Christian women are called to embody resilience, strength, patience, resourcefulness, gentleness, joyfulness, self control, and kindness, but many feel weighed down, angry, overwhelmed, drowning in motherhood, stuck in isolation, and on the edge of burnout. Why is this?

Let’s talk about it.

The young woman is the primary speaking in Song of Solomon 2. She tells the reader how her heart is sick with love and overwhelmed by affection for her young man. He provides for her, pursues her, complements her, and gives himself entirely to her, leaving her with no doubt that his love is as ardent as hers.

The short introduction tells us Solomon was the author of this book. In chapter 1, we are introduced to the 2 lovers of the Song of Songs as they express their attraction to one another and their desire to spend time together.

The Preacher encourages young people to remember their Creator while they’re young, before the hard days of old age take their toll. He concludes Ecclesiastes stating that the whole of man is the “fear God and keep His commandments.”

Solomon continues his proverbs discussing the principles of generosity and trusting God through the unknown. At the end of the chapter, he encourages young men to enjoy their youth but ultimately declares youth to be just another vanity.

Solomon continues his discussion on the value of wisdom, contrasting it with the destructive power of folly. He councils his readers to avoid the lifestyle of a fool and to embrace the benefits that wisdom can bring to their lives.

Solomon was frustrated by the seeming randomness of life’s events. It wasn’t clear to him why God allowed similar events to befall the righteous and the wicked. At the end of the chapter, he described the value of wisdom using a story about a poor wise man who saved a small city.

Ecclesiastes 8 begins by describing a man of wisdom. A wise man obeys his king and knows the inevitability of death. Solomon lamented injustice on the earth, how some men who deserve punishment are blessed and visa-versa. He declared God’s ways to mysterious to find out.

Solomon concludes that wisdom is a benefit to men living “under the sun.” It can give a man advantages on earth, but that man will also have to come to grips with the reality that all of life is meaningless. Wisdom can be pursued, but it will never be fully grasped.

Solomon contemplates the vanity of a life of riches, wealth, and honor when the possessor never gets to enjoy them. Solomon warns men that their life’s work could all be meaningless, because nobody knows what will happen to their work after they die.

Solomon continues his discussion on vanity, bringing up at least 3 areas of life where vanity is observable. Solomon saw vanity in the way some people worshipped, when they offered empty words and promises to God. He goes on to describe the vanity of greed and the vanity of wealth.

In Ecclesiastes 4, Solomon expands on his reasons for calling all of life “vanity.” Life is oppressive, and the weak are victims of the powerful. There is vanity in hard work and in laziness. Companionship is preferable to solitude, even high-achieving solitude. Fame and power are fleeting.

The cycle of the earth repeats continually, and everything happens at its appointed time according to God’s design. God created mankind with knowledge of eternity, although much of His work is still hidden from them. Injustice is prevalent on the earth, but a time for judgment is approaching.

In Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon tested the offerings of the world and found them empty. Physical pleasure, wine, laughter, entertainment, accomplishing things, riches, making a name for himself, they were all vanity. Solomon discussed the fate of the wicked vs. the foolish, and lamented the short value of hard work.

Welcome to our Bible study of Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 1, Solomon declares that life on earth is vanity. Earthly pursuits are largely meaningless. Men are born and men die in the endless cycle of the earth’s spinning. History is forgotten and repeated generation after generation.

In Job 42, the final chapter in the Book of Job, Job repents of speaking too boldly about things only God could know. Then God rebuked Job’s 3 friends for misrepresenting Him and accusing Job of sins he hadn’t committed. At the end of the chapter, God restores Job to health, to wealth, and gives him 10 more children. Job lived 140 blessed years after his suffering and died at a good old age.  

Job 41 is one of the most fascinating chapters in the whole Old Testament. In it, God describes an incredible animal called the Leviathan. The Leviathan was a formidable aquatic beast with scale-like armor and unrivaled power. He was the king of creation and had no worthy adversaries among men. While some suggest Leviathan was a crocodile, the description in Job 41 makes it clear Leviathan was a much fiercer beast of greater strength.

In Job 40, Job foregoes his opportunity to speak, and God continues questioning him. He told Job that if he had power equivalent to the Almighty’s that then-and-only-then would he be able to contend with God. God brought up one of his most marvelous animal creations, the behemoth, to remind Job that he was not God’s equal and could demand nothing from Him.

God continues his questioning of Job in chapter 39, asking him questions about the natural world, specifically about different animals in the creation. All of God’s questions were beyond Job’s ability to answer. During this questioning, Job sat silently, no longer questioning God, but questioning himself for being so bold in demanding answers from God.

In previous chapters, Job insisted on God giving him answers as to the reasons behind his suffering. In Job 38, God finally speaks and starts demanding answers from Job. This chapter is a series of questions God asked Job to humble him and to make him appreciate the majesty and complexity of the Eternal Creator.