{"id":28189,"date":"2023-10-11T22:00:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T05:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ecclesiastes-5_8-20-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T15:21:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T22:21:39","slug":"ecclesiastes-6_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ecclesiastes-6_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"The Questions Only Jesus Is Qualified To Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ecclesiastes 6:1-12.\u00a0 In case you\u2019re wondering, since I believe that Qohelet, known as the \u201cTeacher\u201d and the main speaker in Ecclesiastes, is best identified as King Solomon, I will refer to him interchangeably as Qohelet or Solomon.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 6:1-6 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men:
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man–
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-6:\u00a0 Here once again Qohelet speaks about how meaningless and sad it is when a person has wealth but is not able to enjoy it.\u00a0 Likewise, God has given you wealth in many different ways, whether you\u2019re aware of it or not.\u00a0 The question is: do you realize how wealthy you are and do you actually enjoy your wealth? A life well-lived is one where you take stock of the wealth God has given you, use it for God\u2019s purposes, and are able to enjoy life yourself.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 6:7 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All man’s efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.<\/p>\n

On verse 7:\u00a0 Another ongoing theme in Ecclesiastes is the idea that nothing in this world can fully satisfy the human heart.\u00a0 That is because we were made for them than this world.\u00a0 Each of us has a God-sized hole in our heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).\u00a0 Only when God fills that hole is their peace.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 6:8-9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0What advantage has a wise man over a fool? What does a poor man gain by knowing how to conduct himself before others?
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-9:\u00a0 Qohelet recommends that, rather than hopelessly chasing after what you fantasize about (represented by \u201cthe roving of the appetite\u201d), don\u2019t take for granted what you already have in front of you (\u201cwhat the eye sees\u201d).\u00a0 His words here complement Proverbs 28:19: \u201cHe who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 6:10 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Whatever exists has already been named, and what man is has been known; no man can contend with one who is stronger than he.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 10:\u00a0 Who is the one who has already named whatever exists?\u00a0 Who is the one who knows man inside out?\u00a0 Who is the one who is stronger than man?\u00a0 The answer to all those questions is the same: God.\u00a0 In other words, Qohelet is saying, \u201cRealize that you\u2019re a mere human and don\u2019t try to play God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 6:11-12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-12:\u00a0 Here Qohelet sounds like Jackson Maine in the film\u00a0A Star Is Born<\/em>\u00a0when he sings, \u201cNobody knows what waits for the dead.\u00a0 Nobody knows what waits for the dead.\u00a0 Some folks just believe in the things they\u2019ve heard and the things they\u2019ve read.\u00a0 Nobody knows what waits for the dead.\u201d \u00a0Keep in mind that Qohelet is speaking approximately 1,000 years before Jesus Christ would walk this earth.\u00a0 The arrival of Jesus would change everything.\u00a0 For through Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection, we can answer Qohelet\u2019s questions in verses 11-12 affirmatively and say: Jesus\u2019 words can be trusted, Jesus knows what is good for people during this life, and Jesus can tell us what will happen after we die.\u00a0 Jesus changes everything.<\/p>\n

Jesus, thank You that You died and rose again, and therefore You are qualified more than any other to tell us what is good for us to do during our lifetimes on earth and what will happen after we die.\u00a0 I pray for wisdom to see every way that You have made me wealthy and to use it for Your glory, enjoying life as I do so.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ecclesiastes 6:1-12.\u00a0 In case you\u2019re wondering, since I believe that Qohelet, known as the \u201cTeacher\u201d and the main speaker in Ecclesiastes, is best identified as King Solomon, I will refer to him interchangeably as Qohelet or Solomon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 6:1-6 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men:
\n2\u00a0\u00a0God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man–
\n6\u00a0\u00a0even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 1-6:\u00a0 Here once again Qohelet speaks about how meaningless and sad it is when a person has wealth but is not able to enjoy it.\u00a0 Likewise, God has given you wealth in many different ways, whether you\u2019re aware of it or not.\u00a0 The question is: do you realize how wealthy you are and do you actually enjoy your wealth? A life well-lived is one where you take stock of the wealth God has given you, use it for God\u2019s purposes, and are able to enjoy life yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28189"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28198,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28189\/revisions\/28198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}