Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 6:12

It doesn't do us any harm to see ourselves set over against the might and omnipotence of God, Solomon has been telling us. We are just a heartbeat away from eternity, and if God were to cause our hearts to stop at this very moment - we would die. We are very vulnerable people, and to try to go against the all-powerful...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 7:1

We are now at the halfway mark of the Book of Ecclesiastes, and one notices immediately a change of perspective. Solomon's cynicism does not altogether disappear, but a new note is being struck which rings out most clearly in this chapter and then continues to the end of the book. That new note is - wisdom. Solomon...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 7:11-14

Solomon now invites us to look at the benefits and advantages of wisdom. 'Wisdom is a shelter,' he says (v. 12). It protects us from pitfalls or from entering into foolish schemes and ideas. Wisdom protects us from being overtaken by an unexpected financial crisis, for example, by showing us the importance of...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 7:2-10

We continue looking at the rest of Solomon's comparative proverbs. Third, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting" (v. 2). Remember, wisdom always sees beneath the surface of things. Solomon means that you are more likely to come face to face with reality in a funeral parlor...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 7:15-18

One perplexing situation for which wisdom and a divine perspective is needed, says Solomon, is when we see the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. The psalmist struggled with this age-old problem (particularly in Psalm 73), and so have millions since. A tyrant...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 7:19-24

Wisdom provides us with an inner strength. That is the point Solomon is making in this passage. One who operates with wisdom possesses more strength than ten city officials. And those who have come up against officialdom and bureaucracy will know that this is some strength! When we have wisdom, we have the inner...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 7:25-29

Wisdom was something very important to Solomon. It was this that he prayed for when God said to him: 'Ask for whatever you want me to give you' (1 Kings 3:5). In addition, Solomon had set out to discover all he could about earthly wisdom. When he put all his findings...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 8:1

A centuries-old saying goes: "Wise men are rarely academics, and academics are rarely wise men." Whether that is true I do not know, but I do know from reading Solomon's writings that wisdom is not something academic; it is designed to have a practical outworking in our lives. Many commentators believe that Solomon is...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 8:2-8

We look at another three of Solomon's thoughts on the qualities of a wise leader. Third - a high regard for authority. "Obey the king's command," (v. 2) says Solomon, or in other words, respect whoever is over you in authority. Those who have no respect for those higher than they will never get the respect of those...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 8:9-15

This section begins with a warning for those who are in positions of authority. Those who lord it over others in an unfair way will hurt themselves more than they hurt others. It might feel good to ride roughshod over people's thoughts and feelings, but in the end the one who acts in this way is demeaned as a...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 8:16-17

The sooner we come to terms with the fact that there are things which happen in life for which there is no adequate explanation, the better we shall be. I have seen people almost drive themselves insane by insisting that God was honor-bound to give them a clear answer or explanation for some dark or difficult...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 9:7-10

"Go, eat your food with gladness," Solomon says, "and drink your wine with a joyful heart" (v. 7). Hedonists reading these words might think: "Just what I want ... freedom to go out and indulge myself." But hold on, read the next line: "Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil" (v. 8). That...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 9:1-6

In this chapter Solomon focuses our gaze more clearly on the issues that are "above the sun." Four facts that every believer should know and understand are laid out. The first is everything is in God's hands (v. 1). When I think of myself as being in "God's hands" I feel tremendously reassured. Matters may seem out...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

An explanation is necessary for Solomon's reference to death in the verses we read yesterday: "In the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom" (v. 10). Death, to Old Testament saints, was a mystery. They believed in life after death, but they were not sure of the...