I used to dread reading the book of Job. Not only can it be very depressing, but also it is hard to know who I can trust as I’m reading it. Over the last few years, I have read the book multiple times, and my perspective on it has changed.
Read in Light of Truth
One of the reasons reading the book of Job is difficult is because it challenges our preconceived idea that, as long as we do what’s right, we will be blessed in this life. We long for a guarantee that our lives will be happy, that our kids will be prosperous, and that we will live to a ripe old age. This is what Job’s friends believed, too. They tried to convince him that he must have done something wrong to deserve his sorrowful situation.
The problem with this thinking is we can’t see the full picture. We only see our little section of the tapestry, and we see it from the wrong side with all of the tangles and knots. God see’s the full tapestry from the right side. He sees the masterpiece that our lives, intertwined with the lives of others, are creating.
We read in Job 1:8 that God brags on Job. He calls Job a righteous man. He allows Satan to attack Job, knowing that Job is faithful. (Click here for a blog post that unpacks this a bit more.)
As the readers, we have this information from the beginning. It is as if we are in on a secret that Job’s wife and his friends don’t know. So as you read the book of Job, keep coming back to Job 1:8. Hold everything said by his friends and by Job up to the light of the truth God spoke in that verse. Job held on to this truth through his suffering. He loved God and followed Him. He didn’t know why he was suffering, but he knew it wasn’t because of sin.
Prepare Now
“[…] staying rooted in our relationship with God gives us grounding wisdom” (Love God Greatly Bible 760), but this grounding has to happen before the suffering strikes so we can recognize bad advice and have the strength to endure. In order to not just survive, but even thrive in the hard times, we have to know our relationship with God is strong. We have to cultivate our spiritual walk, repent of sin quickly, and know the truth of Scripture so we can withstand the suffering that will come.
You might be asking, “what good is it to follow God if I lose everything in the process?” The answer is an eternity in His presence. As believers, it is important for us to live in the truth that this life is just a waiting room. Yes, it matters what we do here, but everything here is temporary. When we lose sight of that, we start to fall into the traps of this world that try to convince us this life is all there is, YOLO!
Turn to God
This doesn’t mean we have to paint on a happy face and pretend everything is alright. In fact, Job teaches us that it is okay to ask God “why?” when we are hurting and confused. Even if God is the One we blame, He wants us to come to Him with our pain. God wants us to give our grief back to Him. The key is to come to Him! This allows us to begin the process of restoration. The problem results when we allow our suffering to turn us away from God. Restoration will never happen if we don’t lay our pain at His feet.
And God will answer. He answered Job, though He didn’t do it the way Job wanted. God chose to answer Job’s questions by revealing His own character to Job. And in remembering who God is, Job’s perspective changed.
“The joy that comes through suffering is not because of a change in circumstances, but in the experience of knowing God more intimately through it” (769).
So I encourage you to read the book of Job. Sift everything through Job 1:8, and rest on God’s character as He describes Himself to Job. Maybe Job will become one of your favorite books of the Bible!
If you would like to learn more about how to study the Bible, I invite you to download my FREE Bible study workbook, 6 Steps to Study the Bible on Your Own, at the button below.
If you would like to join a group of like-minded women who are pursuing godliness together, check out the Bible Study Academy by clicking the button below.
The letter from Paul to the Romans can be a difficult book to read, not because it is hard to understand but because what is says can be hard to take. But just because it requires determination doesn’t mean we shouldn’t study it and try to understand what the Holy Spirit is teaching us through Paul’s words. It is definitely worth the effort!
Let me give you a little background on the epistle (letter) to the Romans. By the time Paul wrote this letter, he had been preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews) for more than 20 years. He did not plant the church in Rome, but he had heard of them, and he longed to visit them. They were in a very influential city, and he wanted to make sure they were doctrinally strong. He had plans to visit Spain, and intended to pass through Rome on his way. He sent this letter on ahead so the Christians in Rome would be ready for his visit.
