Eclesiastes 1
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Eclesiastes 1
Spurgeon - Morning and Evening - Evening, October 26 “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” —Ecclesiastes 1:7 Everything sublunary is on the move, time knows nothing of rest. The solid earth is a rolling ball, and the great sun himself a star obediently fulfilling its course around some greater luminary. Tides move the sea, winds stir the airy ocean, friction wears the rock: change and death rule everywhere. The sea is not a miser’s storehouse for a wealth of waters, for as by one force the waters flow into it, by another they are lifted from it. Men are born but to die: everything is hurry, worry, and vexation of spirit. Friend of the unchanging Jesus, what a joy it is to reflect upon thy changeless heritage; thy sea of bliss which will be for ever full, since God himself shall pour eternal rivers of pleasure into it. We seek an abiding city beyond the skies, and we shall not be disappointed. The passage before us may well teach us gratitude. Father Ocean is a great receiver, but he is a generous distributor. What the rivers bring him he returns to the earth in the form of clouds and rain. That man is out of joint with the universe who takes all but makes no return. To give to others is but sowing seed for ourselves. He who is so good a steward as to be willing to use his substance for his Lord, shall be entrusted with more. Friend of Jesus, art thou rendering to him according to the benefit received? Much has been given thee, what is thy fruit? Hast thou done all? Canst thou not do more? To be selfish is to be wicked. Suppose the ocean gave up none of its watery treasure, it would bring ruin upon our race. God forbid that any of us should follow the ungenerous and destructive policy of living unto ourselves. Jesus pleased not himself. All fullness dwells in him, but of his fullness have all we received. O for Jesus’ spirit, that henceforth we may live not unto ourselves! F B
Eclesiastes 1
Spurgeon reminds us that "Behold is a word of wonder; it is intended to excite admiration. Wherever you see it hung out in Scripture, it is like an ancient sign-board, signifying that there are rich wares within, or like the hands which solid readers have observed in the margin of the older Puritanic books, drawing attention to something particularly worthy of observation." I would add, behold is like a divine highlighter, a divine underlining of an especially striking or important text. It says in effect "Listen up, all ye who would be wise in the ways of Jehovah!" Hinneh is translated in the Septuagint with the interjection idou (strictly speaking a command in the second person aorist imperative, middle voice) a demonstrative particle (used 1377 times in the Septuagint and NT) which is found especially in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke "and giving a peculiar vivacity to the style by bidding the reader or hearer to attend to what is said: "Behold! See! Lo!" (Thayer) The command is calling for urgent attention. Do this now! Don't delay! It could be loosely paraphrased "Pay attention!" or "Listen up!" to arouse attention and introduce a new and extraordinary fact of considerable importance. Striving (07469) reuth means longing, striving, vexation. Baker says it is "It refers to a person's efforts to attain something, to achieve or master something, to find out all about the world and its purposes. In Ecclesiastes, these efforts are considered vain (Eccl. 1:14; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6; 6:9). All striving ends up being a striving after nothing, the wind." REUTH - Eccl. 1:14; Eccl. 2:11; Eccl. 2:17; Eccl. 2:26; Eccl. 4:4; Eccl. 4:6; Eccl. 6:9 Wind (07307) ruah/ruach means breath, wind, spirit (76x to the Spirit), air; breeze; ; courage; temper; Ruah/ruach refers to the Spirit of God or Holy Spirit (Ps. 51:11; Ps 106:33; Isa. 63:10, 11), who inspired the prophets (Nu 11:17, 25; 1Sa 10:6; 19:20), moved the prophets in time and space (Elijah (1 Ki. 18:12 cf Ezekiel in Ezek. 2:2). Ruah/ruach can refer to an evil spirit from the Lord (1Sa. 16:15, 16; 1Ki. 22:22, 23). David was inspired to speak as a prophet by the Spirit (2Sa 23:2). The Spirit was present among the returned exiles in Jerusalem (Hag. 2:5; Zech. 4:6); and