Rachel Workman: 8 Don’t be surprised if you see a
poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried
throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and
matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. 9 Even the king milks the land
for his own profit![c]
10 Those who love money will never
have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more
people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to
watch it slip through your fingers!How fitting for today.
____________________________________________________________________________________
John Burnett: 4 When you make a vow
to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in
fools. Pay what you vow! 5 It is better
that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do
not let your [f]speech
cause [g]you
to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that
it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and
destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in many
dreams and in many words there is [h]emptiness.
Rather, [i]fear
God. Verse 6
is one that I see in church all the time. People will call sin a mistake
and it is not a mistake, it is sin and it is intentional, not accidental.
Judaism is a works based religion and they believed that their deeds either
made God happy or angry and the consequence for His anger was destruction.
8 If you see oppression of the poor and denial
of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at
the [j]sight;
for one [k]official
watches over another [l]official,
and there are higher [m]officials
over them. 9 After all, a king who cultivates the
field is an advantage to the land. These verses are very appropriate for today. God
is the highest official and He raises up and lowers those in power in the
government. This is why don’t fret about the government anymore.
God is in control and whatever happens is part of His providential plan.
The
Folly of Riches
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money,
nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is [n]vanity. 11 When
good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage
to their owners except to [o]look
on? 12 The sleep of the working man
is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the [p]full
stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep. Those who are rich and love
money will never be satisfied and when their riches are taken away, it only
exaggerates their suffering because the thing they love most is taken away.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Tomorrow’s reading for Ecclesiastes
5:12-17
12 People who work hard sleep well,
whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I
have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money
is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the
end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We
all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we
were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious
problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their
hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. 17 Throughout
their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
No comments:
Post a Comment