1 Kings 3

A mother protects her child.

WEEK  7                                          1 Kings 3

TUESDAY  Reflections

At the beginning of his reign, Solomon realized his limitations. He understood, you might say, that he didn't understand. He understood God gave David the throne. He knew the throne had been passed down to him but he was unprepared. When God asked what he wanted Solomon asked for what he needed to lead Israel. Solomon's request was not self-centered. This is what, I believe, pleased God most about Solomon's request, it was outwardly focused. God is always more impressed when our requests aren't all about ourselves.

1Ki 3:1-28
(1)  And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
(2)  Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.
(3)  And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
(4)  And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
(5)  In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
(6)  And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
(7)  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
(8)  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
(9)  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
(10)  And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
(11)  And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
(12)  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
(13)  And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
(14)  And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
(15)  And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
(16)  Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
(17)  And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
(18)  And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
(19)  And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
(20)  And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
(21)  And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.
(22)  And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
(23)  Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
(24)  And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
(25)  And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
(26)  Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
(27)  Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
(28)  And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

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1 Kings 2

WEEK  7                                           1 Kings 2

MONDAY  Reflections

“Solomon, I am dying, trust God and settle my scores.” This is how some read this passage; however, David had seen his mistakes and was now trying to warn his son. Because of vows David had made, he was unable to deal with the people who would threaten the kingdom. Solomon was not under those vows, and David is warning Solomon about those who need to be dealt with and those he should trust.

What may seem strange is the killing of Adonijah after he asks to marry the girl who shared David's bed (and only his bed) at the time of his death. In the West, this seems ridiculous. Why kill a man who wants to marry a virgin? At that time, the wives of the previous king became the property of the rightful king. This is why Absalom slept with David's wives who didn’t flee Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion. Adonijah might have hoped that, by getting the request from his mother, Solomon wouldn't see it for what it was: another play for the throne.

As Solomon had promised, Adonijah would now pay with his life for his second attempt to take Solomon’s throne.  

1Ki 2:1-46
(1)  Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
(2)  I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
(3)  And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
(4)  That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
(5)  Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
(6)  Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
(7)  But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
(8)  And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
(9)  Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.
(10)  So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
(11)  And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
(12)  Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
(13)  And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.
(14)  He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.
(15)  And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD.
(16)  And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
(17)  And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.
(18)  And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.
(19)  Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.
(20)  Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
(21)  And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.
(22)  And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
(23)  Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.
(24)  Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.
(25)  And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.
(26)  And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.
(27)  So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
(28)  Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
(29)  And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
(30)  And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
(31)  And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
(32)  And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
(33)  Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.
(34)  So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
(35)  And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.
(36)  And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.
(37)  For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
(38)  And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
(39)  And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.
(40)  And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
(41)  And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
(42)  And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.
(43)  Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?
(44)  The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
(45)  And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.
(46)  So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Jeremiah 43

Very appropriate for this chapter.

WEEK 6                                         Jeremiah 43

SATURDAY  Reflections

Everything Jeremiah had said before had come to pass. All the other false prophets promised peace for the people of Judah and they were wrong. The leaders came to Jeremiah and promised they would do whatever God said but when he said something they didn't believe they not only ignored him but labeled him a false prophet. How like so many people, they don't want the truth they want to be told what they already believe is true. They don't want direction they want confirmation they are right.

To make matters more insulting they not only ignored Jeremiah but force him to come with them. Jeremiah though ignored continued to speak the words God told him.  

Jer 43:1-13
(1)  And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words,
(2)  Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:
(3)  But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
(4)  So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah.
(5)  But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;
(6)  Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.
(7)  So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
(8)  Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,
(9)  Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;
(10)  And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
(11)  And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
(12)  And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
(13)  He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.

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Song of Solomon 7

WEEK 6                                   Song of Solomon 7

FRIDAY  Reflections

This chapter is the reason Song of Solomon is often not read to children and is rarely read in a church. However, the early church read it at the beginning of Lent. As mentioned in the reflection on chapter five, rabbis thought it was an important tool in what we might call sex education. Sex and desire aren't anything dirty. God created sex, and in its proper place, it is a beautiful thing. However, it is usually either regarded as something dirty, unworthy to be talked about, or made so common that it is nothing more than the actions of any farm animal. God made it to be neither common nor dirty.

