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VANITY UPON VANITY

THE DAILY FOUNTAIN DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE OF THE CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)

DATE: MONDAY, 6TH NOVEMBER, 2023. 

TOPIC: VANITY UPON VANITY

TEXT: ECCLESIASTES 1

1. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2. "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all [is] vanity."
3. What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?
4. [One] generation passes away, and [another] generation comes; But the earth abides forever.
5.  The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose.
6.  The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.
7.  All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea [is] not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.
8.  All things [are] full of labor; Man cannot express [it.] The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9.  That which has been [is] what will be, That which [is] done is what will be done, And [there is] nothing new
under the sun.  
10. Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this [is] new"? It has already been in ancient times before us.
11.  [There is] no remembrance of former [things,] Nor will there be any remembrance of [things] that are to come By [those] who will come after.
12.  I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13.  And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.
14.  I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all [is] vanity and grasping for the wind.
15.  [What is] crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
16.  I communed with my heart, saying, "Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge."
17.  And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
18.  For in much wisdom [is] much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

MESSAGE: 
King Solomon is generally believed to have authored the book of Ecclesiastes. This is also supported by the internal evidence of the book (vv.12-13). The main theme of the book is to present to the readers that nothing is worth living for, nothing is worth dying for. King Solomon enjoyed life to the fullest and had the best of everything, to the point of overflowing. He saw it all and had it all. His baffling conclusion is that what appears attractive and glamorous for which many people labour relentlessly is all vanity (vv. 2, 14-18).
Beloved, while we are supposed to do whatever our hands find to do with all sense of commitment, it is noteworthy that no height of pleasure should be counted good enough as the purpose for our existence. Jesus Christ admonishes that we should not labour for the perishable things in this world (John 6:27). Acquisition of money, attainment of positions and gathering of material possessions should not define our existence because they all are vanity. We must live for God's pleasure and keep preparing for our eternal home (Rev. 4:11). God's wisdom demands that we live each day as though it were the last. Our focus must be to please the Lord in every facet of our lives.

PRAYER: 
Father, give me grace to live for Your pleasure, in Jesus name. Amen.

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