Ecclesiastes 1
Life Under the Sun!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 15.
When I first studied the Bible, as a young officer in the US Army, the book of Ecclesiastes pierced my soul, like an arrow to the heart. For years, the opening phrases of Ecclesiastes worked on my soul in deep ways. The Spirit used Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 and 13-14 to bring me to a place of absolute surrender, to answer God’s call:
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun? … I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
Solomon, the Preacher in this book, wrote about the universal human experience of living “under the sun.” This phrase points to the human struggle of living in a fallen world, which is deeply broken because of human sin (Genesis 3). There is a profound struggle to living under the effects of God’s curse, as every aspect of human existence, from the most intimate relationships to your daily work, has been made painful and difficult. There is a fundamental choice we each must make in the face of this reality: to strive to make it all work out by our own efforts or to surrender to God and His grace (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Seize the moment and live under the Lordship of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who promises to give you His abundant life (John 10:10). Don’t toil under the curse, when you can experience the blessing of a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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