I again note that the focus of the lovers is on each other alone. They see their love as mutually exclusive (verse 10). Most love songs, even today, carry this message, though many who sing or listen to them don't practice it.

Son 7:1-13
(1)  How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
(2)  Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
(3)  Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
(4)  Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.
(5)  Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.
(6)  How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
(7)  This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
(8)  I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;
(9)  And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
(10)  I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.
(11)  Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.
(12)  Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.
(13)  The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

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Mathew 6

WEEK 6                                        Matthew 6

THURSDAY  Reflections

Matthew 6 lays out what it means to have true righteousness. This continuation of the Sermon on the Mount covers giving with sincerity, praying with surrender, fasting with integrity, and our relationship to money. This chapter with the rest of the Sermon on the Mount sums up what the life of the disciple should look like.

 

The one point I want to look at today is found in verse 24, “No one can serve two masters.” Though Jesus is talking about money specifically here, I believe that the truth is much broader. There are so many things in this world which want to take control of our lives. We must make a choice, are we going to serve them or God? We can’t center our lives on entertainment, sex, food, friendship, or anything else and think we aren’t making them gods in our lives. There is only room for one god in our lives, Jesus says.

 

The danger with money over the other things is money slides so easily into the god position. Jesus makes it clear that if we seek the kingdom of God then God will meet our needs (verse 33-34). However, when we look at money it is easy to see it as being the solution to meeting our needs instead of God. Therefore, Jesus warns us about it.

 

The question we need to ask is, who are we trusting to meet our needs: money or God? 

Mat 6:1-34

(1)  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

(2)  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

(3)  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

(4)  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

(5)  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

(6)  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

(7)  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

(8)  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

(9)  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

(10)  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

(11)  Give us this day our daily bread.

(12)  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

(13)  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

(14)  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

(15)  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

(16)  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

(17)  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

(18)  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

(19)  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

(20)  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

(21)  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

(22)  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

(23)  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

(24)  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

(25)  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

(26)  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

(27)  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

(28)  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

(29)  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

(30)  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

(31)  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(32)  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

(33)  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

(34)  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Song of Solomon 6

WEEK  6                                 Song of Solomon 6

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

And more love poetry, for the poet and the romantic this probably is a beautiful story. For many it causes them to roll their eyes and wonder again what this has to do with them. In this, I see the heart of the person in love, they are focused only on their beloved. Yes, there are others around but the lover only wants the one they love (verses 8-9).

The old song title says it all, I Only Have Eyes for You. This again I will push into the spiritual as we need only to have eyes for God. God isn't one among many we can have. There is only one and we need to only have eyes for God.



Son 6:1-13
(1)  Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.
(2)  My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
(3)  I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
(4)  Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
(5)  Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.
(6)  Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.
(7)  As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
(8)  There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
(9)  My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
(10)  Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
(11)  I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.
(12)  Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.
(13)  Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

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Song of Solomon 5

WEEK  6                                  Song of Solomon 5

TUESDAY  Reflections

The Song of Songs, as it is sometimes translated, is not an easy book to comment on if you're a father of a teenager who will read what you are writing. I blush at some of the very sensual connotations found in its words. However, love and sex are God's creation. Sex in the proper context is beautiful. However, sin and abuse have changed that for too many. Others see this as a very private activity that embarrasses them when it is discussed openly. However, Jewish Rabbis taught that this was important to read with their families, and it would be done at the beginning of passover. It was hoped that it could teach young people, especially daughters, how to prepare for the emotion of love. Therefore, maybe we should consider the Song of Solomon in a different light.  

My one comment on this chapter: In the last part of verse 1 of chapter 5, the comment is made to "drink your fill, O lovers." This isn't a reference to becoming engaged in overdrinking but ties into the idea of being filled with love. For those in the throes of romantic love, in God's design, is filled with love, is a thing to be encouraged and celebrated. Which is why we celebrate weddings?     

Ecc 5:1-20
(1)  Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
(2)  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
(3)  For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
(4)  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
(5)  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
(6)  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
(7)  For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
(8)  If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
(9)  Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
(10)  He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
(11)  When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
(12)  The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
(13)  There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
(14)  But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
(15)  As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
(16)  And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
(17)  All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
(18)  Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
(19)  Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
(20)  For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.