Solomon said, “I will be wise,” but even as wise as he was, he could not understand everything. “I said, ‘I will be wise’; but it was far from me. As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, who can find it out?” About two-thirds of the way through Ecclesiastes, Solomon concedes that more »

Shame on us if we ever underestimate the power of words, whether spoken, inscribed, texted, or typed. But we often forget how significant words are until they effect us. It’s easy to speak an idle word or give a command with far-reaching implications, but when an idle word or command (or any other category of more »

“Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city. For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” “Wisdom strengthens the wise,” just as muscle strengthens a body-builder or money strengthens the rich. But I think it may be more than just quantity that generates strength. more »

These verses talk about both the unfairness of life, but also the importance of living righteously and wisely despite the disparity that exists. Verse 15 says, “There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.” So true, so true. Many godly people more »

Another reminder of the sovereignty of God. There is no way to change what God does or “correct” Him. “For who can make straight what He has made crooked?” (7:13) “In the day of prosperity be joyful.”

“Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and profitable to those who see the sun. For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.” Both money and wisdom are desirable and powerful. It is not ideal to just have money; more »

Even though I took verses 8 and 9 individually, I think I need to include those verses again with verse 10 when I look at it. The entire excerpt of Ecclesiastes says, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Do not more »

“Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.” So I’m wondering if Solomon is saying this from his database of wisdom or if it comes from a reflection on a life full of anger. I’m not sure. Of course he wrote similar things in Proverbs, but more »

I wasn’t planning on looking at only this one verse, but it has so much meaning in it that I decided to meditate solely on it today. It says, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning.” Now when Solomon says that, I immediately recall all the times when he talked about death more »

After taking a break from Ecclesiastes for two weeks to focus on missions-related passages (leading up to and during Missions Conference here at Faith), I’m ready to jump back into this book. I left off at Ecclesiastes 7:4, so I will pick up right where I stopped… Today I’m focusing on verses 5 and 7: more »