Milo – Page 26

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

GOD’S PROMISE TO DAVID
1 Chronicles 17–21

“I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you” (1 Chron. 17:10).

God’s faithfulness to His promises to David provided a foundation of hope for the tiny, postexilic Judean community of 450B.C God’s promises remain the basis of hope for us today.

Background
The Davidic Covenant. God made a series of promises to David through Nathan the prophet. David would defeat his enemies and bring Israel peace. An offspring of David would build the temple David dreamed of constructing. One day David’s Offspring would be “set over My house and My [God’s] kingdom forever; His throne will be established forever.”
Some elements of the promises to David were fulfilled in his lifetime. David did defeat Israel’s enemies, expand her territory, and win a reputation as Israel’s greatest king. Other elements were fulfilled in Solomon, who succeeded David and built the Jerusalem temple. But those elements of the promise concerning an eternal kingdom relate to an “Offspring” to be born in the distant future. As New Testament genealogies show, this distant Offspring was Jesus Christ, who as the Son of God is destined to rule eternally.
The writer of the Book of Chronicles, intent on offering hope to his generation, reported the divine promise and in the next chapters showed that God was indeed faithful to His commitments in David’s own lifetime. As the Chronicles continue, the author will show that the promised temple was built, and in 2 Chronicles will show that a descendant of David always sat on Judah’s throne. God has been faithful, the Chronicler argues, so we can expect God to be faithful. One day a Descendant of David will restore the glory of Israel. He will live an endless life, and He will rule forever and ever.

Overview
David was not allowed to build a temple. But God promised to build David’s “house” (17:1–15), stunning Israel’s humble king (vv. 16–27). God’s faithfulness to the promise is shown by David’s victories (18:1–20:8). God used David’s sin to lead him to the site of the future temple (21:1–30).

Understanding the Text
“I will raise up your offspring to succeed you” 1 Chron. 17:1–15. God does not ask us to do great things for Him. Instead He seeks to do great things for and through us. The Lord refused David permission to build Him a temple. Instead God told David what He would do.
What God intended to do for David was to make his name great and subdue all his enemies. David would have great success as a ruler (vv. 7–8, 10).
What God intended to do through David was to make His people secure (v. 9), and from David’s family line raise up a Person who would rule God’s kingdom forever (vv. 11–14).
This later prediction follows the “law of double fulfillment” which often governs interpretation of prophecy. The prophecy is fulfilled immediately, but that immediate fulfillment is a type of an ultimate fulfillment also intended. God did establish David’s son Solomon as king, gave him a peaceful rule, and permitted him to build God’s house. Yet in the distant future a far greater Offspring of David than Solomon would be born. That future Offspring will bring peace to the universe itself, and rule God’s entire kingdom, not just for a few years but forever.
One of the lessons we learn from David is to submit to God so He can act for us. Only when we open our lives to the Lord and let Him act for us will God do great things through us.

“The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went” 1 Chron. 18:1–20:8. When David became king, Israel was a small nation surrounded by powerful enemies. These chapters recount the military victories which enabled David to expand his kingdom and control adjacent lands.
One incident reported in these chapters reveals David’s conviction that his victories could be won only with the help of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 17:16 commanded that no king of Israel should obtain horses. This meant that Israel would have no cavalry and no chariot army, both important components of ancient armed forces. Chariots particularly were decisive weapons in many battles in the Middle East. Yet 2 Samuel 8:4 tells us that when David captured a thousand chariots from Hadadezer, he hamstrung all but a hundred chariot horses! This act, cutting the tendon in the horses’ forelegs, lamed the animals and made them unfit for warfare.
David chose to obey God and rely completely on Him. He was not tempted to turn to the “super weapons” of the ancient world, for he knew that without God’s help they would be useless—and with God’s help chariots would be unnecessary.
What a lesson for us today. We need not rely on the weapons of this world. Without God’s help, they are useless. And with God’s help, we do not need them.

