Through the Bible – Day 265

₁Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Some fools go there to offer sacrifices, even though they haven't sinned. But it's best just to listen when you go to worship. ₂Don't talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don't talk too much. ₃If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.

₄God doesn't like fools. So don't be slow to keep your promises to God. ₅It's better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. ₆Don't let your mouth get you in trouble! And don't say to the worship leader, “I didn't mean what I said.” God can destroy everything you have worked for, so don't say something that makes God angry.

₇Respect and obey God! Daydreaming leads to a lot of senseless talk.

₈Don't be surprised if the poor of your country are abused, and injustice takes the place of justice. After all, the lower officials must do what the higher ones order them to do. ₉And since the king is the highest official, he benefits most from the taxes paid on the land.

₁₀If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make sense either. ₁₁The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good—others will just spend it for you. ₁₂If you have to work hard for a living, you can rest well at night, even if you don't have much to eat. But if you are rich, you can't even sleep.

₁₃I have seen something terribly unfair. People get rich, but it does them no good. ₁₄Suddenly they lose everything in a bad business deal, then have nothing to leave for their children. ₁₅They came into this world naked, and when they die, they will be just as naked. They can't take anything with them, and they won't have anything to show for all their work. ₁₆That's terribly unfair. They leave the world just as they came into it. They gained nothing from running after the wind. ₁₇Besides all this, they are always gloomy at mealtimes, and they are troubled, sick, and bitter.

₁₈What is the best thing to do in the short life that God has given us? I think we should enjoy eating, drinking, and working hard. This is what God intends us to do. ₁₉Suppose you are very rich and able to enjoy everything you own. Then go ahead and enjoy working hard—this is God's gift to you. ₂₀God will keep you so happy that you won't have time to worry about each day.

₁There is something else terribly unfair, and it troubles everyone on earth. ₂God may give you everything you want—money, property, and wealth. Then God doesn't let you enjoy it, and someone you don't even know gets it all. That's senseless and terribly unfair!

₃You may live a long time and have a hundred children. But a child born dead is better off than you, unless you enjoy life and have a decent burial. _4-5That child will never live to see the sun or to have a name, and it will go straight to the world of darkness. But it will still find more rest than you, ₆even if you live two thousand years and don't enjoy life. As you know, we all end up in the same place.

₇We struggle just to have enough to eat, but we are never satisfied. ₈We may be sensible, yet we are no better off than a fool. And if we are poor, it still doesn't do us any good to try to live right. ₉It's better to enjoy what we have than always to want something else, because that makes no more sense than chasing the wind.

₁₀Everything that happens was decided long ago. We humans know what we are like, and we can't argue with God, because he is too strong for us. ₁₁The more we talk, the less sense we make, so what good does it do to talk? ₁₂Life is short and meaningless, and it fades away like a shadow. Who knows what is best for us? Who knows what will happen after we are gone?

₁₅I have seen everything during this senseless life of mine. I have seen good citizens die for doing the right thing, and I have seen criminals live to a ripe old age. ₁₆So don't destroy yourself by being too good or acting too clever! ₁₇Don't die before your time by being too evil or acting like a fool. ₁₈Keep to the middle of the road. You can do this if you truly respect God.

₁₉Wisdom will make you stronger than the ten most powerful leaders in your city.

₂₀No one in this world always does right.

₂₁Don't listen to everything that everyone says, or you might hear your servant cursing you. ₂₂Haven't you cursed many others?

₂₃I told myself that I would be clever and try to understand all of this, but it was too much for me. ₂₄The truth is beyond us. It's far too deep. ₂₅So I decided to learn everything I could and become wise enough to discover what life is all about. At the same time, I wanted to understand why it's stupid and senseless to be an evil fool.

₂₆Here is what I discovered: a bad woman is worse than death. She is a trap, reaching out with body and soul to catch you. But if you obey God, you can escape. If you don't obey, you are done for. ₂₇With all my wisdom I have tried to find out how everything fits together, ₂₈but so far I have not been able to. I do know there is one good man in a thousand, but never have I found a good woman. ₂₉I did learn one thing: we were completely honest when God created us, but now we have twisted minds.

₂If you promised God that you would be loyal to the king, I advise you to keep that promise. ₃Don't quickly oppose the king or argue when he has already made up his mind. ₄The king's word is law. No one can ask him, “Why are you doing this?” ₅If you obey the king, you will stay out of trouble. So be clever and learn what to do and when to do it. ₆Life is hard, but there is a time and a place for everything, ₇though no one can tell the future. ₈We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death. There is no escape in time of war, and no one can hide behind evil. ₉I noticed all this and thought seriously about what goes on in the world. Why does one person have the power to hurt another?

₁₀I saw the wicked buried with honour, but God's people had to leave the holy city and were forgotten. None of this makes sense. ₁₁When we see criminals commit crime after crime without being punished, it makes us want to start a life of crime. ₁₂They commit hundreds of crimes and live to a ripe old age, in spite of the saying:

₁₄There is something else that doesn't make sense to me. Good citizens are treated as criminals, while criminals are honoured as though they were good citizens. ₁₅So I think we should get as much out of life as we possibly can. There is nothing better than to enjoy our food and drink and to have a good time. Then we can make it through this troublesome life that God has given us here on earth.

₁₆Day and night I went without sleep, trying to understand what goes on in this world. ₁₇I saw everything God does, and I realized that no one can really understand what happens. We may be very wise, but no matter how much we try or how much we claim to know, we cannot understand it all.

₂₁Some of you would like to be under the rule of the Law of Moses. But do you know what the Law says? ₂₂In the Scriptures we learn that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one of them was a slave, while the mother of the other one had always been free. ₂₃The son of the slave woman was born in the usual way. But the son of the free woman was born because of God's promise.

₂₄All this has another meaning as well. Each of the two women stands for one of the agreements God made with his people. Hagar, the slave woman, stands for the agreement that was made at Mount Sinai. Everyone born into her family is a slave. ₂₅Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and for the present city of Jerusalem. She and her children are slaves.

₂₆But our mother is the city of Jerusalem in heaven above, and she isn't a slave. ₂₇The Scriptures say about her,

₂₈My friends, you were born because of this promise, just as Isaac was. ₂₉But the child who was born in the natural way made trouble for the child who was born because of the Spirit. The same thing is happening today. ₃₀The Scriptures say, “Get rid of the slave woman and her son! He won't be given anything. The son of the free woman will receive everything.” ₃₁My friends, we are children of the free woman and not of the slave.

₁Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again.

₂I, Paul, promise you that Christ won't do you any good if you get circumcised. ₃If you do, you must obey the whole Law. ₄And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his wonderful kindness. ₅But the Spirit makes us sure that God will accept us because of our faith in Christ. ₆If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.

₇You were doing so well until someone made you turn from the truth. ₈And that person was certainly not sent by the one who chose you. ₉A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough, ₁₀but you belong to the Lord. That makes me certain that you will do what I say, instead of what someone else tells you to do. Whoever is causing trouble for you will be punished.

₁₁My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised, why am I in so much trouble? The message about the cross would no longer be a problem, if I told people to be circumcised. ₁₂I wish that everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised, but would cut off much more!

₁₃My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. ₁₄All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. ₁₅But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.