The book of Ecclesiastes

In this episode, I read the book of Ecclesiastes.
The translation I use is the World English Version available here. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode of Balancing the Christian Life, I
read the book of Ecclesiastes.
From the Balancing theChristian Life.
I'm Dr Kenny Ambry.
Join me as we discover how tobe better Christians and people
in the digital age.
So exactly what is the point oflife?
If you've been around longenough, you've asked yourself

(00:20):
this question and as you look toscripture, sometimes you're
able to find some answers.
One of the books that directlyanswers this question is the
book of Ecclesiastes.
It's in the Old Testament.
It does not have law in it.
It is a philosopher some peoplethink is Solomon.
I personally don't taking onthe idea of what is the point of

(00:45):
living life.
It's an awfully existentialquestion, but it's one of those
things all of us have to grapplewith.
I don't mind telling you Ineeded this episode probably
more than anyone else.
What is the point of life?
When I was going through thebook of Ecclesiastes, I saw
stuff in it I'd never seenbefore.

(01:07):
I wanted to read the book ofEcclesiastes for you.
I do these episodes occasionallybecause I think it's a good way
to study scripture.
I know that at least Ioccasionally take verses out of
context just to make a point Iwant to, but in an episode like
this.
I'm reading the entire bookBecause of that.

(01:30):
I can't take just a verse outof context.
You also start seeing theargument that the author of
Ecclesiastes is making.
He will come to the conclusionthat all of us know, which is
Fear God and keep hiscommandments.
That is the whole duty of man.
That's a very familiarconclusion.

(01:53):
Notice the journey that hetakes to get there, because it's
not exactly direct.
So you know, I use the WorldEnglish Bible.
It is a translation of thescriptures that is free from
copyright.
Most translations of the Biblehave strict copyright law around

(02:13):
it.
This was intentionallytranslated in such a way that
anybody can use it to whateverpurpose they want, including an
old guy who decided to getbehind a microphone and read it
for his audience.
I hope this helps you.

(02:35):
The Book of Ecclesiastes, thewords of the preacher, the son
of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanity, says thepreacher.
Vanity of vanities, all isvanity.
What does man gain from all hislabor in which he labors under
the sun?
One generation goes and anothergeneration comes, but the earth

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remains forever.
The sun also rises, and the sungoes down and hurries to its
place.
Where it rises, the wind goestoward the south and turns
around to the north.
It turns around continually asit goes, and the wind returns

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again to its courses.
All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full To the
place where the rivers flow.
There they flow again.
All things are full ofweariness, beyond uttering.
The eye is not satisfied withseeing, nor the ear filled with

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hearing.
That which has been is thatwhich shall be, and that which
has been done is that whichshall be done, and there is no
new thing under the sun.
Is there a thing of which itmay be said behold, this is new.
It has been long ago in theages which were before us.

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There is no memory of theformer, neither shall there be
any memory of the latter thatare to come among those that
shall come after.
I, the preacher, was king overIsrael and Jerusalem.
I applied my heart to seek andto search out by wisdom

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concerning all that is doneunder the sky.
It is a heavy burden that Godhas given to the sons of men to
be afflicted with.
I have seen all the works thatare done under the sun and
behold, all is vanity, and I amchasing after wind.
That which is crooked can't bemade straight and that which is

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lacking can't be counted.
I said to myself Behold, I haveobtained for myself great
wisdom, above all who werebefore me in Jerusalem.
Yes, my heart has had greatexperience of wisdom and
knowledge.
I applied my heart to knowwisdom and to know madness and

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folly.
I perceived that this also wasa chasing after wind, for in
much wisdom is much grief, andhe who increases knowledge
increases sorrow.
I said in my heart, come now, Iwill test you with mirth.

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Therefore, enjoy pleasure andbehold.
This also was vanity, I said,of laughter it is foolishness.
And of mirth, what does itaccomplish?
I searched in my heart how tocheer my flesh with wine, my
heart yet guiding me with wisdomand how to lay hold of folly,
until I might see what it wasgood for the sons of men that

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they should do under heaven allthe days of their lives.
I made myself great works.
I built myself houses.
I planted myself vineyards.
I made myself gardens and parksand I planted trees in them of
all kinds of fruit.
I made myself pools of water,to water from at the forest
where trees were grown.