The book of Romans is a letter, and as such, there were expectations for how it should be read. It is important that we attempt to understand this letter the way Paul’s original audience would have understood it instead of imposing our modern day culture on its contents. Read my post about how to read epistles in Scripture to understand more about the style of writing.
So if the letter was written to the Christians in Rome, why is it important for us to read it today? The Word of God is living and active no matter the time period (Hebrews 4:12). That means it had an audience then, and it has an audience now. Let’s go through some of the reasons believers today should study the book of Romans.
Romans Is the Inspired Word of God
The first reason we should read the book of Romans is because it is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and immutable (unchanging) Word of God. Honestly, this should go without saying, but we live in an age when there are “Christians” diminishing Paul’s writings because he is merely a man. They do this by elevating Christ’s words, using the argument that if Christ didn’t say it, it doesn’t matter who else did say it.
We must remember that if we don’t believe the entire Bible is the Word of God, there is no reason to study any of it. We can’t question the truth of Scripture just because we don’t like what it says. Every word in Scripture is God breathed, and we must approach every book and human author from that perspective.
It Presents a Clear Gospel
The book of Romans is one of the clearest statements of the Gospel in Scripture. The first eleven chapters deal with doctrine, including the doctrine of sin and salvation. But Paul doesn’t stop there. The final five chapters of the book give clear, practical guidelines on how Christians are to behave toward other believers, toward the world, and toward God. As Matthew Henry put it, the last five chapters are “to inform the judgment and to reform the life.” Paul encourages believers to include the Gospel in their everyday lives.
Often, once we believe, we tend to stray from the Gospel into other areas of study, yet Paul is writing this letter to believers, those who have already accepted Christ as Lord of their lives. Rather than move on from the Gospel, Paul encourages them to go deeper into it. And as we study the book, our view of evangelism should shift. Paul presents the Gospel as a beautiful picture of God’s faithfulness to His people, and we should never lose the awe of that truth!
Romans Focuses on God
While most of the other epistles deal with specific concerns or behaviors in the church, or they are meant to encourage an individual as he walks out his faith, the book of Romans focuses on God. It teaches us what we were before God rescued us. It presents God’s solution to the problem of sin. And it teaches us how to walk out our faith in view of Who God is and what He has done.
Within this framework, Paul anticipates objections to his statements, and he responds to them through rhetorical questions posed throughout the book. His answers are firmly rooted in the Gospel, including passages from the Old Testament that support His claims of salvation through faith. Paul knows he is presenting difficult truths; he tells the believers in Rome that he is “satisfied” about them, but he has written “very boldly by way of reminder.”
It Explains Our Battle with Sin
The book of Romans dives into the complicated doctrine of sin. While this topic is difficult to understand, Paul offers us some incredible encouragement! The mere fact that we struggle to stop sinning is evidence that we are God’s children. Those who are not regenerated do not struggle to stop sinning. They may fear disappointing a loved one or facing consequences if they get caught, but they don’t feel the Holy Spirit conviction to stop sinning because it offends the holy God.
So take heart, believer! If you hate that you still sin, it is a sign of true regeneration.
When we diminish sin to simply be things we do wrong, we take away from the glory of salvation from that sin.
Romans Gives Us Direction
The book of Romans teaches believers how to interact with each other, how to interact with unbelievers, and how to interact with God. Paul includes admonitions about false teachers. He instructs us to submit to the government and be prepared to suffer the consequences when we must stand against it. In his encouragement for us to treat other believers as higher than ourselves, he includes an encouragement to missions and financial support of Christians in other places.
Some questions that the book answers include:
What role does the law play in the life of the unbeliever and the believer?
How do we get along when we disagree with someone in the church?
What responsibility does our church have toward other believing churches?
How can we have a right relationship with God?
One thing I can say with certainty is that none of these questions are outdated! We can relate to a struggle with each of these questions just as much as the original audience would have.
I would love to know if you have additional reasons we should study the book of Romans. This list is certainly not exhaustive, and I’m sure there are important ones I have left out. If you have one (or more) to add, leave them in the comments.
If you would like to learn more about how to study the Bible, I invite you to download my FREE Bible study workbook, 6 Steps to Study the Bible on Your Own at the button below.
