{"id":10599,"date":"2021-11-27T20:21:56","date_gmt":"2021-11-28T01:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/?p=10599"},"modified":"2021-11-23T16:33:26","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T21:33:26","slug":"daily-devotional-for-november-28-december-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/?p=10599","title":{"rendered":"Daily Devotional for November 28 – December 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 5:<\/p>\n

\n

Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

2\u00a0<\/sup>Do not be rash with your mouth,<\/span>
\nAnd let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.<\/span>
\nFor God is<\/i> in heaven, and you on earth;<\/span>
\nTherefore let your words be few.<\/span>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>For a dream comes through much activity,<\/span>
\nAnd a fool\u2019s voice is known<\/i> by his<\/i> many words.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it;<\/span>
\nFor He has<\/i> no pleasure in fools.<\/span>
\nPay what you have vowed\u2014<\/span>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

6\u00a0<\/sup>Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God<\/i> that it was<\/i> an error. Why should God be angry at your [a<\/a>]<\/sup>excuse and destroy the work of your hands? <\/span> 7\u00a0<\/sup>For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is<\/i> also vanity. But fear God.<\/span><\/p>\n

8\u00a0<\/sup>If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent [b<\/a>]<\/sup>perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.<\/span><\/p>\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even<\/i> the king is served from the field.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;<\/span>
\nNor he who loves abundance, with increase.<\/span>
\nThis also is<\/i> vanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

11\u00a0<\/sup>When goods increase,<\/span>
\nThey increase who eat them;<\/span>
\nSo what profit have the owners<\/span>
\nExcept to see them<\/i> with their eyes?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

12\u00a0<\/sup>The sleep of a laboring man is<\/i> sweet,<\/span>
\nWhether he eats little or much;<\/span>
\nBut the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

13\u00a0<\/sup>There is a severe evil which<\/i> I have seen under the sun:<\/span>
\nRiches kept for their owner to his hurt.<\/span>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>But those riches perish through [c<\/a>]<\/sup>misfortune;<\/span>
\nWhen he begets a son, there is<\/i> nothing in his hand.<\/span>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>As he came from his mother\u2019s womb, naked shall he return,<\/span>
\nTo go as he came;<\/span>
\nAnd he shall take nothing from his labor<\/span>
\nWhich he may carry away in his hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

16\u00a0<\/sup>And this also is<\/i> a severe evil\u2014<\/span>
\nJust exactly as he came, so shall he go.<\/span>
\nAnd what profit has he who has labored for the wind?<\/span>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>All his days he also eats in darkness,<\/span>
\nAnd he has<\/i> much sorrow and sickness and anger.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

18\u00a0<\/sup>Here is what I have seen: It is<\/i> good and fitting for one<\/i> to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is<\/i> his [d<\/a>]<\/sup>heritage. <\/span> 19\u00a0<\/sup>As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his [e<\/a>]<\/sup>heritage and rejoice in his labor\u2014this is<\/i> the gift of God. <\/span> 20\u00a0<\/sup>For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him<\/i> busy with the joy of his heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Commentary from the Orthodox Study Bible:<\/p>\n

A description of life for a man who has no hope, whose labor is only to satisfy his hunger, who labored for the wind. But in the light of Christ we have hope, joy, health, and peace of mind.<\/p>\n

Prayer:
\nWe adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee for by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.<\/p>\n

Monday
\nEcclesiastes 6:<\/p>\n

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is<\/i> common among men: <\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is<\/i> vanity, and it is<\/i> an evil [a<\/a>]<\/sup>affliction.<\/span><\/p>\n

3\u00a0<\/sup>If a man begets a hundred children<\/i> and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that<\/i> a [b<\/a>]<\/sup>stillborn child is<\/i> better than he\u2014 <\/span> 4\u00a0<\/sup>for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. <\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>Though it has not seen the sun or known anything,<\/i> this has more rest than that man, <\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>even if he lives a thousand years twice\u2014but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>All the labor of man is<\/i> for his mouth,<\/span>
\nAnd yet the soul is not satisfied.<\/span>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>For what more has the wise man<\/i> than the fool?<\/span>
\nWhat does the poor man have,<\/span>
\nWho knows how<\/i> to walk before the living?<\/span>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>Better is<\/i> [c<\/a>]<\/sup>the sight of the eyes than the wandering of [d<\/a>]<\/sup>desire.<\/span>
\nThis also is<\/i> vanity and grasping for the wind.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>Whatever one is, he has been named already,<\/span>
\nFor it is known that he is<\/i> man;<\/span>
\nAnd he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.<\/span>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>Since there are many things that increase vanity,<\/span>
\nHow is<\/i> man the better?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

12\u00a0<\/sup>For who knows what is<\/i> good for man in life, [e<\/a>]<\/sup>all the days of his [f<\/a>]<\/sup>vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentary:<\/p>\n

