June 21, 2024

Ecclesiastes 5.5 (NIV)

It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

A person is always building trust or breaking it.*

We are under constant obligation* to God and no vow makes it more or less our duty. Vows are arbitrary things – it is our choice whether to make them or not. But once we have made a vow, we are bound to keep it.*

  

There are two key factors that lead us to break a vow: 1) we didn’t really mean it in the first place; or 2) we didn’t realize the ramifications of our promise. Often, in the first case, we want to mean it. Too many times we agree to things just because we don’t know how to say “no.” I have a friend who agreed to help with the kids’ program at church. My friend wanted to be pleasing to the children’s minister but she was totally unreliable - which the minister did not find pleasing. These two people could have remained friends if the one had been able to say “no” when she meant “no.”

There is an extreme example in the Old Testament (Judges, chapter 11) of the second basis for breaking a vow - making a vow without considering the possible consequences. Jephthah was a military commander who was commissioned to defeat the Ammonites. He tried negotiating with the king of Ammon but got nowhere with him. Finally, Jephthah made a vow that if God would deliver the Ammonites into his hands, he would make a burnt offering sacrifice of “whatever” came out of his house to meet him upon his triumphant return. Talk about rash promises! “Whatever??” What kind of “whatever” was going to propel itself out the door to greet him? He had to know that “whatever” would be a “whoever.” And the “whoever” turned out to be his daughter – his only child.

Clearly, as Solomon said, it is better not to make a vow than it is to break a vow. When we break a promise, we lie to God. Was Jephthah truly obligated to keep his vow and sacrifice his daughter? Does a vow take precedence over human life?  There are no easy answers but I promise to be careful about making vows!

If broken promises were lumber, we could build a subdivision.*

June 20, 2024

Ecclesiastes 4.9 (NIV)

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.

Solitude and community go hand in hand for spiritually healthy people.*

Anyone who has ever been involved in a bad relationship knows that this verse is not universally true. Sometimes another person doubles our troubles and halves our happiness. But Solomon says in this verse that two are better than one because they have a “good return for work.” Besides lightening the workload, there is the pleasure of good company. When it comes to co-workers and relatives, we don’t get to choose who will be alongside us but in marriage and friendship we can look for partners in faith who can double our joy and halve our troubles.

Having an equal partner is one of God’s finest gifts to us. Whether in marriage, friendship, family, or work, teamwork is a beautiful thing to behold and to experience. God himself said it is not good for man to be alone. If the Creator pronounces that we need human companions, then who are we to question him?  

In admitting we are broken and cannot complete the journey alone, we actually bless others, inviting them into our lives.*

June 19, 2024

Ecclesiastes 3.11 (NIV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

It [faith] is the surest road to realizing that “the only thing I know is that I don’t know anything.”*

Remember the old song, “Everything is beautiful in its own way. . .”? But then there’s the adage:  “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Or, my personal favorite: “Beauty is only skin deep” to which a friend added, “But ugly goes all the way to the bone.”

So what is true? Could we say that everything is beautiful because God made it? Perhaps Solomon meant that everything is beautiful when it fulfills its intended purpose. Maybe he was referring to events, not things. You know what is beautiful about this? All of these options are truths.

“He has set eternity in the hearts of men.” Some think we have an in-born understanding of eternity; others think that God has given us a craving for eternity. My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that our hearts are the starting place of eternity. 

It’s ironic that the last clause of this verse is the only one I understand – the one that says we don’t understand God! It is true that the longer I walk with God - the more I learn about him - the less I understand. I am more in awe of him and more in love with him but I cannot fathom all that he has done. God continuously reveals new layers of meaning as I spend time in his Word.

And maybe that’s what Solomon is telling us: nothing is more beautiful in its time than the Word.

I must hold to revealed truth, but also allow God to be greater than my understanding of him.*

June 18, 2024

Ecclesiastes 2.15 (NIV)

The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?

As God’s children, we should ask Him more than just rhetorical questions.*

Solomon, with his reputation for great wisdom, ponders the value of his wisdom. When God offered him anything he wanted, he chose wisdom over wealth – proving that he already was pretty wise. He knew that being wise trumped being rich, but he came to realize that neither wealth nor wisdom could make him completely happy. In the words of another writer: “Solomon . . . was looking for meaning within time . . . Within these limits, life does become absurd and meaningless, and no one has any prospect of personal fulfillment.”*

No matter how smart (or rich or beautiful) you are, you’re going to die just like the fool (or the pauper or the unattractive). But in between living and dying, there is purpose for wisdom. Yeah, we all die, but if a man rejects wisdom, he dies a fool. We need to keep things in their proper perspective and value what is important and lasting. It is shallow to trust in anything – including wisdom – other than God.

