The Lasting Commands of God: Today’s Quiet Time for Christians

The Lasting Commands of God: Today’s Quiet Time for Christians: Today’s QT – Dec 19, 2022 (MON)

The Lasting Commands of God

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

📙 Scripture (NIV)

¹ A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
² It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.
³ Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
⁵ It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶ Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.
⁷ Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
⁸ The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
⁹ Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
¹⁰ Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.
¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
¹² Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.
¹³ Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
¹⁴ When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.

📝 Reflection

Things to Come (7:1–6)
The Teacher draws attention to the weightier things that lie in the future in contrast to immediate things that come and go. Fine perfume brings sweet fragrance for a little while, but a good reputation will last far longer. Likewise, the inevitability of death leads one to consider the brevity of life. From this perspective, a wise rebuke pays dividends while the approval of fools proves worthless. As Christians, we are not called to pursue the transient things of this world but the eternal glory that is to come. We now see this glory dimly, but we are waiting to see the full picture. What awaits us is not fleeting joy but pleasures forevermore, along with the complete eradication of sin and the full ratification of God’s rule.

When have you been thankful for the rebuke of a wise person? What might help you to redirect your heart’s attention from transient things to the eternal?

Heavenly Perspective (7:7–14)
A set of warnings is given to those who desire to live according to the ways of the Lord: injustice and the love of money distort one’s thinking; harboring anger and an impatient spirit will prevent you from appreciating the glory to come; and being trapped in the past will prevent you from appreciating the present gifts of God. The world embraces many of the things Scripture warns us to avoid, and they do so in an effort to find happiness and success. Although God’s commands are at odds with the world, we can trust them because they stem from His wisdom and are for the benefit and joy of His people. His commands protect and guide us as we live in this broken world.

In what areas of your life are you tempted to compromise with God’s commands? Take time to remember how God’s wisdom has delivered you in the past.

🙏 Prayer

Lord, help me not to be lured into the empty pursuits of this world but to elevate my gaze toward You. May I run after the things that are yet to come, glorious things that You have promised for Your children. In Jesus’ name, amen.