will be poured out in the latter days on all flesh, imparting prophecy, dreams, and visions (Joel 2:28). The Spirit of God was grieved by the rebellion of God's people (Isa. 63:10). Vine - give a good summary of the various meanings of RUACH in the Old Testament. (1) First, this word means "breath," air for breathing, air that is being breathed. This meaning is especially evident in Jer. 14:6: "And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons…." When one's "breath" returns, he is revived: "…When he [Samson] had drunk [the water], his spirit [literally, "breath"] came again, and he revived…" (Judg. 15:19). Astonishment may take away one's "breath": "And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table,… there was no more spirit in her [she was overwhelmed and breathless]" (1 Kings 10:4-5). Rûaḥ may also represent speaking, or the breath of one's mouth: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psa. 33:6; cf. Exod. 15:8; Job 4:9; Job 19:17). (2) Second, this word can be used with emphasis on the invisible, intangible, fleeting quality of "air": "O remember that my life is wind: mine eyes shall no more see good" (Job 7:7). There may be a suggestion of purposelessness, uselessness, or even vanity (emptiness) when rûaḥ is used with this significance: "And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them …" (Jer. 5:13). "Windy words" are really "empty words" (Job 16:3), just as "windy knowledge" is "empty knowledge" (Job 15:2; cf. Eccl. 1:14, 17, "meaningless striving"). In Prov. 11:29 rûaḥ means "nothing": "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind…." This nuance is especially prominent in Eccl. 5:15-16: "And he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind?" (3) Third, rûaḥ can mean "wind." In Gen. 3:8 it seems to mean the gentle, refreshing evening breeze so well known in the Near East: "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [literally, "breeze"] of the day…." It can mean a strong, constant wind: "… And the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night …" (Exod. 10:13). It can also signify an extremely strong wind: "And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind …" (Exod. 10:19). In Jer. 4:11 the word appears to represent a gale or tornado (cf. Hos. 8:7). God is the Creator (Amos 4:13) and sovereign Controller of the winds (Gen. 8:1; Num. 11:31; Jer. 10:13). (4) Fourth, the wind represents direction. In Jer. 49:36 the four winds represent the four ends of the earth, which in turn represent every quarter: "And upon Elam will I bring the four winds [peoples from every quarter of the earth] from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come." Akkadian attests the same phrase with the same meaning, and this phrase begins to appear in Hebrew at a time when contact with Akkadian-speaking peoples was frequent. (5) Fifth, rûaḥ frequently represents the element of life in a man, his natural "spirit": "And all flesh died that moved upon the earth,… All in whose nostrils was the breath of life …" (Gen. 7:21-22). In these verses the animals have a "spirit" (cf. Psa. 104:29). On the other hand, in Prov. 16:2 the word appears to mean more than just the element of life; it seems to mean "soul": "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits [nasb, "motives"]." Thus, Isaiah can put nepesh, "soul," and rûaḥ in synonymous parallelism: "With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early …" (Isa. 26:9). It is the "spirit" of a man that returns to God (Eccl. 12:7). (6) Sixth, rûaḥ is often used of a man's mind-set, disposition, or "temper": "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile" (Psa. 32:2). In Ezek. 13:3 the word is used of one's mind or thinking: "Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirits, and have seen nothing" (cf. Prov. 29:11). Rûaḥ can represent particular dispositions, as it does in Josh. 2:11: "And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you …" (cf. Josh. 5:1; Job 15:13). Another disposition represented by this word is "temper": "If the spirit [temper] of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place …" (Eccl. 10:4). David prayed that God would "restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit" (Psa. 51:12). In this verse "joy of salvation" and "free