My life, my dominion

Every morning i'm one of the first people to arrive at the office though i'm on the 2nd shift.

Sometimes i'm early enough that i have to switch on the lights in my office or rather the lights for my cubicle.

Well work in mundane enough i guess. like i said before, if work were ever that fun we would be working for free but that's another story.

Well my cubicle (everytime i think about that i always wonder... where is the commode that's supposed to come with it, lame joke i know) is right next to the door so nodding off is an absolutely NONO. but then again, my cubicle has no walls (such lack of privacy) so doesn't matter where i am in the office (which is one BIG SQUARE so no hidden corners) i can be seen very clearly. Oh well, so much for getting a chance to canoodle with the intern hahahahahahaa!!!!!!So as a result, i've picked up coffee drinking again. *BAD BOY, BAD!*

Ah well, largely doing data entry, and other very simple things that although mundane to some is helping brush up on organising myself. Really i mean, it's partially audtitory in nature so nothing bad in learning a bit more about how to structure how i work right? In anycase, work is fine really, though i do foresee myself possibly becoming a workaholic when i start getting REAL work after studies.

Apart from that life is well, plain. I'm not complaining. I mean if anyone's idea of exiciting worklife is having a boeing 737 crash into your office during peak hours then well i suppose here isn't teh place to be. My office building is rather secluded in a corner of the CBD and if anyone would want to crash a plane into it they'd have to get pass a whole lot of other taller buildings. Plus the building isn't so nice so not worth smashing up. HEH hope nobody reads this as some hidden terrorist sentiments.

Yeah and sometimes work lets up enough for me to get bored( or at least i'm so drained from staring at spread sheets the whole day i decide to slack a bit) enough that i start to read S'pore Ink( internet forum on local and international issues) and have a good laugh at the things that people say.

Can you imagine, my published letter took me 4 minutes to write. I saw that there were 700 word replies deriding me for generalising, acknowledging my good english and calling me misguided. That's what i felt SO funny, they have so much time to write so much on line but what ended up on the newspaper (May 20th life mailbag) was just a paltry quote that people online didn't understand. HEH.
Then i was wondering, all these people have SO much to say, and no one seems to support the GOV (which you mostly know i'm strongly supportive but highly critical). I mean the gov is what gives them the means to blog (small privilege but really it's taken for granted) and here they are commenting on things from a frog in the well's perspective. Some are balanced and well written but in all honesty are wasted on a forum that lacks substance (especially since the contributors seem to think that the f-word is a proper word to describe anything from being nice to being bad).
Seriously i understand why the Gov wants people to join politics if they have a view. With only 4 million people in this little island, every bloke has an opinion, but no one with the guts to act on it. As a result, more blokes will just spout hot air and nothing will get done. Everyone ends up unhappy. I suppose we can't really avoid a strong voice of dissent simple because we do not have the capacity for it. Larger countries can have a voice because they are much more diverse due to larger populations and even with a few twits shooting off their mouths there are always a pool of eager people looking to make it into the public service and do something about it.

Ah well then there's NS but i think i'll talk about that other time.Oh look time to start work . take care you all

In order to preserve my memory of my future work place or rather the memory where there is GOOD and CHEAP food rather than INSANELY EXPENSIVE food i shall now pen down my daily diet for lunch just so that i can refer to it in the future.

Todays Lunch: $2.50 Centruty Egg Porridge from Amoy Hawker Center. Lots of liao4 and i mean LOTS. There was mince pork, slice chicken, liver and lots of cong1. Also they give quite a few slices of you2 tiao2. Not bad really.
That place is quite large with (2 storeys) lots of different stalls. Maybe one day i might even be crazy to line up for one of the more famous stall.
To get there, exit from tanjong pagar MRT from exit E (Sonia this direction particularly for you if you read this)

Just this morning i heard a very interesting comment that has incited wars, started massacres, driven movements and more. "But the jews killed Jesus."

Perhaps this is so from the onstart, yes the Jews did crucify Jesus, they could have freed him but they chose to free a murderer and to crucify Jesus.

However, did Jesus not say that it was the Father's will that He die? IF that is so, any one of the people's on earth could have been the hand that crucified Jesus.

At the same time, to look upon the sin of the Jews in crucifying Jesus and not to consider the purpose of the death of Jesus is to divorce God's plan from the actions of humans.

Jesus died to cleanse ALL, not the jews not the christian, but ALL of humanities sins. According to God's design He HAD to die, for only he was worthy of sacrifice that all would be forgiven. For Jesus had no sin, and because he died, we not have a way of attaining eternal life.

