Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
“Remember him before…” (Ecclesiastes 12:2,3,4,5 NLT)
Observation
I’m really torn, this morning. I read one of my favorite Biblical quotes today—1 Kings 12:10—where Rehoboam says, “My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!” I love to quote that anyplace I can squeeze it half-way sensibly into a conversation and see if anyone recognizes it (or understands it)!
And I’m amazed at Rehoboam’s foolishness in ignoring his older advisors and listening to those younger, but his equal willingness to listen to the man of God, Shemaiah, when counseled not to go to war against his brothers. Maybe in this case, it’s what he wanted to do anyway, and God’s instructions became a good excuse to back down!
And—of course—historically (and spiritually) for Israel, not much is more significant than the division of the nation into two nations—Israel in the north (now under Jeroboam), and Judah in the south (under Rehoboam). That disruption in the kingdom shapes everything about those nations for the rest of their history. The placement of the calf idols in Bethel and in Dan is particularly noteworthy.
But I’ve got to finish Ecclesiastes! Ecclesiastes is all about the ultimate futility of life—even the best parts of life—if God is neglected along the way. So the closing verses resonate with a call to “remember”—ten times in nine verses! Seven times in six verses, it’s the phrase “remember Him before…” (or it’s equivalent, in 12:6).
So many people are looking…waiting…expecting a more convenient time to work God into the schedule and priorities of their lives, but the counsel of Solomon is clear—“Remember Him before…”! And Solomon’s wisdom bears out in all I’ve seen in my (few) years. The truth is, I’ve never talked with a retiree who didn’t claim to be as busy after retirement as they were before—so it’s not like in “old age” anyone’s found any more time for God than they made for God beforehand. And I’ve never seen anyone do it—I cannot think of a single example I personally know of where someone ignored God all their life and suddenly found time (and motivation) to serve Him wholeheartedly in their waning years.
So I echo Solomon’s counsel—don’t fool yourself. “Remember Him before…”
Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
Finishing is better than starting.
Patience is better than pride.
(Ecclesiastes 7:8 NLT)
Observation
In chapter 7, the author of Ecclesiastes breaks out in a string of proverbial statements just like you’d find in, say…Proverbs (imagine that). Chapter 7, verse 8 has my attention.
Finishing is better than starting.
Patience is better than pride.
(Ecclesiastes 7:8 NLT)
It’s pretty obviously true—anybody, I think, who reads the verse would be hard pressed to argue anything different. Still, hasn’t Solomon identified two qualities/behaviors that are among the most difficult to exhibit?
I’ve started plenty of projects, but truthfully only finished a few. And there have been plenty of times my pride showed itself, but not nearly so many times when patience ruled the day. Indeed, it’d be easy to read this simple verse and let a real sense of frustration or condemnation rule the day. But here’s the thing—
Sure I’d like to be “there” or “done” (wherever “there” is or whatever “done” is) today—or at least by tomorrow! But the wisdom of this proverbial saying reminds me that impatience promotes giving up early, while patience promotes finishing, meaning each virtue strengthens the other.
So I can grow frustrated with all the times I’ve failed to finish—and increase the odds it’ll happen again. Or I can thank God for a simple reminder of the person He’s created and redeemed me to become and ask God, today, to help me towards the completion of what I’ve started…and perhaps more than that (key thought coming up!) the completion of what He’s started in me…and for patience as I move in that direction.
And here’s a bit of good news while I contemplate finishing patiently—the Bible says I can be…
“…confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV)
Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:17 NLT)
He has planted eternity in the human heart… (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT)
Observation
It’s a little unfair to divide Ecclesiastes up (over three days, no less). The book is a unit, and needs to be read and understood as such. Indeed, I don’t think Ecclesiastes can be fully appreciated until it’s fully read—you gotta get all the way to the end to get the full point. Still, there are hints of its message throughout, and that’s what has my attention today.
“Everything is meaningless” is Solomon’s repeated cry (we take Solomon to be the author). But there’s a caveat…an important qualification…to what he says. He’s referencing everything “done here under the sun.”
And he’s right. If this life is all there is, if we’re “here today, gone tomorrow”, everything is ultimately meaningless. If that’s the case, it’s a “make do” situation at best. Enjoy your life. Work hard. Relax a little. “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have” (Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT).