“A census of Israel” 1 Chron. 21:1–7. The Hebrew shatan means “adversary.” It is possible that it should be rendered this way in 21:1. In that case, Satan was not involved but it was the appearance of adversaries preparing for war against Israel that prompted David to take a military census.
For some reason taking the census was wrong. Perhaps God had spoken against it. Perhaps it reflected a lack of trust in God. Whatever the reason, the act was sin, and God announced that He would punish David and Israel.
We are not only to act in harmony with God’s Word, but also must examine our own motives. Romans reminds us, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).

“Tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah” 1 Chron. 21:8–30. David selected his penalty, but when he saw the death of so many, David begged the Lord to punish him personally. Instead God told David to build an altar on Araunah’s threshing floor. This height just across from the present City of David was in fact the place where Abraham had come to offer up his son Isaac (Gen. 22). This was also the place which God had chosen for construction of the temple.
The incident is prophetic, in that where David built an altar and offered a prayer that turned away divine judgment, Solomon would build a temple that symbolized God’s gracious presence with His people. There in the centuries to come Israel and Judah would also appeal to God. It was sin that brought David to the threshing floor to build an altar. Often sin would bring Judah to the temple built on that same threshing floor to seek forgiveness.

DEVOTIONAL
Claiming God’s Promises
(1 Chron. 17)
I suppose, “Claim God’s promises” is one of the most frequent exhortations that Christians hear from the pulpit. Yet like much of religious jargon, that phrase may be puzzling to many. What does it mean to “claim God’s promises”? And how does a person go about doing it?
David’s response to the wonderful promises the Lord made to him is one of Scripture’s clearest examples of claiming God’s promises. David shows us how we too are to respond to promises from God, to claim His promises for ourselves. (1) David expressed wonder at God’s goodness to him (vv. 16–19). (2) David praised God for His past acts on behalf of His people (vv. 20–22). (3) Finally David expressed confidence that God would “do as You promised.” David says, “You, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever” (vv. 23–27).
How do we follow David’s pattern? When we find a promise in God’s Word, we are first to express our wonder at God’s goodness to us. We should then praise God, thinking of all He has done for us in Christ, and in our lives to date. Then we need to express our confidence that God will keep the promise He has made—and then live obediently in the conviction that God will do all He has said.
If you and I claim God’s promises by finding them, thanking God for them, believing them, and then acting on them—we will find out how completely faithful the Lord is to His Word.

Personal Application
When you find a promise in Scripture, claim it as your own.

Quotable
“Faith makes all evil good to us, and all good better; unbelief makes all good evil, and all evil worse. Faith laughs at the shaking of the spear; unbelief trembles at the shaking of a leaf; unbelief starves the soul; faith finds food in famine, and a table in the wilderness. In the greatest danger, faith says, ‘I have a great God.’ When outward strength is broken, faith rests on the promises. In the midst of sorrow, faith draws the sting out of every trouble, and takes out the bitterness from every affliction.”—Robert Cecil

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

DAVID’S SUCCESS
1 Chronicles 11–16

“You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will become their ruler” (1 Chronicles 11:2).

Our greatest accomplishments may not be those noted by historians. Here the Chronicler reminds us of things which are important to the Lord.

Background
The Chronicler left out three elements of David’s story found in 1 Kings: the seven-year gap between David’s rule in Judah and over all Israel, David’s sin with Bathsheba, and the events surrounding Absalom’s rebellion. The writer did not intend to gloss over David’s faults but to focus on David’s achievements, and reveal what was most important in David to the Lord.

Overview
As king of Israel, David established a new capital (11:1–9). Notable are David’s ability to inspire loyalty (v. 10–12:40), to reawaken faith (13:1–14; 15:1–29), to make Israel secure (14:1–17), and to lead God’s people in worship of the Lord (16:1–43).

