October 27 / Song of Solomon 1:1-2:7

Song of Solomon 1:1-2:7

Dear RTB’ers,

I am out of my league in trying to comment on Song of Solomon. I am not well versed in poetry – American or other – and certainly not in words that were written thousands of years ago in a culture far removed from us today. In addition, I do not have our companion book, Search the Scriptures with me, so I don’t even know what questions they are asking for today and the rest of this week. So after reading all last week about our wasted efforts (all is vanity), I will move on with whatever comes to mind for me. Please bear with me!

Different scholars have different opinions in interpreting this Book. Most agree that the Song of Solomon is about love. But whose love? Some suggest that the “He” character is God and the “She” character is Israel – or maybe the “She” character is us. Others suggest that the “He” is Jesus and the “She” is the Church. Others agree that the Book is about love, but with a major focus on sex and marriage. See today especially verse 2:7, I adjure you…that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. Don’t stir up or awaken love until it’s time!

Not knowing any better, I think I’ll stay with “He” being God and “She” being us. So with that in mind, a verse that stood out for me, with “She” speaking, His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces me! (v. 2:6) It’s a beautiful picture of God’s protection with His left hand and His love with His right hand.

What are your thoughts? Your verses…? Let’s have a number of us weighing in on this Book!

Blessings!

See also:

October 26 / Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14

Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14

Dear RTB’ers,

So today we finish our week in Ecclesiastes. It’s been an unusual week, an unusual book. I had read that many leading Christians over the years had wanted to exclude Ecclesiastes from the Bible, yet it continued to prevail. It’s closing, alone, should give anyone pause before throwing it out: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (vv. 12:13-14) I recall my own research paper during that Old Testament class that I took back in 1972. Scholars had argued that these words were written by an editor who wanted to keep Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible and not throw it out. I had argued that there were many passages in the book that were consistent with these closing verses. For example, we see “fear God” (or related words) in Ecclesiastes 3:14, 5:7, 7:18, 8:12-13. I had also found justifications in other verses, probably regarding good and evil and judgment.

So Ecclesiastes remains in our Bible today. Like Job, it offers great fodder for group discussions and personal reflection. In one of his links from a few days ago John had suggested that we re-read all the earlier chapters before getting into that day’s reading. Maybe that’s a good suggestion for us today. Read the entire book again. Maybe we’ll find that we agree with the Preacher’s main point that “all is vanity”. Or maybe we’ll find that we disagree. Still, I’m confident that a lot of what we do is, in fact, “vanity”!! A striving after wind…

Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Blessings!

See also:

October 25 / Ecclesiastes 10:8-11:8

Ecclesiastes 10:8-11:8

Dear RTB’ers,

My “choice” proverbs for today…

…if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. (v. 11:3b) Once it’s done, whatever “it” is, whether good or bad or indifferent, it’s done and there’s no changing it back. Move on. Often, easier said than done…!

In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. (v. 11:6) I like what this proverb says explicitly – that the farmer does not know whether it is better to plant in the morning so that the seed gets the warmth of the sun all day or to plant in the evening when the cooler earth allows the seed to germinate better. But as an application for us, what to do in choosing between two reasonable alternatives? Well, if they are mutually exclusive, then you’ve got to choose. But if not and they are both good, the Preacher says to do both. So yes, do RTB and also join in with whatever your Homegroup wants to read. Good advice!

Your favorites…?

Blessings!

See also:

October 24 / Ecclesiastes 9:1-10:7

Ecclesiastes 9:1-10:7

Dear RTB’ers,

More proverbs from the Preacher today – and his reflections on various thoughts. He always seems to come back to “vanity”, as I had suggested in my first post over Ecclesiastes. All that we do is vain – the good and the bad, the wise and the foolish, no gain for our efforts. Everything seems to be a waste of time to him, except seeking God – that is worthwhile.

So for today, more on those thoughts of wasted effort… It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. (vv. 9:2-3a, 11-12a) No matter what we do, same outcomes to us all.

So, my dozen years of post-high school education and nearly forty years of classroom teaching, all a waste of time? I hope not. But maybe C.T. Studd (1860-1931) had it right: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Your thoughts?

Blessings!

See also:

October 23 / Ecclesiastes 7-8

Ecclesiastes 7-8

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s reading is mostly a set of proverbs, some of which are just one verse and others which span a couple of verses. So, a few that I enjoyed or that spoke to me… First, Better is the end of a thing than its beginning… (v. 7:8a) I don’t expect others to agree with me and I don’t know why I am this way, but I like things to end – even happy, good things! Give me a 90-minute movie, not a three-hour drama! I’m always a “What’s next?” guy. Sorry, nothing very spiritual about that one!

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other… (v. 7:14a) I left off the “so that” last half of the verse, not that the last half is not important, but it was the first half that spoke to me! It’s long been a maxim that I try to live by, to be content in all things, knowing that God knows my situation better than my own understanding.

 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will go well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not go well for the evil person and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God. (vv. 8:12-13) Yes, It will go well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. Maybe not fully in this life, but eternity is certain. Yes, fear God.

Blessings!

See also:

October 22 / Ecclesiastes 4:9-6:12

Ecclesiastes 4:9-6:12

Dear RTB’ers,

I must comment on today’s introductory verses, even though I probably have in the past: Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (vv. 4:9-12) Our pastor let us choose our readings for our wedding, and we chose this section as our Old Testament reading. Obviously, I can’t read these words without going back 43+ years! Glory to God, thank you!

