These are the devotionals that are taken from the book For the Love of God by D.A. Carson. It goes along with the church's bible reading plan
April 19 - Ecclesiastes 6
In Ecclesiastes 5:13–6:12, the Teacher enlarges upon two or three grievous evils “under the sun.” Here we focus on those described in Ecclesiastes 6.
One of life’s immense frustrations involves people who receive from God “wealth, possessions and honor” (Eccl. 6:2) such that they lack nothing their heart desires—yet they lack the ability to enjoy these things. The power to enjoy things (first introduced in Eccl. 5:19) is itself a great gift from God. To have so many other gifts and not this one is immensely troubling. The Teacher does not spell out what exactly has foreclosed on the ability to enjoy all the other gifts. It might be a business failure (Eccl. 5:13–15). But it might be chronic illness, or war, or the evil manipulation of someone more powerful, or even some form of insanity. One might die prematurely, and a “stranger” will enjoy all the things one has accumulated (Eccl. 6:2). Or perhaps a person will die not only unfulfilled and barely noticed, but unlamented (“not receiv[ing] proper burial,” Eccl. 6:3). Qoheleth insists that “a stillborn child is better off than he” (Eccl. 6:3). Such a child “comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded” (6:4). But even if someone should live ten thousand years and yet never enjoy all the prosperity God has graciously given him (Eccl. 6:6), his life is meaningless. And in the end he goes to the same place as the stillborn child (Eccl. 6:6).
The chapter ends with a series of blistering rhetorical questions, all designed to substantiate the thesis that, under the sun, everything is “utterly meaningless” (Eccl. 1:2). We work to eat, and eating gives us the strength to go on working: what is the point? (Eccl. 6:7). But if someone replies that a person may not only work and eat, but become a “wise man” (Eccl. 6:8), is it all that clear that the wise are better off than fools? After all, much wisdom may simply bring much frustration and grief, as Qoheleth has already pointed out (Eccl. 1:18). Moreover, isn’t it better to be satisfied with the material world—with what one can touch and hear and see and feel, with “what the eye sees”—than to pursue “the roving of the appetite,” i.e., all the things hidden from view that we hanker after? For this, too, “is meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Eccl. 6:9).
Is this too wretchedly pessimistic to be realistic? But for those who are “under the sun” (Eccl. 6:12) and nothing more, what else is there? We talk too much and know too little (Eccl. 6:11–12). God help us! We need a deliverer from outside our myopic horizons.
April 20 - Ecclesiastes 7
In Ecclesiastes 7, the book’s form changes, taking on the more typical structure of Wisdom Literature: a string of proverbs. But these proverbs do not, by and large, adopt the stance of the person who holds that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (cf. Prov. 9:10). Rather, Qoheleth maintains his quest, searching out the meaning of things explored “from below.” These “common sense” proverbs are touched with an edge of cynicism that is brutally honest but not leavened with godly faith.
The first six are provocatively gloomy. Nothing in the first line prepares the reader for the rabbit punch of the second: e.g., “the day of death [is] better than the day of birth” (Eccl. 7:1b). This is not the confession of faith as in Philippians 1:21, 23. The most positive thing that could be said about this proverb is that it is bluntly realistic, and all of us would benefit from learning to live in light of the fact that we too must die—as the second part of verse 2 makes explicit: “for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart” (cf. Ps. 90:12). The line of thought to the end of verse 6 is similarly cheerless, but its brutal frankness has cautionary value.
The proverbs in Ecclesiastes 7:7–22 are harder to categorize. There is a kind of practical attempt to make sense of the world, but it is the attempt of the worldly person. Verses 8 and 9 are doubtless good counsel in the life of the believer, but in this context they have a merely pragmatic tinge. “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions” (Eccles. 7:10). This annihilates self-indulgent nostalgia, for the Teacher is unlikely to be impressed by the hazy glow that surrounds the past: he has already shown his hand on this point (see Eccles. 1:9). True, Qoheleth praises wisdom (Eccles. 7:11–12), but with a cool affirmation of its utilitarian value—it has advantages, just as money does. In this mood Qoheleth can fluctuate between pious resignation (Eccles. 7:12) and outrageous cynicism (Eccles. 7:13–18)—what F. Derek Kidner labels “the shabby and self-regarding side of common sense.” So also verse 18 is moral cowardice tarted up with stoicism.
The ultimate failure of such wisdom, which does not begin with the fear of the Lord, is acknowledged in the closing verses of the chapter (Eccles. 7:23–29). The Teacher is determined to be wise, but his brand of wisdom “from below” leaves him unable to glimpse much of the real meaning of life; true wisdom is still beyond him (Eccles. 7:23–25), and his own wisdom is clothed with a cynicism regarding human relationships that says more about him than about the people he describes (Eccles. 7:27–28). Only when he returns to the pattern of Creation and Fall (Eccles. 7:29) does he begin to approach a more stable answer.