If you would like to join a group of like-minded women who are pursuing godliness together, check out the Bible Study Academy by clicking the button below.
One of the biggest battles Paul had to fight as he ministered to the Gentile believers (non-Jewish believers) during the early years of Christianity was the enforcement of the Mosaic law. There are many discussions in the New Testament about circumcision, eating foods sacrificed to idols, and the Sabbath, just to name a few. The Jews had followed these laws since the days of Moses, so even those who believed in Christ struggled to let them go. But more than that, they tried to impose these laws on new Gentile believers.
But, while Paul is clear that we have liberty in Christ and nothing in and of itself is unclean (unholy), he also reminds us that there are limits to our Christian liberty. Our freedom in Christ has boundaries, and he discusses these boundaries in Romans 14.
Boundary #1: It Is a Sin
We must begin this discussion by pointing out that sin is sin. Paul is not saying that we can commit sin under the guise of Christian liberty. The first two chapters of the book of Romans discuss the rebellion against God in detail, and make it clear that we are to have no part in it. Anything the Bible explicitly calls sin is off limits.
This discussion revolves around those things that some would call sin but the Bible doesn’t explicitly call them sin. Paul specifically gives the examples of which foods we eat or which days we believe to be holy days. Believer, do not try to pass off your sin as Christian liberty. It will not end well!
Boundary #2: It Is Doctrine
Paul begins the discussion by introducing it as a difference of opinion (v. 1). These are not quarrels over doctrinal issues. He is clear that false teaching is not to be tolerated within the church. If we look ahead to Romans 16:17-20, we see how Paul tells the church at Rome to deal with false teachers.
And in Galatians 1:8-9 Paul says,
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
It is clear Paul gives no place to false teaching in the church. The disagreements subject to Christian liberty are about opinions or personal convictions. These are what we typically call secondary or tertiary issues. In other words, they have nothing to do with salvation or the Gospel itself.
Boundary #3: God Has Authority
While we may feel strongly about our convictions, and we may feel it is prudent for others to follow our personal convictions, other believers do not answer to us; they answer only to God. Romans 14:4 says,
“Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
We do not have to agree with someone else’s convictions, we must simply remain true to our own because we will answer to God only for how we live, not how our fellow believer lives.
Can I do it in honor of the Lord?
Boundary #4: Does It Honor God?
Verse 6 really stood out to me in this chapter and caused me to ponder things I have done in the name of Christian liberty. It says,
“The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
First, it is clear that all parties are doing what they believe honors the Lord. Second, this would eliminate anything that we cannot do in honor of the Lord.
One example of Christian liberty I discussed in my previous post on this topic was drinking. Because of my personal convictions, I could not have a glass of wine with dinner and say that I am doing it in honor of the Lord. That doesn’t eliminate wine from everyone’s menu, but if you cannot do it in honor of the Lord, it is no longer an issue of Christian liberty but of sin.
Lately, I have seen Christians using foul language and claiming it as Christian liberty. After all, who even decided which words were curse words? This is only an issue of Christian liberty if it can be done in honor of the Lord.
What about the recent trend of not going to church, calling nature your church, or only participating in a virtual capacity. We know that the Sabbath law no longer applies to New Testament believers (the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is a better Sabbath), so is it wrong to “forsake the assembly” (Hebrews 10:25)? In order to discover the answer, we have to ask if it can be done in honor of the Lord.
These are all matters of personal conviction for which we will individually answer to God, not to each other (Romans 14:12). If you can drink alcohol, cuss or be crass, or not attend a physical church in honor of the Lord, then Paul says it is a matter of Christian liberty.
BUT the discussion does not end there.
Boundary #5: It Causes Someone Else to Sin
Paul describes everything as clean (Romans 14:14), but he goes on to say that even something that is right can become wrong if it puts the faith of God’s people at risk.
“Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.”