Are you spending your time in futile pursuit of your own kingdom or in the gratifying pursuit of his kingdom?*

June 17, 2024

Ecclesiastes 2.3, 4, 10, 11 (NIV)

I tried cheering myself . . . I built houses for myself . . . I denied myself nothing . . . Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done . . . everything was meaningless.

Blessed are those who, if everything they own were taken from them, would be, at most, inconvenienced, because their true wealth is elsewhere.*

Compare the life that Solomon led to Job’s life. Job lost all that he had and suffered misery. Solomon had no concept of loss or deprivation. Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.” Solomon says, “I have everything and it means nothing.” Maybe both men have reached the same conclusion from different approaches: things are worthless.

Solomon’s story could have had a happy ending if he had conducted the experiment with a different twist: try cheering someone else; build houses for others; deny nothing to those in need. He would not have concluded that “everything was meaningless” if he had looked for pleasure in using his riches to bless someone else.

Our focus is on accumulating possessions, retaining power, indulging in pleasure, and maintaining close relationships. Those are temporary goals. They are the goals of pagans and can be snatched from us in a minute.*

June 16, 2024

Proverbs 31.8, 9 (NIV)

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Caring for the fatherless [is] not simply one of many good ideas; it [is] a biblical mandate.*

The first week that my twin boys were in high school, I got hives. Besides scheduling issues, the school was trying to put them in a remedial program they didn’t need and that would have actually set them back in getting their credits to graduate. Every time I called the school I talked to another person who couldn’t help me and who made no effort to find someone who could. One day I spent over an hour waiting to talk to a guidance counselor who was busy – handing out labeled, alphabetized folders to new students and offering them no guidance whatsoever so why couldn’t somebody else distribute those folders??? Oh and then there was the man who came out to talk to me but who never bothered to identify himself or his job (I might have been better off if he had been the janitor instead of one of those guidance counselors). By the end of the week, I had found my source of help – the district superintendent’s secretary. She was able to connect me with someone who actually had the power to come to my rescue - and I told her she couldn't retire until my boys graduated.

I share that story to tell you this: for one week, I knew what it felt like to be powerless. And yet, I really wasn’t. I had a lot of frustrating experiences but I had resources: a boss who allowed me to take all the time I needed to resolve the situation; access to communication and transportation; an education that enabled me to speak intelligently; the means to dress appropriately; and I had connections.

The first verse of this proverb says that it is an oracle taught to King Lemuel by his mother. Lemuel is believed to be an alias for King Solomon. Regardless of his true identity, he should listen to his mother! A king is the antithesis of powerless and is someone who is in a prime position to do something for the helpless. We, too, are in a position of power – we are children of the King. And our Father has told us that speaking and acting on behalf of the powerless is how we honor him. Use your royal power generously.

The difference between a poor flower girl and a lady is not so much in the way she acts as in the way she is treated.*

June 15, 2024

Proverbs 30.8, 9 (NIV)

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

To be born of God means that I have the supernatural power of God to stop sinning.*

What a roundabout way of saying, “Lead me not into temptation.” Deliver me from evil, he says, so that I won’t be tempted to sin. Too much wealth could tempt him to be prideful and lead to unfaithfulness, while poverty could tempt him to be dishonest.* Just like Goldilocks, Agur (the author of this proverb) wanted everything to be “just right.” As one writer puts it, he asks for “grace sufficient and food convenient.”*

In the model prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11.4)  James tells us that God cannot be tempted nor does he tempt anyone (James 1.13). He goes on to say that we are tempted by our own evil desires and that one thing leads to another. And yet, instead of fleeing temptation, we march right into it. It’s all well and good to ask God to deliver us from tempting circumstances but we need to understand that it’s much easier to avoid temptation than it is to overcome it.*

Of course, not all temptations are self-inflicted. Satan is after us. He knows our weaknesses, but he is not stronger than the power of the Holy Spirit. Let Paul’s words in I Corinthians 10.13 encourage you and direct your path: “No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

 

Finally, we must accept responsibility for how we handle temptation. Finding ourselves in a situation not of our own making does not give us a pass to sin. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to stand and fight temptation; we are told to run from it!

Too great an emphasis on “why” may indicate an attempt to find extenuating reasons for excusing conduct which otherwise must be described as sinful.*