April 21 - 2 Timothy 4
Few passages have proved more popular at evangelical ordination services than, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2).
We reflect, first, on the charge itself. It may be broken down into four components. (a) The focus of the charge: “Preach the Word.” This is central to all gospel ministry—the heraldic declaration of the content of God’s gracious self-revelation. (b) The urgency of the charge: “be prepared in season and out of season.” It is one thing to be prepared for the stated meetings, the ordinary scheduled obligations to speak, to preach; it is another to be ready to declare the whole counsel of God at the drop of a hat. Paul demands both kinds of readiness. (c) The scope of the charge: “correct, rebuke and encourage.” Preaching the Word means more than the mere conveying of information. There is information, of course, but it is so shaped and applied that it functions in one or more of these transforming ways. Thus the minister of the Gospel is necessarily a spiritual diagnostician, discerning the ailment and knowing what remedies to apply. Pity the minister of the Word who applies encouragement when rebuke is called for, or the reverse. (d) The manner of fulfilling the charge: “with great patience and careful instruction.” Paul’s view of the ministry demands a focus on the long haul, on personal patience, on great care with the substance of what is preached. This is not simply a job to be done, a job by which to support yourself and your family. This demands strong Christian character traits and a mind devoted to thinking through and implementing all that is embraced by “careful instruction.”
In the second place, we observe some of the themes surrounding this charge. (a) This charge to preach the Word Paul solemnly delivers in the name and presence of God and in the light of Christ’s return to judge the living and the dead and to consummate his kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1). It is difficult to imagine a weightier introduction. (b) Paul delivers this charge in the expectation that many “will not put up with sound doctrine,” but will prefer teachers who say what they want to hear. There are more “itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3) within evangelicalism than we would like to admit. The proper response is to “keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). (c) Paul’s charge is uttered in a context that insists on how important godly mentors are (2 Tim. 3:10–11), how bad the world can be (2 Tim. 3:12–13), and how unshakable the Scriptures are that must be preached (2 Tim. 3:15–16).
April 22 - Ecclesiastes 9
The last three chapters of Ecclesiastes bring together a reflective parenthesis (chap. 10) and a positive conclusion (chaps. 11–12). First, however, Ecclesiastes 9 strips us of any final illusions if our vantage point is “under the sun” (Eccl. 9:3).
The Teacher has come to the conclusion that “the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands” (Eccl. 9:1). But what kind of a God is he, when you look at things only “from below,” from “under the sun”? Considering all the morally ambiguous things that happen in this world, does God love us or does he hate us (Eccl. 9:1)? Does he accept us or does he reject us? The world overflows with both beauty and ugliness, with warm intimacy and cruel terror. How can those who think only from below sort this out?
The Teacher lays out three vicissitudes that make certainty impossible for such people—yet he sets out the case as far as they can take it:
(1) We all face death (Eccl. 9:2–10). The case is put most baldly in Ecclesiastes 9:2–3: the just and the unjust, good people and sinners, face the same end. Qoheleth himself protests that this is not right; this is an evil that happens under the sun (Eccl. 9:3). He is not yet ready to provide any answer. But even from this perspective, there is a robust common sense conclusion to be pursued: even though life here may be hard and ambiguous, most of us concur that it is better than death (Eccl. 9:4–6). From this “under the sun” vantage point, verses 7–10 tell us how we should attack life, knowing that life is better than death. One hears the tension in a verse like Ecclesiastes 9:9: “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.” The problems of coherence, self-fulfillment, and meaning have not been resolved; but pragmatic conclusions, even by the worldly person who lives exclusively “under the sun,” quickly pile up and drive us toward robust and even grateful living—if the only alternative is a meaningless death.
(2) We all face time and chance (Eccl. 9:11–12). Apart from a God who tells us more, there is such a randomness to life that thoughtful human beings must not count on too much.
(3) We all face the fickle folly of other human beings (Eccl. 9:13–18). Even when genuine wisdom is offered, the masses are more likely to be impressed by wealth than by wisdom.
Qoheleth is frank and honest. But we cry for God’s perspective.
April 23 - Titus 2
In 2 Timothy 4 Paul exhorts his reader to preach sound doctrine (see meditation for April 21); here in Titus 2 he exhorts them to teach “what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).
The ensuing verses show us what this means. By what is “in accord” with sound doctrine Paul means how to live in accordance with sound doctrine. From the apostle’s perspective, Christian leaders must teach not only what to think but how to live in the light of what to think.