Romans 14:20-21
Paul has painted a clear picture of Christian liberty, but even Christian liberty must be sacrificed for the benefit of others. The passage goes on to say,
“But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
Romans 14:23
If you do something out of Christian liberty that a weaker sister follows even though she has questions about whether or not it is sin, you have caused her to stumble because she is not doing it in faith, believing it is “clean.” So often, whether we like it or not, we have to check our Christian liberty at the door for the sake of the faith of those around us.
Application
So when you come across a situation where you and a friend believe differently about an issue, here are some questions to ask yourself before you claim Christian liberty:
Is this a sin? If the answer is “yes,” don’t do it.
Is this a matter of doctrine? If the answer is “yes,” study it out before you decide.
Can I do this in honor of the Lord? If the answer is “no,” don’t do it.
Will it cause someone else to sin? If the answer is “yes” or “maybe,” don’t do it.
I would love to know your thoughts. Have you come across any situations where you have either caught yourself judging someone else for acting out of Christian liberty or been reprimanded for doing something out of your own Christian liberty? What trends are you observing in culture that fall squarely in the realm of Christian liberty?
If you would like to learn more about how to study the Bible, I invite you to download my FREE Bible study workbook, 6 Steps to Study the Bible on Your Own at the button below.
If you would like to join a group of like-minded women who are pursuing godliness together, check out the Bible Study Academy by clicking the button below.
“The word epistle comes from the Greek word epistole that means ‘letter’ or ‘message’” (gotquestions.org). So in the broadest sense of the word, an epistle is a letter. Just like letters or e-mails in our day, epistles share some elements though many vary from what scholars believe to be the normal structure of letters for the time period. Common elements of an epistle include the greeting, which usually includes the author and specific audience; the body of the letter, which introduces the purpose for the letter; and the conclusion, which might be more personal, naming specific people to greet and personal struggles or concerns.
The Epistle Should Be Read as a Whole
The most important thing to keep in mind when we approach an epistle is that it is a complete, self-contained work. In other words, you want to be familiar with the letter in its entirety and not cherry pick short sections without understanding the context. Think about the last time you wrote a letter or an email. We typically build up to the point; we don’t dive into the purpose for the letter right out of the gate. And very often we set the foundation for what we are going to say next.
The same is true for the epistles. The author generally lays a foundation before diving into the teaching, correction, or encouragement of the letter, so it is important to be familiar with the entire epistle even if you are studying a shorter passage within the epistle (though I generally recommend studying the whole book from beginning to end).
The Letter Has an Audience
Another important thing to keep in mind as you study an epistle is that there are two audiences. The specific audience is the one listed in the letter. For example, the epistle to the Romans was written to the church in Rome while 1st and 2nd Timothy are written to Timothy, one of Paul’s dear friends who is in leadership in the city of Ephesus.
But each epistle also has a more general audience: Christians. Sometimes, as in the epistle to the Hebrews, the specific audience is Jewish Christians while the general audience is Christians as a whole, including us today. Other times, as in the case of most of the epistles, the specific audience is Gentile Christians while the general audience is still Christians as a whole.
This is important because while we are the intended general audience, the specific audience should determine how we read the letter. What was going on around them in their culture at the time of the writing? Were they being persecuted for their faith? Did they live in a particularly debauched society? Were they facing false teachers within their own congregations? It is important to have a grasp on the specific audience so our interpretation of the content of the epistle is accurate.
A Tip for Context
Something that can help with the context of the epistle is to look at the history. For example, if you are studying the book of Hebrews, it might be helpful to look back at the history of Israel as this book is written primarily to Jewish Christians. They understood the Jewish feasts, sacrifices, and laws. You may want to spend some time in the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, to familiarize yourself with the knowledge they would’ve had.
For the epistle to the Ephesians, you would want to go back to the book of Acts when the author shares how the church was started. Then you could turn to 1 and 2 Timothy to get an idea of how it was going. And you might even want to turn to the book of Revelation since the church at Ephesus is a recipient of one of the letters. They are the church that “abandoned the love you had at first.”
I’m not saying you need to be a Bible scholar to understand the epistle, just have a basic knowledge of the context as you dive into the letter. It is so interesting to me when I find connections I had never made before as I study a new book of the Bible. Everything in Scripture, whether it is the Old or New Testament, prophecy or historical narrative, poetry or discourse, is connected. There is an over arching narrative being taught throughout the whole of the Bible, so you cannot truly study any part of Scripture in isolation. And every book must be understood in the context of the whole Bible.
The goal of Bible study should always be to understand Who God is and what He means in His Word.
The Epistle Has a Purpose
Once you understand a bit of the context surrounding the epistle, including the author and the audience, take note of anything that indicates why the author wrote the letter. Did he receive a bad report about the church or one of its members? Is he encouraging a pastor and teaching him what to do? Does he want to come visit the church and has sent a letter on ahead of that visit? Some of the epistles clearly state the intention of the letter, but others only give clues or simply imply the reason.
Very often, epistles include very practical instruction for believers facing various challenges, and these can give a clue as to the purpose of the letter. They also serve as instruction to us so many years later! And even when the instructions are specific to the situation in that particular church, we can draw principles from the teaching to apply to our lives today.
The Letter is God’s Word
Finally, it is important to recognize that the epistles in Scripture are God’s words. The authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit as they wrote. We don’t have to know exactly what this looked like in order to believe in the inspiration of the Bible. Whether the first draft was the final draft, the authors used secretaries, or the writing was more of a group project as the author discussed the work with his companions, ultimately, the words that made it into the letter are God-breathed. We should treat them with that authority and not try to twist them into what we would want them to mean.
The goal of Bible study should always be to understand Who God is and what He means in His Word. It is not an endeavor to take lightly or a task to be manipulated to fit our agendas. We may not always like what the Bible has to say, but it is our responsibility as God’s children to obey it even when we don’t want to.
If you would like to learn more about how to study the Bible, I invite you to download my FREE Bible study workbook, 6 Steps to Study the Bible on Your Own at the button below.
If you would like to join a group of like-minded women who are pursuing godliness together, check out the Bible Study Academy by clicking the button below.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking about something that happened, mulling over what a friend said, or turning the story line of a book or movie over and over in your mind? Believe it or not, you were meditating on those things. Just as God created us to worship, He also created us to meditate.
“It is a distinctively human trait to stop and consider, to chew on something with the teeth of our minds and hearts, to roll some reality around in our thoughts and press it deeply into our feelings, to look from different angles and seek to get a better sense of its significance.”
David Mathis, Habits of Grace
As the Bible Study Academy ladies have been sitting in Psalm 119 during the month of May, the topic of meditation has come up in the reading over and over again. The author of the longest chapter in the Bible understood the importance of meditation and the joy and fulfillment it brought to his life even during times of anxiety, affliction, and sorrow. And the discipline of meditation caused him to fall deeper in love with the Creator.
What Is Biblical Meditation?
God created us to meditate, so of course, the enemy presents us with counterfeit meditation. While this world would have us believe meditation is about emptying our minds and finding answers within ourselves, biblical meditation teaches us to fill our minds with God’s Word and find answers in Him.
When the Bible speaks of meditation, it is describing a discipline we must practice. Yes, it is called a discipline because it is hard, and we have to practice it in order to work those muscles and get better at it. But the effort is worth it! And it isn’t hard because meditation itself is difficult. Rather, it is hard because it takes time, intention, and space, things we don’t like to invest.
With so many distractions at our disposal, it is much simpler to never give ourselves space to simply think. We don’t like to be alone with our thoughts, and this world has made it easy to avoid silence.
Meditation can be compared to savoring a meal. We are presented with the food, we observe it, smell it, chew it slowly, and enjoy the juices, spices, and flavors. The things of this world dull our spiritual taste buds, but the more we practice meditating on God’s Word, the more our tastebuds wake up and savor it—it becomes sweeter than honey, as the Psalmist says.
How Do We Practice It?
In my experience, I cannot meditate on a passage I have only read once. This is one of the reasons we, in the Bible Study Academy, spend an entire month in a book (or passage) of Scripture. We read it and reread it, allowing its words to sink into our minds and give us something to think on.