Spirit" are parallel and, therefore, synonymous terms. Therefore, "spirit" refers to one's inner disposition, just as "joy" refers to an inner emotion. (7) Seventh, the Bible often speaks of God's "Spirit," the third person of the Trinity. (76 uses in OT) This is the use of the word in its first biblical occurrence: "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). Isa. 63:10-11 and Psa. 51:12 specifically speak of the "holy or free Spirit." (8) Eighth, the non-material beings (angels) in heaven are sometimes called "spirits": "And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him" (1 Kings 22:21; cf. 1 Sam. 16:14). (9) Ninth, the "spirit" may also be used of that which enables a man to do a particular job or that which represents the essence of a quality of man: "And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him …" (Deut. 34:9). Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his "spirit" (2 Kings 2:9) and received it. Complete Biblical Library - The basic idea of rûach is air in motion—"breath" or "wind." It is the major word for wind in the OT. From this meaning, it came to be used of enabling or empowering for action. It is also used to refer to invisible, powerful, supernatural beings—God, angels and evil spirits. Finally, it often refers to the inner person of humans, especially their deepest emotions, motivations and dispositions, the source of willpower. In Gen. 3:8, the phrase "in the cool of the day" seems to denote air in motion. It is probably referring to the cool breezes the lands of the Near East enjoy in the evening. Wind is clearly the meaning in Gen. 8:1, and in Exo. 15:8, God is pictured as blasting air out his nostrils to part the Red Sea. Rûach came to be used of directions or sides of something from the idea of "the four winds" (1 Chr. 9:24; Zech. 2:6). The invisible power of the wind made it a good term for invisible, powerful spirit beings. To reassure Israel, God said the horses of the Egyptians were flesh, not spirit. This is in parallel with God (Isa. 31:3). Job sensed something frightening pass by his face, which he described by using rûach (Job 4:15). Evil spirits were sometimes sent in judgment on people (1 Sam. 16:14), but otherwise they are not mentioned often in the OT. In these few contexts, they do seem to be some kind of invisible being with limited power under God's sovereign control. In the OT, these references may be to agents of Satan used by God indirectly for judgment, or they may be some kind of angel (Ps. 104:4) used directly to bring judgment on rebellious people ("evil" can refer to the pain of judgment). One time, in Zech. 13:2, there is reference to "the unclean spirit" in the land, but it is uncertain whether they understood it as a being or more of a prevailing spiritual attitude and moral quality of the people. The latter is probably the idea in the description of Israel having "the spirit of whoredoms," which lead them away from God (Hos. 4:12; 5:4). From later revelation, it is evident that such a pervasive evil reputation would be caused by the work of agents of Satan on the people's hearts. The Spirit of God (or Spirit of the Lord) is often named. (The combination "Holy Spirit" is only used in Ps. 51:11 and Isa. 63:10f in the OT.) When the OT writers spoke of the Spirit of God, the reference always included God's presence and acting power in this world. In Gen. 1:2, his Spirit hovered over the creation, preparing for further development. The Spirit of God gives life to all (Gen. 6:17; Ps. 104:29f), especially humans (Job 33:4), and it is paralleled to the breath of God. The Spirit actively works in and among people until God decides He has had enough of their sin and resistance to Him (Gen. 6:3). The Spirit of God is equated with the presence of God by the psalmist (Ps. 51:11). Job said a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty, gives them understanding (Job 32:8). Pharaoh recognized that Joseph's understanding was from the Spirit of God in him (Gen. 41:38). The Lord says in Exo. 31:3 that He filled Bezalel with skill, knowledge and the ability to do the craftsmanship for the Tabernacle. People live and function in the image of God by the work of God's Spirit, in his general providence. God's people enjoy the fullness of what He wants to do in their