We all crucified him. Each time we sin, each time we disobey it is another strike to the nails that are driven into his hands and feet. For if we do not sin, then Jesus would not have to die. The jews were just there, the in
instrument of God in demonstrating his grace. unfortunate that they should be the ones, but being the privileged chosen people of God, i guess there was no one really fitting. To be betrayed by his disciple, then his own people and finally by all humanity we can only just begin to even understand the pain felt by our lord.

Perhaps our constant villifying of the jews just goes to hide a deep seated regret and acknowledgement of our own sins. That we wish to push the blame on another race or people and subsequently be washed free of guilt.

Ironic isn't it that we have been washed free of sin, we are no longer held by the chains of sin. we only have to accept this wonderful gift of His. Perhaps when God said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, life for a life
he would lay down the ultimate example by laying down his son's life for ours.

I feel sad just to type this because i fell the sin in me. I'm not doing much about it really. that sucks how shall i redeem myself in thy sight oh lord.

Been running for some time now. Finding easier to drag my bum out of the house each successive time. Usually i run at night coz of work and stuff and it's raelly a lot different from running in the day.

Everything looks different. The dogs bark differently, the air smells different. The light in your eyes is different. IT's like a totally different paradigm.

Just a thought from your neighbourhood jogger. Oh yeah my panting on the last couple of rounds apparently gives some of my neighbours the creeps.

HAHA

hahahahahahahaha!
Once in a while i enter my name into google just to see what i've done on this little planet.
Ego? NAH, it's amusing
I mean really, i remember about 5 years back, my name somehow came up for all but the most silly of websites. Really, i mean even 'those' websites haha!

OF course everyone probably has had a good laugh at my recent article in the newspaper. And really, reading all those comments online is just HYSTERICAL!
Really, fine some people think i'm a jerk, that's fine really, it's all the same to me, hysterical. HAHAHAHA!!
Quite honestly i think it's fun to sometimes read back about yourself and to just have a good laugh. 60 years from now who knows? i'll read all this stuff and die laughing what a good way to go:)

MUA HAHAH!

Hmmm........
This is new, the profusion of comments (by whom it does not really matter).
But anyhow, allow me to explain the premise under which i wrote a certain article that got rather violent reactions.
1. I went to the office rather early (an hour to be exact) so i was bored
2. I was looking at the star wars article in Today
3. I thought it would be good fun to just write something controversial that i could look back and laugh about. I mean most of you know how i used to write essays and how the shock effect/devils' advocate was like my personal styel. Really regrettable that it turned out to be something so sensitive.

Apologies if i offended anyone. By no means am i attacking it, really just random ramblings of a mind whose left and right hemispheres are slightly out of sync.

with that i end.

Actually,
i didnt' fix my comments. My comments were originally supported on another server coz i input the code myself. i think that indie server has just died. I mean i thought there was something wrong so oh well now have to use the blogspot. Quite irritating actually now that i fixed that prob but my blog is scrwed up. hmm oh well.
Oh yeah would love it if you leave your name on the comments not that many people read it and you all know each another. Oh yeah one more thing, i do request that you do not link my blog to yours. I would much rather you put a book mark or something coz really it's just something i share withsome people , don't want the WHOLE world to see that i'm actually a raving lunatic. But year seriously, i just want to keep it to a few people.
I do want to rant and rave about certain individuals eventually you know.

I shall now proceed to make a lot of Star Wars fans mad.
Essentially the two great trilogies of our time Star Wars and LOTR (i can't be bothered to type out the full name but i am bothered to type out in full that i can't be bothered :) ) have failed to impress me whether be they in print or screen from.

Yes i've read the books, watched the movie (actually no, i only watched 4,5 and 6 of star wars and 2 & 3 of LOTR)

And i must say, the feeling of absolute boredom affected my distaste for the LOTR movies and well Star Wars, what can you say. The initial movies were great for their time and i think we should leave it as that.

Of course my main purpose today is to talk about the Light and the Dark sides of the force in Star Wars. Of how there is NO difference between the two and that really it's just politics.

Let's start with the dark, teh dark side hopes to consume all within the empire largely under the sole proprietorship of the emperor. But seriously, looking at episodes 4,5 and 6, is the Empire REALLY that bad?