Thus older men are to be taught “to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance” (Titus 2:2). That means more than simply telling them those words from time to time. Each of these points needs to be applied and illustrated and pressed home. Similarly, in this passage there are practical things to be taught to older women (Titus 2:3), younger women (Titus 2:4–5), young men (Titus 2:6–8), and slaves (Titus 2:9–10).
Yet these things are not separate education tracks for different groups of people or something to be added to the Gospel. Far from it: what is being laid on these diverse groups is merely the outworking of the Gospel. The next paragraph makes this clear (I have italicized some of the words more traditionally associated with salvation): “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11–14).
The logic is transparent enough. If Jesus gave himself to redeem us from sin and to live godly lives in this present evil age, we must devote ourselves to determining what godly lives look like, and to living such lives. Such lives involve many common elements for all groups of Christians, but the practicalities of life mean that there are certain temptations that beset certain groups—old men, young men, and so forth. Some months before he died, my aged father wrote in his diary, “Oh God, save me from the sins of old men”—as I at the moment need to be saved from the sins of middle-aged men.
So we must teach and live what is in accord with sound doctrine. “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you” (Titus 2:15).
April 24 - Titus 3
“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him” (Titus 3:10). It is worth reflecting a little on what this does and does not mean, and how it fits into broader streams of biblical theology.
First, the passage is written to a church leader responsible for maintaining church discipline. It does not sanction a personal vendetta: Christian X decides that Christian Y is rather divisive and therefore decides to have nothing further to do with Y. (Indeed, that itself would exemplify a divisive spirit!) This is written to a Christian who has responsibility for leading and disciplining the church.
Second, the passage focuses on discipline at the local level; it is not introducing infinitely broad approval of all ecumenical thrusts—a kind of condemnation of anyone who does not approve the latest inter-church project or confession. Of course, there may be implications for the broader work of the Gospel, but we must above all grasp what force the text has in its own context.
Third, the immediate evidence of a divisive spirit, in this context, is an unrepentant argumentativeness about peripherals: Christians must “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless” (Titus 3:9). Undoubtedly there is some common understanding between Paul and Titus on these matters that is a little difficult to probe. Paul is certainly not saying, for instance, that every question about the Law is a waste of time; he himself elsewhere discusses the subject. But controversies calculated to divide Christians without producing any gospel strength or moral improvement are “unprofitable and useless.” One begins to suspect that those who are stirring up such strife have invested so much of their own egos in their eccentric positions that they can neither be corrected nor back down.
Fourth, if “have nothing to do with him” entails excommunication from the local church (as I think it does), we should reflect on the categories of sin that call forth this sanction in the New Testament. One is major doctrinal aberration, especially among teachers; a second is major moral defection, such as the case described in 1 Corinthians 5; and the third is here—a loveless, untransformed stance that refuses to see the centrality and glory of the Gospel but proves so divisive, despite repeated warnings, that the only solution is to cut the canker from the body. These three categories are the inverse of the patterns of life set out as the three primary tests of genuine Christianity in 1 John: doctrinal probity, moral conformity, and love for the brothers and sisters.
April 25 - Ecclesiastes 12
Although the teacher never arrives at the fullness of perspective that characterizes the writers of the new covenant Scriptures, his skepticism now shrinks as he encourages some fundamental stances that depend absolutely on a just God who knows the end from the beginning, even if we do not. In this vein, he has already told his readers two things: (a) refuse to live just for today; boldly invest in the future, remembering that this world is God’s (Eccl. 11:1–6); (b) live gratefully and joyfully with the good gifts you have received (Eccl. 11:7–10).
In Ecclesiastes 12, Qoheleth offers one final exhortation: be godly, beginning in your youth; for whether or not we find meaning “from below,” we may be certain that God brings everything to judgment. “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (Eccl. 12:1), the Teacher writes. To “remember” God is not simply to recall the bare fact of his existence, but to abandon all illusions of independence and self-sufficiency as God regains his rightful centrality in our lives. God made everything, he alone sees the entire pattern, he is the One who has put eternity into our hearts (Eccl. 3:11). He is the One who made everything good, and we are the ones who have done so much damage with our schemes (Eccl. 7:29).
So remember him, Qoheleth exhorts us, “before the days of trouble come” (Eccl. 12:1)—and then in graphic terms he spells out what old age looks like. In advanced years we may no longer find pleasure in our days (Eccl. 12:1). We reach the winter of life (Eccl. 12:2); we become like an old, decaying house, falling apart, with only a few relics left (Eccl. 12:3). Our hearing fades (Eccl. 12:4b); instead of robust walking or skipping over rocks, we are afraid of heights and fearful of being jostled in the streets. The almond tree has a dark head in winter and turns white with spring blossoms, just as our hair turns white (Eccl. 12:5). Suffering from arthritis and worn-out joints, we hobble along like an ungainly grasshopper (Eccl. 12:5). The silver cord is probably the spinal cord, the golden bowl the skull; the pitcher is the heart: everything decays, and we return to the dust from which we sprang—as God himself, this side of the curse, has said we would (Gen. 3:19). It is far from clear that by “our eternal home” (Eccl. 12:5) and “the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7) Qoheleth means everything that New Testament writers mean by such expressions, yet even he is now quite certain that “God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing” (Eccl. 12:14). So, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13).
