Only a successful man could... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards. I made myself waterpools.
Ecclesiastes 2:4-6.

Only a successful man could have not merely planned, but also carried out all this enterprise. How many can only dream of such possibilities! Some would readily spend time and energy trying out their creative abilities in order to express their artistic and aesthetic taste and attract admiration for themselves in the eyes of others.

The active person who undertook all the work of the above passage from the Bible calls himself "the preacher". His autobiography (Ecclesiastes) reveals that he is none other than King Solomon of the ancient kingdom of Israel (cf. ch.1:12). He not only had unlimited means at his disposal, He also wanted his fellow citizens to take advantage of his achievements for their benefit.

What conclusion did the immensely rich King Solomon come to? "All was vanity" was his answer, "and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun" (ch. 2:11).

We might think that it was all very well for him. How could we ever achieve that? But Solomon was right. If our thinking is limited to the visible world "under the sun", sooner or later our life is bound to become monotonous and empty. So let us pay attention to what comes after this life: eternity!

But the preacher has yet another message for us, the final stroke in his observations, so to speak: "Fear God and keep his commandments" (ch. 12:13). Anything else is self-satisfaction. This means: it is profitable to inquire after God's will - for now and for eternity!

Today's reading: Leviticus 19:1-37 · Psalms 67:1-7