The Attributes of God:

The Joy and Protection of Companionship Song of Solomon 2:8-3:5 “My beloved responded and said to me, Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along.”                   When a couple starts dating, there is joy in companionship. There is nothing more exciting and pleasant than being together and sharing the moment. In 2:8-14, we see this joy expressed in the longing of the bride (8-9) and the call of the groom (10-13). The bride expresses her longing and joy as she sees the coming of her love. The picture of the mountains and hills draws attention to the various obstacles to the coming of the groom. However, because of his love for her, these obstacles provide no hindrance as he “moves heaven and earth” to be with his future bride. When he arrives at her home, he stands outside, calling with an abated breath, as he longs for her to join him. In verses 10-13, we find the groom standing out...

The Joy of Marriage Song of Solomon (introduction).                   The Song of Solomon has been interpreted in various ways throughout the history of the church. Other than the Book of Revelation, no other book has been interpreted in entirely different ways. The book's vivid description of physical love has perplexed interpreters who see it as unworthy of the biblical text. In the past, one of the most common interpretations has been to view it as an allegory expressing Christ’s love for the church. In this view, the husband is Christ and the woman is the church. This had led to a very imaginative interpretation of the text, in which each descriptive phrase is taken to refer to various aspects of Christ’s relationship with his bride, the church. However, there is nowhere in scripture or the New Testament that the book is quoted in reference to Christ’s relationship with the church. Others ...

The Ultimate Purpose in Life Ecclesiastes12 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.”                   In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon has taken us on an exploration of life. He has confronted us with the reality that we can easily get off track by pursuing that which has no meaning or significance. We can get enamored with success, prosperity, and pleasure only to discover that we have pursued a promise that these things can never deliver. In a fallen world, these promises us happiness and meaning, but in the end, they bring only emptiness and futility. As he concludes his journey, he brings us to the end of life, offering one of the most depressing and vivid pictures of the effects of old age. But the description of the physical and mental decline of old age is given as a warning to the youth. In our youth, our f...

Enjoying the Day Ecclesiastes 11 “Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.”                   It is easy to become so caught up in the pursuit of our future and our dreams that we do not take the time to stop and enjoy the moment. As Solomon takes an in-depth, honest evaluation of life in this broken world, he reminds us that we can become so distracted by the pursuit of our dreams or the uncertainties of tomorrow that we fail to enjoy the moment that God has given. Joy in life is not based upon what we hope will come, for that is always the pursuit of a phantom. Rather, joy comes when we learn to enjoy the present, for this is all we really have. We cannot change the past, nor can we predict the future; all we can do is enjoy the present that God has given us. ...

Living Wisely in a World of Folly Ecclesiastes 10                   In chapter 10, the sage reminds us that the world has embraced folly, and it permeates every aspect of life and society, including government. To understand the destructive effects of folly, we need to remember that folly is not an intellectual quality; it is a spiritual quality. The fool is the one who lives life without the consideration of God. It is the world that is dominated by sin. Paul would later describe the universal effects of sin when he states that “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understand, there is none who seeks for God” (Romans 3:10-11). For the sage, this lack of rightness and failure to live under the umbrella of God’s moral law is the mark of the fool. Folly (the rejection of God and his moral law) has permeated the world. In 10:1, we are reminded that it is not the amount of folly (or...

Living with the Mystery Ecclesiastes 9 “For I have taken all this to my heart and explained it that the righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. God does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.”                   Can we know God and all of His plans entirely? This is the question we often wrestle with. When we gaze into the face of God as He has revealed Himself in His word and in creation, there is a mystery that defines our ability to understand. Furthermore, the quest to know God goes beyond our capacity. While we can learn some things about God, in the end, we must always humbly bow in His presence and, like Job, acknowledge that we do not fully understand and it is beyond our ability to understand that we are finite, but He is infinite, and therefore we can only speak about God, but we can never speak for God. While we can know some things about...