Life is no more than a shadow (v. 12). No matter what we achieve on this earth, we cannot take it with us when we die. At the same time, the Christian may rejoice, for true Wisdom is Christ. The soul that labors\u00a0\u00a0for the food of immortality is covered not in darkness but in light, and lives not a thousand years twice (v. 6), but forever (Jn 6:55\u201358).<\/p>\n

Prayer:
\nLet the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tuesday
\nEcclesiastes 7:<\/p>\n

\n

A good name is<\/i> better than precious ointment,<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd the day of death than the day of one\u2019s birth;<\/span>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>Better to go to the house of mourning<\/span>
\nThan to go to the house of feasting,<\/span>
\nFor that is<\/i> the end of all men;<\/span>
\nAnd the living will take it<\/i> to heart.<\/span>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>[a<\/a>]<\/sup>Sorrow is<\/i> better than laughter,<\/span>
\nFor by a sad countenance the heart is made [b<\/a>]<\/sup>better.<\/span>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>The heart of the wise is<\/i> in the house of mourning,<\/span>
\nBut the heart of fools is<\/i> in the house of mirth.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

5\u00a0<\/sup>It is<\/i> better to [c<\/a>]<\/sup>hear the rebuke of the wise<\/span>
\nThan for a man to hear the song of fools.<\/span>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>For like the [d<\/a>]<\/sup>crackling of thorns under a pot,<\/span>
\nSo is<\/i> the laughter of the fool.<\/span>
\nThis also is vanity.<\/span>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>Surely oppression destroys a wise man\u2019s<\/i> reason,<\/span>
\nAnd a bribe [e<\/a>]<\/sup>debases the heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8\u00a0<\/sup>The end of a thing is<\/i> better than its beginning;<\/span>
\nThe patient in spirit is<\/i> better than the proud in spirit.<\/span>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,<\/span>
\nFor anger rests in the bosom of fools.<\/span>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>Do not say,<\/span>
\n\u201cWhy were the former days better than these?\u201d<\/span>
\nFor you do not inquire wisely concerning this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentary:\u00a0Good olive oil symbolizes here the acquisition of earthly wealth, but in the new covenant, it symbolizes the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. 7:5\u201310 In Christ, the song of senseless men has been turned into the worship of the faithful, and the latter days, not the former days, are better (v. 10). So much for \u201cthe good old days\u201d!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prayer:
\nO Lord come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wednesday
\nEcclesiastes 7:<\/p>\n

\n

Wisdom is<\/i> good with an inheritance,<\/span>
\nAnd profitable to those who see the sun.<\/span>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>For wisdom is<\/i> [f<\/a>]<\/sup>a defense as<\/i> money is<\/i> a defense,<\/span>
\nBut the [g<\/a>]<\/sup>excellence of knowledge is that<\/i> wisdom gives life to those who have it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

13\u00a0<\/sup>Consider the work of God;<\/span>
\nFor who can make straight what He has made crooked?<\/span>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>In the day of prosperity be joyful,<\/span>
\nBut in the day of adversity consider:<\/span>
\nSurely God has appointed the one [h<\/a>]<\/sup>as well as the other,<\/span>
\nSo that man can find out nothing that will come<\/i> after him.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>I have seen everything in my days of vanity:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

There is a just man<\/i> who perishes in his righteousness,<\/span>
\nAnd there is a wicked man<\/i> who prolongs life<\/i> in his wickedness.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

16\u00a0<\/sup>Do not be overly righteous,<\/span>
\nNor be overly wise:<\/span>
\nWhy should you destroy yourself?<\/span>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>Do not be overly wicked,<\/span>
\nNor be foolish:<\/span>
\nWhy should you die before your time?<\/span>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>It is<\/i> good that you grasp this,<\/span>
\nAnd also not remove your hand from the other;<\/span>
\nFor he who fears God will [i<\/a>]<\/sup>escape them all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

19\u00a0<\/sup>Wisdom strengthens the wise<\/span>
\nMore than ten rulers of the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentary:\u00a0\u00a07:16 The overly righteous are like the Pharisee who \u201cwent up to the temple to pray\u201d (Lk 18:10), and the overly wise may be likened to the wise of this world<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prayer:<\/p>\n

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.
\nThursday
\nEcclesiastes 7: For there is<\/i> not a just man on earth who does good<\/p>\n

\n

And does not sin.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

21\u00a0<\/sup>Also do not take to heart everything people say,<\/span>
\nLest you hear your servant cursing you.<\/span>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>For many times, also, your own heart has known<\/span>
\nThat even you have cursed others.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