But what Solomon hints at is what every one of us knows intuitively. That existence “under the sun” isn’t big enough to define all we were created for…that the constraints of time and space trap us in a world smaller than it ought to be…that “he has planted eternity in the human heart…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT).
Only, then, in light of eternity…only in light of all we were created for—which stretches far beyond the confines of “under the sun”—can life be seen for what it is…and lived as it ought to be lived.
“Lord, remind me of the meaningless of life confined to only an ‘under the sun’ perspective. Help me to nurture the sense of eternity…your plans and my place in them…that you’ve put in my heart. Let that perspective shape who I am and how I live!”
Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. …The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. …And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD. (1 Kings 11:1-3 NLT)
Observation
I’ve been kinda “waiting in the weeds” for this one—not because I can necessarily explain it, but simply because it has always intrigued me. And it’s not that there’s some deep theological quandary to be pondered here. This is one place where the Scripture is quite matter-of-fact. It’s just amazing that Solomon—“the wisest man who ever lived”—could so blatantly and completely ignore the instruction of the God who gave him that wisdom.
God had made his will perfectly clear. In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, God explicitly declares that when Israel anoints a king, that king is not to take “many wives” (v. 17); he “must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them" (v. 16). Rather…
“[18] When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. [19] It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.” (Deuteronomy 17:18-19 NIV)
How remarkable…how personally challenging—that someone who started so strongly and served so effectively finished so badly! And yet (not to be self-serving about it), if it’s fair to assume that obedience to one command facilitates obedience to another—and vice-versa—that the neglect of one command promotes the neglect of others, it’s probably safe to assume that the same Solomon who ignored God’s command not to take “many wives” or even “many horses” also ignored God’s command to “read [the law] all the days of his life.” Perhaps if he’d done the latter he’d have not done the former.
And perhaps so for me, as well. Perhaps the regular, daily interaction with the Word of God that I’m both committed to and enjoying will strengthen me for the day of battle, with the result that I might finish as strong as I ever served.
Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.
(Song of Solomon 1:2 NLT)
Observation
Okay, I confess—I don’t know where to start—not because I don’t love the Song of Solomon, but because—properly understood—the language is quite explicit and the emotions quite personal. Though metaphorically, it pictures Christ and His love for His bride (us—the Church) I’m convinced it’s not primarily metaphorical but rather, a quite down-to-earth poetic expression of passionate love between a man and a woman.
Which—hey—I’m all for! I’m just not all about commenting on it for the whole world to read.
Still, that’s my commitment, so I’ll throw out two thoughts for consideration. The first is this repeated refrain of warning…
Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and wild deer,
not to awaken love until the time is right.
(Song of Solomon 2:7; 3:5; 8:4 NLT)
“Hey kids,” he says, knowing a few love-struck senior citizens need the same warning, “all that glitters is not gold! Just because they’ve looked your direction or maybe whispered sweet nothings in your ear doesn’t mean they’re the one who will fill your days with utter and unending bliss!” Stop with the deep breathing—take a deep breath instead—and give your head a chance to clear before presuming “this one” is the “The One.”
The second thought is more for me—both what I always want and always want to live by: If you *do* love somebody…if there *is* someone the Lord has brought into your life…as part of a life-time, I-commit-my-world-to-you relationship…do all you can to make sure they know it—on their terms!
I’m a pretty firm believer in the “love languages” concept—the idea that we receive and express love in one of (probably) five fundamental ways—talk, touch, gifts, time, service. (For more information, click here.) My love languages are talk (more accurately, not just “talk” but “words of affirmation”) and touch (funny how those got listed first). Man, if there’s anything Song of Solomon is about, it’s talk and touch. No wonder I like it. How great is a woman who says to her man…
Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.
(Song of Solomon 1:2 NLT)
The point is this: Hey, if you love somebody…if your commitment is to love someone…discover best how they experience love, and then give it to ‘em—in large, undeniably generous doses. I dare you.
But not before the time is right, you hear me?
Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
Who has anguish? Who has sorrow?
Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining?
Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns,
trying out new drinks.
Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,
how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.
For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;
it stings like a viper.
