If you could see how I read and where God speaks to me from, you might be surprised to see how much old testament I read and how little new, relatively. The NT is densely packed with information, guidance, instruction and prophesy, requiring detailed, careful investigation on an almost word-by-word basis. The OT however is like broad brush-strokes, painting a sky or a landscape, and giving room to breathe and read easily, even when the subject matter is not a light one.
So I read from chapter 8:
11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14 There
is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who
get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous
deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life , because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
I've long looked at Ecclesiastes as a book written by a Solomon who had fallen from grace and righteousness; a book of advice to his sons not to wander and a book of mourning for the human condition and all the privations that go with life in a middle-eastern culture. But Solomon had God's wisdom, and the gift of God is not easily taken away, so this morning I saw these verses in a different light.
Why would it be meaningless for the wicked to live long happy lives and the righteous to have short, painful times filled with struggle? There is a sense in which so many things that happen are not according to God's way of doing things that they are truly without meaning and value, as in the example here, and God, it seems, has set boundaries on Himself to allow us humans to bring wisdom, pleasure, happiness, pain, distress and cruelty according to our hearts desires.
But at the same time His heart is for us to live in peace and happiness, enjoying all the good things He has made. So He commends the enjoyment of the life He has given, because in one sense there is nothing better for man to do than to eat, drink and be glad, taking delight in being a part of creation and enjoying the obvious blessings of God and the fruit of his work.
We so often miss out this aspect of the Father's heart in the way we present things, wanting all the right boxes ticked and rules followed. Yet God IS a father, who loves to see his children happy, growing up, loving and living well instead of being twisted into phobic this, sexual that and generally giving everyone a bad time.
I hope that's come out right.
Now, off to church in a mo and the greatest challenge of all today - what song to use for the kids at the start of the meeting.