Understanding the Text
“It was called the City of David” 1 Chron. 11:1–9. When David was recognized as king by the entire nation, he selected a capital that lay on the border of the northern and southern sections, yet was part of neither’s territory. A person who seeks to unite a people must be careful not to show favoritism to any one faction.
Parents should remember this principle. Because each child is unique, and because of age differences, we can’t treat all our children alike. Yet we must guard against showing favoritism, and let each child know he or she is loved as an individual.

“Warriors who helped him in battle” 1 Chron. 12:1–40. David was notably successful in recruiting a committed fighting force, and in inspiring their loyalty.
One incident is particularly interesting. When David expressed a longing for water from a spring near his home in Bethlehem, three of his followers broke through the lines of Philistines garrisoned there to get it for him. David refused to drink the water, but poured it out “before the LORD” (i.e., as an offering to God). David’s act was not rejection of the gift, but instead an expression of the value he placed on the lives of his men. It was right for men to risk their lives for the Lord, but not right to risk their lives to satisfy a longing of their leader.
David’s concern for his men was one of the things which made him a great leader, and inspired loyalty in his followers.

“Do it in the prescribed way” 1 Chron. 13:1–14; 15:1–29. David’s first attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem failed because he loaded it on a cart rather than have it carried by Levites, as the Law prescribed. When David learned of this regulation, he understood why God had struck Uzzah, despite that individual’s good intentions in trying to steady the ark. Israel, and David, were reminded that God is truly holy, and that all His commandments must be obeyed. As David launched his rule of a united Israel, God’s Word alone could provide a foundation on which king and nation might stand.

This gold-covered box was the most holy object in Israel’s religion. It contained memorials of the Exodus journey—the stone tablets of the Law, a pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. Most important, once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest poured sacrificial blood on its cover, to make an atonement for all the sins God’s people had committed. In bringing the ark to Jerusalem, David made that city Israel’s religious as well as political capital.

“Shall I go and attack the Philistines?” 1 Chron. 14:1–17 The extent of Philistine domination is suggested in 11:18, which notes that they had established a garrison in Bethlehem. Bethlehem lies about seven miles east of Jerusalem. The Philistines, with their monopoly on iron weapons, had outposts deep in Israel’s central highlands!
When David was made king, and given international recognition (cf. 14:1–2), the Philistines decided to invade in force. If they could kill or discredit David their domination of Israel would continue.
But why is this story found here, interrupting the story of David’s effort to bring the ark to Jerusalem? Very likely to show how well David had learned the lesson taught in Uzzah’s death. In military affairs as in religion, it was vital to seek God’s guidance. So, the text tells us, David “inquired of God” and, following the Lord’s directions, defeated the Philistines.
David was able to make his people secure because he sought and did the will of God.

“He blessed the people in the name of the LORD” 1 Chron. 16:1–43. One of David’s most important contributions to the life of Israel was his renewed emphasis on worship. This theme, developed later, is introduced here with the celebration held when the ark entered Jerusalem, and the psalm of thanks David wrote and gave to Asaph for use in public services.
As in all true worship, David’s psalm celebrates the Lord, and honors Him for His many marvelous qualities.
If you or I ever feel uncertain about how to come to God in prayer, meditation on this or another of David’s worship psalms can tune our hearts to sing God’s praise.

