July 21, 2022: Day 154 – Ecclesiastes 7-12

We come to the end of another one of Solomon’s books.  He also wrote Proverbs and probably wrote Song of Solomon, hence the name of the book.  But this book of the Bible really focuses on not putting too much weight on your own planning for the future.  The verse that really struck me in this reading can be found in 9:11ff – “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 the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all.  For no one can anticipate the time of disaster.  Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them.”

We can prepare all that we want, but like Job, we can never predict what will happen in the future.  Our clean living does not translate into blessings of protection.  Solomon does encourage the young to rejoice in their youth.  The book then ends with this somewhat ominous, but true, saying.  “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”