I mean look at it this way, you don't see starving masses do you? You don't see civil war nor do you see internal strife. There is basically peace save for the piffling resistance which if you think about it, are the only clowns who are causing the trouble around here. Everyone listens to the emperor and everyone just goes about their daily lives. enter luke skywalker and his merry band of rebels and what do you have? Starships clashing, cute ewoks under threat of being destroyed by the death star, people sacrificing their lives so that a pretty butch and rather clueless princess can return to the throne of wherever she belongs to. basically the resistance is doing what the dark side tries to do in 1, 2 and 3; TAKE OVER THE WORLD! Which comes as really no surprise. I mean what's the end product of the resistance? Peace and prosperity? NO! all you have is many years of painful reconstruction, oppurtunistic bandits setting up warlord states. In the end you're not better off.

Coming forward to 1,2 and 3. Really all the nonsense and drivel about hate leading to the dark side is really nauseating. Yes yes, young anakin hates the evils of the world and probably hates Qui Gon-jinn for taking him away from his parents. (Why couldn't the daft old bag just leave him be eh? Must he have to force the fulfilment of the prophecy? In my opinion, he just wanted to pride of discovering the 'Chosen One' like how Morpheus is obsessed with NEO.) Well the same can be said for the Jedi. I mean really, they HATE the dark side don't they? otherwise why have a council and why talk all hot air about not slipping and stuff. All they are afriad that the Sith Lords will just usurp the council of it's influential position in the political realm and thus they would become the outcasts and enemy of the state. Basic survival of the fittest i tell you.

So essentially the light side started off pretty well to do. Didn't want to lose their privileges and decided to condemn the dark side. They were just as ruthless as the sith. I mean don't tell me the jedi weild light sabers (JUST LIKE THE SITH) just so that they can disarm the sith lords. Good heavens no, i bet given a chance, mace vindoo will just lop the head off palpatine or dookoo (don't know the names spelling so do forgive). So there you have it.

Two sides, that preach different philosophies with one that APPEALS to the sense of justice of the oppressed (who aren't actually, the council and subsequently the rebels just convince them that they are poor and oppressed). When in actual fact both sides fear each other, both sides hate each other and both sides want to spill the blood of the other. The end.

All that talk of good and evil is just pure crap. Even the matrix has a better storyline, man vs machine, we all know that one when we bang our CPUs in frustration don't we? Don't you wish Neo would come along and do that electro-shock thing he did to the squiddies?

So as i sit here in my little cubicle next to the door, i bid you good day and as you can see, i'm super bored. The job's nice and all but yeah, it's a job in the end. i don't see any of you willing to work for free eh? If you do it ain't a job, it's a damn hobby, and we all know hobbies don't make money :)

YOU know.
You'd think that after NS somehow i'd have a little more control over my life. I don't.
Really, remove one layer of authority and another sprouts up like toadstools after a rain.

I mean, I just want to go about my life my way. My own little way, i don't want people trying to boost it nor do i want people to drag it down. Really i want to do things at my pace in my design. I mean it is MY LIFE. Why must there always be minor interferences here and there?

I want control!!!!!! I don't need total control, i just don't need all those little interferences that make life so unbearably irritating! All these 'good intentions' that i really don't need because they are misguided. They are well intentioned but they are seriously not worth the effort.

ARGH!!!!! ARGH!!!!!! SAVE ME!!!!!

Sigh......

Part 2: WISDOM APPLIED
Eccl 7:1-2
A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man;
the living should take this to heart.
Eccl 7:6
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This too is meaningless.

Eccl 7:11-12
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing
and benefits those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
Three facts about life:
1. Death makes us ponder about life.
2. Pleasure is shallow.
3. Wisdom is good.
What then is wisdom?
Eccl 7:13-19
13 Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future.
15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:
a righteous man perishing in his righteousness,
and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise-
why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool-
why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
The man who fears God will avoid all [extremes].
It consider what God has done:
1. V.13 Accept God’s sovereignty.
2. V.14 Accept both prosperity and adversity.
3. V.14 Accept he cannot control his future.
4. V.15 Accept unexplicable unfair events.
Result:
1. Not self righteous (fear of the Lord)
2. Not wicked. (fear of the Lord)
3. Fear and respect the Lord because of above acceptance.