23\u00a0<\/sup>All this I have [j<\/a>]<\/sup>proved by wisdom.<\/span>
\nI said, \u201cI will be wise\u201d;<\/span>
\nBut it was<\/i> far from me.<\/span>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep,<\/span>
\nWho can find it out?<\/span>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>I applied my heart to know,<\/span>
\nTo search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,<\/i><\/span>
\nTo know the wickedness of folly,<\/span>
\nEven of foolishness and<\/i> madness.<\/span>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>And I find more bitter than death<\/span>
\nThe woman whose heart is<\/i> snares and nets,<\/span>
\nWhose hands are<\/i> fetters.<\/span>
\n[k<\/a>]<\/sup>He who pleases God shall escape from her,<\/span>
\nBut the sinner shall be trapped by her.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

27\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cHere is what I have found,\u201d says the Preacher,<\/span>
\n\u201cAdding<\/i> one thing to the other to find out the reason,<\/span>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:<\/span>
\nOne man among a thousand I have found,<\/span>
\nBut a woman among all these I have not found.<\/span>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>Truly, this only I have found:<\/span>
\nThat God made man upright,<\/span>
\nBut they have sought out many schemes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentary:\u00a07:26\u201329 We are all vulnerable and easily led astray by anyone with evil intentions, be it a man or a woman. But on a deeper level, the woman who is a snare speaks to the fallen Eve, and through her to all humanity, for she is our mother. There is indeed only one man that God made upright, and that one Man is Christ our God, who broke the curse of death and freed us from our sins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prayer:
\nHoly, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts, the whole earth is filled with Thy Glory.<\/p>\n

Friday
\nEcclesiastes:\u00a0 8<\/p>\n

\n

Who is<\/i> like a wise man?<\/i><\/span><\/span>
\nAnd who knows the interpretation of a thing?<\/span>
\nA man\u2019s wisdom makes his face shine,<\/span>
\nAnd the [a<\/a>]<\/sup>sternness of his face is changed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

2\u00a0<\/sup>I say,<\/i> \u201cKeep the king\u2019s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. <\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>Where the word of a king is, there is<\/i> power;<\/span>
\nAnd who may say to him, \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/span>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;<\/span>
\nAnd a wise man\u2019s heart [b<\/a>]<\/sup>discerns both time and judgment,<\/span>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>Because for every matter there is a time and judgment,<\/span>
\nThough the misery of man [c<\/a>]<\/sup>increases greatly.<\/span>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>For he does not know what will happen;<\/span>
\nSo who can tell him when it will occur?<\/span>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,<\/span>
\nAnd no one has power in the day of death.<\/span>
\nThere is<\/i> no release from that war,<\/span>
\nAnd wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is<\/i> a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentary:\u00a0Christ\u2019s \u201cface shone like the sun\u201d on Mount Tabor (Mt 17:2). The faithful also shine with His ineffable light, as Christ Himself said, \u201cYou are the light of the world\u201d (Mt 5:14). Therefore, let us work to acquire the\u00a0wisdom that is Christ our king, that we might shine as lights \u201cin the midst of a crooked and perverse generation\u201d (Php 2:15). 8:8 Only Christ has authority in the day of death; and it is His power that releases and delivers us from that war.<\/p>\n

Prayer:<\/p>\n

Christ with me, Christ before me,
\nChrist behind me, Christ in me,
\nChrist beneath me, Christ above me,
\nChrist on my right, Christ on my left,
\nChrist when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
\nChrist when I arise,
\nChrist in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
\nChrist in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
\nChrist in every eye that sees me,
\nChrist in every ear that hears me.
\n(St. Patrick\u2019s Breastplate prayer excerpt)
\nSaturday
\nEcclesiastes 8:\u00a0\u00a010\u00a0<\/sup>Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten[d<\/a>]<\/sup> in the city where they had so done. This also is<\/i> vanity. <\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. <\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>Though a sinner does evil a hundred times,<\/i> and his days<\/i> are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. <\/span> 13\u00a0<\/sup>But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his<\/i> days, which are<\/i> as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.<\/span><\/p>\n

14\u00a0<\/sup>There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men<\/i> to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men<\/i> to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is<\/i> vanity.<\/span><\/p>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all<\/i> the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.<\/span><\/p>\n

16\u00a0<\/sup>When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, <\/span> 17\u00a0<\/sup>then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it,<\/i> yet he will not find it;<\/i> moreover, though a wise man<\/i> attempts to know it,<\/i> he will not be able to find it.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Commentary:\u00a08:11, 12 Intentional sins are not a one-time event; the consequences continue for a long time. 8:15 This trilogy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prayer:<\/p>\n

O Come let us worship and fall down before Christ, O Son of God, Who didst rise from the dead, save us who chant unto Thee, Alleluia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday Ecclesiastes 5: Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-orthodox-daily-devotional","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10600,"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10599\/revisions\/10600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}