(Proverbs 23:29-32 NLT)
Observation
I’ve chosen today’s Scripture focus for two reasons: First, I love the way it caught my attention this morning…and second, I love the truth.
“Who has anguish? Who has sorrow?
Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining?”
I’m thinking, “Who? Someone who has suffered a terrible loss? Someone whose health has failed, whose business has faltered? Someone who is going through a relational struggle?” Nope—
“It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns,
trying out new drinks.”
For the dozens of times I’ve read this proverb, that still caught me off guard. That’s cool. And the proverb expresses a great and valuable truth—and one much too commonly overlooked these days.
Alcohol has such powerful appeal for so many, whether it’s simply having a beer with a friend or involves mixing up something more exotic. And I’d be the first to admit (albeit reluctantly) that, though the Scriptures carry numerous warnings against drunkenness, drinking an alcoholic beverage is nowhere explicitly prohibited (except, in the case of the Nazarite vow, expressing full devotion to God. So, if you want a way to Biblically express your utter devotion to God…).
But the wise author of this proverb looks past what might be “permissible” to what will ultimately be “best”—and recognizes the damage inflicted upon individuals, families, and people as a whole when alcohol (or any other substance or life-distraction, for that matter) becomes the guest of honor.
“…in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;
it stings like a viper.”
Now—given that alcohol has no appeal to me personally, and given that this is *my* devotional blog…what’s all this got to do with me?
Today, it’s got this to do with me. Knowing that my convictions as a tee-totaller aren't exactly universally shared these days, and even recognizing that “social ills” like alcohol are somewhat secondary issues to the primary matter of faith in Jesus Christ (and He’s much better than I am at helping people clean up what’s broken in their lives), still—if I believe that alcohol use or gambling or pornography and such are destructive to individuals and society alike, I need to be able to articulate that conviction clearly and wisely when the opportunity is right to do so. More than just the standard knee-jerk prohibitions anyone can offer, I want to be a “person of understanding” (see yesterday’s post) able to help people discover the deceptive seductions behind this world’s attractions. I want to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone…for the hope that [I] have” (1 Peter 3:15)—a hope that far outshines what “sparkles in the cup”. More broadly, I want to be able to offer a well-developed “social theology” that thoroughly applies faith in Christ to contemporary culture—not just prohibiting behaviors I am convinced do destroy both people’s lives and the society we’re a part of, but also explaining in a positive way how a living relationship with the Lord empowers individuals to themselves engage life on an entirely different level, building a healthy society together as a result.
Yeah, I know that’s a bit wordy and a bit heady—but that’s what you get today. And a gold foil star for reading all the way to the end. :)
Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
Though good advice lies deep within the heart,
a person with understanding will draw it out.
(Proverbs 20:5 NLT)
Observation
I confess—this verse was the first, today, to capture my attention. But because I thought it’d be difficult to write about, I went looking for another. In spite of my efforts to avoid it, this remains the verse that intrigues me—though I’m no surer of my ability to understand it well (or write about it well) than when I started.
The thing is, this is one proverb that gets translated a couple of ways. The opening phrase has either to do with “good advice” (as it reads in the NLT) or perhaps “the purposes of a man’s heart” (as in the NIV). (You can read several different translations by clicking here.)
So this proverb may have to do with drawing good counsel from others through wise questions and judicious pursuit of advice…or it may have to do with counseling others wisely and judiciously.
Either way, the thing I like about it is that it calls me past the obvious…the predictable…the expected…to thinking about life on a deeper level. I don’t think I’m much good at that myself—seeing “beneath the surface” to what’s really going on—but I really appreciate it in those who are.
There are blessings to being somewhat simple minded—to taking life at face value and taking people for who they say they are. That’s one advantage to the way I’m made. I won’t doubt everything you say or question every motive, always snooping around for what you’re *really* wanting or thinking or planning. If you tell me “so and so”—I’m inclined to believe it.
But oh how rich it becomes for me when someone else is able to make a simple observation about me, about life, about circumstances, about…well, you name it…that puts everything in an entirely new (and broadened) perspective. I honor “people with understanding” today, and ask you, Lord, to (1) bring more of them into my life and (2) allow me to serve someone else in that same wise and insightful way.
