter.
The teacher who was king, who I assume is Solomon, who was blessed with great wisdom and commanded the acquisition of wisdom in Proverbs, now considers its pursuit meaningless.
This idea likely comes from the idea repeated in scripture that a man's life, even the most powerful man's life, is but a vapor. It's just a brief moment in time. And the universe continues on, doing it's thing. The sun rises and sets, the wind blows back and forth, and the streams and rivers flow, in an eternal cycle. The universe completely forgets the generations of people who were here in the past, and will forget those who are yet to come. In spite of continued ideas of what we consider innovation, there is nothing new under the sun. Whatever can be seen has been. Whatever can be done has been.
So how does the one man given ultimate human wisdom now consider it's pursuit chasing after the wind? Is it sort of a "careful what you wish for" situation? Too much of a good thing? Wisdom in Proverbs was compared to honey, but even a full person is grossed out by honey.
Maybe its how the wisdom is used. Maybe its outside of a life devoted to God.
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Ps. 39: Life But a Breath
Psalm 39:13 "Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more."
This Psalm is likely designated in your Bible as "For Jeduthun." You'll remember (or maybe you won't...its ok) Jeduthun was one of three Levites designated by David for musical duty back in 1 Chronicles 25. I wonder if David wrote this, and then Jeduthun led the singing of it.
This Psalm isn't the most happy-go-lucky Psalm in the book, and when I think about it, very few are. David deals a lot with fear and guilt and the need for deliverance and restoration from suffering. The 39th Psalm, at least in my opinion, bemoans the temporary nature of life. A couple times it is said here that a man's life is "but a breath." Extremely short in comparison to the eternal God, and extremely inconsequential in the universal scheme of things. And the thought of this is troubling. It's a discomforting thought to consider one's own mortality as it is. So where would one seek comfort? The almighty God. It seems a lot like a child who would go to his father with painful questions in need of comforting answers.
So that question then, considering man's phantom life, is "What's the point?" To store up treasures is an exercise in futility. There is no certainty in wealth, because it will eventually be lost...useless. Verse 13 gives a bit of a clue. The writer wants to rejoice before he departs and is no more. That is what seems to be lasting. That is what goes beyond life, the rejoicing and the relationship with God.
Another thrust of this Psalm is that because of the shortness of life, going through it at odds with the creator is no life at all. Discipline happens, faltering happens, but this Psalm encourages one to be like David...to restore that relationship with God, to be saved from sin, so that there is something more than a phantom life.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Dt. 5: The Ten Commandments
Deuteronomy 5:29 "Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!"
Moses hits the ten commandments in his Wandering In Review series. I can't really add any more to what was already said in that commentary.
Verse 3 makes me wonder though. Moses says that "It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today." These commandments were given to their fathers, but also, they were for everyone. Perhaps the verse says the same thing as "It was not just with our fathers..." I'm not sure.
Verse 15 is not duplicated in the original passage on the ten commandments in Exodus 20. With an "outstretched arm" God led the Israelites out of Egypt. God reached out from where He was, offering His hand.
Also, these commandments are given with an added reason, "that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you." God is giving them this land, but the land itself is not the entirety of the gift. A long, prosperous life is the true gift. Life has always been the gift! To Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Joseph...
I want to get the instant replay on the blazing mountain in verse 23. Regardless of size, it would be sweet to see a mountain completely engulfed in flames. I wish I could have seen it. That would have given me a lot more to fear and believe about God, especially if I was an ignorant Israelite.
When Israel told Moses they would obey everything the LORD set down, God was moved by this. There seems to be a bit of longing emotion in God's words in verse 29. "Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands..." Not to please God. Not so they can earn rewards. Not so that God can boss people around. "..so that it might go well with them and their children forever!" That is unselfish. That is a giving, sympathatic God. I just love that part. If people would just walk straight, and not turn aside to the left or the right...
Moses hits the ten commandments in his Wandering In Review series. I can't really add any more to what was already said in that commentary.
Verse 3 makes me wonder though. Moses says that "It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today." These commandments were given to their fathers, but also, they were for everyone. Perhaps the verse says the same thing as "It was not just with our fathers..." I'm not sure.
Verse 15 is not duplicated in the original passage on the ten commandments in Exodus 20. With an "outstretched arm" God led the Israelites out of Egypt. God reached out from where He was, offering His hand.
Also, these commandments are given with an added reason, "that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you." God is giving them this land, but the land itself is not the entirety of the gift. A long, prosperous life is the true gift. Life has always been the gift! To Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Joseph...
I want to get the instant replay on the blazing mountain in verse 23. Regardless of size, it would be sweet to see a mountain completely engulfed in flames. I wish I could have seen it. That would have given me a lot more to fear and believe about God, especially if I was an ignorant Israelite.
When Israel told Moses they would obey everything the LORD set down, God was moved by this. There seems to be a bit of longing emotion in God's words in verse 29. "Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands..." Not to please God. Not so they can earn rewards. Not so that God can boss people around. "..so that it might go well with them and their children forever!" That is unselfish. That is a giving, sympathatic God. I just love that part. If people would just walk straight, and not turn aside to the left or the right...
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