Tag Archives: wisdom

There is Only One Certainty

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12 Our most excellent adventure now comes to the Teacher’s second conclusion: There is only one thing in this life that is certain. That certainty is simply this: It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do in … Continue reading →

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More Submission

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 8:9-17 These verses seem to go on in a familiar refrain; everything is meaningless. Things happen under the sun that shouldn’t, people conjure up their schemes, and people die; what’s the point? The Teacher has been saying these things … Continue reading →

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Submission: Everyone’s Favorite Thing

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 8:1-8 Our adventure moves into chapter 8 and brings us to what no doubt will be a favorite subject for all of us: submission and obedience. As you can see, verse 1 is transitional; the meat begins to be … Continue reading →

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Wisdom Brings Restraint

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Don Merritt

“Restraint” is everyone’s favorite concept, but it is a quality of the wise. Even outside of relationship with God, a wise person learns self restraint. To be sure, a person doesn’t even need to be all that wise to understand … Continue reading →

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Moderation is Wise

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Don Merritt

In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness. Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and … Continue reading →

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Patience is Better Than Pride

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 7:8-14 Our most excellent adventure now moves into the second of the sections in chapter seven: Patience. Yes dear reader, I am going over this one carefully myself, since patience is really not my strongest suit! The topic is … Continue reading →

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Maybe We Should be Serious

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 7:1-7 Chapter 7 is a chapter of wisdom, and reads much like the Proverbs. It covers three subjects, the first of which is being serious here in vv. 1-7. This section, in turn, is divided into three subsections. The … Continue reading →

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Wealth, an Insatiable Desire… and Alfred Hitchcock

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 6 Some time back I watched an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1955; oh what a great show! This episode was a story about a man who owned and operated a shop that sold antiquities, and opens with … Continue reading →

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Wealth: Bad News, Good News

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 This is an interesting section; the Teacher gets into some reasons why wealth is meaningless, and then there’s a little twist at the end. Verses 10-11 speak of the meaningless nature of the love of money; what’s the … Continue reading →

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Worship, Vanity and the Fool’s Sacrifice

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 5:1-9 Up to this point in our adventure, the Teacher hasn’t spoken about worship, at least not directly, but that changes in this passage; oh what an excellent adventure we are on; old Solomon doesn’t seem to miss anything! … Continue reading →

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