This doesn’t mean you must spend an entire month in a passage, but you need to take the time to read it more than once, maybe read it in different translations, listen to it in an audio Bible, or read it aloud. Give your brain time to ingest the Word so it has something to chew on. In his book, Habits of Grace, David Mathis says, “Christian meditation begins with our eyes in the Book, or ears open to the word, or a mind stocked with memorized Scripture” (59).
Of course, all of this requires time, so the first step is to schedule it. If you are working through a reading plan on a schedule, you may want to schedule separate time for meditating on God’s Word so you don’t feel rushed. You can choose a passage you read that morning, the passage for your pastor’s upcoming sermon, a portion of the Psalms, or any other passage between the front and back cover of your Bible.
Open your meditation time with prayer. Scripture tells us in Hebrews 4:12 that the Word of God is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” It has the power to change us and shape us, but the Bible also says that the things of the Spirit of God are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14), which means we can’t understand them on our own; we need the help of the Holy Spirit.
Then simply think about what you read. You can journal as you mull it over, you can simply process it mentally, you can jot notes in your Bible. However you find it easiest to process your thoughts, do it. Take the time to wrestle through the hard things, those passages that don’t quite make sense or maybe don’t seem quite right.
Don’t rush it, but also don’t think that when your time is up, you have to be done. Take it with you during your day. Allow you mind to drift to it as you go about your daily tasks. Instead of creating noise in your home with your favorite television show or podcast, delight in the silence and use it to meditate.
As you end you allotted time, close in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring the passage to your mind throughout your day and week. Pray for opportunities to see the teaching in action. Ask that He would make you sensitive to how you can implement or witness the wonder of His Word lived out. You might be surprised how He answers!
A note of caution: the purpose of meditating on Scripture is not to prepare a lesson or find the perfect content for your social media account. This is a separate time from your Bible study time in which you might do word studies or consult outside research. The purpose is your personal growth. It will help you develop a thirst for God’s Word and allow you to fall deeper in love with Him, which in turn will make you want to meditate more. After all, a lover finds it easy to think about, meditate upon, the one he loves.
“He meditated on God’s Word because he loved it, and then loved it the more because he meditated on it.”
Charles Spurgeon
What Are the Results of Biblical Meditation?
While you may not always walk away with all of the right answers, meditating on Scripture will have long-term benefits for your spiritual growth.
Meditating on Scripture:
Results in being able to recall it and speak it in situations when it is needed.
Feeds your prayers, fasting, worship, and other spiritual disciplines.
Clarifies God’s will for your life today and in the future.
Helps you stand on truth when the world is spitting lies.
Makes evident your saturation in Scripture to those around you.
“What we take in by the Word we digest by meditation and let out by prayer.”
Thomas Manson
If you would like to learn more about how to study the Bible, I invite you to download my FREE Bible study workbook, 6 Steps to Study the Bible on Your Own at the button below.
If you would like to join a group of like-minded women who are pursuing godliness together, check out the Bible Study Academy by clicking the button below.
Does life ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels, trying to trap waves on the sand, or juggling too many plates? As we chase the things this world has to offer, it often feels like we are “striving after wind.” Nothing is ever enough. Happiness is fleeting. We never arrive.
Even as a child, I remember a feeling of dread for the holidays or a vacation, because as soon as it was over, the excitement of the moment disappeared. I dreaded the low after the high. Solomon understood this better than most, and he explains it to us in the book of Ecclesiastes.
The book of Ecclesiastes is a strange book in the Bible. It spends all twelve chapters telling the reader how pointless life is. But there are a few things to consider as you read the book that will change your perspective a bit and may even lead you to love the book.
Consider the Literary Context
First off, the book of Ecclesiastes was most likely written by Solomon. He is never mentioned by name, but the first line of the book attributes it to, “the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem” (ESV).
Throughout the book, the Preacher references his own wisdom. If we remember the account of Solomon, one of the most notable events of his life was when God offered Solomon anything he wanted, and Solomon asked for wisdom. God granted Solomon’s request, and he became the wisest man who ever lived. Because Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and he knew the Lord, though his behavior didn’t always seem to demonstrate this fact, we should listen to what he has to say in the book of Ecclesiastes.
