Song of Solomon 1-2

Song of Solomon 1-2

Chapter 1: Love and Devotion

                Solomon writes about Love and Devotion, he describes kisses and love as “…better than wine.” (Song of Solomon 1:2). One interesting thing is that Solomon describes himself as being black, because of the sun. Not sure if this means that Solomon is black or just tanned from the sun.

                Before I go any further I must point out that this Book is also referred to (by some) as the “Song of Songs” because there is much debate over whether or not the book was actually written by Solomon. But since the book mentions the name Solomon, we will use it.

                Solomon describes his love as having “…doves’ eyes.” (Song of Solomon 1:15). I think most people can relate to these feelings of “love”.

Chapter 2: The Beloved Ones

                The author explains that he is “…sick of love.” (Song of Solomon 2:5) The author goes on to explain that “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing birds is come… and the vine with the tender grapes give a good smell…” (Song of Solomon 2:12-13)

                Again, we see that the chapter is about the authors love and the feelings that come with being in love.

Ecclesiastes 9-10

Ecclesiastes 9-10

Chapter 9: Time and Choice Happens to All Men

                Solomon believed in enjoying life as a gift from God. The world is finite, and sin has twisted life, making it something other than what God intended. Society honors many things above wisdom such as attractiveness, wealth, popularity, and success. Solomon believed that wisdom is the greatest asset even though it often goes unrecognized.

                “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity [prideful, meaningless life]…” (Ecclesiastes 9:9) – (See Proverbs 5:18-20)

                Life is about getting married and having children… it is about spending your short life with someone that can enlighten you and make you a better person.

                “…Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” (Ecclesiastes 9:16)

                You don’t need money or fame to make you powerful and wise… even the simplest man can be filled with knowledge. This means that we need to listen to everyone and value their input.

Chapter 10: Fools Are Full of Words

                By describing circumstances that are unfair or don't make sense, Solomon is saying that wisdom alone can’t bring justice. Everything we have is nothing without God. But when he uses what little we have, it becomes all we could ever want or need. If you lack skills, you should sharpen them through training and practice. This will make you more effective for God's work.

                One particular verse really caught my eye… “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2) I am not going to say it, but there is something political about this verse.

Ecclesiastes 7-8

Ecclesiastes 7-8

Chapter 7: Wisdom Goeth Life

                In short… enjoy what you have while you can, but realize that adversity and hard times can strike at any moment. Because of this, life is short. Death is inevitable. We shouldn't ignore it because it makes sense to plan ahead to experience God's mercy rather than his justice. People who are too righteous and too wise are blind to their own faults. There will always be things that we don't understand. Thinking that you have attained enough wisdom is a sure sign that you haven't.

                “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Ecclesiastes 7:3)

                Sorrow can also bring some of the best knowledge, because by experience we learn.

                “For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.” (Ecclesiastes 7:12)

                You can have defence with money, but only with knowledge and wisdom can you have lasting defence from your enemies.

                “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

                We all sin. Simple as that, don’t think you are better than others. It is like the phrase; ‘everyone sins differently’ So don’t go judging people.

                “I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness.” (Ecclesiastes 7:25)

                We need to ACTIVELY search to know the truth, don’t think you know everything. Always be open to learn. A wise man of 70 years old can still learn from a toddler, if that man wants to learn.

Chapter 8: None Have Power over Death

                True wisdom comes from knowing and trusting God, not merely the way to find him. Knowing God will lead to understanding and then to sharing that knowledge with others. Even in a man could have all of the world's wisdom, he would still know very little. No one can fully comprehend God.

“There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war…” (Ecclesiastes 8:8)

If you ever think you are invincible or special, realize that we are nothing to God. We have no power over death; if it is our time… we will die.

“When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) Then I beheld the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; thou a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.” (Ecclesiastes 8:16-17)

                God is always working, day and night! Those who seek to know God’s work, will never be able to fully understand His work, and those who claim to know His work are fools.

Ecclesiastes 3-4

Ecclesiastes 3-4

Chapter 3: Everything Has its Season

                In short; Solomon believed that there is a time and place for everything, whether it be good or bad. He believes that you must seek guidance from God to truly know what your path in life is.

                “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and then Solomon goes on to list all of the things that have a time and season…

                “A time to be born… a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance… A time to rend, and time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time to war and a time of peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:2-7)

                EVERYTHING has its own time and place. We need to always remember that and take Solomon’s advice that the only thing that a man/woman needs to do is “…to rejoice, and to do good in his [or her] life.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12)

                Solomon’s knowledge and wisdom was a gift from God, Solomon knew that “…whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14)

                This is yet again another unique LDS doctrine… the idea that anything God does, He does forever. In LDS temples throughout the world we perform sacred sealing ordinances that seal husbands, wives and families together FOREVER. When you marry someone, you marry them for ETERNITY, not just “until death do you part”

                Another interesting point that is made is in verse 15; “That which hath been now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15) I think this verse does the best at explaining what ETERNITY IS. Everything has its TIME and PLACE, right? Well we perceive time differently than God does. To us, Time is relative… From point A to B… whereas Time to God is really a full circle, there is no point A or B… or in other words NO beginning and NO end.

