Vain Pursuits of Life

Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 
All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.  8 For what more has the wise man than the fool?  What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?  9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire.  This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

People work hard all their lives to gain, but most in the end do not feel satisfied within.  The fool has little, but does the wise in his own eyes have any more?  Who truly walks right in life, eyes set on what matters in eternity before his Maker?  Grabbing wind is easier than satisfaction in self.  Ah. But the more excellent way is found in Christ Jesus - He gives sight to the blind in soul, provides wisdom to walk in the light (that is where He is), and fulfills the soul's desire forever.

On a change of heart to result in change of behavior:  That is wisdom; God always desires our heart, and our effort apart from His Spirit's slow sanctifying work to transform us does not work.  The more we love and obey, the more we take on the heart of Christ, God within us, and please Him!

Contentment

Ecclesiastes 5:15-16 
As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand.  16 And this also is a severe evil — Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.  And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor — this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

Do we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, or are we so busy acquiring things and wealth, knowing we cannot take it with us when we die?  If He gives us much, we should enjoy it and use it wisely, not holding the wind of wealth tightly.  Joy in living to please God has the greatest and lasting value - into eternity.

Fear God, Watch our Words

Ecclesiastes 5:6-7  
Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.

As James also pointed out, the tongue is an unruly evil, bent on going its own way.  It causes us to sin, and even lie to God that what we said was sinful.  He is then angry when we give excuses or denial.  Too many words or imaginations of daydreams are also vain self-centered sin because our eyes should be on God in Christ instead of our own thoughts and ideas that contradict what He tells us.  It is truth that matters, because He looks at and tests our hearts.

Proverbs 17:3 
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.

Job 34:21  “For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps."

James 3:8-10.   But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Prudent Worship

Ecclesiastes 5:1-5 
1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.  2 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.  For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.  3 For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool's voice is known by his many words.  4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools.  Pay what you have vowed — 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

Worship of God is not a flippant thing; true worship comes from a sincere heart, not religious acting or rote chanting of someone else's words.  So be careful how much as well as what you say, counting the cost of any promises (vows) promising to do such and such for Him - especially if you attach conditions to the vow.  You may find yourself dreaming up things God has not promised nor ones you cannot do either.  Be honest, sincere, and broken before the Holy One, and that contrite heart is what Jesus promised He will hear. 

God’s Choice, Not Man’s

John 13:18 
“I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.' 

John 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.   John 17:15  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.   John 17:20.  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;"    John 17:17.  Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Judas chose rebellion and received Hell as a consequence; we who are chosen and respond with belief to the truth are never lost as Judas was, and are kept by God's word as we are transformed to ever increasing glory in the face of our savior Jesus Christ.  Just as 11 of the 12 were chosen and kept, so we who now believe are promised the same.  Christmas is how we celebrate how much God loves the world, sending His Son for this new life by taking our punishment for sin and allowing us freely to enter in to his presence for unending time. 

Christ Brought Light into Darkness

Christmas is the Gospel - Good News!   When the Light, the Truth, the Son of God came into this world, He showed Himself as God among us - Emmanuel.  The Child was God's Son given to call us to repent (turn away from sin and toward Him), then He took the just penalty of death and eternal separation from God in Himself to nail it to the cross.  Then He came back from death to prove He offers life forever to us who have turned, coming in belief and trust and receiving this Child as Lord and God.  "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." (1Timothy 1:15)

Isaiah 9:2   2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.   6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Matthew 4:13-17   13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.  17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

John 18:37  Pilate therefore said to Him, “ Are You a king then?”  Jesus answered, “ You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

John 12:46-48   I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him —the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 

Eternal Messiah and King

Micah 5:2-4   
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”   4 And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;

Jesus the Savior, the Messiah, the Christ - He was told to is to come, and He feeds those who come to Him, keeping them as they abide in Him.  Truly the name of Jesus Christ echoes yet to the ends of the earth, even as many know of (though may not practice and honor) Christmas. 

Left Hand Needs the Right

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12   
9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.  10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.  11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?  12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.  And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

The Talmud says, "A man without a companion is like a left hand without the right."  This synergy of marriage has great spiritual and relational value and reward, both now and into eternity.  There is strength, help, warmth, meaning, and bonding when Christ is the cord holding two together! 

God’s Timing is Forever Predetermined

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11, 15, 17    
1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:   11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.   15 That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.   17 I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

God's times and timing are made for us.  He is eternal, El Olam, and has not allowed us to see all of time as He does - so He can test our hearts for Him (do we love and obey)?  We are accountable to Him along the time we are given, knowing He will have a final judgement; this is for both good and bad, righteous and evil.  Those who admit their sin, turn from it and to Him, believe and receive Jesus Christ as taking their place for just sentencing - these are seen only as right before God because of what He did that we could not.  This was planned before time... Eternity is in our hearts. 

Work of Folly vs. Wisdom of Grace

Ecclesiastes 2:13-14, 26 
Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.  14 The wise man's eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness.  Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all.    26 For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God.

