“Guard your foot, when you step into the house of God, and draw near, so that you may listen. For obedience is much better than the sacrifices of the foolish, who do not know the evil that they are doing.”
– Ecclesiastes 4:17
Welcome back to another post on the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, where I read one of the most under rated books in the Bible and learn a smidgen of the wisdom that can be gained from it. Bless the Lord!
The Wickedness of the Living
Solomon begins this chapter discussing the lies of the wicked, the tears of the innocent, and the lack of consolation for those who struggle. He laments this, thinking it better to be dead, and better than that, to never be born.
After all, what is better, to have died seeing the horror which the world can give, or to be unborn, never to see such reckless hate?
The Labor of Man (Yes, Again.)
Solomon then turns his eye back to work. You know, that thing we used to do before this generation of soft handed.. well never mind.
He essentially says that men are good at what they do because they envy their neighbor, and that this is bad, because why work so hard to get stuff that other people have?
The Loneliness of Man
Solomon moves on to the fool, of which he seems surrounded (wisest man ever, remember?) and says that he eats his own flesh, and speaks of it being better to have only a handful and rest then to have two hands full and labor. I don’t really have any thoughts on what that means, other than to say, maybe don’t be lazy, and you won’t have to eat yourself? I really have nothing.
He also talks about the loneliness of man, and the fact that it is better to be two than one, and better three than two.
He also reflects on every “grindset” dudebro out there working super hard but has no one to share it with:
“For whom do I labor, and cheat my soul of good things?”
Remember kids, Solomon the Wise didn’t think life was all about working yourself into an early retirement, and neither should you. It’s good to work, and good to enjoy the work, but it’s best to work for a purpose, and rest with purpose.
Wisdom
Solomon states that it is better to be a poor boy and wise than to be an old king who does not look to the future.
This is interesting, because it points out something so often overlooked, especially in the youth of this nation: a young man, however poor, with a little bit of wisdom, can grow to great heights. Why? Because time is on your side.
But an old king, on the other hand, who never looks to the future, might not only deliver himself to death or chains, but his own son, simply by lack of planning.
Obedience
This is one of my favorite lessons currently. It’s also one of the hardest. Solomon warns us to be obedient to God, to worship Him in the ways we are told to. He warns that the sacrifice of the fool is evil, and that the fool isn’t even aware of the bad things he is doing.
This could very well be us, right now, if we are not listening to what God is telling us. This is why it’s important to be studying the words of God, the Bible, to determine what is right or wrong.
As always, thank you for reading, and stay watchful for the next chapter, or just get in there and read it yourself! There may be things you pull out of this text that are valuable to you that I’ve missed.
Modern Survival Arkansas 