Podcasts about ecclesiastes chapter

Send us a textJoin us this week as Nick jumps into Ecclesiastes Chapter 1. This is some great information. Please leave us a like and follow.Thanks for listening and continuing to support us! Videos Available for your viewing pleasure over on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1dWYyR5QqE_dVwGvr6_eAQ Find us on the socials!!! https://www.facebook.com/talkaboutitoutdoors https://www.instagram.com/talk_about_it_outdoors/ Check out our partners! Cruzr Saddles https://www.cruzr.shop Grim Reaper Broadheads https://www.grimreaperbroadheads.com The KT Team https://thektteam.org Cal Hardie Arrowhead Land Co. 770-296-2163 All our links! https://linktr.ee/talkaboutitoutdoors

Ecc 7:9  Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

Ecc 7:8  The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

Ecc 7:6  For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility.

Ecc 7:7  For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe corrupts the heart.

Ecc 7:5  It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

Ecc 7:4 The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Ecc 7:3  Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

Ecc 7:2  It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart. 

Ecc 7:7  For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe corrupts the heart.

Ecc 7:1  A good name is better than a good ointment, And the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth.

Ecc 6:11  For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?Ecc 6:12  For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?

Ecc 6:10  Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.

Ecc 6:9  What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.

Ecc 6:8  For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?

Ecc 6:7  All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.

Ecc 6:3  If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, "Better the miscarriage than he,Ecc 6:4  for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.Ecc 6:5  "It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.Ecc 6:6  "Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things—do not all go to one place?"

Ecc 6:1  There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity.

Ecc 5:19  And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.

Ecc 5:18  Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.

Ecc 5:17  Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.

Ecc 5:15  We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us.Ecc 5:16  And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.

Ecc 5:12  People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night's sleep. 

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

Ecc 5:10  Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

Ecc 5:15  We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us.Ecc 5:16  And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

Ecc 5:6  Don't let your mouth make you sin. And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.Ecc 5:7  Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead. 

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

Ecc 5:8  Don't be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

Ecc 5:6  Don't let your mouth make you sin. And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.Ecc 5:7  Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 As a philosopher I have loved the great tradition of human wisdom. For many years I drank from the tributaries. Aristotle taught that the good life is something one lives, not something one acquires. Socrates taught that wisdom begins in humility. These insights nourished me long before I realized they were preparing me to recognize the far greater wisdom God has given in Scripture. The Greek thinkers stood downstream from a fountain they dimly sensed but could not reach. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks from that very source. Qoheleth, קהלת, the Assembler, often called the Preacher, gathers what God has revealed about life in this world. He describes the human condition with a single Hebrew word: hevel, breath, vapor. Not meaninglessness, but ungraspability - and paradox. Life slips through the fingers of those who try to seize it, and understanding reaches its limit in paradox. What cannot be possessed must be received. What we cannot control must become ours by gift. And this is why Ecclesiastes so often speaks the language of generosity. Work is a gift. Food and drink are gifts. Joy is gift. Companionship is gift. Time itself is gift. The Preacher calls us to leave behind the restless striving that characterizes life in the tributaries, and to return instead to the fountain where every good and perfect gift flows from the hand of the Giver. He also tells us something our age urgently needs to hear. There is nothing new under the sun. Our modern confidence in our own progress (central to the evolutionary mythos) is little more than hubris. We imagine ourselves advanced beyond our “primitive” forebears, yet our world repeats the same patterns of confusion and pride. Postmodern deconstruction, gender confusion, DEI initiatives, and cultural relativism are not new. They are ancient errors retold in new vocabulary. Ecclesiastes understood the human heart long before our age attempted to deconstruct it. Near the end of the book the imagery sharpens. “The words of the wise are like goads,” given by one Shepherd to guide us back toward the fountain of wisdom. When the risen Jesus confronted Saul and said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” Paul, deeply trained in Greek language and philosophy, recognized the proverb immediately. The Shepherd's mercy often comes to us as a sharp turn, redirecting us from the dry channels of self-reliance back to the living waters of God Himself. The book ends where all honest searching must end. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Receive His gifts with gratitude. This is the whole duty of man, the culmination not only of the Bible's wisdom literature, but of every sincere philosophical quest. I wandered long among the tributaries, but Scripture led me home to the Fount of every blessing and tuned my heart to sing His grace. Here is a helpful overview of Ecclesiastes. May your listening be as blessed as ours was in the reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2w

Ecc 5:4  When you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him.Ecc 5:5  It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.

Ecc 5:3  Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.

Ecc 5:1  As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.Ecc 5:2  Don't make rash promises, and don't be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

Ecc 4:13  It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice.Ecc 4:14  Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.Ecc 4:15  But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him.Ecc 4:16  Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

Ecc 4:9  Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.Ecc 4:10  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!Ecc 4:11  Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?Ecc 4:12  And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecc 4:7  Again, I saw vanity under the sun:Ecc 4:8  one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

Ecc 4:5  The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.Ecc 4:6  Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

Ecc 4:4  Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecc 4:1  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! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.Ecc 4:2  And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive.Ecc 4:3  But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

Ecc 3:21  Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?Ecc 3:22  So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Ecc 3:18  I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.Ecc 3:19  For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.Ecc 3:20  All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.