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I bought male servants andfemale servants and had servants
born in my house.
I also had great possessions ofherds and flocks above all who
were before me in Jerusalem hadgreat possessions of herds and
flocks, above all who werebefore me in Jerusalem.
I also gathered silver and goldfor myself and the treasure of
kings and of the provinces.
I got myself male and femalesingers and the delights of the

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sons of men, musical instrumentsand that of all sorts.
So I was great and increasedmore than all who were before me
in Jerusalem.
My wisdom also remained with me.
Whatever my eyes desired, Ididn't keep from them.
I didn't withhold my heart fromany joy, for my heart rejoiced

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because of all my labor, andthis was my portion from all my
labor.
I didn't withhold my heart fromany joy, for my heart rejoiced
because of all my labor, andthis was my portion from all my
labor.
Then I looked at all the worksthat my hands had worked and at

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the labor that I had labored todo, and behold, all was vanity
and chasing after wind, andthere was no profit under the
sun.
I turned myself to considerwisdom, madness and folly, for
what can the king's successor do?
Just that which has been donelong ago.

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Then I saw that wisdom excels,folly.
As far as light excels darkness.
The wise man's eyes are in hishead and the fool walks in
darkness, and yet I perceivedthat one event happens to them
all.
Then I said in my heart as ithappens to the fool, so will it

(08:04):
happen even to me.
And why was I then more wise?
Then I said in my heart thatthis also is vanity, for of the
wise man, even as of the fool,there is no memory forever,

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since, in the days to come, allhave been long forgotten.
Indeed, the wise man must die,just like the fool.
So I hated life, because thework that is worked under the
sun was grievous to me, for allis vanity and a chasing after

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wind.
I hated all my labor in which Ilabored under the sun, because
I must leave it to the man whocomes after me, who knows
whether he will be a wise man ora fool, yet he will have rule
over all of my labor in which Ihave lab and in which I have

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shown myself wise under the sun.
This also is vanity.
Therefore, I began to cause myheart to despair concerning all
the labor in which I had laboredunder the sun, for there is a
man whose labor is with wisdom,with knowledge and with

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skillfulness.
Yet he shall leave it, for hisportion, to a man who has not
labored for it.
This also is vanity and a greatevil.
For what does a man have of allhis labor and of the striving
of his heart in which he laborsunder the sun?
For all his days are sorrowsand his travail is grief.

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Yes, even in the night hisheart takes no rest.
This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for aman than he should eat and drink
and make his soul enjoy good inhis labor.
This also, I saw that it isfrom the hand of God.
For who can eat or who can haveenjoyment more than I?

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For to the man who pleases him,god gives wisdom, knowledge and
joy.
But to the sinner he givestravail to gather and to heap up
that he may give to him whopleases God.
This also is vanity and achasing after wind.

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For everything there is a seasonand a time for every purpose
under heaven and a time forevery purpose under heaven, a
time to be born and a time todie, a time to plant, a time to
pluck up that which is planted,a time to kill and a time to
heal.

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A time to break down and a timeto build up.
A time to weep and a time tolaugh.
A time to mourn and a time todance.
A time to mourn and a time todance.
A time to cast away stones anda time to gather stones together
.
A time to embrace and a time torefrain from embracing.
A time to seek and a time tolose.
A time to keep and a time tocast away.

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A time to tear and a time tosew.
A time to keep silence and atime to tear.
A time to sow.
A time to keep silence and atime to speak.
A time to love and a time tohate.
A time for war and a time forpeace.
What profit has he who works inthat which he labors?

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I have seen the burden whichGod has given to the sons of men
to be afflicted with.
He has made everythingbeautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity intheir hearts, yet so that man
can't find out the work that Godhas done from the beginning to

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the end.
I know that there is nothingbetter for them than to rejoice
and to do good as long as theylive.
Also, that every man should eatand drink and enjoy good in all
his labor is the gift of God.
I know that whatever God does,it shall be forever.

