{"id":897,"date":"2009-01-19T12:22:40","date_gmt":"2009-01-19T12:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/ecclesiastes_11-12_-_fear_and_follow.shtml"},"modified":"2021-05-29T02:44:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T02:44:45","slug":"ecclesiastes_11-12_-_fear_and_follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/ecclesiastes_11-12_-_fear_and_follow.shtml","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiastes 11-12 &#8211; Fear and Follow"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: right;\">He who observes the wind will not sow,<br \/>\nand he who regards the clouds will not reap.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: right;\">Ecclesiastes 11:4<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Interesting observation.  I am frequently caught in the &#8216;paralysis of analysis&#8217;, ever searching for the right or best answer.   This weekend, I put up a new closet shelving system in my middle daughter&#8217;s room.  I wasn&#8217;t planning to, but circumstances presented themselves last week which made this weekend the right time to do it.  I planned it, bought the stuff adn installed it in less than a week, a record of sorts for me.  My wife commented &#8211; &#8220;What, you&#8217;re not going to spend days exploring every option?&#8221;<br \/>\nSolomon seems to be commenting on folks like me &#8211; ever planning, but never getting things done.<br \/>\nEcclesiastes 12:13-14 &#8211; In the end it comes down to this &#8211; Fear God and keep his commandments.  I was telling some folks on Sunday regarding my study of Ecclesiastes that the recurring theme was &#8220;Enjoy what you&#8217;ve got, work hard and be happy.&#8221;  While I still find this true, the end of chapter 12 gives the context in which that is possible &#8211; fearing God and keeping His commands.  Solomon says this is the whole duty of man.  Not that there aren&#8217;t other duties that need done, work that we must accomplish in our lives, but that any work we do is to be done in the context of following God.<br \/>\nThe conclusion is that there&#8217;s nothing worth doing on Earth that is done outside that context.<br \/>\nI&#8217;ve learned a lot from Solomon in Ecclesiastes.  Mostly, I learned to not worry about the meaning of it all and just be content.  Enjoy what God&#8217;s given me, work hard and be happy.  There&#8217;s a lot of freedom in that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. Ecclesiastes 11:4 Interesting observation. I am frequently caught in the &#8216;paralysis of analysis&#8217;,<a href=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/ecclesiastes_11-12_-_fear_and_follow.shtml\" class=\"more-link\">Read More <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Ecclesiastes 11-12 &#8211; Fear and Follow<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ecclesiastes 11-12 - Fear and Follow - salguod.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/ecclesiastes_11-12_-_fear_and_follow.shtml\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ecclesiastes 11-12 - Fear and Follow - salguod.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. 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Ecclesiastes 7:3 - \"Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.\" That's contrary to what we believe. We chase the laughter and gladness. I have to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;God and Church&quot;","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":885,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/12\/ecclesiastes_5_-_fear_god_the_vanity_of_wealth.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":897,"position":1},"title":"Ecclesiastes 5 &#8211; Fear God, the Vanity of Wealth","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"December 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Quiet Time Journal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":893,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/ecclesiastes_8_-_authority_joy.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":897,"position":2},"title":"Ecclesiastes 8 &#8211; Authority &#038; Joy","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"January 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Ecclesiastes 8:4 - \"For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, \"What are you doing?\"\" Solomon, as king would know. I wonder if this is only part sound advice on dealing with those in authority, particularly absolute authority. I wonder if it is part\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Quiet Time Journal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":869,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/10\/ecclesiastes_1.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":897,"position":3},"title":"Ecclesiastes 1","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"October 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"As I was finishing up my study of Mark, I kept thinking about Ecclesiastes. My mental state of late has wondered what the meaning of all this stuff we do. I mean, who cares about my basement getting finished or my old car or most anything in the grand scheme\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Quiet Time Journal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":870,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/11\/ecclesiastes_2_-_joy_in_work.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":897,"position":4},"title":"Ecclesiastes 2 &#8211; Joy in Work","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"November 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 - Who hasn't, at some time or another, thought that just a little more income or even just a one time windfall, would make our lives so much better. I know I do. Solomon had the luxury few of us will experience, the financial ability to run after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Quiet Time Journal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":873,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/11\/ecclesiastes_3_-_time_for_everything.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":897,"position":5},"title":"Ecclesiastes 3 &#8211; Time for Everything","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"November 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 - A time for everything. (Is it possible to read this passage without Simon and Garfunkel running through your head?) Good to remember, we cannot be happy all the time, there are times for sadness. Nor can we speak out all the time, there is a time for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Quiet Time Journal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1386,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897\/revisions\/1386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}