The book of Ecclesiastes is wisdom literature. It is in the same category as Proverbs, Job, and the Psalms. Wisdom literature is based on principles, not promises. It often contains apparent contradictions, and it encourages personal contemplation.
Often wisdom literature teaches us how the world should work: If you do this, then that will happen. But the book of Ecclesiastes takes it a step further as it is pessimism literature, demonstrating that because the world is sinful, there are exceptions to the rules. It essentially asks, “If there is no eternity, then why does it matter what I do and how I live?”
Follow the Quest
In Ecclesiastes, the author is on a quest to discover the meaning of life. Just as the book says, there is nothing new under the sun, and the quest for purpose has been a driving force in every generation. As you read the book of Ecclesiastes, track the Preacher’s progress.
He begins by searching wisdom, then pleasure, then work, etc., and his conclusions for life under the sun are depressing. But he ends his quest finding purpose. After he searches through all of the things of this world, he comes to a satisfactory, even desired, conclusion.
Notice the Dichotomy in Ecclesiastes
As you read Ecclesiastes, take note of some very important phrases. First, you will find many instances of the phrase “under the sun.” This phrase represents life on this earth, living by the world’s “rules.” It is life “under the sun” that is “a striving after wind.” And each time we encounter that little phrase “under the sun,” we are invited to consider if there is an alternative.
What we discover is the phrase “under the sun” is set up in contrast to the phrase “under heaven,” which could also be read as “beyond the sun.” The phrase “under heaven” represents life with an eternal perspective. Chapter 3 of the book is a good example of this as it lays out God’s harmony in creation, presenting a time for every event “under heaven.”
Notice the inconsistencies in an “under the sun” perspective: Work is good and also bad, death is welcomed and also feared, food and wine are enjoyable and also meaningless. Any worldview that is not based on God’s principles and guidelines will be inconsistent, not able to sustain itself when followed to its logical conclusion.
An “under heaven” perspective, however, is very consistent. It follows logic and order. It leads to a reason and purpose not only for joy and work and beauty, but also for suffering and pain in this life. Only the biblical worldview makes sense.
Recognize God’s Sovereignty
A main point of the book of Ecclesiastes is God’s sovereignty. The book repeatedly reminds us that even though this world seems to be topsy turvy, God is still in control. If we choose to live life as if God doesn’t matter, we are “striving after wind.” But if we choose to live life recognizing Who God is and His sovereign plan, we can enjoy the gifts He gives us and look forward to the better gifts in eternity.
Find Freedom
As believers, we experience the privilege of enjoying life. Because God is in control even when things seem to be out of control, we as believers have the freedom to take pleasure in the beauty of God’s creation, in the benefits of our work, and in the fruit of our communities without fearing that our failures will derail His plans. We can trust that God has it all in hand, and we know that we are laying up treasures in heaven that will last far longer than any suffering this world can dish out.
Take Action
Ultimately, the book of Ecclesiastes is an Old Testament Apologetic. While the author takes us on a journey of meaninglessness, he is showing us what life is like if it is true that God does not matter. Anyone who lives his life only for this life, crying out “YOLO” (you only live once) every chance he gets, is living a purposeless, meaningless life that never brings true happiness or fulfillment. Everything in this life is temporary.
By showing us the purposelessness of this life, the author is demonstrating the alternative to living a life that is pleasing to God, seeking to follow His ways, and focusing on an eternity in His presence. He is arguing for a life lived in the fear of the Lord by showing us the unfavorable alternative.
In light of this, we must recognize that it is part of our biblical calling to examine all things in light of eternity. The most loving thing we can do is to call sinners to repentance, not only because it will affect their eternal destiny, which is enough reason in and of itself, but also because without repentance and an acknowledgment of Who God is and the role He plays, their lives here on this earth will be without purpose, fulfillment, and true happiness. They will be “striving after wind” and getting nowhere.
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