Chapter 4: Strength of 2 Is Better

Solomon believed that going to the extremes of being lazy or a workaholic is foolish and irresponsible. “…yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches…” (Ecclesiastes 4:8) The answer is to work hard but with moderation. He believed that you should take time to enjoy God's other gifts and realize that he gives us assignments and rewards, not man. Solomon believed that a person should seek God's approval above all and not recognition from man.

Solomon also tells us that “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-11)

Proverbs 21-22

Proverbs 21-22

Chapter 21: Safety is the Lord

                “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.” (Proverbs 21:17)

                When we only partake in activities that give us pleasure or we only focus on being rich… we will never be rich in spirit and we will separate ourselves from what is really important.

                “It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman” (Proverbs 21:19)

                It is better for anyone to be away from an angry woman or man. We need to choose our partners and friends very carefully.

Chapter 22: A Good Name

                “A Good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1)

                Essentially respect and honor are better than wealth. We should always honor the name of our father and make sure our names are known for good and not bad.

                “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

                Parenting is not easy, however if parents teach their children from birth and raise them right they will be proud of their children. This can also be applied to self training. If we give up early in the training we will not be disciplined to stay on the right path.

                “Make no friendships with an angry man…” (Proverbs 22:22)

                Again, choose our friends and partners with care or else they will “rub off” on us and we will be just like them.

Proverbs 17-18

Proverbs 17-18

Chapter 17: Friends Forever

                “Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.” (Proverbs 17:5)

                I really love this verse, but when I read verses I often look at other translations of the same verse to see what kind of differences or possibly new interpretations of the verse exist. This particular verse had a different translation that I think really captured the message. The translation is from the Douy-Rheims Bible and is basically the same except; “…he that rejoices at another man’s ruin, shall not be unpunished.” Essentially we learn that we should never make fun of someone because of their social status and if we rejoice in seeing someone else suffer or be ruined (example: tricking them into paying you more money, taking advantage of someone) then those people will be punished for that.

                “He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.” (Proverbs 17:9)

                This is another verse where I hate to say it, but I like the entire translation better than the King James Version, and I REALLY like the King James Version… “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it seperates close friends.” (New Living Translation of Proverbs 17:9) When we are forgiven by others or forgiven of sin, LOVE can prosper. If we dwell on things and never let them go it will ruin relationships.

                “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17)

                Friends and Family are important. True friends and “brothers” (which can be both friends and family) are there for each other… ALWAYS!

                “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” (Proverbs 17:28)

                Sometimes it is just better for us to keep our mouth shut and move on. We will probably look a lot more intelligent if we do so.

Chapter 18: Find a Wife

                “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” (Proverbs 18:8)

                In other words… we can say that the words of the gossiper or liar will come back to hurt the one telling the stories.

                “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22)

                Marriage is important in the eyes of the Lord. We must get married, instead of “living” with someone.

                “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)

                If you want friends, you too must be friendly and keep the friendship going. Friendships that are not taken care of will eventually die off.

Proverbs 5-6

Proverbs 5-6

Scripture Thought (What I Learned): 

                Both Proverbs 5 and 6 have a very clear message that is directed towards men, but can easily be applied to women. That message is pretty simple; 1: Don’t fornicate or commit adultery; 2: Be careful who you marry or who you trust in general. People can deceive and have lying lips that appear to be sweet as ‘honey’ but once you partake the ‘sweet honey’ turns ‘bitter’; 3: Once you are married is important to stay married and ensure that both partners feel a strong connection on all levels that includes a very healthy sexual intimacy.

                I believe that all too often (especially in the LDS Church) that sex is talked about as something evil and perverted. Which is true if done outside of marriage, but in marriage it should be something that both husband and wife can have sexual fulfillment that will keep them from lust and sin. Eternal Marriage goes one step beyond traditional marriage in the sense that being married to someone who you can trust with your physical and spiritual life. Husband and wife should be a check and balance system to ensure that both return to our Heavenly Father and dwell in the Celestial Kingdom. God knew that man was weak, so he gave man the woman to keep man in check and ensure that we will return to live with him. Mankind in general is weak, and men and women sin. But if man and woman are bound together in Holy Matrimony they become ONE, just like God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are ONE, one in purpose.

Chapter 5: Don’t Divorce

                In this proverb we learn a lot about the importance of marriage to the right person. We also learn about the evils of the world and the ways that man can be tricked into evil ways.