DEVOTIONAL
Inspiring Loyalty
(1 Chron. 11–12)
One definition of a leader is, “He’s a person who figures out where everyone is going, and gets out in front!” A better definition is, “A leader is someone who knows where he or she is going, and inspires others to come along.”
The ability to inspire loyalty in others was one of David’s greatest gifts. If you or I are to have a significant impact in our church or community, we need to follow David’s lead and inspire loyalty in others. What does this extended passage on David’s “mighty men” and his army teach us about inspiring loyalty?
Note first the quality of the men who joined David (11:1–47). The Hebrew word gibborim, frequently translated “mighty men,” might be rendered “war heroes.” Each of these men was an ancient “Rambo.” But each, rather than run off on his own, joined David and served under him. To inspire loyalty, we need to appreciate others and give them opportunities to use their abilities.
We shouldn’t be threatened if we work or minister with people who excel. David was generous in his appreciation for his war heroes, and gave them a significant role in his army. When we help others achieve, we earn their loyalty.
Note the steady increase of loyal men as “day after day men came to help David” (12:19–22). The men who came to join David did so not only because of his reputation, but to help David “against raiding bands” (v. 21). Even before David was made king, he fought against the enemies of God’s people. To inspire loyalty we need to have a cause that motivates others to join us.
Note that literally thousands of Israelites finally “volunteered to serve in the ranks” of David’s army, and to make him king (vv. 23–40). David’s reputation, earned over many years of struggle, won over the whole nation.
If we want others to be loyal to us, we must first be committed to a cause. David had remained steadfast in his purpose, and won the respect of all people.

Personal Application
When God calls you to lead, seek others with ability, give them significant tasks, and be committed to your cause.

Quotable
“A great leader never sets himself above his followers except in carrying responsibilities.”—Jules Ormont

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

1 Chronicles

INTRODUCTION
The two Books of Chronicles are a commentary on the history of the Hebrew kingdom, probably written about 450 B.C. The author focused on David’s line, which ruled continuously in the kingdom of Judah. He developed the great themes of the Davidic promise, the significance of the temple and of wholehearted devotion to God. Together the Books of the Chronicles explain the fall of the Hebrew kingdoms, and offer hope to the struggling Jewish community in Judah. God is faithful to His promises, and Someone from David’s line would one day restore the glory that had been lost.

EVIDENCE FROM HISTORY
1 Chronicles 1–10

“All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel” (1 Chron. 9:1).

History shows that God is faithful. As evidence, the author of Chronicles traces the lines of David and Abraham, each of whom received covenant promises from the Lord.

Background
Genealogies. The Hebrews maintained careful genealogical records. These were important, for God’s covenant promises were made to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). Each Jew’s claim to relationship with God rested on his or her membership in the covenant community, as well as on personal faithfulness to the covenant code. The genealogical record was particularly important for priests and Levites, for only descendants of Levi—and in the case of priests, of Aaron—were qualified to serve God at the tabernacle or temple.
The genealogies recorded in Scripture use ancient records to trace family lines. These genealogies typically include representative ancestors rather than every individual in a line. For this reason most genealogies have “gaps,” and it is impossible to use them to count the supposed number of years between, for instance, Adam and Abraham.

Overview
The author traced the lineage of David back to Adam (1:1–3:24), and of the sons of Israel, God’s covenant people (4:1–8:40). The genealogies continue with a list of those who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon (9:1–34). Finally Saul’s line is traced, with an account of his death and rejection as king (v. 35–10:14).

Understanding the Text
“These were the sons of David” 1 Chron. 1:1–3:24. The first genealogical list begins with Adam, and moves quickly to Abraham. It takes a quick look at the line of Ishmael, and then turns to look in detail at the line of Judah, the grandson of Isaac and son of Israel.
Judah’s line is singled out for an important reason. This is the royal line, the family from which David came. The author not only shows that every king of Judah came from David’s line, but also demonstrates that members of the Davidic line are still in Judah after the Exile!
How important this was. God had promised that there would never fail to be a descendant of David qualified to sit on Israel’s throne (cf. 2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 17). The genealogies proved that God had been faithful to that promise. Thus the tiny community of Jews who had resettled in Palestine could rejoice. The God who had been faithful would continue to be faithful, and one day a Child of David’s line would again take the throne and restore Israel’s lost glory.
What a message for us today. God, who has been faithful, will be faithful. Like tiny Judah in 450B.C, an insignificant district in a mighty Persian Empire, we too may struggle now. But we can look ahead to great things! The promised Descendant of David, Jesus Christ, has been born, and exalted to the throne of heaven. One day He will return and then we will reign with Him.

