There are few things in life that sting as much as the betrayal of a family member. Families are supposed to be where we find love, support, and connection. Imagine the journey of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery and faked his death in order to deceive their father. As a slave, Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault, thrown in prison, and forgotten there for many years. He would end up in a position of authority during one of the most difficult times in the history of Egypt. The fallout of the betrayal of his brothers would shape most of his life. Yet somehow, he not only finds the ability to forgive his brothers but he also finds the ability to bless them. The story of Joseph is the story of when the raw emotions of human betrayal encounter faith in the sovereignty and goodness of God. Forgiving those who have done serious harm to you is only possible when you can look back and see how God has shown mercy to you.
There are few things in life that sting as much as the betrayal of a family member. Families are supposed to be where we find love, support, and connection. Imagine the journey of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery and faked his death in order to deceive their father. As a slave, Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault, thrown in prison, and forgotten there for many years. He would end up in a position of authority during one of the most difficult times in the history of Egypt. The fallout of the betrayal of his brothers would shape most of his life. Yet somehow, he not only finds the ability to forgive his brothers but he also finds the ability to bless them. The story of Joseph is the story of when the raw emotions of human betrayal encounter faith in the sovereignty and goodness of God. Forgiving those who have done serious harm to you is only possible when you can look back and see how God has shown mercy to you.
In our busy, always on world, forcing ourselves to stop and rest takes effort and work, it takes discipline. Yet, when we discipline ourselves to take time to Sabbath, we quickly find that God’s command to us to stop, is an incredible gift. Yes, the command to Sabbath can be difficult, but the restrictions God puts on us to rest aren’t ultimately meant to shackle us, but to free us by reminding us of our own limitations and our dependence on our limitless God and Saviour.
If there is no God to judge the world, then human existence is a pointless litigation that ends in meaningless despair. The teacher who wrote Ecclesiastes would have agreed. From the beginning of his book he has been saying that if there is no God, there is on meaning. Nothing matters. But that is not the conclusion that the teacher comes to. Instead, he concludes that there is a God who will judge, not only the world, but everyone who lives in it, and if that’s the case far from life being “meaningless” every single breath we breath and action we take is filled with eternal meaning and significance.
Living in a world filled with uncertainty can end up making us tentative and cautious. It makes us wonder whether the wisest way to live is to play it safe, but the Teacher tells us that in light of the uncertainty of this world, the wise way forward is to live lives of measured risk because ultimately the risks and investments we make in this life not only bear returns in the here and now but for eternity.
There is one thing that is true for every single one of us, no matter how good or bad a life we live, one day we will die. That is a thought that in our culture we tend to run away from, but it is critical that we acknowledge it because knowing that we will die, says the teacher, ought to shape the way that we live.
One thing is certain living in this world, sooner or later life gets hard. No matter how hard we may try to avoid the troubles of this world, sooner or later those troubles will find us. So how do we respond when adversity hits? How should we live when life gets hard? The Teacher has some wisdom to offer us that we won’t find in the world. First, live in denial about your mortality. Second, embrace correction. Third don’t take the easy way out. Even in the difficult times God is in control and you can trust him.
One of the blessings of Ecclesiastes is the Teachers constant reminder that God has given us good gifts to enjoy under the sun. However, those gifts can easily become gods. When gifts become gods not only will we not find the security and satisfaction we are looking for we also won’t be able to enjoy what God gives us to enjoy. When we search for that which can only be found in our creator in what he was created the end result is misery.
On Easter Sunday we celebrate that Christ didn’t stay dead. It isn’t just the meaningfulness of his death that changes everything for us, it’s the fact that because he lives we too will live! As 2 Corinthians 5:15 says since “he died for all . . . those who live should no longer live for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised.” The fact we serve both a crucified AND resurrected saviour means we can be made new and we have a new purpose in this world, to live out the mission of reconciliation he has passed on to us as his ambassadors.
At the beginning of Chapter 5 the teacher gives instruction about how we ought to worship. The Teacher wants us to know that real worship, meaningful worship, doesn’t start with our mouths but with our ears. More than ritualistic praises, he longs for followers who give Him thoughtful attention and obedience.