A lot is said in today’s readings about wealth and riches, most of it decrying excessive effort to gain more, plus hoarding it when you have it. See Ecc. 5:10-16; 6:1-2. But all wealth is not bad; in fact, it is God’s gift, to be enjoyed! Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. (v. 5:19) It’s an attitude thing. Anyone seeking excessive riches is surely failing to seek God in the measure in which God would like his/her attention. So we ask ourselves, what do we have, what do we do with it, and what more do we seek? Yes, it’s an attitude thing…!

Blessings!

See also:

October 21 / Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:8

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:8

Dear RTB’ers,

My natural self-centeredness quickly connected with So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. (v. 3:22a) And I thought that I enjoy teaching so much that Carol and I are back over here again even though we retired more than a decade ago. And I thought it sad that many people work just to make a living, to pay the bills, without much real enjoyment in what they do.

Then I turned to chapter 4 and my self-centeredness vanished: Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! (v. 4:1a) And I thought of the millions of people in Africa and Asia who are oppressed for their faith and even more millions who are oppressed because of their lack of work, of their inability to provide for their families. Oppression around the world, and no one to comfort them… As I’ve said and posted so many times, God knows each and every one of them, to a degree that we cannot comprehend. And He is God, I am not.

It all makes me want to be the absolute best that I can be for my students this semester, thinking of the ending of the first verse that I quoted above, Who can bring him to see what will be after him? (v. 3:22b) Whatever I am for them can have serious impact on the rest of their lives. And that also goes for anything that any of us does today. Be the best that you can be, to God’s glory.

Blessings!

See also:

October 20 / Ecclesiastes 1-2

Ecclesiastes 1-2

Dear RTB’ers,

Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible. In a sense, how could it not be? Proverbial. Entertaining. Spiritual. Challenging. To me, it’s the Proverbs and more! But for me, it goes further. When I returned to college after 4.5 years between my first and second year, I had an option to include an Old Testament / New Testament sequence in fulfillment of my Humanities requirement. I had no particular desire to read the great British and American literary works anyhow, especially when I could read and study the greatest book ever written. So when it came to my OT course, I did my semester paper on Ecclesiastes – all this in 1972, three years before I was born again in May 1975. So yeah, Ecclesiastes is special to me!

The Preacher. Who is he, really? The first verse tells us that “the Preacher” is Solomon, although he is not mentioned by name, but referred to as, the son of David, king in Jerusalem (Ecc. 1:1; see also Ecc. 1:12). But scholars disagree. An online source suggested that a wise, unknown author “…intended that the book should give honour to Solomon. And he wanted his readers to learn lessons from Solomon’s life.” But this book does not use Solomon’s name. (See, for example, Ecc. 8:2; 9:15, 10:20.)

Two verses capture the essence of today’s reading: 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. 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. (vv. 2:10-11) See also additional occurrences of the word “vanity” in Ecc. 1:2, 14, and in today’s second chapter, Ecc. 2:1, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 26.

So, in vain we read on? NO! Absolutely not! We read the author’s words and ask God for His wisdom, to apply these words to our lives today. But also, let’s enjoy some lighthearted reading for this next week! Yes, ENJOY!!

Blessings!

See also:

October 19 / Esther 9-10

Esther 9-10

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we finish Esther, a short book with a lot of application for us. God is at work, often “behind the scenes”, and He is looking out for His people. When it looks bad, it can get very bad – witness the Holocaust – but He is still at work. To my mind, He knew each and every one of the six million Jews who were killed by the Hitler regime, and He knew each and every one of the 500 Persian men in Susa and the 75,000 men in the provinces who were killed by the Jews, in addition to Haman and His ten sons. To what ultimate end, all of that? I certainly do not know – He is God, I am not.

As I was walking to my office this morning (from where I am writing this note) I was asking myself which one, Esther or Mordecai is the hero/heroine of this book. The two most famous lines in the book were spoken by each of them (Esther 4:14b, 16b). It’s a trivial exercise and an indefinite answer. Both were placed in prominent positions and both were used by God as they worked with the gifts and placements God had given them. And we need to know that we are heroes in God’s eyes, through our simply following Him and telling others of His love, His goodness, His saving grace available to each and every human being. So stand up and be counted as one of God’s heroes!

Blessings!

See also:

October 18 / Esther 7-8

Esther 7-8

Dear RTB’ers,

Haman’s plot is uncovered at Esther’s banquet and So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. (v. 7:10a) Probably seldom in history have tables turned so completely! My sidebar pointed out that Esther’s words to the king were the same words that Haman had written in his revenge edict, for the Jews …to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated…, Esther’s words, identical except in tense with …to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate… the Jews. (vv. 7:4b, 3:13b)

Having uncovered the plot and disposing of Haman and with Mordecai now in Haman’s former position, Esther and Mordecai still needed to find a way to “undo” the irrevocable edict that Haman had written and the king had signed (see v. 8:8b). So scribes were summoned and a counter-edict was written, not to revoke but to override the earlier edict. Again, my sidebar offers a superb ending to this chapter: “…we all stand under God’s irrevocable decree of death because of sin, but he chose to issue a counter-decree to redeem a people out of sin and evil and into righteousness.” Thank you, Jesus, thank you!

Blessings!