“All Israel was listed” 1 Chron. 4:1–9:1. As the genealogical lists continue, we sense again the author’s purpose. In measured lists tribe after tribe is mentioned; family after family documented. God has been faithful not only to the royal line of David, but to every family in Israel.

“Saul and his sons, fallen” 1 Chron. 9:35–10:13. The account of Saul has a somewhat different purpose. It closes off the genealogical record which demonstrates God’s faithfulness with a warning. Saul “died because he was unfaithful to the LORD.” Even a member of the covenant community, even one exalted to be king over God’s people, must submit to God and do His will. The faithless Saul was rejected, and “the LORD put him to death.” Yet even the unfaithfulness of Saul could not thwart God’s good purposes for His people. Saul was set aside, but the Lord “turned the kingdom over to David.” David would be faithful to God. And God would give unique promises to him.

DEVOTIONAL
Boring, Boring, Boring
(1 Chron. 2–3)
First Chronicles seems to be the one place not to start reading the Bible. List upon list of names. Strange names, strung out one after the other. As more than one Christian has thought, “Boring, boring, boring.”
Still, if you’ve ever felt unimportant or insignificant, these lists may have more meaning than you suppose. Think about it. Names. Each name representing an individual. Each name representing a person, most unknown to us, but every one known and remembered by God.
Most of the people on these lists are unknown to us because they play no great role in the sacred history. Few are heroes. Few performed great deeds. Most lived quiet, unexceptional lives. And yet not one name on these lists is lost. Not one name is misplaced.
When we stop to think about it, these “boring” lists of names are a reminder that God cares deeply for His own. It’s not the great deeds we do, but the fact that we are His that counts. Insignificant? You? Never to God! There is no more chance of His misplacing you than there was of His losing a single thread in the line of His Old Testament saints.

Personal Application
However unimportant you may feel, you are vitally important to God.

Quotable
“God tells man who He is. God tells us He creates man in His image. So man is something wonderful.”—Francis Schaeffer

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

Lamentations

INTRODUCTION
Five somber “dirge” or “funeral” poems express grief over the loss of the Jewish homeland and the destruction of Jerusalem. These poems, meditating on the tragedy and its causes, reflect a long literary tradition in the Middle East. They were clearly written by an eyewitness to Jerusalem’s fall. Tradition identifies Jeremiah as the author.
The number of verses in each poem is divisible by 22 because these are acrostic poems; each verse or set of verses begins with a different letter of the 22-consonant Hebrew alphabet.

CRIES OF DESPAIR
Lamentations 1–5

“See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious” (Lam. 1:20).

A sense of despair over some great loss is no stranger to any human being. Yet reflection on our tragedies can offer us important insights, and do much to restore hope.

Overview
The author lamented the lost splendor of Jerusalem (1:1–22) and the pitiless destruction of its inhabitants (2:1–22). Understanding this to be a consequence of sin, the author dared hope in God (3:1–66). The punishment, though great, will end (4:1–22), and a humbled Judah may be restored (5:1–22).

Understanding the Text
“Like a widow is she” Lam. 1:1–11. This first poem personifies Jerusalem. The city is compared to a widow who has lost touch with all her children. She is not only alone but is ignored by old friends, and ridiculed by heartless neighbors. All she has is memories of better days. But for her, remembering is bitter. The memories only drive home her loneliness and cause her to weep bitter tears.
What a penetrating insight! Like Jerusalem, many human beings live selfish, sinful lives. Wealth or beauty or power makes them popular for a time. But, when these are lost, such people find themselves deserted and alone. How much better the humble, loving individual, who quietly serves God and others, and when widowed is surrounded by a loving family and caring friends.