lives by the special work of his Spirit received by faith. God puts his Spirit upon his leaders to enable them to lead his people. When Moses cried out for help, He put the same Spirit who was on Moses on the seventy elders (Num. 11:17, 25). All could see that He was empowering them because the Spirit caused them to prophesy (vv. 26, 29). In the latter verse, Moses wished all God's people would be prophets; Joel later predicted that this would happen in the latter days (Joel 2:28f). These references to the Spirit of God emphasized the immediate presence of God's working through the leaders of his people. The judges are often described as empowered, even filled (literally "clothed") with the Spirit, to accomplish God's deliverance of his people (Judg. 3:10; 6:34; 14:6; 15:14). Saul and David both had the Spirit come upon them at their anointings as king (1 Sam. 10:6; 16:13). The leadership of the Messiah would be empowered by the Spirit of God, according to Isa. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1. Elijah's God-empowered ministry was referred to by Elisha as "your spirit" (2 Ki. 2:9). He asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit, which meant he wanted to be Elijah's heir and so carry on his ministry. Prophetic ministry in which God speaks to his people, especially the leaders, about their relationship to Him, is often described as his Spirit coming upon the prophet (1 Ki. 22:24; 2 Chr. 24:20; Neh. 9:30; Mic. 3:8). The prophet is even called "the man of the Spirit" in Hos. 9:7. David said that the Spirit of the Lord spoke through him in his last words to Solomon and Israel (2 Sam. 23:2). The writer of Chronicles said that the plans for the Temple were put in the mind of David by the Spirit (1 Chr. 28:12). Zechariah 4:6 gives the well-known principle that God's work is not accomplished from human effort, ability or resources, but by the Spirit of the Lord. God's people must learn to yield to the presence and the power of God working within them for their strength, wisdom and motivation to accomplish his purposes. Rûach, as used of people, can overlap with lfiv (HED #3949), "heart," and nephesh (HED #5497), "soul." In fact, according to Gen. 2:7, God made Adam a living person, or nephesh, by breathing into flesh, formed from the ground, with his breath of life (HED #5580), which is parallel to "spirit" in 7:15, 22. Therefore, according to the OT, people have a spirit from God and become a person (a "soul" in KJV). The spirit of humans is what gives them their most intense inner feelings, such as grief (Gen. 26:35), jealousy (Num. 5:14), anger (Judg. 8:3), deep emotional pain or sorrow (1 Sam. 1:15), longing for God's intervention (Isa. 26:9) and lust and faithfulness (Mal. 2:16). It involves the will and mind working in unison to motivate a person to a course of action (Exo. 35:21). The spirit also is involved in patience, pride and self-control (Prov. 16:32). God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to let the Jews return from captivity (2 Chr. 36:22). Not to have spirit is not to have any courage or will to act (Josh. 2:11); indeed, a person with a crushed spirit has no motivation, energy or hope (Prov. 17:22; 18:14). However, there is a brokenness of one's self-will against God that is part of true repentance (Ps. 51:17). There is a lowliness of spirit which describes a person's whole disposition and attitude as humbled before the awesome holiness and sovereignty of God. This person's spirit the Lord revives, breathing new life and motivation into him to live in harmony with the Holy God (Isa. 57:15). However, for those who continually reject the Lord, He hardens their spirits so that they stubbornly force their way into his judgment (Deut. 2:30). God promised to pour out "a spirit of grace and supplication" on his people, meaning He would work within them to cause them to have deep feelings of gratefulness, compassion and desire to pray for God's gracious blessings. Prophets were not to speak from their own spirits (their own thoughts and motivations), but from God's Spirit (Ezek. 13:3). God's Spirit interfaces with and works through the person's spirit. In fact, when a person comes into relationship with God through faith in the promised Savior, God gives a new spirit and a new heart (Ezek. 