September 25

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2025: ECCLESIASTES 12, ACTS 14, PSALM 103:1-14 ECCLESIASTES 12 As Solomon heads toward his conclusion, which he states starts in verse 13, he begins to build a positive case for this final finding—instead of just the stating the futility of life under the son.  He advises young people in verse 1 to develop a biblical worldview while they are young. The implication is if we wait for our later years to come to faith we have wast- ed so much time and the most vibrant years in the pursuit of futility rather than enjoying and serving the creator of the universe while all our vigor, health, and senses are fully present. 

Often folks say they don’t take the Bible literally. Usually, it is because it says something they don’t like. Obviously, the Bible will do this if, as Paul stated to another young man, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). How can the Bible rebuke and correct us if we disregard everything we don’t like? However, we do need to consider the genre of any passage of scripture. Here Solomon uses loads of powerful figurative language to convince young people to follow God now. Let’s explore the meaning of some of his metaphors about old age. These hits close to home for some of us:  

  • “The watchmen of the house tremble” (vs.3)=trembling of the hands.
  • “Strong men are bent over” (vs. 3)=bent posture. 
  • “The grinders stop working because they are few” (vs.3)=loss of original teeth.
  • “Those who look through windows grow dim” (vs. 3)=vision deteriorates.
  • “The doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low” (vs. 4)=loss of hearing. 
  • “One will arise at the sound of the bird” (vs. 4)=sleeping through the night is difficult. 
  • “People are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road” (vs. 5)=irrational fears develop.
  • “The almond tree blossoms” (vs. 5)=hair turns gray.
  • “The grasshopper drags itself along” (vs. 5)=hard to walk without a walker.
  • “The caper berry is ineffective” (vs. 5)=even Viagra doesn’t work.

Solomon concludes that life under the sun is futile because our decaying bodies will return to dust. BUT, he now sees for the first time, and something rarely mentioned in the Old Testament: our spirits will continue to live. He will elaborate on this at the very end.  As the Apostle John wrote at the end of his gospel (John 21:24), Solomon vouches that his purpose has been to teach the truth. He admits that receiving this truth can feel like driven nails but assures his readers that it has been provided by a caring shepherd. He suggests that the conclusion he is about to deliver is the key to life while too much under the sun literature and study can be counterproductive. So finally, here is the big reveal: “THE CONCLUSION, WHEN EVERYTHING HAS BEEN HEARD, IS: FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, BECAUSE THIS APPLIES TO EVERY PERSON. FOR GOD WILL BRING EVERY ACT TO JUDGMENT, EVERYTHING WHICH IS HIDDEN, WHETHER IT IS GOOD OR EVIL.”

READING FOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 CONTINUED: ACTS 14, PSALM 103                                   ACTS 14 Even though Paul said he would turn to the Gentiles, he and Barnabus went first to the synagogue when they arrived in Iconium. That still might have been the best place to speak with folks with some interest in God in this case. Both Jew and Greek were present and believed. But those Jews who did not believe turned the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabus. They fought back spiritually by performing miraculous signs. Can God support our outreach with such signs today? We will never know until we start reaching out. Verse five says the entire city either sided with the Jewish disbelievers or Paul and Barnabus. To avoid violence, Paul and Barnabus moved to Lystra to preach the Gospel. Paul, noticing a lame man who had faith, healed him. This caused the crowd to mistake Paul and Barnabus for Greek gods.                                       

Unlike Herod Agrippa, Paul and Barnabus immediately disclaimed such status and confirmed they were mere men. Then they made an interesting observation about God’s self-disclosure. Although many in Lystra might not have had access to God’s special revelation in the scriptures, they all witnessed God’s general revelation of God’s power and creativity through creation and God’s providence and goodness though providing them with food and joy. Now they were given opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. All was going well until Jewish enemies from Antioch and Iconium arrived to turn the people away from the Gospel, leading to Paul being stoned. (Note, this recalls Stephen’s experience, which Paul witnessed, and fulfilled Jesus’s prophecy: “I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name” Acts 9:16.) 

After being dragged out of the city and left for dead, what did Paul do? He got right up and preached in Derbe before going back to follow up with the new converts in Iconium and Lystra. How do we follow up with new converts, visitors, and those recently baptized? They also shared some essential and hard-won wisdom: “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God” (vs.22). We must not mislead anyone about potential challenges of the Christian life. We have an enemy. Finally, they spent time in each church praying, fasting, and appointing elders. Note the appointment of elders/church leaders is so essential that it prompted fasting. These appointments require divine wisdom. When they got back to their home base in Antioch, they didn’t even mention opposition but reported “all the things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”  AMAZING.

PSALM 103:1-14 All the Psalms are great, but it is refreshing to read one with no desperate pleas for help. Maybe we aren’t all at a calm spot in life now, but let’s go with the Psalmist for a few moments. Thank God without any requests. Save those for later. Think with the Psalmist about all the benefits with which God bombards us. Remember all those sins you committed throughout life? Jesus took our guilt for them.  Ever been sick before in life? It was God who made us better.  Been in tough spots with seemingly no way out? God got us out of those jams.  Experience any good times with friends and family? That’s all courtesy of the Lord. Don’t we feel renewed just contemplating all this? Even that feeling of renewal is a gift. 

God’s attributes were made know to the Old Testament figures who in turn wrote them down for us. Thus, we can learn from them about God’s compassion and patience but also learn that He won’t always be ignored or disobeyed without consequence. We haven’t deserved such kindness, but let’s respond to Him as we would to the perfect father.  A father who knows us completely yet totally loves us.