S3E303 – Ecclesiastes 3-4: Two Are Better Than One

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today is Poetry Thursday and we’ll read Ecclesiastes 3-4. I have an on this date in church history for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Two Are Better Than One.” Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Quaritsch Photography on Unsplash Comments on Ecclesiastes 4 These chapters, while not entirely inspiring, seem to be a little less hopeless sounding than the first two, don’t you think?  There’s a lot here to think about, but in our limited time, I’d like to focus for just a moment on chapter four. Halfway through the chapter, Solomon talked about the man who works so hard he has no family, no son or even a brother. And he said that this is a bad and senseless thing. No disagreement there, right? But then he talks about a better alternative. The next four verses explain that two are better than one, and three are even better. Like Solomon, in my older years I have learned that this is true. My dad was very much a loner. A “self made man”. He worked literally seven days a week until he got too old to work. In all my childhood years, until I moved out of the house at the age of 21, he probably took no more than a total of a month off work for a very few short vacations. He did pretty well for himself, financially, though never rich. But for a guy who barely finished the eighth grade, he did well.  When I was a boy, he taught me that friends would always let you down, and that it is better to keep people at arm’s length. Don’t let anyone in. Do things on your own. Don’t ask for help. Figure things out yourself. Be your own man. It wasn’t until many, many years later that I found out just how poor that makes you, even if you have a lot of money. When my dad died, he had no friends at his funeral. No one but my mom, my sister and her three children, my wife, my kids and me to mourn him.  My father-in-law was the exact opposite of my dad. He was giving, warm, caring, loving man. He worked almost until the day he died, not because he was trying to accumulate money, but because he barely made enough to pay the bills. He was an integral part of our church and was there whenever the doors were open. I can’t tell you all the jobs he had at church over the years. Suffice it to say that if he saw something that needed to be done, he did it. Everyone loved and respected Rip Collins. And when he died, there was not an empty seat in the church nor a dry eye in the house. Rip Collins died a rich man. And I have no doubt that when he met Jesus he heard a hearty, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” My father-in-law knew that it is better to be with people than go it alone. There is no virtue in being a self made man if you close out the world in the process. Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 3-4 ERV Support This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB – 0:00But then he talked about a better alternative. INTRO S12E302 – 0:10Well, hello there. This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today is Poetry Thursday. We’ll read Ecclesiastes three and four. I’ve got an On This Date in Church History, and I’m calling today’s episode ìTwo Are Better Than Oneî. Show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e290. Would you like to send me an email? Oh, good. Send it to st***@*************ia.com. Let’s begin. ECCLESIASTES 3 (ERV) – 0:47Ecclesiastes, chapter three. (1) There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.(2) There is a time to be bornand a time to die.There is a time to plantand a time to pull up plants.(3) There is a time to killand a time to heal.There is a time to destroyand a time to build.(4) There is a time to cryand a time to laugh.There is a time to be sadand a time to dance with joy.(5) There is a time to throw weapons downand a time to pick them up.There is a time to hug someoneand a time to stop holding so tightly.(6) There is a time to look for somethingand a time to consider it lost.There is a time to keep thingsand a time to throw things away.(7) There is a time to tear clothand a time to sew it.There is a time to be silentand a time to speak.(8) There is a time to loveand a time to hate.There is a time for warand a time for peace. (9) Do people really gain anything from their hard work? (10) I saw all the hard work God gave us to do. (11) Go gave us the ability to think about his world, but we can never completely understand everything he does. And yet, he does everything at just the right time. (12) I learned that the best thing for people to do is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live. (13) God wants everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. These are gifts from God. (14) I learned that anything God does will continue forever. People cannot add anything to the work of God, and they cannot take anything away from it. God did this so that people would respect him. (15) What happened in the past has happened, and what will happen in the future will happen. But God wants to help those who have been treated badly. (16) I also saw these things in this life: I saw that the courts should be filled with goodness and fairness, but there is evil there now. (17) So I said to myself, ìGod has planned a time for everything, and he has planned a time to judge everything people do. He will judge good people and bad people.î (18) I thought about what people do to each other. And I said to myself, ìGod wants people to see that they are like animals. (19) The same thing happens to animals and to peopleóthey die. People and animals have the same ëbreath.í Is a dead animal different from a dead person? It is all so senseless! (20) The bodies of people and animals end the same way. They came from the earth, and, in the end, they will go back to the earth. (21) Who knows what happens to a personís spirit? Who knows if a humanís spirit goes up to God while an animalís spirit goes down into the ground?î (22) So I saw that the best thing people can do is to enjoy what they do, because that is all they have. Besides, no one can help another person see what will happen in the future. ECCLESIASTES 4 (ERV) – 4:00Ecclesiastes, chapter four. (1) Again I saw that many people are treated badly. I saw their tears, and I saw that there was no one to comfort them. I saw that cruel people had all the power, and I saw that there was no one to comfort the people they hurt. (2) I decided that it is better for those who have died than for those who are still alive. (3) And it is even better for those who die at birth, because they never saw the evil that is done in this world. (4) Then I thought, ìWhy do people work so hard?î I saw people try to succeed and be better than other people. They do this because they are jealous. They donít want other people to have more than they have. This is senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind. (5) Some people say, ìIt is foolish to fold your hands and do nothing. If you donít work, you will starve to death.î (6) Maybe that is true. But I say it is better to be satisfied with the few things you have than to always be struggling to get more. (7) Again I saw something else that didnít make sense: (8) I saw a man who has no family, not a son or even a brother. But he continues to work very hard. He is never satisfied with what he has. And he works so hard that he never stops and asks himself, ìWhy am I working so hard? Why donít I let myself enjoy my life?î This is also a very bad and senseless thing. (9) Two people are better than one. When two people work together, they get more work done. (10) If one person falls, the other person can reach out to help. But those who are alone when they fall have no one to help them. (11) If two people sleep together, they will be warm. But a person sleeping alone will not be warm. (12) An enemy might be able to defeat one person, but two people can stand back-to-back to defend each other. And three people are even stronger. They are like a rope that has three parts wrapped togetheróit is very hard to break. (13) A young leader who is poor but wise is better than a king who is old but foolish. That old king does not listen to warnings. (14) Maybe the young ruler was born a poor man in the kingdom. And maybe he came from prison to rule the country. (15) But I have watched people in this life, and I know this: People will follow that young man. He will become the new king. (16) Many people will follow this young man. But later, those same people will not like him. This is all so senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind. COMMENTS – 6:36Well, beloved, these two chapters, while not entirely inspiring seem to be a little less hopeless sounding than the first two, don’t you think? There’s a lot to think about here. But in our limited time, I’d like to focus for just a moment on chapter four. Halfway through that chapter, Solomon talked about the man who works so hard. He has no family, no son, or even a brother. And he said that this is a bad and senseless thing to do. No disagreement there, right? But then he talks about a better alternative. The next four verses explained that two are better than one and three are even better. And like Solomon here in my older years, I’ve learned that this is indeed true. My dad was very much a loner. He was what we call a self-made man. And he worked literally seven days a week until he got too old to work....