April 26 - Song of Songs 1
Although (or perhaps because) the Song of Songs is one of the most difficult of biblical books, it has been extraordinarily popular with both Jews and Christians. It has called forth a large number of commentaries and sermons. Space here is far too limited for a discussion, but perhaps I should record my tentative conclusions on four matters before reflecting on Song 1.
(1) Although some have denied that this book is about sexual love in any primary sense, but is an allegory of either the love between Yahweh and Israel or between Christ and the church, I doubt it. So many details of Song of Songs are so explicitly human and sexual (all the more so when the ancient Semitic symbolism is appreciated) that to argue that the meaning of the text is allegorical is unlikely. Moreover, there are many parallels in other love poetry in ancient near eastern Wisdom Literature, so that one must conclude the genre was well known.
(2) On the other hand, after fully acknowledging the human and sexual love that this book celebrates—for God has made us human and sexual, and Wisdom Literature often focuses on the glory of the created order—we may not be far off the mark if we also see, within the canonical framework, a typological connection with God and Israel, with Christ and the church. For that is a theme repeatedly picked up in both Testaments (see, for instance, Hosea, or Rev. 21).
(3) Some have seen three principal figures in this book: the woman, her shepherd-lover, and the lascivious king who is trying to add the woman to his harem. On balance, it seems better to see only two primary parties, the woman and the king-shepherd-lover. The “daughters of Jerusalem” who keep reappearing (e.g., Song 1:5) are the woman’s female companions.
(4) Although it is reasonably clear that consummation takes place in Song 3:6–5:1, complete with wedding song, this does not mean there are no sexual overtones earlier in the book. Yet far from endorsing promiscuity (as a few commentators have suggested), the book is committed to exclusive, monogamous love. What is less clear is that the thought is sequential, merely linear.
The “beloved,” the woman, often takes the initiative (Song 1:2ff.). Yet she is unsure of herself. Her long exposure to the sun, apparently imposed on her by brothers (Is her father dead?) who insist that she tend the vines, means she is a sun-darkened country lass (Song 1:5–7). Her friends reassure her (Song 1:8)—as does her lover (Song 1:9–11). After her sensual soliloquy (Song 1:12–14), a series of bantering exchanges between the beloved and her lover bring the section to a close (Song 1:15–2:2). One remembers Proverbs 30:19.
April 27 - Hebrews 2
Occasionally, we have overlooked the theological significance of Jesus’ humanity. That is one of the important themes of Hebrews 2.
Both the one who makes human beings holy—Jesus himself—and the human beings who are made holy are of the same family. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (Heb. 2:11). Since we have flesh and blood, he shared in our humanity (Heb. 2:14)—which of course implies that this was something not intrinsically his, but something he had to take on (the eternal Word “became flesh,” John 1:14). He did this so that by his death (something he could never have experienced if he had not donned flesh and blood) “he might destroy him who holds the power of death … and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14, 15). Jesus did not don the nature of angels (Heb. 2:16—which shows that Jesus was not a merely angelic being). Rather, he became a human being, a human being with a genuine lineage—the lineage of Abraham (Heb. 2:16). If he was to serve as mediator between God and human beings, “he had to be made like his brothers in every way” (Heb. 2:17—which presupposes that he already was like God in every way). So it was entirely “fitting,” then, that God should make the author of our salvation “perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10). The idea is not that Jesus gains through suffering a moral perfection he otherwise would have lacked, but that the perfection of his identification with us depended on participating in our common currency, which is suffering.
The author of Hebrews has already hinted at the problem that Jesus came to resolve. Originally human beings were made to be God’s vice-regents over the entire creation, a point not only made by the creation accounts (Gen. 1–2) but reiterated in the superb poetry of Psalm 8 (cited in Heb. 2:6–8). But as the author of Hebrews points out, we do not yet see everything under our feet, as Genesis 1 and Psalm 8 envisage. Of course not: the Fall has intervened, and death takes its unvarying toll. But what do we see? “[W]e see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). The point is not exactly that Jesus is the “man” envisaged in Psalm 8, as if he were being prophetically described, but that by his mission, by his identification with us, and by his death, he becomes the first human being to be crowned with such glory and honor, as he brings many sons—a new humanity—to glory.