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I know that whatever God does,it shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it, noranything taken from it, and God
has done it that man shouldfear before him.
That which is has been long agoand that which is to be has
been long ago.
God seeks again that which ispassed away.

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Moreover, I saw under the sun,in the place of justice, that
wickedness was there, and in theplace of righteousness, that
wickedness was there.
I said in my heart, god willjudge the righteous and the
wicked, for there is a timethere for every purpose and for

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every work, I said in my heart.
As for the sons of men, godtests them so that they may see
that they themselves are likeanimals.
For that which happens to thesons of men happens to animals.
Even one thing happens to themas the one dies, so the other

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dies.
Yes, they have all one breath,and man has no advantage over
the animals, for all is vanity.
All go to one place, all arefrom the dust and all turn to
dust again.
Who knows the spirit of man,whether it goes upward and the

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spirit of the animal whether itgoes downward to the earth.
Therefore, I saw that there isnothing better than that a man
should rejoice in his work, forthat is his portion.
Verse 2.
That are done under the sun,and behold the tears of those
who were oppressed, and they hadno comforter.

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And on the side of theiroppressors there was power, but
they had no comforter.
Therefore, I praise the dead,who have been long dead, more
than the living who are yetalive.
Yes, better than them both ishim who has not yet been, who

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has not seen the evil work thatis done under the sun.
Then I saw all the labor andachievement that is the envy of
a man's neighbor.
This also is vanity and astriving after wind.
The fool folds his handtogether and ruins himself.

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Better is a handful withquietness than two handfuls with
labor and chasing after wind.
Then I returned and saw vanityunder the sun.
There is one who is alone, andhe has neither son nor brother.

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There is no end to all of hislabor, neither are his eyes
satisfied with wealth.
For whom, then, do I labor anddeprive my soul of enjoyment?
This also is vanity.
Yes, it is a miserable business.
Two are better than one becausethey have a good reward for

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their labor, for if they fall,the one will lift up his fellow.
But woe to him who is alonewhen he falls and doesn't have
another to lift him up Again.
If two lie together, then theyhave warmth.
But how can one keep warm alone?
If a man prevails against onewho is alone, two shall

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withstand him and a threefoldcord is not quickly broken.
Better is a poor and wise youththan an old and foolish king
who doesn't know how to receiveadmonition anymore.
For out of prison he came outto be king.
Yes, even in his kingdom he wasborn poor.

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I saw all the living who walkunder the sun that they were
with the youth, the other whosucceeded him.
There was no end of all thepeople, even of all them over
whom he was.
Yet those who come after shallnot rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity anda chasing after wind.

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Guard your steps when you go toGod's house, for to draw near,
to listen is better than to givethe sacrifice of fools, for
they don't know that they doevil.
Don't be rash with your mouthand don't let your heart be
hasty to utter anything beforeGod, for God is in heaven and

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you on earth.
Therefore, let your words befew, for as a dream comes with a
multitude of cares, so a fool'sspeech with a multitude of
words.
When you vow a vow to God,don't defer to pay it, for he
has no pleasure in fools.

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Pay that which you vow.
It is better that you shouldnot vow than that you should vow
and not pay.
Don't allow your mouth to leadyou into sin.
Don't protest before themessenger that this was a
mistake.
Why should God be angry at yourvoice and destroy the work of

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your hands?
For in the multitude of dreamsthere are vanities, as well as
in many words, but you must fearGod.
If you see the oppression ofthe poor and the violent taking
away of justice andrighteousness in a district,
don't marvel at the matter, forone official is eyed by a higher
one and there are officialsover them.

