Before you watch or read today’s Daily Word, please read Ecclesiastes 12:9–14. Today, we conclude our study of Ecclesiastes with, fittingly, a meditation on “the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:9–14 is a summary of all that the Preacher has tried to teach us in the previous eleven-and-a-half chapters. His lessons can be summed up simply enough: “Fear God and keep his commandments.” By what authority does the Preacher sum up our whole duty in this way? It is not by means of prophetic authority, for the Preacher does not claim to be a prophet. It is not by means … Continue reading The Whole Duty of Man (Ecclesiastes 12:9–14)

Before you watch or read today’s Daily Word, please read Ecclesiastes 12:1–8. In Ecclesiastes 12:1–8, the Preacher calls you to worship God now, while you can, before advancing age and declining ability rob you of the power to do so. He does this by painting a vivid portrait of the negative aspects of aging. (We should always remember, of course, that aging has many pluses: the joy of a life well lived; the wisdom of experience; the pleasures of a lifelong companion, children, and grandchildren, to name just a few. But the Preacher’s focus does not fall on the positives, … Continue reading Are You Prepared for Death—and Life? (Ecclesiastes 12:1–8)

Before you watch or read today’s Daily Word, please read Ecclesiastes 11:7–10. Several years ago, I taught the Open Bible Class, a Sunday school class for senior citizens. Now, I must admit that I had a few preconceptions about seniors when I first began teaching them. I thought they were, like, you know, “old.” And they were. The class has its fair share of eighty- and ninety-year-olds. What I did not expect, however, was the lesson I learned from close contact with those wonderful people: Just because you are old does not mean you have to act like it. A … Continue reading Young at Heart (Ecclesiastes 11:7–10)

Before you watch or read today’s Daily Word, please read Ecclesiastes 11:1–6. God wants you to develop an abundance mentality. In the early nineteenth century, the Rev. Thomas Malthus argued that “population tends to increase faster than the supply of food available for its needs.” Consequently, human beings face a perpetual shortfall of necessities and must act with a scarcity mentality, focusing on how to increase their slice of a limited pie. Malthus’s argument influenced Charles Darwin and his followers, the latter of whom especially saw life as a struggle between species over limited resources in which only the fittest … Continue reading The Abundance Mentality (Ecclesiastes 11:1–6)

Before you watch or read today’s Daily Word, please read Ecclesiastes 10:16–20. We recently held a national election, which gets me thinking about politics. Does the Bible have anything useful to say about government or citizenship? Absolutely! But it usually speaks in general principles rather than offering detailed policy guidelines. Take, for example, what we read in Ecclesiastes 10:16–20. The Preacher begins by noting how unpleasant it is for citizens to live under a bad regime. More precisely, he points out how cursed it is for “the land” to live under the unwise (child kings) and self-indulgent (feasting princes). Obviously, … Continue reading Government, Good and Bad (Ecclesiastes 10:16–20)

Before you watch or read today’s Daily Word, please read Ecclesiastes 10:8–15. Much of the Bible, and most of its so-called “wisdom literature,” is common sense. Wisdom literature—a few Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, Song of Songs, James—is known for its simplicity and practicality. When you read it, you are more apt to say, “No duh!” than you are to say, “Huh, I never thought of that.” The genius of wisdom literature lies in its ability to remind us of truths that we already know—or should know—and to encourage us to take appropriate action. Take, for example, the little proverbs the … Continue reading No Duh! (Ecclesiastes 10:8–15)

Before you watch or read today’s Daily Word, please read Ecclesiastes 10:1–7. As a pastor, I work hard to keep politics out of the pulpit. Of course, like most Americans, I have more than my fair share of strong opinions about what happens in my state capital and Washington DC, but it’s wrong for me—or any other pastor—to use my church position as a platform for launching partisan rants at you. Politics is neither my vocation nor my area of expertise. Now, don’t worry, I do not intend to rant today, either, but I want to use a political example … Continue reading A Little Idiocy Goes a Long Way (Ecclesiastes 10:1–7)