In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, “I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun”, and in chapter four and verse eight of his book Solomon said, “there is one alone, and there is not a second”, where we read,
There is one alone, and there is not a second; yes, he has neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither says he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yes, it is a sore travail.
The verse reads, “There is one alone, and there is not a second; yes, he has neither child nor brother:” Solomon began with the words, “there is one alone” or “there exists a particular person who is solitary, single and by himself”, “and there is not a second” which means “and there exists in no way or manner another individual or person”; “yes, he has neither child” or “even so and also, he, the person who is alone, does not possess an offspring or progeny” “nor brother” which means “no and not in any way a male sibling”. Solomon referred the person who is single and by themselves without another person accompanying them and who does not have an offspring or male sibling.
The verse continues, “yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither says he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good?” Daniel added the words, “yet is there no end” or “still and even so there exists not any finality, extremity or conclusion” “of all his labor” which means “pertaining to each, every and the whole of his, the single person’s, toil, trouble and wearisome travail”; “neither is his eye satisfied” or “no and not in any way is his, the single person’s, physical eye used for vision and sight sated, fulfilled and surfeited” “with riches” which means “by the means of wealth”. “Neither says he” or “not in any way or manner does he, the single person who toils and works”, “For whom do I labor” which means “on behalf of what person do I, the single person, suffer, toil and work”, “and bereaved my soul” or “and decrease, have need and lack in my, the single person’s, heart and mind” “of good” which means “pertaining to that which is pleasant, agreeable, excellent and valuable”? Solomon shared how there exists no conclusion to every portion of the single person’s toil and wearisome travail, and his physical eye is never sated or fulfilled by the use of wealth. He also shared how the single person never questioned for whom he is working and causing need and lack in his own heart and mind.
Finally the verse says, “This is also vanity, yes, it is a sore travail.” Solomon concluded this verse with the words, “this is also vanity” or “this, the pursuit of wealth by the single person, exists even so and indeed as vapor, breath and transitory dissatisfaction”, “yes, it is a sore travail” which means “even so, indeed and still it, the pursuit of wealth by the single person, exists as a bad, malignant and displeasing task, job and business”. Solomon ended this verse by stating that the pursuit of wealth by the single person with all the displeasing tasks and emptiness exists as vapor and grasping for the wind.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Solomon how he thought about the person who is “alone” or single in the world. He thought their pursuits are often driven to wealth and satisfaction in ways that ultimately become unfulfilling. They do not have “children”, their own families are sometimes separated from them, and there is no one to whom they are toiling that shall inherit the benefit of their efforts. God knows the plight of everyone, and when He created man He Himself said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” (See Genesis 2:18) God desires to have a personal intimate relationship with all of us through His Son Jesus who was a single man and was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and provide His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth regardless of whether we are single or not in the world.
Next time Solomon says, “two are better than one”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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