...continuing along...

16.
If you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and justice being miscarried throughout the land, don't be surprised! For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice only get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. Even the king milks the land for his own profit.
.....Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what is the advantage of wealth-- except perhaps to watch it run through your fingers!

More thoughts from Solomon, who lived some 3,000 years ago. And sounds as if he's
talking about modern times.

17.
People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich are always worrying about their riches and seldom get a good night's sleep.
.....There is another serious problem I have seen in the world. Riches are sometimes hoarded to the harm of the saver, or they are put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one's children. People who live only for wealth come to the end of their lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day they were born

18.
And this, too, is a very serious problem. As people come into this world, so they depart. All their hard work is for nothing. They have been working for the wind, and everything will be swept away. Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud - frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
.....Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, and enjoy their work - whatever they do under the sun - for however long God lets them live. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life - that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for Good has given them reasons for joy.

19.
There is another tragedy I have seen in our world. God gives great wealth and honor to some people and gives them everything they could ever want, but then he doesn't give them the health to enjoy it. They die, and others get it all! This is meaningless - a sickening tragedy.
.....A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and in the end does not even get a decent burial I say he would have been better off born dead. I realize that his birth would have been meaningless and ended in darkness. He wouldn't even have had a name, and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace that he has in growing up to be an unhappy man. He might live a thousand years twice over but not find contentment. And since he must like die like everyone else- well, what's the use?
.....All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. Considering this, do wise people really have any advantage over fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others?
.....Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless and it is like chasing the wind.

..The Future

20.
Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there's no use arguing with God about your destiny.
.....The more words you speak, the less they mean. So why overdo it?
.....In the few days of our empty lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? And who can tell what will happen in the future after we are gone?

21.
A good reputation is more valuable than the most expensive perfume. In the same way, the day you die is better than the day you are born.
.....It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die and you should think about it while there is still time.
.....Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a special refining influence on us. A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only about having a good time now.
.....It is better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool! Indeed, a fool's laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless.
.....Extortion turns wise people into fools and bribes corrupt the heart.
.....Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.
.....Don't be quick-tempered, for anger is the friend of fools.
.....Don't long for "the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than today.
.....Being wise is as good as being rich, in fact, it is better. Wisdom or money can get you almost anything, but it's important to know that only wisdom can save your life.
.....Notice the way God does things, then fall into line. Don't fight the ways of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked?
.....Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. That way you will realize that nothing is certain in this life..

...continuing...Solomon's Theme: Life is Meaningless without God ... 'Written approx. 935 BC'

22.
In this meaningless life, I have seen everything, including the fact that some good people die young and some wicked people live on and on. So don't be too good or too wise. Why destroy yourself?
.....On the other hand, don't be too wicked either--don't be a fool! Why should you die before your time? So try to walk a middle course--but those who fear God will succeed either way.
.....A wise person is stronger than the ten leading citizens of a town!
.....There is not a single person in all the earth who is always good and never sins.
.....Don't eavesdrop on others--you may hear your servant laughing at you. For you know how often you yourself have laughed at others.
.....All along I have tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, "I am determined to be wise." But it didn't really work. Wisdom is always distant and very difficult to find. I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness.

Decided to begin to skip like a stone on the Solomon-waters, and condense these postings a beat.
So hold on ~

23.
I discovered that a seductive woman is more bitter than death. Her passion is a trap, and her soft hands will bind you. Those who please God will escape from her, but sinners will be caught in her snare.
~
Don't take a stand who plot evil. The king's command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right. Yes, there is a time and a way for everything even as people's troubles lie heavily upon them.
.....Indeed, how can people avoid what they don't know is going to happen? None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue those who practice it.

