Ecclesiastes 10:1-12:14, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, Psalms 49:1-20, Proverbs 22:20-21
Today is the 5th day of September welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today just like it is every day as we gather together and move forward together through the Scriptures and through this year. And we have been working our way through the book of Ecclesiastes. And we have reached the point at which we will conclude the book of Ecclesiastes today and move forward tomorrow into some completely different territory known as the song of songs or the song of Solomon. But that’s tomorrow and we’re here. And, so, let’s finish well the book of Ecclesiastes. Today chapters 10, 11, and 12.
Commentary:
Okay. So, we finished the book of Ecclesiastes today and we can see how easy it would be to read the book as cynical or we could understand this is a really unique perspective. So, let’s say you go through your life accumulating what you accumulate - wealth, our stuff. And let’s say you gather it all together and you’re looking it over, you are reaching the end of your life and all of your stuff represents what you spent your life on. And you have to wonder, was it a good value? So, the writer of Ecclesiastes looks back over his life, all of the challenge and hardship that has been faced all the things that have had to have been endured, all of the pleasure, all of the stuff, all of the power, but also all of the witnessing of injustice and then looking at all that realizing that most of it was chasing the wind, right? So, a lot of energy was put into beauty and wisdom. A lot of energy was put into development and construction. Wisdom had been searched out throughout the known world, and the unanswerable questions were pursued but still he couldn’t find what he was looking for. And, so, in a sort of subtractive way, looking at all that have been accumulated and pulling away all of the things that probably didn’t matter brought a sobering view and a hopeful view. And, so, all that we’ve discussed as we’ve moved through the book of Ecclesiastes gets summed up in the final sentences of the book. “After having heard it all, this is the conclusion. Fear God and keep his commands because this applies to everyone. God will certainly judge everything that is done. This includes every secret thing, whether it is good or bad.” So, that conclusion isn’t really different than what the Bible concludes, that it is God who is our source, that we must offer ourselves and surrender to God, to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Certainly, to love our neighbors as ourselves, but to honor God in all that we do, this is what everyone is supposed to do. This is the way to find meaning, not in the accumulation of things. And this is such a unique perspective because this is coming from a person who had no limits and was able to do whatever they wanted. And even then, with all of that arriving at these conclusions is so helpful in perspective and so helpful in allowing us to realize we are spending our lives. Are we spending our lives on things that matter? Because Ecclesiastes is concluding that fearing God, walking intimately with God, honoring and reverencing God, obeying God, this is what matters. So, how can we know? Like how can we know if we’re walking this out anywhere close to the right way? We have to ask ourselves, can I honor and reverence and obey God in whatever it is that I’m trying to accomplish or do? Can I worship God in this? Can I find God in this? If I subtract away everything else is God still in the center of whatever I’m doing? And it’s so helpful this territory in the Scriptures that we’ve just navigated. Job and Ecclesiastes really force us into some questions that don’t have answers and that we wrestle with, and we always look for something with a bow on top. But grappling with these things is part of…part of it. It’s part of life. The Bible leads us into wrestling with these things because everybody needs to take the time to wrestle through these things. And we begin to realize that our reverence for God is actually what dictates how we do what we do. And our lack of reverence for God also dictates how and why we do what we do. And beginning to observe ourselves and understand why we do what we do reveals our hearts. And a lot of what we do is to create some sort of structure that gives us meaning. Now we’re finding our reverence and awe and wonder and relationship with God is the source of meaning. It is through that lens that we are to live our lives.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You. Thank You for these last days moving through this territory. We thank You for all that it has brought up in us - some disruption, some comfort, always pulling us forward always leading us to grow - and we are deeply grateful for Your kindness and Your compassion and Your patience with us as we do that. As You Father us we grow up. And in these last days we have learned that we can spend our lives chasing the wind or we can actually build meaning walking with You. Come Holy Spirit into that. Reveal to us the pathways of our lives and how we might stop wasting our lives on things that don’t matter. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family this is Egbert by the way of California here in the country of Belize city. I greet you in the precious name of our Lord savior Jesus Christ. I want to thank the Hardin family for the work that they have been doing throughout the years. I pray God’s covering over their lives continually. Biola I’ve thought about you. I’ve been praying for you and your son keeping you guys covered. Tony. The many others too numerous to mention. I covet your prayers. I ask that you pray for me. We continue our sojourning here on this earth knowing that there’s going to be valleys and hills and the experience that we continue to have we know that Jesus is walking right beside us. You know, wherever these little pitfalls and these situations occur we know that He’s there and we know that we have each other to call in, you know, and to just let the community know if they are able to pray on the behalf of others as well as for us ourselves firstly. We’re not immune to the wilds of the devil our enemy. So, continue to lift each other up and edify each other. And God bless everyone. And there’s too many to mention but know that you are prayed for and cared for in the name of Jesus. I thank you and have a blessed weekend. Today is Friday the 2nd. God bless everyone. Thank you.
Hi DAB family this is Tosha in Virginia, and this is my second time calling but I just was basically brought to tears with the lady from North Carolina with the kids and the husband that’s traveling. I just want you to know you’re in my prayers. I’ve been through that with being lonely and I just pray God would fill you with hope and with peace and just that even…even just a random neighbor or someone would just bring just some uplifting peace to you uplifting…and that you would just be filled and truly feel God in a very tangible way that He is with you. And yeah, just…just know that I’m praying with you. In Jesus’ name.
Hello everyone, this is Nadine from Dubai. I’ve called in a couple of times and asked for prayed for my brother and myself and my family. It’s in a stage now where it’s month to month to month, where it’s just been going on for the last five months. My brother’s issue is not being resolved. My mother and I are fighting. My brother…it’s just…it’s just been really tough. Yesterday I listened to Job…Job…how would you say it in English? And it was amazing what Brian said on the 1st of September that, you know, we’re not alone, you know, it's…we should just believe in God, and everything is not gonna go sunshine and roses because, you know, we’re believers. And, so, just please pray for my mom, my brother, and I. You know it’s just very tough. Not gonna cry now. But anyway, it’s been a tough five months for everything. Just keep asking your prayers. Thank you. Have a great day.
Hey Daily Audio Bible family it’s Sheena from Saskatchewan and it’s been a while since I’ve called in and I…we’re still dealing with some of our legal stuff and it’s not looking good. The man that God put in my life will likely be spending some time in jail, in prison and I’m trying to help him. I’m trying to support him while he walks through this. And honestly this…this situation has brought us both back to God and I’m just trying to do what’s right and it’s just hard. So, listening to those people pray for those individuals in prison, I just…those prayers have been resonating with me over the last year and a half. So yeah, if you can pray for us for peace while we walk through this, we would really appreciate it. Thanks guys. Love you. Bye.
Hi this is Victoria Soldier just calling in to pray for some of the DABbers. First I just have to…I have to rejoice. I’ve been dancing ever since Kingdom Seeker called and said his precious wife came home. Gracious God our God is wonderful. And I also, I want to pray for those who are sick. And God gave me a word. He said healing is the children’s prayer. Gracious Father everyone who’s going through sickness, everyone who’s having challenges, going through operations, some has called about operations, some has called about sickness in their body, their mothers being sick. The Bible said God told me to tell you that healing is the children’s prayer. We thank You Lord for being so wonderful. We praise You we magnify You for who You are. I just praise God and thank Him for what He’s done and thank you Brian for bringing your heart out and doing what you do for us. I love you. Love you and China and Jill, lady Jill and even my sweetie Ezekiel. I just pray you all have a wonderful day. Love you all. Bye-bye.