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Moreover, the profit of theearth is for all.
The king profits from the field.
He who loves silver shall notbe satisfied with silver, nor he
who loves abundance withincrease.
This also is vanity.
When goods increase, those whoeat them are increased, and what

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advantage is there to its ownerexcept to feast on them with
his eyes.
The sleep of a laboring man issweet, whether he eats little or
much, but the abundance of therich will not allow him to sleep
.
There is a grievous evil which Ihave seen under the sun the

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wealth kept by its owner to hisharm.
Those riches perish bymisfortune.
And if he has fathered a son,there is nothing in his hand.
As he came out of his mother'swomb naked, shall he go again as
he came, and shall take nothingfor his labor which he may

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carry away in his hand?
This also is a grievous evil.
That in all points, as he came,so shall he go.
And what profit does he have?
Who labors for the wind All hisdays?
He also eats in darkness.
He is frustrated and hassickness and wrath.

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Behold that which I have seen tobe good and proper is for one
to eat and to drink and to enjoygood in all his labor, in which
he labors under the sun all thedays of his life which God has
given him, for this is hisportion.
Every man also, to whom God hasgiven riches and wealth and has

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given him power to eat of itand to take his portion and to
rejoice in his labor.
This is the gift of God, for heshall not often reflect on the
days of his life, because Godoccupies him with the joy of his
heart.
There is an evil which I haveseen under the sun, and it is

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heavy on men.
A man to whom God gives riches,wealth and honor, so that he
lacks nothing for his soul ofall that he desires, yet God
gives him no power to eat of it,but an alien eats it.
This is vanity and it is anevil disease.

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If a man fathers a hundredchildren and lives many years,
so that the days of his yearsare many but his soul is not
filled with good, and, moreover,he has no burial, I say that a
stillborn child is better thanhe, for it comes in vanity and

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departs in darkness, and itsname is covered with darkness.
Moreover, it has not seen thesun nor known it.
This has rest rather than theother.
Yes, though he live a thousandyears, twice told, and yet fails
to enjoy good.
Don't all go to one place.

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All the labor of man is for hismouth, and yet the appetite is
not filled for his mouth.
And yet the appetite is notfilled.
For what advantage has the wisemore than the fool.
What has the poor man thatknows how to walk before the
living?
Better is the sight of the eyesthan the wandering of the

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desire.
This also is vanity and achasing after wind.
Whatever has been, its name wasgiven long ago, and it is known
what man is.
Neither can he contend with himwho is mightier than he, for

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there are many words that createvanity.
What does that profit man For?
Who knows what is good for manin life, all the days of his
vain life which he spends like ashadow?
For who could tell a man whatwill be after him under the sun?
A good name is better than fineperfume, and the day of death

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better than the day of one'sbirth.
It is better to go to the houseof mourning than to go to the
house of feasting, for that isthe end of all men, and the
living should take this to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,for by the sadness of the face

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the heart is made good.
The heart of the wise is in thehouse of mourning, but the
heart of fools is in the houseof mirth.
It is better to hear the rebukeof the wise than for a man to
hear the song of fools, for asthe cracking of thorns under a

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pot, so is the laughter of thefool.
This also is vanity.
Surely, extortion makes thewise man foolish and a bribe
destroys the understanding.
Better is the end of a thingthan its beginning.
The patient in spirit is betterthan the proud in spirit.

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Don't be hasty in your spiritto be angry, for anger rests in
the bosom of fools.
Don't say why were the formerdays better than these For you?
Do not ask wisely about this.
Wisdom is as good as aninheritance.

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Yes, it is more excellent forthose who see the sun.
Yes, it is more excellent forthose who see the sun, for
wisdom is a defense, even asmoney is a defense.
But the excellency of knowledgeis that wisdom preserves the

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life of him who has it.
Consider the work of God, forwho could make that straight
which he has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity, bejoyful.
And in the day of adversity,consider, yes, god has made the
one side by side with the otherto the end that man should not

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find out anything after him, tothe end that man should not find
out anything after him.
All this I have seen in my daysof vanity.
There is a righteous man whoperishes in his righteousness
and there is a wicked man wholives long in his evil doing.
Don't be overly righteous,neither make yourself overly

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wise.
Why should you destroy yourself?
Don't be too wicked, neither befoolish.
Why should you die before yourtime?
It is good that you too takehold of this.
Yes, also, don't withdraw yourhand from that, for he who fears