“My sins have been bound into a yoke” Lam. 1:12–22. Have you ever noticed how so many people think of “freedom” as release from moral restraint, or the right to do whatever wrong thing they want? Jeremiah pointed out that Judah’s insistence on following pagan gods and sinful passions was not freedom, but captivity! Each sin was like another branch, being tightly woven and bound together in the shape of a yoke that would rest on Judah’s neck and become an unbearable weight.
Seeing Jerusalem’s and Judah’s suffering, the observer was to trace its cause to rebellion against the commands of her righteous God. If we take this message to heart, we will never make Judah’s mistake and suppose that sin, which binds us for judgment, offers a way to be free.
Knowing that sin is the cause of our suffering may cause a “torment within” that matches all outward afflictions (v. 20). Yet acknowledging sin is a first, and necessary, step toward restoration.

“The Lord is like an enemy” Lam. 2:1–22. The author is right in adding “like” to his description. God had done to Jerusalem and Judah what an enemy might do.
God destroyed Judah’s strongholds, and multiplied her mourning (v. 5). He destroyed her temple (vv. 6–7). He exiled her king and people (v. 9). And these acts caused utter anguish. Speaking as an eyewitness, the author said, “My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city” (v. 11). In all of this the Lord had “done what He planned” and “fulfilled His word” (v. 17). He “summoned against me terrors on every side. In the day of the LORD’s anger no one escaped or survived” (v. 22).
What a challenge for faith when God acts “like an enemy.” It is then we must remember that despite whatever tragedy strikes us, God is not our enemy.
In the case of Judah, the cause of God’s action can be traced back to persistent sin. In our times of suffering, we may not find such a clear-cut reason. Yet, even—and especially—if we are uncertain about the cause of our suffering, we can hold tight to the truth this phrase in Lamentations affirms. God may act like an enemy, but our enemy He is not!

“Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?” Lam. 3:34–66 The author of Lamentations was a realist. He didn’t try to explain away suffering, muttering that of course God wouldn’t do anything as terrible as bring on the destruction that shattered Judah and Jerusalem. Too many today try to “protect” God by denying Him the power. “God was just as sad and surprised about what happened as you are,” they say, in a futile attempt to comfort. Not the author of Lamentations. He simply, and with firm conviction, said, “The Lord has decreed it.”
He said something else too. If tragedy is indeed punishment for known sins, then on what basis can a person complain? God is a moral judge: He ought then to punish sins!
If tragedy should strike, it’s wise for us to acknowledge God’s sovereign control of events, and then look first to ourselves. If we are aware of serious sin in our lives, then we can follow the prescription found in verses 40–42:

  Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.
  Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say:
  “We have sinned and rebelled and You have not forgiven.”

If unconfessed and unrepented sin was the cause of our suffering, we can expect God to hear this prayer. But even if sin was not the cause, we can remain confident that God will respond to us as He did to the author of Lamentations in verses 55–57:

  I called on Your name, O LORD,
    from the depths of the pit.
  You heard my plea: “Do not close Your
    ears to my cry for relief.”
  You came near when I called You,
    and You said, “Do not fear.”

“Your punishment will end” Lam. 4:1–22. We cannot really imagine the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, graphically described here in verses such as 9–11. Yet the portrait is not intended to solicit sympathy. Instead the picture of suffering drives home the immensity of the sin which caused God to crush His own, dearly loved people. Any horror we feel should be horror of sin, and the source of our relief is the conviction that, for God’s people, even sin—caused sufferings will end.

