Daily Bible Reading and Prayer 3 Jun 6, '19-Jan 17, '20 Proverbs n Ecclesiastes

Aug 24, Ecc 2

1 I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself." But behold, this also was vanity.
Pleasure, worldly pleasure, is temporary and doesn't fulfill the soul.
Pleasure is vanity, but God did give us things that we may enjoy.

2 I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?"

3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine-my heart still guiding me with wisdom-and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.

5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.

6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.

7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.

8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.

9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.

11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
All those material possessions are vanity, he can't take any of them with him when he dies.
Material isn't everything. Similar to our capitalist system we have were it promotes consumerism. Why work hard and spend it on something which ultimately doesn't matter?

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.
The obvious. Wisdom trumps folly in every situation. Being a righteous person of light is better than being a wicked person.

14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.
Sometimes though, upright, wise people suffer the same results that fools do.
We walk in the light of God's word, and the difference between us and those who walk in darkness is that when we die, we will still be in the light, but those in darkness here will be in darkness in Hell.

15 Then I said in my heart, "What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?" And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.
Can be for other things. Why try if you'll never truly succeed? Why live a pure life if you will always stumble here and there? Some people have these thoughts, I know I sure did.

16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!
At the end of the day, the wise and fools are the same. Human. They die, and they get forgotten. As said before, why strive to be either if you meet the same end?

17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
I feel this verse. Best one so far.

18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,

19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.

20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,

21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
You can work so hard, yet when you die the worldly things will not matter, they go on to the next person who may destroy what took you decades to build.
Sometimes working hard to get something will be unfair,  since sometimes the fools and lazy get the same reward without effort.

22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?

23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,
Enjoy the life God gave you. I think it pretty much sums this up. What do you think, Jess?
I think that sums it up really well Will.

25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. - Ecclesiastes 2
Poor guy sounds so depressed in this chapter.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for Your many blessings, thank you especially for Your word, thank you that even though all of Your word is divine, from You, You wrote it through humans like us. Humans who know what it is like to be depressed among other things. You created a beautiful world, but since the fall there is so much evil, pain, sadness and vanity. Yet through all that, there is still beauty, there is joy, there is good, and there are things worth doing. Please help us focus on those things, help us remember that life has meaning, we are here to serve You, to worship you and enjoy You forever, and one day You will create a new earth where there is no vanity and no depression. We look forward to that day. Thank you for all the blessings we have in this fallen world, they are far from perfect, but in them we can still see a glimpse of their original beauty. Thank you for friends and family, especially Will, thank you for food, for shelter, thank you that my country is not currently in a war, thank you that even though my health is far from perfect, it's not as bad as it could be. Thank you for Camp Tamarack, please bless all those who go there that they may grow closer to You and to their brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for everyone in my prayer journal, please continue to guide and bless them, and show them the blessings through the pain, this I pray in Jesus's name, Amen

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for the life you have given me. Thank you for keeping my family safe while they left for vacation, please wish them well and a safe trip back. Thank you for blessing me with a lot family and friends, especially Jessica. Dear Lord, please grant Jessica safety and fun in Tamarak. May we both follow your word and keep devotions consistent. In your name I pray, amen.