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God will come out of them all.
Wisdom is a strength to thewise man more than ten rulers
who are in a city.
Surely there is not a righteousman on earth who does good and
doesn't sin.
Also, don't take heed to allwords that are spoken, lest you
hear your servant curse you, foroften your own heart knows that

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you yourself have likewisecursed others.
All this I have proved in wisdom.
I said I will be wise, but itwas far from me.
That which is is far off andexceedingly deep.
Who can find it out?
I turned around and my heartsought to know and to search out

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and to seek wisdom and thescheme of things, and to know
that wickedness is stupidity andthat foolishness is madness.
I find more bitter than deaththe woman whose heart is snares
and traps, whose hands arechains.
Whoever pleases God shallescape from her, but the sinner

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will be ensnared by her.
Behold, I have found this, saysthe preacher to one another, to
find out the scheme which mysoul still seeks.
But I have not found.
I have found one man among athousand, but I have not found a
woman among all those.

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Behold, I have only found thisthat God made man upright, but
they searched for many schemes.
Who is like the wise man and whoknows the interpretation of a

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thing?
A man's wisdom makes his faceshine and the hardness of his
face is changed.
I say keep the king's command,because of the oath to God,
don't be hasty to go out of hispresence, don't persist in an

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evil thing, for he does whateverpleases him, for the king's
word is supreme.
Who can say to him what are youdoing?
Whoever keeps the commandmentshall not come to harm and his
wise heart will know the timeand procedure, for there is a

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time and procedure for everypurpose, although the misery of
man is heavy on him, for hedoesn't know that which will be,
for who can tell him how itwill be?
There is no man who has powerover the spirit to contain the
spirit, neither does he havepower over the spirit to contain

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the spirit.
Neither does he have power overthe day of death.
There is no discharge in war,neither shall wickedness deliver
those who practice it.
All this I have seen and appliedmy mind to every work that is
done under the sun.
There is a time in which oneman has power over another, to

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his hurt.
So I saw the wicked buried.
Indeed, they came also fromholiness.
They went and were forgotten inthe city where they did this.
This also is vanity, becausesentence against an evil work is
not executed speedily.
Therefore, the heart of thesons of men is fully set in them

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to do evil.
Though a sinner commits crimesa hundred times and lives long.
Yet surely I know that it willbe better with those who fear
God, who are reverent before him, but it shall not be well with
the wicked.

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Neither shall he lengthen dayslike a shadow because he doesn't
fear God.
There is a vanity which is doneon the earth that there are
righteous men to whom it happensaccording to the work of the
wicked.
Again, there are wicked men towhom it happens according to the
work of the righteous.
I said that this also is vanity.

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Then I commended mirth, becausea man has no better thing under
the sun than to eat and todrink and to be joyful, for that
will accompany him in his laborall the days of his life, which
God has given him under the sun.
When I applied my heart to knowwisdom and to see the business

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that is done on the earth, eventhough I see no sleep day or
night, then I saw all the workof God that man can't find out,
the work that is done under thesun, because however much a man
labors to seek it out, yet hewon't find it.
Yes, even though a wise manthinks he can comprehend it, he

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won't be able to find it.
For all this, I laid to myheart, even to explore all this,
that the righteous and the wiseand their works are in the hand
of God.
Whether it is love or hatred,man doesn't know it.
All is before them.
All things come alike to all.

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There is one event to therighteous and to the wicked, to
the good, to the clean, to theunclean, to him who sacrifices
and to him who doesn't sacrifice.
As is the good, so is thesinner, he who takes an oath as
he who fears an oath, he whotakes an oath as he who fears an
oath.
This is an evil in all that isdone under the sun, that there

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is one of it to all.
Yes, also the heart of the sonsof men is full of evil, and
madness is in their heart whilethey live and after that they go
to the dead.
For to him, who is joined withall the living, there is hope,
for a living dog is better thana dead lion, for the living know

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that they will die, but thedead don't know anything.
Neither do they have any morereward, for their memory is
forgotten.
Also.
Their love, their hatred andtheir envy has perished long ago
.
Neither do they any longer havea portion forever in anything