April 19 - Ecclesiastes 6
In Ecclesiastes 5:13–6:12, the Teacher enlarges upon two or three grievous evils “under the sun.” Here we focus on those described in Ecclesiastes 6.
One of life’s immense frustrations involves people who receive from God “wealth, possessions and honor” (Eccl. 6:2) such that they lack nothing their heart desires—yet they lack the ability to enjoy these things. The power to enjoy things (first introduced in Eccl. 5:19) is itself a great gift from God. To have so many other gifts and not this one is immensely troubling. The Teacher does not spell out what exactly has foreclosed on the ability to enjoy all the other gifts. It might be a business failure (Eccl. 5:13–15). But it might be chronic illness, or war, or the evil manipulation of someone more powerful, or even some form of insanity. One might die prematurely, and a “stranger” will enjoy all the things one has accumulated (Eccl. 6:2). Or perhaps a person will die not only unfulfilled and barely noticed, but unlamented (“not receiv[ing] proper burial,” Eccl. 6:3). Qoheleth insists that “a stillborn child is better off than he” (Eccl. 6:3). Such a child “comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded” (6:4). But even if someone should live ten thousand years and yet never enjoy all the prosperity God has graciously given him (Eccl. 6:6), his life is meaningless. And in the end he goes to the same place as the stillborn child (Eccl. 6:6).
The chapter ends with a series of blistering rhetorical questions, all designed to substantiate the thesis that, under the sun, everything is “utterly meaningless” (Eccl. 1:2). We work to eat, and eating gives us the strength to go on working: what is the point? (Eccl. 6:7). But if someone replies that a person may not only work and eat, but become a “wise man” (Eccl. 6:8), is it all that clear that the wise are better off than fools? After all, much wisdom may simply bring much frustration and grief, as Qoheleth has already pointed out (Eccl. 1:18). Moreover, isn’t it better to be satisfied with the material world—with what one can touch and hear and see and feel, with “what the eye sees”—than to pursue “the roving of the appetite,” i.e., all the things hidden from view that we hanker after? For this, too, “is meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Eccl. 6:9).
Is this too wretchedly pessimistic to be realistic? But for those who are “under the sun” (Eccl. 6:12) and nothing more, what else is there? We talk too much and know too little (Eccl. 6:11–12). God help us! We need a deliverer from outside our myopic horizons.
April 20 - Ecclesiastes 7
In Ecclesiastes 7, the book’s form changes, taking on the more typical structure of Wisdom Literature: a string of proverbs. But these proverbs do not, by and large, adopt the stance of the person who holds that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (cf. Prov. 9:10). Rather, Qoheleth maintains his quest, searching out the meaning of things explored “from below.” These “common sense” proverbs are touched with an edge of cynicism that is brutally honest but not leavened with godly faith.
The first six are provocatively gloomy. Nothing in the first line prepares the reader for the rabbit punch of the second: e.g., “the day of death [is] better than the day of birth” (Eccl. 7:1b). This is not the confession of faith as in Philippians 1:21, 23. The most positive thing that could be said about this proverb is that it is bluntly realistic, and all of us would benefit from learning to live in light of the fact that we too must die—as the second part of verse 2 makes explicit: “for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart” (cf. Ps. 90:12). The line of thought to the end of verse 6 is similarly cheerless, but its brutal frankness has cautionary value.
The proverbs in Ecclesiastes 7:7–22 are harder to categorize. There is a kind of practical attempt to make sense of the world, but it is the attempt of the worldly person. Verses 8 and 9 are doubtless good counsel in the life of the believer, but in this context they have a merely pragmatic tinge. “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions” (Eccles. 7:10). This annihilates self-indulgent nostalgia, for the Teacher is unlikely to be impressed by the hazy glow that surrounds the past: he has already shown his hand on this point (see Eccles. 1:9). True, Qoheleth praises wisdom (Eccles. 7:11–12), but with a cool affirmation of its utilitarian value—it has advantages, just as money does. In this mood Qoheleth can fluctuate between pious resignation (Eccles. 7:12) and outrageous cynicism (Eccles. 7:13–18)—what F. Derek Kidner labels “the shabby and self-regarding side of common sense.” So also verse 18 is moral cowardice tarted up with stoicism.
The ultimate failure of such wisdom, which does not begin with the fear of the Lord, is acknowledged in the closing verses of the chapter (Eccles. 7:23–29). The Teacher is determined to be wise, but his brand of wisdom “from below” leaves him unable to glimpse much of the real meaning of life; true wisdom is still beyond him (Eccles. 7:23–25), and his own wisdom is clothed with a cynicism regarding human relationships that says more about him than about the people he describes (Eccles. 7:27–28). Only when he returns to the pattern of Creation and Fall (Eccles. 7:29) does he begin to approach a more stable answer.