36:26f). God's Spirit in our spirits motivates us to live for Him. The use of the word "spirit" in the OT reminds us that we are more than physical material and biology. We have a connection to the spiritual realm and the supernatural, with a capacity and a need to commune with God. Furthermore, God wants to fill our lives and empower us to accomplish his purpose in this world through his gift of the presence of his Holy Spirit, given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. RUACH - 346V - air(2), anger(1), blast(2), breath(31), breathless*(1), cool(1), courage(1), despondency*(1), exposed(1), grief*(1), heart(1), inspired(1), mind(3), motives(1), points(1), quick-tempered*(1), side(4), sides(2), Spirit(76), spirit(127), spirits(3), strength(1), temper(2), thoughts*(1), trustworthy*(1), wind(98), winds(7), windy(2), wrath(1). Gen. 1:2; 3:8; 6:3,17; 7:15,22; 8:1; 26:35; 41:8,38; 45:27; Exod. 6:9; 10:13,19; 14:21; 15:8,10; 28:3; 31:3; 35:21,31; Num. 5:14,30; 11:17,25-26,29,31; 14:24; 16:22; 24:2; 27:16,18; Deut. 2:30; 34:9; Jos. 2:11; 5:1; Jdg. 3:10; 6:34; 8:3; 9:23; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14,19; 1 Sam. 1:15; 10:6,10; 11:6; 16:13-16,23; 18:10; 19:9,20,23; 30:12; 2 Sam. 22:11,16; 23:2; 1 Ki. 10:5; 18:12,45; 19:11; 21:5; 22:21-24; 2 Ki. 2:9,15-16; 3:17; 19:7; 1 Chr. 5:26; 9:24; 12:18; 28:12; 2 Chr. 9:4; 15:1; 18:20-23; 20:14; 21:16; 24:20; 36:22; Ezr. 1:1,5; Neh. 9:20,30; Job 1:19; 4:9,15; 6:4,26; 7:7,11; 8:2; 9:18; 10:12; 12:10; 15:2,13,30; 16:3; 17:1; 19:17; 20:3; 21:18; 26:13; 28:25; 30:15,22; 32:8,18; 33:4; 34:14; 37:21; 41:16; Ps. 1:4; 11:6; 18:10,15,42; 31:5; 32:2; 33:6; 34:18; 35:5; 48:7; 51:10-12,17; 55:8; 76:12; 77:3,6; 78:8,39; 83:13; 103:16; 104:3-4,29-30; 106:33; 107:25; 135:7,17; 139:7; 142:3; 143:4,7,10; 146:4; 147:18; 148:8; Prov. 1:23; 11:13,29; 14:29; 15:4,13; 16:2,18-19,32; 17:22,27; 18:14; 25:14,23,28; 27:16; 29:11,23; 30:4; Eccl. 1:6,14,17; 2:11,17,26; 3:19,21; 4:4,6,16; 5:16; 6:9; 7:8-9; 8:8; 10:4; 11:4-5; 12:7; Isa. 4:4; 7:2; 11:2,4,15; 17:13; 19:3,14; 25:4; 26:9,18; 27:8; 28:6; 29:10,24; 30:1,28; 31:3; 32:2,15; 33:11; 34:16; 37:7; 38:16; 40:7,13; 41:16,29; 42:1,5; 44:3; 48:16; 54:6; 57:13,15-16; 59:19,21; 61:1,3; 63:10-11,14; 64:6; 65:14; 66:2; Jer. 2:24; 4:11-12; 5:13; 10:13-14; 13:24; 14:6; 18:17; 22:22; 49:32,36; 51:1,11,16-17; 52:23; Lam. 4:20; Ezek. 1:4,12,20-21; 2:2; 3:12,14,24; 5:2,10,12; 8:3; 10:17; 11:1,5,19,24; 12:14; 13:3,11,13; 17:10,21; 18:31; 19:12; 20:32; 21:7; 27:26; 36:26-27; 37:1,5-6,8-10,14; 39:29; 42:16ff; 43:5; Dan. 2:1,3; 8:8; 11:4; Hos. 4:12,19; 5:4; 8:7; 9:7; 12:1; 13:15; Joel 2:28-29; Amos 4:13; Jon. 1:4; 4:8; Mic. 2:7,11; 3:8; Hab. 1:11; 2:19; Hag. 1:14; 2:5; Zech. 2:6; 4:6; 5:9; 6:5,8; 7:12; 12:1,10; 13:2; Mal. 2:15-16 C H Spurgeon - Morning and Evening - “Behold, all is vanity.” —Ecclesiastes 1:14 Nothing can satisfy the entire man but the Lord’s love and the Lord’s own self. Saints have tried to anchor in other roadsteads, but they have been driven out of such fatal refuges. Solomon, the wisest of men, was permitted to make experiments for us all, and to do for us what we must not dare to do for ourselves. Here is his testimony in his own words: “So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What! the whole of it vanity? O favoured monarch, is there nothing in all thy wealth? Nothing in that wide dominion reaching from the river even to the sea? Nothing in Palmyra’s glorious palaces? Nothing in the house of the forest of Lebanon? In all thy music and dancing, and wine and luxury, is there nothing? “Nothing,” he says, “but weariness of spirit.” This was his verdict when he had trodden the whole round of pleasure. To embrace our Lord Jesus, to dwell in his love, and be fully assured of union with him—this is all in all. Dear reader, you need not try other forms of life in order to see whether they are better than the Christian’s: if you roam the world around, you will see no sights like a sight of the Saviour’s face; if you could have all the comforts of life, if you lost your Saviour, you would be wretched; but if you win Christ, then should you rot in a dungeon, you would find it a paradise; should you live in obscurity, or die with famine, you will yet be satisfied with favour and full of the goodness of the Lord. Ecclesiastes 1:18 When Knowledge