Don’t judge a book by its cover or praise a man by the results of his actions. Ecclesiastes 8 “Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.  But it will not be well for the evil man, and he will not lengthen His days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.”                   In our world today, we determine morality by its effect on the present and whether it makes us happy now.  If an action makes us happier in the present and seems to have no negative consequences, we conclude it must be good, for happiness is our highest value.                   As Solomon reflects on life, he comes to the conclusion that there is a paradox that challenges us in a fallen world.  The par...

Finding Balance in Life Ecclesiastes 7 “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living take it to heart.”                   Is Solomon the ultimate Eeyore who brings a cloud to the party? Reading through Ecclesiastes, one might conclude that Solomon was like Eeyore in the storybooks of Winnie the Pooh. He was characterized as pessimistic, depressed, and melancholic. Eeyore was the foil to Pollyanna. In Elanor Porter’s children’s novels, Pollyanna represented a person with excessive optimism and naivety. Eeyore was the exact opposite. In the book of Ecclesiastes 7, Solomon seems to identify with Eeyore, writing that the day of one's death is better. In verses 1-14, he writes a series of proverbs that seem to paint a picture of life as one chided and bitter.          ...

The Futility of Success Ecclesiastes 6 “ A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.”                   Solomon knew the abundance of wealth. In 1 Kings 10:14-28, we read that the gold Solomon received in one year was approximately 25 tons. In today’s prices, it would be equivalent to around 5 billion dollars. There was nothing that he desired that he could not have. In this chapter, he is not bemoaning the futility of wealth, not as an outsider, but as one who had obtained it. He had achieved all the wealth that one could imagine, and it led him to one conclusion: that the pursuit of wealth did not bring happiness; rather, it was a pursuit of what was meaningless and a severe affliction.     ...

Living a life of Balance Ecclesiastes 5 “For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.”                   It is easy to become unbalanced in life. There are always tasks that demand our attention and priorities that demand our time and energy. The Book of Ecclesiastes is not a book of unbridled pessimism. Instead, it is a book of Balance. It examines life in a fallen world and challenges us to maintain a proper perspective and avoid extremes that distort our priorities and rob us of our joy.                     Finding Balance begins with our relationship with God. We can become unbalanced even in our relationship with God and in our religious activities. What Ecclesiastes confronts is not someone passionate about faith and obedience to God’s word, but the one who becomes...

Finding Support in a Broken World” Ecclesiastes 4 “Two are Better than one because they have a good return for their labor.”                   A popular preacher today has written a book, “Your Best Life Now.” In the book, he sets forth his principles for living a life of fulfillment, joy, and victory. The only thing holding you back is your attitude. All you have to do to find the best life is just believe it is possible and then embrace it. However, Solomon confronts us with a different reality. Because we live in a broken world, life does not consistently deliver what we desire. Instead of finding our “best life,” we find a life filled with troubles and challenges that are overwhelming. In a fallen world, we face the reality of oppression. There are individuals who gain power and use that power to oppress God’s people. Tragically, no one comes to their aid. Therefore, we come to the same conclus...

The One Who Controls the Timing of Life Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 Verse 11 “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”                   For those growing up in the 70s, the first eight verses are familiar as they became the words of a popular song by “the Byrds” (yes, that's their name and spelling) entitled “Turn, Turn, Turn.”  The words describe the continual movement of polar-opposite events that characterize life and encompass the totality of the experience. Life is a constant movement from one extreme to another. The day someone is born, other people die. We go through different seasons of life that mirror the seasons of nature. Even relationships come and go. New friends enter our lives while old friends drift away (vs 5). We buy new furniture f...

Defining Success in Life. Ecclesiastes 2 “There is nothing better for man than to eat and drink and tell himself his labor is good. Also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.”                   What defines a successful life? When do we know we have lived life in a way that matters, and that we can look back and affirm we have had a good life? These are the questions the Sage poses to us as he explores the purpose of life. He confronts us with many assumptions about what a successful life is.                   He begins by examining a life of ease and enjoyment. It is essential to realize that the life he is describing in 2:1-11 is not the pursuit of unbridle hedonism. The term pleasure refers to the joy and happiness that God gives us. We often measure God’s blessing, not by the spiritual blessings of ...