                “…the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:” (Proverbs 5:3)

                Essentially this is a warning to men who may get caught in the trap of lusting after a woman who may appear to have “lips of honey” and someone who is a “smooth” talker. She may appear to be sweet, but… “…her end is bitter… sharp as a twoedged sword… her steps take hold on hell… her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.” (Proverbs 5:4-6)

                The counsel given in this proverb is very clear: “Remove thy way far from her…” (Proverbs 5:8)

                But the proverb continues to tell us who we should marry “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.” (Proverbs 5:18-19)

                Something very important to remember and take away from this Proverb… sex is not evil. Sex outside of marriage is evil. Those who are married should enjoy sexual intimacy between one another and if a healthy sexual relationship is balanced with all other activities of being married, spending time together, working through problems together, having children etc… then the marriage will be successful and filled with love. God does not want us engaging in sexual relations before marriage and wants to make sure that once we are married, WE STAY married. God does not like divorce.

Chapter 6: Seven things the Lord Hates

                This proverb lists seven things that the Lord hates (in my version of the Bible, which is the King James Version it tells me that there are ‘6’ things the Lord hates, I like to classify them as 7.

1.       “A proud look…” (Proverbs 6:17)

2.       “…a lying tongue…” (Proverbs 6:17)

3.       “…hands that shed innocent blood.” (Proverbs 6:17)

4.       “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations…” (Proverbs 6:18)

5.       “…feet that be swift in running to mischief.” (Proverbs 6:18)

6.       “A false witness that speaketh lies…” (Proverbs 6:19)

7.       “…he that soweth discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:19)

God does not like sin, period. The laws don’t change, we either choose to follow them or we don’t. “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:” (Proverbs 6:23)

                Essentially the law is light, we can choose how much light we want in our lives by adjusting the amount we follow the commandments (our lantern), if we chose to not follow the commandments it is like not putting any oil (or batteries) in our lamp. If we chose to follow the commandments and fill our lantern with fresh oil or batteries then we can have more of the light. If we go against this WE WILL be left in the dark. We also have to understand that criticism and even chastisement is part of life and it occurs for our own learning.

                This proverbs ends by re-addressing what we learned from Proverbs 5; that is “…whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.” (Proverbs 6:32)

                Committing adultery, or fornication (sex outside of the bonds of marriage) will be wounded and dishourned and will carry that sin for life (Proverbs 6:33)

                We must remember that “…jealousy is the rage of a man…” (Proverbs 6:34)

Psalms 31-32

Psalms 31-32

Chapter 31: All Ye Saints, Love the Lord

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

                David starts off by telling the reader that he trusts the Lord, and he rejoices in his mercy. Her refers to the Lord as his “…strong rock…” (Psalms 31:2) and asks the Lord to lead and guid him (Psalms 31:3), because the Lord is his “…strength.” (Psalms 31:4)

                David in prayer tells God and the reader that the Lord “…hast known my soul in adversities.” (Psalms 31:7). This is something that we all might not consider, but it is something to remember… God knows all of our problems, He understands, and He knows what we are going through. We can take comfort knowing that He is there and He knows everything that we are going through (good and bad), He knows better than ANYONE!

                David says that when he was a sinner that his “…strength faileth…” because of his “…iniquity…” (Psalms 31:10) Sometimes the world will tell us that true strength are in things like having big muscles, possibly even having power and wealth. Is this really the case? No. True strength comes from the Lord! I have seen big macho men fall to their knees and cry over the loss of a loved one. I am not saying that this isn’t sad, but when we have the strength of the Lord and understand His will, then we can shed tears of joy instead of tears of sadness when we lose someone.

                David even mentions people who are slandering his name and devising to take his life away (Psalms 31:13). We can have comfort knowing that the Lord will be there for us. Finally David ends this Psalm by reminding the saints to “…love the Lord… Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart…” (Psalms 31:23-24)

Chapter 32: The Lord will Guide Thee

A Psalm of David, Maschil.

“Maschil – It derives from the Hebrew root word (maśkīl lit.) meaning to have insight, to ponder and wisely understand. A maskil was a skillfully written poem aimed at imparting wisdom in song.”

                “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven…” (Psalms 32:1). David was most likely speaking of himself here, relieved to have felt forgiveness in his own life. David tells us that anyone who is without sin, or who tries to avoid sin will be much happier. He says that he tried to hold his sin in, keeping it from being confessed but that it was too heavy for him.

So he prays to the Lord and says; “I acknowledged my sin unto thee… I will confess my transgressions…” (Psalms 32:5). David confessed his sins to the Lord and because of it, he was feeling more impowered. He goes onto finish this Psalm by saying that the wicked will be filled with sorrows, but the righteous shall be filled with mercy. We can learn from this, and know that it is better to confess our sins to the Lord and keep from them. If we keep ourselves righteous we will be filled with the mercy of the Lord.