Day 127: The Meaning Of It All; It Doesn’t Make Sense Without Him

Today we read 1 Kings 8-9, Ecclesiastes 4-5, and Psalm 6-7. We are reminded that Solomons’ wisdom in creating alliances through marriage is not the same as obeying God to reserve marriage as a one-flesh relationship in a convent reflecting, in a way, the one-God with no other idols relationship He wants with His people. We’re reminded that wisdom and knowledge is not the same as obedience. Then, in Ecclesiastes we are reading about Hevel, a Hebrew word that is more closely associated with vapor or smoke than the modern concept of meaningless. Vapors and smoke cannot be taken or grasped, but they are real. The word is used 38 times. Dr. Mackie’s conclusion is the author is saying everything is out of our control to take and hold, but we can enjoy what God has given us with a heart of gratitude as we remember who is in control who gave the gift and that we share and prioritize others in sharing God’s goodness.

Resources:

Tim Mackie. Ecclesiastes Overview. Bible Project. 8 minutes. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/ecclesiastes/ 

Mary Solomon, Brent Billings, and Kevin Luo (2017) Episode 45: Wisdom and Meaning. BEMA Discipleship https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/45 (27 minutes)

Credits:

Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.