DEVOTIONAL
The Man Who Has Seen Affliction
(Lam. 3)
It’s not very impressive when a person who has known nothing but blessing tries to comfort a sufferer. How can the rich understand poverty? How can the child whose parents loved him understand the abused? How can the woman with a husband and children understand the widow’s loss, or the divorcee’s pain? It’s far more meaningful when we hear words of comfort from a person we can identify with: from a fellow sufferer.
This is why the author’s words in Lamentations 3 are so powerful. He immediately identified himself as “the man who has seen affliction.” Here was someone who spoke about suffering from firsthand experience. To make sure we know he understood, he even went on to show how extreme his suffering had been. Then, when we realize that here is an authority, a person who can fully identify with us, he said, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed” (vv. 21–22).
The author of Lamentations would understand whatever suffering you or I are called to experience. And after listening to our complaint, he would speak bluntly to us, and say that God’s “compassions never fail.” He would remind us, “They are new every morning,” and would invite us to praise the Lord, telling God, “great is Your faithfulness.”
The author, as a “man who has seen affliction,” would give us one more piece of advice. He would tell us to say to ourselves, as he did when the pain was greatest, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.”
As we wait in faith, we will be sustained by the conviction that sustained Jeremiah. We too know, despite everything, that “the Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (vv. 25–26).

Personal Application
Suffering saints through the ages counsel us to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Quotable
“When trouble, restless fears, anxious fretfulness, strive to overpower the soul, our safety is in saying, ‘My God, I believe in Thy perfect goodness and wisdom and mercy. What Thou doest I cannot now understand; but I shall one day see it all plainly. Meanwhile I accept Thy will, whatever it may be, unquestioning, without reserve.’ There would be no restless disturbance, no sense of utter discomfort and discomposure in our souls, if we were quite free from any—it may be almost unconscious—opposition to God’s will. But we do struggle against it, we do resist; and so long as that resistance endures we cannot be at peace. Peace, and even joy, are quite compatible with a great deal of pain—even mental pain—but never with a condition of antagonism or resistance.”—H.L. Sidney Lear

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

THE CONCLUSION
Ecclesiastes 9–12

“Fear God and kepp His commanments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecc 12:13–14).

Life truly is short. Unless we learn to live with eternity in view, our lives will also be meaningless.

Overview
The Teacher continued to explore the choices a secular man can make in view of life’s essential meaninglessness. His advice: Enjoy life while you can (9:1–12), choose wisdom’s ways (v. 13–10:20), prepare for the future (11:1–6), and enjoy your youth (v. 7–12:8). Finally, stepping out of his secular role, the Teacher advised: “Fear God and keep His commandments” (vv. 9–14).

Understanding the Text
“All share a common destiny” Ecc. 9:1–10. Death is the destiny that awaits all men. This, when life is viewed from a secular viewpoint, is all one can say. The dead have no “part in anything that happens under the sun.” As far as one can tell apart from divine revelation “the dead know nothing; they have no furthur reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.”
If this life is all there is, then all one can do is enjoy and live this life to the full (chaps. 9–10).
It’s important to remember that the writer was not serving as God’s spokesman, but as spokesman for secular man. The text represents what man can discover about the most basic issues of life using only reason and data available to the senses. such phrases as “the dead know nothing” are not revelations from God, but reasoned human conclusions.

Perfume jars like these were used in Old Testaments times to hold sweet-smelling ointments. The image in Ecclesiates 10:1 of dead fliews spoiling the odor of perfume has given us the saying, “there’s a fly in the ointment.” We use it to mean that something has gone seriously wrong.

“Wisdom is better” Ecc. 9:11–10:20. In this extended passage the Teacher expressed his preference for wisdom over folly. But there’s a fly in the ointment! While wisdom is preferable, wisdom cannot quarantee anyone a better life!
What is seriously wrong with wisdom? First, Solomon asked us to realize that nothing in this life can guarantee success (9:11–12). The swift do not always win the race. The largest army is not always victorious. Wisdom is no guarantee of wealth. In this world men are vulnerable, likely to be “trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.”
Chance is not the only factor that makes wisdom of uncertain benefit. Here is the writer’s list:
9:13–16. Wisdom is often unrecognized. People pay more attention to rich fools than to poor wise men.
9:17–10:1. Wisdom can be thwarted, by those in authority (9:17), by moral deficiency (v. 18), and by mistaking spoiled advice for the real thing (10:1).
10:2–3. Folly, which is the opposite of wisdom and is associated with wickedness, competes with wisdom, and we are vulnerable.
10:4–7. When offended we are likely to react foolishly—and since so many fools hold high positions, we’re likely to be offended.
Here the author drifted slightly and examined the consequences of folly:
10:8–11. Any foolish action has bad consequences for the actor, as illustrated by several sayings and proverbs.
10:12–14. Wise words are “gracious.” The word means kind, appropriate, helpful. But foolish words degenerate into even wilder thoughts and actions, including pronouncements about a future no one can know.
10:15. Fools are incompetent guides to life: A fool can’t even find his way into town!
10:16–20. Folly in national life, as in the individual, leads to disaster.