Eccl 7:23-25
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
"I am determined to be wise"-
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever wisdom may be,
it is far off and most profound-
who can discover it?
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
Eccl 7:27
27 "Look," says the Teacher,"this is what I have discovered:
"Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-
Eccl 7:29
29 This only have I found:
God made mankind upright,
but men have gone in search of many schemes."
What is Solomon’s definition of wisdom ? (v. 27) To discover the plan of God. But he cannot. He discovered man is going their own ways and Solomon himself is one of them (play on words – understand in v25 is the same as scheme in v.29)
Can studying the word of God let you know the detail plan of God? Can study of the signs of the earth? No. Wisdom is knowing your limitation and then accepting your limitations.
Eccl 8:1
who is like the wise man?
Who knows the explanation of things?
Wisdom brightens a man's face
and changes its hard appearance.
What is the wise man like?
Eccl 8:11-15
11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
Wise has faith in God that He will reward the God fearing.
14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
The faith is not always checked out by circumstances. But because of faith and the inability to comprehend what God is doing, Solomon concluded the wise can:
1. Enjoy life. Survive and be happy.
2. Joy will accompany you in your work.
3. God gave you the brief days.
Eccl 8:16-17
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth-his eyes not seeing sleep day or night- 17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.
Wise man know his limitations.
Eccl 9:1-2
9:1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.
Wise man has faith and know his limitations. That he is in God’s hands even though it may not appear so as both good and bad can be his lot.
Eccl 9:3-4
4 Anyone who is among the living has hope-even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
Eccl 9:7-10
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 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. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Since wise man has faith and know his limitations, he can have hope as long as he is living. With hope he is commanded to go and enjoy the 4 c’s now – contentment, comfort, companionship, contagious enthusiasm. The presence of faith and hope and limitations are evidences that you are in God’s favor and his gifts are yours.

Eccl 9:11-12
11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.

12 Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come:
What are some of the problems with wisdom?
1. Mistaking worldly wisdom for true wisdom.
Eccl 9:17-18
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
2. We can easily mistake the words of sinners for wisdoms.
Eccl 10:12-15
12 Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious,
but a fool is consumed by his own lips.
13 At the beginning his words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness-
14 and the fool multiplies words.
No one knows what is coming-
who can tell him what will happen after him?
15 A fool's work wearies him;
he does not know the way to town.
3. The true sign of distinguishing a fool from the wise is the way he talks. The fools always pretend to sound sure.
Eccl 11:3-6
3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there will it lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let not your hands be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
What are the signs of those who exercises wisdom?
1. v. 1-3. Admit limitations and lack of control.
2. v.4 Yet courageous.
3. v.6 Yet diligent.

Eccl 11:8-9
8 However many years a man may live,
let him enjoy them all.
But let him remember the days of darkness,
for they will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.
4. v.8 Enjoy life.
5. v.8 Know limitations and adversity will come. Let him remember that.
9 Be happy, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you to judgment.
6. v.9 Remember God will judge.
Eccl 12:1
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
"I find no pleasure in them"-
Eccl 12:6-7
6 Remember him-before the silver cord is severed,
or the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
or the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
The key to wisdom is in the word – remember – actively engaging.
Remember your creator at different stages of life. In prime and in old age. That is the way of wisdom. Engage him before you are in a coma or you die. Because why.
Eccl 12:8
8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher.
"Everything is meaningless!"
Life is brief. You better make the best of it through the way of wisdom. Only then can you find significance and satisfaction in life.
Eccl 12:11-14
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-given by one Shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole [duty] of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
A hint of eternal judgment to come.

Summary of Ecclsiastes:
PART 1: WHAT IS WORTHWHILE?
The focus of the book is in the beginning verse and the ending verse 12:8. Summarizing the problem that the book deals with one subject?
The brevity of life.
If life is so brief, the next logical question then what is it for? V.3
Eccl 1:1-3
1:1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?

Eccl 1:9-10
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
Is there anything new? What does it say to our contribution to the world?

Eccl 1:11
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.
In fact what happened to the little contribution that we have?
It will be forgotten.

Eccl 1:13-14
13 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Eccl 2:3
I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
So Solomon devoted himself to vigorous study. His conclusion is what? The same theme. It is brief and it is illusive, no long term profit. He came to that conviction after serious study. Do you really believe it? Because only serious believe on the brevity and un-profit of life will spur you onward.

In the brevity of life, is anything worthwhile?

Eccl 2:8-11
9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
There is some short term profit in v.10. What is it? Job satisfaction.
Yet, in v.11, what happened? It does not last.

Eccl 2:13-14
13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise man has eyes in his head,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.

Eccl 2:16-18
16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
in days to come both will be forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise man too must die!
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

He learned two truths:
1. Wise is better than not wise v.13 but
2. Death is the ultimate destiny. V.16
3. Even the wise man will not be remembered. v.16
4. So it is chasing after the wind. No long term impact. V.17.

