Life outside of God is empty and vain, said Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. This is his discovery in his journey in search of wisdom. The reason Solomon kept telling us about the vanity of life in this book is to bring us to the point where we will choose a wiser way to do life. So, from his tested experiences and reflection, he finally collated and accurately penned these words of wisdom in this book. Ecclesiastes is categorized as a book of wisdom. Verse 11 tells us why it is a book of wisdom because it provides us with a reason why we should take heed of them. It says, “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.”
Firstly, the wise words here are like goads. What’s a goad? It is one of the tools of a shepherd. A goad is a sharp rod used to drive a stubborn sheep who refuses to move along. This rod is not designed to hurt but to inflict just enough pain to get the co-operation of a sheep. This book of Ecclesiastes sought to do the same for us believers. It is likened to a shepherd’s goad. This book brings a certain degree of discomfort to us to get us moving in the direction where the Shepherd of our soul wants us to go. The wise words found here are intended to stir our conscience and make us break away from sin. Ecclesiastes is a goad to our conscience to get us to choose the right direction in life concerning money, anger, and many other matters. Wisely we are urged to live our life and give it to serve our Creator and Maker. And we are to serve Him in our prime not when our body is failing us when we have no more desire. Besides death will come beckoning at our door.
Secondly, we are told that the words are like “nails firmly fixed.” Once a person takes heed to the wise words, they will be firmly lodged and fastened in his or her mind. They will remain there to help to steer his or her direction in life. The definition of vanity is vapor. Since lots of experiences in life are like a vapor, we will need these words of wisdom, so that we can hang our experiences on them. When these words of wisdom are firmly nailed to our heart, they will stir our conscience and spur us into right action.
Thirdly, these words are given by one shepherd. The king of Israel is often seen as the shepherd of the nation. Ultimately, we know that it is God who had put kings in their position. In the context of our spiritual journey, the shepherd referred to here is none other than God Himself. He uses the wise sayings of this book to get us to move with Him in the right direction. Thank God that the Lord Jesus is the Great Shepherd of our soul. Hence the words of this book take on new meaning and purpose when we consider that He is our Shepherd in life. And He, through these words, is leading us away from the elusive earthly life to a spiritual life with eternal purpose and fulfillment.
In this book of Ecclesiastes, Jesus our Lord and Shepherd is calling us away from the elusive, purposeless life without God. He is asking us to place Him at the center of our life. In that way, we will find great joy and delight. For then we no longer just live a life “under the sun” but we live a life with and under God’s begotten Son. And as we do, we can then say with the Apostle Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). What a glorious life it will be!
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