Walking in the light, or at least towards it, is wisdom, because it is foolish to walk in darkness.  God does honor those who find the light of the knowledge of the glory of Him in Jesus Christ, and even uses those in darkness at times to provide for that one seeking light to shine on his deeds, no matter what the circumstances of life.

2 Corinthians 4:6.  For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

Ethereal Pursuit or Eternal Profit?

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 
Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.  11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.  There was no profit under the sun.

If we live for ourselves, getting everything we enjoy and desire, that is all we have - the stuff.  This is an empty pursuit, something you cannot hold onto any more than you can hold the wind in your grasp.  The only real profit is the eternal, so to seek first God's kingdom and living to please Him is the only lasting pleasure to hold onto. 

Crooked Straightened by God

Ecclesiastes 1:15  What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

Read these passages and reflect on Jesus Christ, God among us, who came to take away the sins of the world by his birth, life, suffering, death, burial, and resurrection.  Every knee will bow to Him as God, for who He is and for making the crooked ways of our sin straight.  We cannot make our ways straight by doing enough good to pay for our sin, so Jesus did it in our place!

   Isaiah 40:3-5.  The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.  4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

   Isaiah 45:2, 6   “I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.  6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other;

   Isaiah 45:22-23 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.  23 I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.

   Philippians 2:10-11  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Fleeting Satisfaction

Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 
All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it.  The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.  9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done,  And there is nothing new under the sun.  10 Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.  11 There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.

People strive and they want more, yet keep repeating the same mistakes - there is really no new way people think or act.  Technology changes and civilization composed of human nature does not either (but we like to think so).  This is why we have the saying that history repeats itself.  But it is our fallen sinful nature that does these things "after their own kind," as God said in Eden to man.  Since our one father, Adam, fell so are we born spiritually after that kind - and why Christmas is our God's ultimate gift of reconciliation to Himself in Jesus to make us anew after His kind! 

Christ is our Sin and Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21  
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Just as Christ did not become sinful as He took on our sin (He took on the punishment for our sin, but remained sinless as God), so we do not become righteous but find his righteousness in Him.  He therefore can be our substitute as sacrifice for sin, and we can by His Spirit become more righteous (holy) as we put to death by the Spirit the deeds of sinful flesh.  So we work out our salvation to be holy as He is, standing righteous in His sight by Jesus' covering blood. 

Vanity of External Beauty

Proverbs 31:30 
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing [vain, empty, unsatisfying]

Ecclesiastes 1:14  
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Seeking things other than the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt.6:33) only results in chasing the wind.  Solomon realized this as seen in Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs also shows that outward beauty is a vain pursuit.  The transitory ends, but the eternal never disappoints.  This is why Jesus tells us to seek the things above where He and the Father are...

הבל habel; emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory; 

Speak Up for Poor and Needy

Proverbs 31:8-9

Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die.  9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

This are two things leaders (here the king) should be doing - speak up for those who do not have the wealth, power, or position to be heard themselves, and be fair to rich and poor with the same consistent standard.  Yet we see the leaders of this age rarely do these things, being without the hope of Christ. 

Trust God’s Pure Word

Proverbs 30:5-6

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.  6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

God's word, the Bible, is pure - without fault or wrong.  God himself shields and protects those who trust completely in Him (faith).  This is why we cannot add things to what He says, but take Him at His word for only what is said there, or our lies we put onto His truth will shame us before God and men.... 

Trust God’s Revealed Word

Proverbs 29:18, 25, 27   
18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.   25 The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.  27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.

If we do not see what God has revealed to us, opening our eyes through those He chose to hear and write all down in a Book, then we will do whatever we want to without restraint of good or evil.  But when we listen to Him and do all He says, then we find joy.  However, we who do the right thing find those not seeing to find us contemptible - even though it is right.  This is the root of sin - hating what God calls good, and loving what He reveals to be evil.  Sin is not happy, but empty.

Trust in Lord, Not Our Hearts

Proverbs 28:14, 25-26 
Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.   25 He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.   26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

Those who fear and revere God find happiness, trusting in Him and doing their best to wall wisely according to the commands, examples, and principles of the Bible.  To harden your heart by not doing these things only leads to pride and foolishness. 

Boast in God’s Leading

Proverbs 27:1, 18  
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth....18 Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored.

If and as The Lord wills, so I will do.  I will wait on my Master for what is best as I do what I am given to do, so eating of the fruit of my labors.  He honors those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30).  

Loving Our Enemies by Serving

Proverbs 25:21-22 
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.

As JFB SAYS, "(Compare Mt 5:44; Ro 12:20) As metals are melted by heaping coals upon them, so is the heart softened by kindness."  Loving our enemy should melt the hate of a heart that needs the love of a Christ.  As as Jesus quoted this same scripture, it is important to see why God demands our actions and heart work together for the good of others - and not just those who love us in return. 

Visible Edges of God’s Ways

Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. … 17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.

No matter how injustice seems to favor evil at times, we see only the edges of God's ways in what He allows and what He judges in this life.  Our task is to fear God and live according to all He says - this makes it well with our souls, no matter what the circumstances around us.  Remember that in the end at the final judgement all will be righteously and justly settled.