Hurts For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes 1:18 Today's Scripture & Insight : Ecclesiastes 1:12–18 Zach Elder and his friends pulled up to shore after a twenty-five-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. The man who came to retrieve their rafts told them about the COVID-19 virus. They thought he was joking. But as they left the canyon their phones pinged with their parents’ urgent messages. Zach and his friends were stunned. They wished they could return to the river and escape what they now knew. In a fallen world, knowledge often brings pain. The wise Teacher of Ecclesiastes observed, “With much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief” (1:18). Who hasn’t envied a child’s blissful ignorance? She doesn’t yet know about racism, violence, and cancer. Weren’t we happier before we grew up and discerned our own weaknesses and vices? Before we learned our family’s secrets—why our uncle drinks heavily or what caused our parents’ divorce? What’s something you wished you didn’t know? Tell Jesus about it. Then leave it with Him. Whenever it troubles you, take it to Jesus again. Jesus, I don’t enjoy pain, but if it drives me to You, it’s worth it. Ecclesiastes 1:14 Setting the Record Straight - Joe Stowell “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 1:14 Baseball fans will always remember the 2007 season—an interesting summer of baseball to say the least! Tom Glavine joined the elite club of pitchers who have won 300 games, the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run, and Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s record for most home runs in Major League history. I’ve been a baseball fan since I was a boy. Growing up near New York City, I was a Yankee fan when Yogi Berra was behind the plate, Whitey Ford was on the mound, Moose Skowron was on first, and my hero Mickey Mantle was in center field. Through the years I’ve taken great delight in telling anyone who would listen that I was at the game when Mickey Mantle wowed all of baseball by hitting the ball out of Yankee Stadium—a hefty swing that hasn’t been repeated to this day! What I find interesting is that telling that story now has lost some of its impact. Years have passed, and no one seems to care how far Mantle could hit the ball. The passing of time has a way of making what was once significant no longer all that significant. As Barry Bonds will someday find out, the passing of time will crown someone else Home Run King and Bonds’ achievement will be mere history. In his class-act speech played on the giant screen in center field the night Bonds broke the record, Hank Aaron said, “Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball, and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement.” So here’s the sobering lesson. No matter how important your accomplishments are now and how much applause they generate, time will eventually erase the headlines of your life. Ultimately, all that will be left is your name and dates on a seldom-visited tombstone. Unless, that is, you live your life to do something of significance for eternity. Like the preacher says, “Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last!” So here are some suggestions for living a life that counts forever. Give meaningful portions of your time, gifts, talents, and money to advance the eternal cause of Jesus in your town. Remember, that wiggly six-year-old in your Sunday school class may be the next Billy Graham! (See Matthew 25:21 ) Encourage your children to consider going somewhere in this world to win people to Christ and to plant churches that will propagate the eternal power of Jesus to save those who otherwise are eternally lost. (See Matthew 9:36 ) Raise a godly generation to carry the eternal values and principles of God’s Word into their world. (See Psalm 119:89-90 ) Be like Jesus: live to win a lost friend to the eternal joy of heaven. (See Luke 19:10 ) Love and obey God with all your heart. Look forward to His appearing and receive a crown of righteousness when you get to heaven. (See 2 Timothy 4:8 ) As Jesus taught us when He told the story of the rich fool, “This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? . . . Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:20,33). YOUR JOURNEY… Think of a few of your greatest accomplishments. Do they carry any lasting value? Why or why not? Review the points above and evaluate how you are doing in those areas. How are you using your resources for eternal purposes? Your time? Gifts? Talents? Money? Pray through the Scriptures listed in the points above, and ask the Lord to help you develop His perspective regarding your accomplishments for His kingdom. Ecclesiastes 1:14 Gone With The Wind Read: Ecclesiastes 1:2-9,14 All is vanity and grasping for the wind. —Ecclesiastes 1:14 The epic film based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone With the Wind opens with these lines: “There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. . . . Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind.” Not only does a way of life disappear but also the dreams that drive the main characters. Throughout the Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara is preoccupied with her love for Ashley Wilkes. But by story’s end, she is disillusioned. Solomon saw the futility of seeking satisfaction in people and things. Despite amassing wealth and knowledge, completing great projects, and marrying many wives, he said, “All is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Eccl. 1:14). Why does chasing transitory things leave us unfulfilled? The biblical answer is that we were created to find our ultimate fulfillment in God. Jesus promised, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). What comes from man will never last, It’s here today, tomorrow past; What comes from God will always be The same for all eternity! —Spencer Invest your life in what pays eternal dividends. Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. KJV Ecclesiastes 1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. BGT Ecclesiastes 1:15 διεστραμμένον οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἐπικοσμηθῆναι καὶ ὑστέρημα οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ ἀριθμηθῆναι LXE Ecclesiastes 1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and deficiency cannot be numbered. NET Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. CSB Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. ESV Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. NIV Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. NLT Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered. YLT Ecclesiastes 1:15 A crooked thing one is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered. NJB Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is twisted cannot be straightened, what is not there cannot be counted. NRS Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. NAB Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is missing cannot be supplied. GWN Ecclesiastes 1:15 No one can straighten what is bent. No one can count what is not there. BBE Ecclesiastes 1:15 That which is bent may not be made straight, and that which is not there may not be numbered. crooked: Ec 3:14 7:12,13 Job 11:6 34:29 Isa 40:4 La 3:37 Da 4:35 Mt 6:27 WHAT CANNOT BE FIXED BY WISDOM What is crooked cannot be straightened - What is crooked cannot be straightened” means that life, left to itself, contains unsolvable problems, deep injustice, and irreversible loss and human power alone cannot make it all right. This passage confirms the conclusion in Eccl 1:14 that all is vanity and striving after the wind. Crooked symbolizes things that are flawed, distorted, or unjust. Solomon is observing that no amount of intellect or human effort can fully correct or reverse these the deep flaws of life. It’s a humbling admission that some things are beyond human repair. Even the wisest person cannot fix everything — because the world is not just intellectually challenging, it is spiritually fallen. You can’t reason away grief. You can’t legislate a perfect society. You can’t educate away sin. Eric Ortlund on crooked - There is an irreducible twisting or disjointedness to life under the sun, which we cannot rectify—so Qohelet claims in the first clause of this verse. The second clause (cannot be counted) implies not just that we do not have all the pieces we need to put the whole picture together but that we do not even know how many pieces we are missing. (Laboring in Hopeless Hope: Encouragement for Christians from Ecclesiastes) John