24.
I have thought deeply about all that goes on here in the world, where people have the power to hurt each other. I have seen wicked people buried with honor. How strange that they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are praised in the very city where they committed their crimes! When a crime is not punished, people feel it is safe to do wrong. But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. The wicked will never live long, good lives, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.
....And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!
.....In my search for wisdom, I tried to observe everything that goes on all across the earth. I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. This reminded me that no one can discover everything God has created in our world, no matter how hard they work at it. Not even the wisest people know everything, even if they say they do.
.....Death comes to all! This, too, I carefully explored. Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God's hands, no one knows whether or not God will show them favor in this life. The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether they are righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatments as sinners, and people who take oaths are treated like people who don't.
.....It seems so tragic that one fate comes to all. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway. There is hope only for the living. For as they say, "It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion."
.....The living at least know they will die. But the dead know nothing. Whatever they did in their lifetime--loving, hating, envying-- is all long gone. They no longer have a part in anything here on earth.

So not to sound too discouraging, Solomon eventually ends this discussion with these words: Fear God and obey his commandments. For this is the duty of every person. (But we are still not at the end of Solomon's thoughts here...but soon.)

25.
So go ahead. Eat your food and drink your wine with a happy heart for it is now that God favors what you do. Always be clothed in fine clothing, annoint your head with oil (wear fine cologne). Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you in this world. The wife God gives you is reward for all your earthly toil. Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
.....

26.
I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives.
.....People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a snare, people are often caught by sudden tragedy.
.....Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. There was a small town with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. There was a poor, wise man living there who knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward, no one thought any more about him. Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long. But even so, the quiet words of a wise person are better than the shouts of a foolish king. A wise person can overcome weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

Note ~ Isaac Newton, discoverer of Calculus, devoted significant amounts of time interpreting the form and measurement of Solomon's Temple, believing the ancient site to be a microcosm symbolizing the design of the cosmos.
Read more by the link provided, (and notice the portion of manuscript at the bottom of the link). Also in that link, there is another link called the 'Newton Project', which provides some very heavy-duty serious study on the theology and wild ideas of Isaac Newton.
http://theotherlee.blogspot.com/2008/06/isaac-magus.html

...continuing with words from Solomon, written some 3000 years ago:

27.
It is no good to charm a snake after it has bitten you.
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
God's ways are as hard to discern as the pathways of the wind, and as mysterious as a tiny baby being formed in a mother's womb.
Be sure you stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow---perhaps they all will.

Advice for Old and Young
Light is sweet; it is wonderful to see the sun! When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them all remember that the dark days will be many. Everything still to come is meaningless.
.....Young man, it is wonderful to be young. Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do, take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So banish grief and pain, but remember that youth, with a whole life before it still faces the threat of meaninglessness. .....Don't let the excitrement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living. It will be too late then to remember him, when the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among the clouds. Your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to do their work, and you will be blind, too. And when your teeth are gone, keep your lips tightly closed when you eat. Even the chirping of birds will wake you up. But you yourself will be deaf and tuneless, with a quavering voice. You will be afraid of heights and of falling, white-haired and withered, dragging along without any sexual desire. You will be standing at death's door. And as you near your everlasting home, the mourners will walk along the streets.
.....Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the well. For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
.....All is meaningless. Utterly meaningless.

Concluding Thoughts ~

24.
Because the Teacher was wise, he taught the people everything he knew. He collected proverbs and classified them. Indeed, the Teacher taught the plain truth, and he did so in an interesting way.
.....A wise teacher's words spurs students to action and emphasize important truths. The collected sayings of the wise are like guidance from a shepherd.
.....But be warned: There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!

.....~ Here is my final conclusions: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret things, whether good or bad!

______

...So ends the Book of Ecclesiastes by Solomon. Some parts were skipped over. So drag out the old Bible and read the parts skipped over.
...Solomon's writings were done one thousand years before Christ's physical appearance. By clothing ourselves with Christ's spirit, his character, actually himself, we no longer fear our stupidity and waywardness being judged by God, because it's all been already dealt with, crucified on the cross.
~ MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL! ~

It all boils down to faithfully acknowledging God in all we do.
Thanks!

Merry Christmas!!!!