April 21 - 2 Timothy 4
Few passages have proved more popular at evangelical ordination services than, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2).
We reflect, first, on the charge itself. It may be broken down into four components. (a) The focus of the charge: “Preach the Word.” This is central to all gospel ministry—the heraldic declaration of the content of God’s gracious self-revelation. (b) The urgency of the charge: “be prepared in season and out of season.” It is one thing to be prepared for the stated meetings, the ordinary scheduled obligations to speak, to preach; it is another to be ready to declare the whole counsel of God at the drop of a hat. Paul demands both kinds of readiness. (c) The scope of the charge: “correct, rebuke and encourage.” Preaching the Word means more than the mere conveying of information. There is information, of course, but it is so shaped and applied that it functions in one or more of these transforming ways. Thus the minister of the Gospel is necessarily a spiritual diagnostician, discerning the ailment and knowing what remedies to apply. Pity the minister of the Word who applies encouragement when rebuke is called for, or the reverse. (d) The manner of fulfilling the charge: “with great patience and careful instruction.” Paul’s view of the ministry demands a focus on the long haul, on personal patience, on great care with the substance of what is preached. This is not simply a job to be done, a job by which to support yourself and your family. This demands strong Christian character traits and a mind devoted to thinking through and implementing all that is embraced by “careful instruction.”
In the second place, we observe some of the themes surrounding this charge. (a) This charge to preach the Word Paul solemnly delivers in the name and presence of God and in the light of Christ’s return to judge the living and the dead and to consummate his kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1). It is difficult to imagine a weightier introduction. (b) Paul delivers this charge in the expectation that many “will not put up with sound doctrine,” but will prefer teachers who say what they want to hear. There are more “itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3) within evangelicalism than we would like to admit. The proper response is to “keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). (c) Paul’s charge is uttered in a context that insists on how important godly mentors are (2 Tim. 3:10–11), how bad the world can be (2 Tim. 3:12–13), and how unshakable the Scriptures are that must be preached (2 Tim. 3:15–16).
April 22 - Ecclesiastes 9
The last three chapters of Ecclesiastes bring together a reflective parenthesis (chap. 10) and a positive conclusion (chaps. 11–12). First, however, Ecclesiastes 9 strips us of any final illusions if our vantage point is “under the sun” (Eccl. 9:3).
The Teacher has come to the conclusion that “the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands” (Eccl. 9:1). But what kind of a God is he, when you look at things only “from below,” from “under the sun”? Considering all the morally ambiguous things that happen in this world, does God love us or does he hate us (Eccl. 9:1)? Does he accept us or does he reject us? The world overflows with both beauty and ugliness, with warm intimacy and cruel terror. How can those who think only from below sort this out?
The Teacher lays out three vicissitudes that make certainty impossible for such people—yet he sets out the case as far as they can take it:
(1) We all face death (Eccl. 9:2–10). The case is put most baldly in Ecclesiastes 9:2–3: the just and the unjust, good people and sinners, face the same end. Qoheleth himself protests that this is not right; this is an evil that happens under the sun (Eccl. 9:3). He is not yet ready to provide any answer. But even from this perspective, there is a robust common sense conclusion to be pursued: even though life here may be hard and ambiguous, most of us concur that it is better than death (Eccl. 9:4–6). From this “under the sun” vantage point, verses 7–10 tell us how we should attack life, knowing that life is better than death. One hears the tension in a verse like Ecclesiastes 9:9: “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.” The problems of coherence, self-fulfillment, and meaning have not been resolved; but pragmatic conclusions, even by the worldly person who lives exclusively “under the sun,” quickly pile up and drive us toward robust and even grateful living—if the only alternative is a meaningless death.
(2) We all face time and chance (Eccl. 9:11–12). Apart from a God who tells us more, there is such a randomness to life that thoughtful human beings must not count on too much.
(3) We all face the fickle folly of other human beings (Eccl. 9:13–18). Even when genuine wisdom is offered, the masses are more likely to be impressed by wealth than by wisdom.
Qoheleth is frank and honest. But we cry for God’s perspective.
April 23 - Titus 2
In 2 Timothy 4 Paul exhorts his reader to preach sound doctrine (see meditation for April 21); here in Titus 2 he exhorts them to teach “what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).
The ensuing verses show us what this means. By what is “in accord” with sound doctrine Paul means how to live in accordance with sound doctrine. From the apostle’s perspective, Christian leaders must teach not only what to think but how to live in the light of what to think.
