Ecclesiastes - Koheleth

                                                

It is interesting that many of us know the Bibilical book of Wisdom by it's Latin name (Ecclesiastes), rather than its Hebrew name Koheleth. This Hebrew term for Ecclesiastes implies someone who addresses a gathering of people - in some versions of the Bible he calls himself the 'Preacher.' 

"The words of Kohelet the son of David, king in Yerushalayim:" - Ecclesiastes 1:1 (Complete Jewish Bible)

Regardless of this little piece of trivia, we are still left with a deep sense of hopelessness coming from the writer of this book. The Preacher/Teacher asks some profound questions and may leave many of us waiting for a suitable answer or solution to his woes. One commentator writes:

"...if the lines of quest and perplexity which go out from Ecclesiastes are left broken and hanging in the void, the Christian gospel accepts the task of carrying them through to triumphant assurance." (Interpreter's Bible)

What this offers to us as the modern reader is this: 

All our longings, confusions, questions and perplexities are answered in the person of Jesus Christ. Our thoughts are deliberately directed to the person of Jesus and not the philosophy of any human mind. Our Quest for meaning in life can be solved by an encounter with the living Lord.

Well, that's what I think. How about you?

John 14:6 -  Yeshua said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

His way is in the storm

"His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet." - Nahum 1:3

I love this verse so much. It reminds me that God's way may take us through the desert, storm and clouds, but God is in that WAY.

It is a timely reminder that God is with us through everything that we go through. Hold onto that promise today.

"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him." - Nahum 1:7

Living in Grace

D3LM3

No Green Arrow = CHAOS!

Our city of Maritzburg is not know for her major traffic jams. Usually if you wait in traffic for 10 minutes that is considered to be a long delay. Coming to work this morning seemed to be quite different. It looked like there was a lot of chaos on the roads and I wondered if there had been an accident or perhaps a problem with a traffic light.

In the end, it was just a minor problem, that ended up causing major chaos. The arrow indicating a "right turn" into Cleland Road wasn't working, which caused a huge backlog of traffic. People began to get frustrated and then I noticed drivers trying to take the law into their own hands. As much as I was irritated sitting in the traffic, I was suddenly struck by this thought:

"We need the green arrow to direct us. When there is no arrow - there is chaos! Surely, God is like that green arrow in many ways. God points us in the right direction. God shows us the way to go, and at the right time and when we obey his direction, there is order in our lives."

Are you perhaps missing the 'green arrow' in your life today? Why not ask the Lord to be the centre of your life again and to guide you into his truth? God is wanting to bring order into our lives, not chaos.

Joshua 3:4 - "Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before."

Proverbs 1:5 - "...let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance."

 Thomas Merton - "I was not sure where I was going, and I could not see what I would do when I got [there]. But you saw further and clearer than I, and you opened the seas before my ship, whose track led me across the waters to a place I had never dreamed of, and which you were even then preparing to be my rescue and my shelter and my home."

Living in Grace
D3LM3