Eccl 2:18-20
18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

Eccl 2:21-23
22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
So I hope for a legacy to carry on. But even then it cannot be had. V.19. In the final balance, the modern man worked hard v.23 yet he gets no profit v.22.

Eccl 2:24-26
24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Since life is brief and there is no long run profit. Is anything worthwhile. Soloman came to his first conclusion about life. What is it?
1. Conclusion: Survival needs and satisfaction is the best.
2. Criteria: A gift from God to those who please God.
3. 3 gifts: Wisdom, data, and happiness. The three are linked. Without data, you can have no wisdom, with just data, it is a grevious burden. Only with both can you have happiness. Why?
4. A guy who have wealth and data cannot enjoy the above gifts, why?

Eccl 3:1
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
Eccl 3:9-14
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Same question in v.9 again. Anything worthwhile.
Three key words – beautiful (tapestry woven), fathom (understand), eternity (data from ages past and future).
In light of God’s plan, which we cannot understand, which is beautiful, in light of the brevity of life and no long term profit:
1. Conclusion: the best is to be happy (survival and satisfaction) and do good (not self-centered)
2. Criteria: God’s gift. 2 I knows. I know God’s plan cannot be defeated. I accept that I cannot change it.
3. Result: We revere him.

Eccl 3:16-17
16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment-wickedness was there,
in the place of justice-wickedness was there.
17 I thought in my heart,
"God will bring to judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed."
Eccl 3:21-22
21 Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?"
22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
We understand very little. Why is there corruption in courthouse? How does God plan fit in? What do we feel about that? We feel unfair. We feel unsettled. Solomon calls on us to believe in fair judgment. In God’s plan. Even when we do not know something for sure like the spirit where will it go. Have faith. It is in light of unfairness and trusting God in the unseen and uncertain then:
1. enjoy my job as my reward.



Eccl 4:1
4:1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed-
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors-
and they have no comforter.
Eccl 4:4
4 And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Eccl 4:8
8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
"For whom am I toiling," he asked,
"and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
This too is meaningless-
a miserable business!
Eccl 4:13-14
13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning.
Eccl 4:16
But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
This passage focuses on the arena of work. What are four major things that we experience in work?
1. Oppression
2. Envy.
3. Isolation
4. Seeking for advancement.
Conclusion is:
All these are meaningless. Brief sensations. No long term profit. No one remembers.
Eccl 5:1
5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
Eccl 5:2-3
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.
3 As a dream comes when there are many cares,
so the speech of a fool when there are many words.
Eccl 5:6-7
7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
Arena of worship is sandwiched between 2 sections – work pursuit and money pursuit. Why? Because of v.3. we daydream in worship of our success. Worship is not a time of talking v.2.
Why? Because v.7. Those dreams only lead you to brief sensations.
What should we do in worship? V.7. Stand in awe of God. Why? V.2 He is in heaven. Higher than you. He has a beautiful plan that you cannot fathom. Ch. 3.

Eccl 5:10
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
Eccl 5:13-14
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when he has a son
there is nothing left for him.
Eccl 5:16-17
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As a man comes, so he departs,
and what does he gain,
since he toils for the wind?
17 All his days he eats in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.
Eccl 6:1-2
6:1 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men: 2 God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.


We are turning to arena of money. There are a few problems of chasing after money.
1. V.10. Money never satisfies.
2. V.13. Money brings sense of loss or actual loss.
3. v.17 Loss of money brings a keen sense of frustration.
4. v. 1 Money and possession alone do not bring happiness.

Eccl 5:18-20
18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him-for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work-this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
It is only when you realize the shortcomings of money then you will be able to be satisfy with survival and satisfaction in your brief days.
But when God give you money and ability to retain and enjoy it – you will be contented and be happy w your work. So that you will not reflect on the brevity of life because God himself keeps you occupied w joy.

Eccl 6:12
12 For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?
This brings to conclusions of the first section:
1. Who knows what is good? Is money? Is accomplishments? Long life (v.3)? Many offsprings? Only God does. Listen to him.

Yes yes i know that some of your are waiting for the completion of the Hosea trilogy however, my notes are still missing.

WEll just to keep you all happy and and to liven up things around here (i am SO sorry i haven't been updating this blog been so busy BUMMING) i am uploading a summary of the book of Ecclesiastes as well as a very old but still very relevant easter message that i missed in church. i hope you guys Read it and enjoy.

God Bless