Thus older men are to be taught “to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance” (Titus 2:2). That means more than simply telling them those words from time to time. Each of these points needs to be applied and illustrated and pressed home. Similarly, in this passage there are practical things to be taught to older women (Titus 2:3), younger women (Titus 2:4–5), young men (Titus 2:6–8), and slaves (Titus 2:9–10).
Yet these things are not separate education tracks for different groups of people or something to be added to the Gospel. Far from it: what is being laid on these diverse groups is merely the outworking of the Gospel. The next paragraph makes this clear (I have italicized some of the words more traditionally associated with salvation): “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11–14).
The logic is transparent enough. If Jesus gave himself to redeem us from sin and to live godly lives in this present evil age, we must devote ourselves to determining what godly lives look like, and to living such lives. Such lives involve many common elements for all groups of Christians, but the practicalities of life mean that there are certain temptations that beset certain groups—old men, young men, and so forth. Some months before he died, my aged father wrote in his diary, “Oh God, save me from the sins of old men”—as I at the moment need to be saved from the sins of middle-aged men.
So we must teach and live what is in accord with sound doctrine. “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you” (Titus 2:15).
April 24 - Titus 3
“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him” (Titus 3:10). It is worth reflecting a little on what this does and does not mean, and how it fits into broader streams of biblical theology.
First, the passage is written to a church leader responsible for maintaining church discipline. It does not sanction a personal vendetta: Christian X decides that Christian Y is rather divisive and therefore decides to have nothing further to do with Y. (Indeed, that itself would exemplify a divisive spirit!) This is written to a Christian who has responsibility for leading and disciplining the church.
Second, the passage focuses on discipline at the local level; it is not introducing infinitely broad approval of all ecumenical thrusts—a kind of condemnation of anyone who does not approve the latest inter-church project or confession. Of course, there may be implications for the broader work of the Gospel, but we must above all grasp what force the text has in its own context.
Third, the immediate evidence of a divisive spirit, in this context, is an unrepentant argumentativeness about peripherals: Christians must “avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless” (Titus 3:9). Undoubtedly there is some common understanding between Paul and Titus on these matters that is a little difficult to probe. Paul is certainly not saying, for instance, that every question about the Law is a waste of time; he himself elsewhere discusses the subject. But controversies calculated to divide Christians without producing any gospel strength or moral improvement are “unprofitable and useless.” One begins to suspect that those who are stirring up such strife have invested so much of their own egos in their eccentric positions that they can neither be corrected nor back down.
Fourth, if “have nothing to do with him” entails excommunication from the local church (as I think it does), we should reflect on the categories of sin that call forth this sanction in the New Testament. One is major doctrinal aberration, especially among teachers; a second is major moral defection, such as the case described in 1 Corinthians 5; and the third is here—a loveless, untransformed stance that refuses to see the centrality and glory of the Gospel but proves so divisive, despite repeated warnings, that the only solution is to cut the canker from the body. These three categories are the inverse of the patterns of life set out as the three primary tests of genuine Christianity in 1 John: doctrinal probity, moral conformity, and love for the brothers and sisters.
April 25 - Ecclesiastes 12
Although the teacher never arrives at the fullness of perspective that characterizes the writers of the new covenant Scriptures, his skepticism now shrinks as he encourages some fundamental stances that depend absolutely on a just God who knows the end from the beginning, even if we do not. In this vein, he has already told his readers two things: (a) refuse to live just for today; boldly invest in the future, remembering that this world is God’s (Eccl. 11:1–6); (b) live gratefully and joyfully with the good gifts you have received (Eccl. 11:7–10).
In Ecclesiastes 12, Qoheleth offers one final exhortation: be godly, beginning in your youth; for whether or not we find meaning “from below,” we may be certain that God brings everything to judgment. “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (Eccl. 12:1), the Teacher writes. To “remember” God is not simply to recall the bare fact of his existence, but to abandon all illusions of independence and self-sufficiency as God regains his rightful centrality in our lives. God made everything, he alone sees the entire pattern, he is the One who has put eternity into our hearts (Eccl. 3:11). He is the One who made everything good, and we are the ones who have done so much damage with our schemes (Eccl. 7:29).
So remember him, Qoheleth exhorts us, “before the days of trouble come” (Eccl. 12:1)—and then in graphic terms he spells out what old age looks like. In advanced years we may no longer find pleasure in our days (Eccl. 12:1). We reach the winter of life (Eccl. 12:2); we become like an old, decaying house, falling apart, with only a few relics left (Eccl. 12:3). Our hearing fades (Eccl. 12:4b); instead of robust walking or skipping over rocks, we are afraid of heights and fearful of being jostled in the streets. The almond tree has a dark head in winter and turns white with spring blossoms, just as our hair turns white (Eccl. 12:5). Suffering from arthritis and worn-out joints, we hobble along like an ungainly grasshopper (Eccl. 12:5). The silver cord is probably the spinal cord, the golden bowl the skull; the pitcher is the heart: everything decays, and we return to the dust from which we sprang—as God himself, this side of the curse, has said we would (Gen. 3:19). It is far from clear that by “our eternal home” (Eccl. 12:5) and “the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7) Qoheleth means everything that New Testament writers mean by such expressions, yet even he is now quite certain that “God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing” (Eccl. 12:14). So, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13).