“Sow your seed in the morning” Ecc. 11:1–6. While no one can control the futre (v. 3), it is best to prepare for it as carefully as possible.

“Let him enjoy them all” Ecc. 11:7–12:6. It is best to enjoy each day as it comes, and especially while you are young.
The exhortation to “remember your Creator in the days of your youth” is not a call to monastic life, but an invitation to enjoy all the good things God has provided in this creation. All too soon old age—the “days of trouble”—will come, when we lose the capacity to enjoy things. Then the world becomes dark (v. 2), for the body stoops (v. 3), teath wear out (v. 3), eyes dim (v. 3) and hearing fades (v. 4). Weakness brings fear (v. 5) and drains desire (v. 5). Then man, like a cut cord, a broken bowl, or a shattered pitcher, is useful no more, and the “the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Man is born.
Man lives a brief and empty life.
Man dies, and returns to dust.
If this is all there is, then life truly is meaningless.

“Now all has been heard” Ecc. 12:9–14. It’s comforting to suppose that the Teacher, who the text here and in other places suggests is solomon, stepped out of his role as representative of secular man at the end of Ecclesiastes. Although even here he did not use the name Yahweh, he did speak of God’s commandments, which are least implies some self-revelation.
If solomon is in fact the Teacher, and he did step out of his secular role, his words are especially powerful. In the end we must all turn to find hope and meaning.
When we not only look back to see God as Creator, but also look up to see Him as our Lord and ahead to see Him as mankind’s Judge, then we discover not only who God is, but whi we are as well. Then we realize that any life lived for the Lord will find its meaning in Him.

DEVOTIONAL
Wise Too Late
(Ecc. 11:7–12:14)
Solomon, who most believe is the Teacher of Ecclesiastes, was a godly young man. But in middle age, like the Teacher, he turned aside from wholly following the Lord. First Kings 11 tells us that passion for his foreign wives led him astray, even to the extent of worshipping their gods.
During this extended perios of his life Solomon lived as a secular man. He accrued vast wealth, undertook massive building projects, and denied himself no pleasures. But then having “had it all,” Solomon saw how empty his life was. “Meaningless! Meaningless!” is a cry of anguish that surely fits the tragic experience of Israel’s most spolndid king.
How sad that Solomon, so wise in many ways, lost his spiritual moorings. If indeed Solomon is the one who urges us “to remember the days of our youth,” uttering these words must have been tragic for him indeed. there is no greater tragedy than to become wise and old at the same time, and to look back and realize one has lived a wasted life.
I know unsolicted advice is about as welcome as unexpected visitors who appear on the doorstep with luggage in hand. But at least Solomon’s advice is cheap. Not to him, of course. He pais for everything he learned in becoming wise too late.
For us the advice is free.
Only if we fail to follow it will we pay the truly terrible cost.

Personal Application
Put God first today. Tomorrow will be too little, too late.

Quotable
“He belongs to you, but more than that, He longs to be in you, living and ruling in you, as the head lives and rules in the body. He wants His breath to be in your breath, His heart in your heart, and His soul in your soul, so that you may indeed, ‘Glorify God and bear Him in your body, that the life of Jesus may be manifest in you.’ ”—Jean Eudes