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that is done under the sun.
Go your way, eat your bread withjoy and drink your wine with a
merry heart, for God has alreadyaccepted your works.
Let your garments be alwayswhite and don't let your heads

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lack oil.
Live joyfully with the wifewhom you love.
All the days of your life ofvanity which he has given you
under the sun, all your days ofvanity, for that is your portion
in life and in your labor, inwhich you labor under the sun.
Whatever your hand finds to do,do it with your might, for
there is no work, nor plan, norknowledge, nor wisdom and shield

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where you are going.
I returned and saw under the sunthat the race is not to the
swift, nor the battle to thestrong, neither yet bread to the
wise, nor yet riches to men ofunderstanding, nor yet favor to
men of skill.
But time and chance happen tothem all, for man doesn't know

(34:12):
his time as the fish that aretaken in an evil net and as the
birds that are caught in thesnare.
Even so are the sons of mensnared in an evil time when it
falls suddenly on them.
I have also seen wisdom underthe sun this way, and it seems

(34:34):
great to me.
There was a little city and fewmen within it, and a great king
came against it, besieged itand built great bulwarks against
it.
Now a poor, wise man was foundin it and he, by his wisdom,
delivered the city.

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Yet no man remembered that samepoor man.
Then I said Wisdom is betterthan strength.
Nevertheless, the poor man'swisdom is despised and his words
are not heard.

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The words of the wise, heardand quiet are better than the
cry of him who rules among fools.
Wisdom is better than weaponsof war, but one center destroys
much.
Good.
Dead flies cause the oil of theperfumer to produce an evil

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odor.
So does a little folly outweighwisdom and honor.
A wise man's heart is at hisright hand, but a fool's heart
at his left.
Yes, also when the fool walksby the way, his understanding
fails him and he says toeveryone that he is a fool.

(35:58):
If the spirit of the rulerrises up against you, don't
leave your place, for gentlenesslays great offenses to rest.
There is an evil which I haveseen under the sun.
There is an evil which I haveseen under the sun the sword of
error which proceeds from theruler.

(36:18):
Folly is set in great dignityand the rich sit in a low place.
I have seen servants on horsesand princes walking like
servants on the earth.
He who digs a pit may fall intoit, and whoever breaks through

(36:39):
a wall may be bitten by a snake.
Whoever carves out stones maybe injured by them.
Whoever splits wood may beendangered by it.
If the axe is blunt and onedoesn't sharpen the edge, then
he must use more strength.
But skill brings success.
If the snake bites before it ischarmed, then there is no

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profit for the charmer's tongue.
The words of a wise man's mouthare gracious, but a fool is
swallowed by his own lips.
But a fool is swallowed by hisown lips, the beginning of the
words of his mouth isfoolishness and the end of his
talk is mischievous madness.

(37:25):
A fool also multiplies words.
Man doesn't know what will beand that which will be after him
.
Who can tell him?
The labor of fools weariesevery one of them, for he
doesn't know how to go to thecity.
Woe to you land when your kingis a child and your princes eat

(37:47):
in the morning.
Happy are you land when yourking is the son of nobles and
your princes eat in due seasonfor strength and not for
drunkenness.

(38:11):
By slothfulness, the roof sinksin and through, makes the life
glad, and money is the answerfor all things.
Don't curse the king no, not inyour thoughts.
And don't curse the rich inyour bedroom, for a bird of the

(38:32):
sky may carry your voice andthat which has wings may tell
the matter.
Cast your bread on the waters,for you shall find it after many
days.
Give a portion to seven, yes,even to eight, for you don't
know what evil will be on theearth.
If the clouds are full of rain,they empty themselves on the

(38:56):
earth.
And if a tree falls toward thesouth or toward the north, in
the place where the tree falls,there it shall be.
He who observes the wind won'tsow and he who regards the
clouds won't reap.
And he regards the clouds won'treap, as you don't know what is
the way of the wind, nor howthe bones grow in the womb of

(39:19):
her who is with child.
Even so, you don't know thework of God who does all.
In the morning, sow your seedand in the evening, don't
withhold your hand, for youdon't know which will prosper,
whether this or that, or whetherthey both will be equally good.