April 26 - Song of Songs 1
Although (or perhaps because) the Song of Songs is one of the most difficult of biblical books, it has been extraordinarily popular with both Jews and Christians. It has called forth a large number of commentaries and sermons. Space here is far too limited for a discussion, but perhaps I should record my tentative conclusions on four matters before reflecting on Song 1.
(1) Although some have denied that this book is about sexual love in any primary sense, but is an allegory of either the love between Yahweh and Israel or between Christ and the church, I doubt it. So many details of Song of Songs are so explicitly human and sexual (all the more so when the ancient Semitic symbolism is appreciated) that to argue that the meaning of the text is allegorical is unlikely. Moreover, there are many parallels in other love poetry in ancient near eastern Wisdom Literature, so that one must conclude the genre was well known.
(2) On the other hand, after fully acknowledging the human and sexual love that this book celebrates—for God has made us human and sexual, and Wisdom Literature often focuses on the glory of the created order—we may not be far off the mark if we also see, within the canonical framework, a typological connection with God and Israel, with Christ and the church. For that is a theme repeatedly picked up in both Testaments (see, for instance, Hosea, or Rev. 21).
(3) Some have seen three principal figures in this book: the woman, her shepherd-lover, and the lascivious king who is trying to add the woman to his harem. On balance, it seems better to see only two primary parties, the woman and the king-shepherd-lover. The “daughters of Jerusalem” who keep reappearing (e.g., Song 1:5) are the woman’s female companions.
(4) Although it is reasonably clear that consummation takes place in Song 3:6–5:1, complete with wedding song, this does not mean there are no sexual overtones earlier in the book. Yet far from endorsing promiscuity (as a few commentators have suggested), the book is committed to exclusive, monogamous love. What is less clear is that the thought is sequential, merely linear.
The “beloved,” the woman, often takes the initiative (Song 1:2ff.). Yet she is unsure of herself. Her long exposure to the sun, apparently imposed on her by brothers (Is her father dead?) who insist that she tend the vines, means she is a sun-darkened country lass (Song 1:5–7). Her friends reassure her (Song 1:8)—as does her lover (Song 1:9–11). After her sensual soliloquy (Song 1:12–14), a series of bantering exchanges between the beloved and her lover bring the section to a close (Song 1:15–2:2). One remembers Proverbs 30:19.
April 27 - Hebrews 2
Occasionally, we have overlooked the theological significance of Jesus’ humanity. That is one of the important themes of Hebrews 2.
Both the one who makes human beings holy—Jesus himself—and the human beings who are made holy are of the same family. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (Heb. 2:11). Since we have flesh and blood, he shared in our humanity (Heb. 2:14)—which of course implies that this was something not intrinsically his, but something he had to take on (the eternal Word “became flesh,” John 1:14). He did this so that by his death (something he could never have experienced if he had not donned flesh and blood) “he might destroy him who holds the power of death … and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14, 15). Jesus did not don the nature of angels (Heb. 2:16—which shows that Jesus was not a merely angelic being). Rather, he became a human being, a human being with a genuine lineage—the lineage of Abraham (Heb. 2:16). If he was to serve as mediator between God and human beings, “he had to be made like his brothers in every way” (Heb. 2:17—which presupposes that he already was like God in every way). So it was entirely “fitting,” then, that God should make the author of our salvation “perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10). The idea is not that Jesus gains through suffering a moral perfection he otherwise would have lacked, but that the perfection of his identification with us depended on participating in our common currency, which is suffering.
The author of Hebrews has already hinted at the problem that Jesus came to resolve. Originally human beings were made to be God’s vice-regents over the entire creation, a point not only made by the creation accounts (Gen. 1–2) but reiterated in the superb poetry of Psalm 8 (cited in Heb. 2:6–8). But as the author of Hebrews points out, we do not yet see everything under our feet, as Genesis 1 and Psalm 8 envisage. Of course not: the Fall has intervened, and death takes its unvarying toll. But what do we see? “[W]e see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). The point is not exactly that Jesus is the “man” envisaged in Psalm 8, as if he were being prophetically described, but that by his mission, by his identification with us, and by his death, he becomes the first human being to be crowned with such glory and honor, as he brings many sons—a new humanity—to glory.