November 2 Daily Discovery
November 2 Daily Discovery - Read Ecclesiastes Chapter 6
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
[2] A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
[3] If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
[4] For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
[5] Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
[6] Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
[7] All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
[8] For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
[9] Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
[10] That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
[11] Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
[12] For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
The Emptiness of Temporal Existence
The most common expression that Solomon gives in this book of wisdom is all his vanity.
Vanity is something that is empty or purposeless, bringing no lasting value to life. Another phrase that is used frequently is "under the sun" which refers to life on the earth. There are many things that men must do in order to continue to live on the earth, but so many of them bring no satisfaction. They are vain and result in the vexation of the spirit. They truly are not satisfying in the human heart.
Trying to Fill a Hole with Nothing
If you've got a hole in your yard that you want to fill there is an endless number of things that you could choose to fill it. You can fill it with dirt, you can fill it with water, you can fill it with cement, you can fill it with marbles, you could fill it with marshmallows, you can fill it with grass, you can fill it with rocks, ... of course there is an endless list; but you could never fill it with nothing!
Vanity is emptiness. Vanity is nothing. Vanity is the opposite of something that is meaningful.
Having everything is having nothing
Most people in the western world has have got so much stuff that they cannot keep up with it. They stuff it in the closets and in the garages and into addicts and they put it into storage facilities or multiple houses. Not only is impossible for them to keep up with it it would be impossible for them to actually enjoy the use of it. This is a state of covetousness even if it falls to the level of being a junk collector or a human pack rat. (Covetousness is idolatry. It is putting things in place of God.) If you have something that you cannot use try to find someone that can use it and give it to them. You could extract some pleasure from it that way knowing that somebody else can actually appreciate it.
It simply doesn't matter how much stuff you possess. They will not satisfy you. They will leave you empty.
Isa. 55:1-2
[1] Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
[2] Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
True Fulfillment comes only from God
You could have a hundred years of emptiness, or you could have 2, 000 years of emptiness. Y ou could have emptiness without having any children. You could have emptiness with thousands of children. God Himself is the only source of fulfillment in this life.
Are you feeling empty?
God can fill you with His own presence and you will truly be full and completely satisfied, not only in this life which is under the sun but in the next life where there is no sun, because Jesus will provide the light Himself!
Jer. 2:11-13
[11] Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
[12] Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
[13] For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Isa. 55:1-2
[1] Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
[2] Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
If we forsake God, we will have only emptiness and dissatisfaction. His presence within our hearts, because we honor and worship Him is the vessel that will hold the water that He provides.
John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 4:13-14
[13] Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
[14] But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The Ultimate Conclusion
Solomon's conclusion is stated at the very conclusion of this book. It is a book filled with philosophy but ends with clarity and practicality.
Eccl. 12:13-14
[13] Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
[14] For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
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Continue Your Search
From this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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