(39:43):
Truly, the light is sweet and itis a pleasant thing for the
eyes to see the sun.
Yes, if a man lives many years,let him rejoice in them all,
but let him remember the days ofdarkness, for they shall be
many.
All that comes is vanity.

(40:06):
Rejoice, young man, in youryouth and let your heart cheer
you in the days of your youthand walk in the ways of your
heart and in the sight of youreyes, but know that all these
things, god will bring you intojudgment.

(40:29):
Therefore, remove sorrow fromyour heart and put away evil
from your flesh, for youth andthe dawn of life are vanity in

(40:58):
the days of your youth.
Before the evil days come andthe years draw near when you
will say I have no pleasure inthem.
Before the sun, the light, themoon and the stars are darkened
and the clouds return after therain, in the day when the
keepers of the house shalltremble.
After the rain, in the day whenthe keepers of the house shall
tremble and the strong men shallbow themselves and the grinders

(41:19):
cease because they are few andthose who look out of the
windows are darkened and thedoors shall be shut in the
street when the sound of thegrinding is low and one shall
rise up at the voice of a birdand all the daughters of music

(41:40):
shall be brought low.
Yes, they shall be afraid ofheights and terrors will be on
the way and the almond treeshall blossom and the
grasshopper shall be a burdenand desire shall fail, because
man goes to his everlasting homeand the mourners go about the

(42:04):
streets before the silver cordis severed or the golden bolt
broken, or the pitcher is brokenat the spring, or the wheel
broken at the cistern and thedust returns to the earth as it
was and the spirit returns toGod.

(42:27):
Who gave it?
Vanity of vanities, says thepreacher.
All is vanity.
Further, because the preacherwas wise, he still taught the
people knowledge.
Yes, he pondered, sought outand said, in order, many

(42:50):
proverbs.
The preacher sought to find outacceptable words and that which
was written, blamelessly, wordsof truth.
The words of the wise are likegoads and like nails, well
fastened, are words from themasters of assemblies which are
given from one shepherd.

(43:12):
Furthermore, my son beadmonished of making many books.
There is no end, and much studyis a weariness of the flesh.
This is the end of the matter.
All has been heard.
Fear God and keep hiscommandments.

(43:34):
Fear God and keep hiscommandments, for this is the
whole duty of man, for God willbring every work into judgment,

(44:02):
with every hidden thing, whetherit is good or whether it is
evil.
There are a few themes that arerepeated throughout the book of
Ecclesiastes.
One of them is that everythingis vanity, that things go on and
go in cyclical patterns, andthey just don't change that much
.
I think that's probably beentrue for all of human history.
There are things that we try,but people have tried it before

(44:23):
with basically very predictableresults.
However, one of the things thatI appreciate about what's going
on here is it points us back toGod.
The most important thing you'vegot going is your relationship
with God.
That's something I need to bereminded of daily.
I also mentioned in theintroduction that I don't think

(44:45):
Solomon wrote this, mostlybecause I don't see a place in
Solomon's life where he wouldhave had time to have this
perspective.
I think he was somebody who'dmade many mistakes in his life,
but I don't know that he had alot of insight to those mistakes
.
However, this book isundoubtedly about Solomon.

(45:06):
The preacher is obviouslysomebody who sees the mistakes
that Solomon made and warns usagainst those mistakes.
My intention with the podcast isto be more regular in its
release.
As I've said before, I havethree interviews that are
recorded.
They just simply need to beedited.

(45:27):
I'm hoping to be able to dothat within the coming days.
Several of you have beenchecking up on me, and I cannot
tell you how much that means tome.
I had a two-hour conversationwith Benjamin Lee the other
night.
That meant a lot to me.
I've also been in some regularcontact with Hal Hammons and a

(45:47):
few other guys that have justchecked up on me to make sure
that I'm okay.
Well, I'm doing better, andthat's something that I
appreciate.
I've been doing a lot oflearning at the feet of Solomon
lately and I'm trying to putthings back in perspective.
Pray for me, pray for otherswho go through similar trials.
So until next time, let's begood and do good.