from the Golden Text

Proverbs 23:5

Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?

Like other biblical counsel (see Ecclesiastes 2:1–11, Responsive Reading), this rhetorical question warns against reliance on material riches and pleasures. Christ Jesus presents a similar caution (see Luke 12:16–21), and I Timothy 6:17 urges trust “in the living God” rather than in “uncertain riches.” Spiritual treasure—the knowledge of God—is to be desired above all else.

from the Responsive Reading

Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 

Ekklēsiastēs, a Greek term commonly signifying “speaker in an assembly,” is usually rendered preacher or teacher. Tradition names Solomon as the book’s author, but most sources assume Ecclesiastes to be the work of an unknown sage or group of philosophers.

Akin to Proverbs, Ecclesiastes offers teaching about wisdom and contentment. The Preacher ultimately sees no meaning in human life, though, and speaks of the vanity—the senselessness—of existence nearly forty times. Yet he concludes his writing with the charge to revere God and His commandments (see 12:13).

from Section 1

1 | Psalms 25:5, 12–14

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. . . . What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. 

According to a commentary, true instruction “does not come from the work of reason, the compiling of information, the distillation of general experience. It must come from God. . . . The life of prayer is incomplete unless there are supplications that say, ‘Teach me, instruct me, guide me, let me know.’ ”

Inheriting the earth or the land is a concept echoed throughout Hebrew Scripture (see other examples in Psalms 37:9, 11, 22, 29, 34; Isaiah 60:21). Originally it referred to possession of Palestine, but over time it came to indicate the arrival of the Messianic kingdom.

2 | Deuteronomy 29:29

Those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Long after Moses’ farewell address to his people, the Deuteronomists present it again—this time to a discouraged population in exile. God’s covenant has been their anchor from earliest history, and it is to be obeyed and trusted now. The next chapter brims with assurances of blessings to come from this faithfulness to their God.

3 | Galatians 3:3

Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

from Section 2

5 | Genesis 11:1, 4–9

The whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. . . . And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth.

Scholars agree that the tower of Babel was likely a ziggurat—a pyramid-shaped edifice with stepped sides. Ziggurats were massive structures estimated to be from about 170 to 350 feet (50 to 105 meters) square at the base and as high as about 175 feet (53 meters)—the equivalent of over ten stories in a modern structure. In flat terrains, where there were no mountaintop sites for temples, they provided elevated worship spaces.

Babel is the Hebrew name for Babylon and is derived from bab–ilu, a term meaning “gate of the god” in the ancient Akkadian tongue. Its resemblance to the Hebrew verb bālal (to confound or mix) allows for the play on words between Babel and confusion.

In the New Testament, the confusion of incomprehensible languages is decisively overturned on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1–11).

from Section 3

6 | Psalms 61:2

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 

from Section 4

9 | Psalms 56:4, 13

In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. . . . For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Psalms can be classified as hymns of—among other things—lament, thanksgiving, praise, or wisdom. Psalm 56 is considered a song of both thanksgiving and praise. Like many hymns of this kind, it includes reasons for honoring God (introduced by the word for). Language nearly identical to verse 13 appears in Job 33:28: “He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.”

from Section 5

11 | Mark 6:34

Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

At this point, Christ Jesus and his disciples have just heard of Herod’s killing of John the Baptist and have retreated to a wilderness area (see vv. 22–33). Galilee was a small region—only about fifty miles (eighty kilometers) from north to south and 25 miles (forty kilometers) from east to west. But it was home to many thousands of people, so finding spots for quiet prayer would have been difficult.

When crowds follow Jesus, however, he doesn’t demand to be left alone but compassionately responds with healing. As the “good shepherd” (John 10:11), the Savior feeds his flock spiritually—and then meets their human need for food (see vv. 35–44).

12 | John 6:35

Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Food was simple in Jesus’ day and culture. Among the main staples of diet—cheese, fruits, vegetables, and sometimes fish—bread was so essential that it became synonymous with life itself. It was also deemed a gift from God and a daily expression of His continuous love.

Jesus’ identification of himself as the “bread of life”—as well as the “living bread which came down from heaven” (v. 51)—places his teachings and mission at the heart of everyday experience.

13 | Luke 9:1–4, 6

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. . . . And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Jesus’ detailed instructions call for complete dependence on God for supply, protection, and shelter. Staves is translated from the Greek noun rhabdos, signifying staff or rod. A scrip was a sack or wallet for carrying food and basic necessities. (In the account of David defeating Goliath, it is a shepherd’s bag, which holds the young warrior’s five smooth stones; see I Samuel 17:40.) Staying in one house is viewed as guidance not to seek better accommodations. 

Similar injunctions are given to the seventy Jesus later sends out; see Luke 10:1–9. And near the end of his career, the Master reminds his disciples of how they had been provided for: “He said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing” (22:35).

from Section 6

14 | Ecclesiastes 12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 

15 | I Thessalonians 5:16, 17, 19, 21

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. . . . Quench not the Spirit. . . . Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

“There is a warmth, a glow, about the Spirit’s presence that makes this language appropriate,” one source explains. “The kind of conduct Paul was opposing may have included loafing, immorality, and the other sins he had denounced in the letter. On the other hand, he may have been warning against a mechanical attitude toward worship. . . .” Christian conduct was to be alight with joy and devotion.

Read a related article, “Don’t identify with flesh” by Joann Amparan, at cssentinel.com/flesh.