Thought for Today
Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.
Jeremiah 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Luke 22:20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Hebrews 8:8 "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
Yesterday, I referenced the phrase, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I cannot help but think that phrase and the truth behind it was on the mind of the Prophet in Ecclesiastes.
I thought about that phrase this morning as Greta and I drove to our doctor’s office for our annual Wellness Check. First, the whole concept of modern medicine and healthcare is something new. Qoheleth did not have a PCP, never had to choose between an HMO or a PPO, and probably would have been even more confounded than all of us are in trying to choose a healthcare provider or health insurance. Even had Qoheleth visited a physician, that physician would not have used a stethoscope or a sphygmomanometer (blood pressure monitor).
In many ways, the world into which I was born is no more. Many of the items we take for granted today did not exist prior to WWII. Certainly, there have been automobiles for many years. But, the Model T Ford was vastly different from the car in which we traveled this morning. Winter driving in New England does make me suspect that the roads were last repaired in the era of the Model T, but potholes were probably a time-honored tradition long before (allegedly) paved roads. Maybe, in some aspects, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
The list of technologies and devices created during my lifetime is impressive. Transistors, cell phones, smartphones, computers, Bluetooth anything, AI . . . and the list goes on. Maybe, in some aspects, things do not stay the same.
All of those verses above tell us that, in fact, some things do not stay the same . . . and some things do. Reading Ecclesiastes, one can look at the various subjects Qoheleth reflects upon. Qoheleth says he, “1:13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.” He speaks to human nature and the deeds we do.
Reading scripture does often suggest to us that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Anger, violence, war, greed, lying, cheating, all seem to be basic elements of human nature almost from the beginning. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” None of our scientific knowledge, none of our modern devices seem to have changed humanity’s proclivity for reprehensible behavior.
In a more positive light, it is important for all of us to remember that the God of Genesis 1:1 is the same God in Revelation 22:20. That God is the same God to which we pray today. I’ve noted before, I love the Moffett Bible, in which the holy name of God, the tetragrammaton, is translated as “the Eternal.” That holy name of God, the tetragrammaton, may well be related to the ancient Hebrew word for life, for existence itself. God simply is the One who Is, the Great “I AM.” God always was; God always is; God always will be.
In a very real sense, all of the knowledge reflected in our doctor’s office, all of the medicines, all of the devices, are reflective of the sanctity of God’s basic gift, “2:7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” The amazing medical advances of the past centuries . . . and of all the centuries to come, are there to honor and protect that “breath of life.”
As a Christian, however, I believe in the New Covenant poured out in Jesus’ blood. The acts of creation are followed by “and God saw that it was good.” It didn’t take too long, however, before things obviously were no longer universally good. Ultimately, God the Father sent Jesus the Son to set us back on the correct path. Jeremiah prophesied the new covenant; Jesus fulfilled the New Covenant.
Some things do remain the same. Some things do change. Our faith in Jesus makes us all full signatories to and participants in the New Covenant. “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—“
Stay safe, have faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray