Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. – Ecclesiastes 5:10

Today's Scripture Reading (January 31, 2026): Ecclesiastes 5

We love money. I think we know that we are not supposed to, but we do anyway. We know that the love of money is wrong, but that Knowledge probably only leads us to try to make excuses for our passion. Excuses like, "I don't love money; I just wish I could give more to the church." From my experience, if you don't tithe when you are poor, a change in financial situation probably won't help. Or maybe it is "I don't love money; I just want to be able to volunteer more time to things that are important, or be able to spend more time with my family." Unfortunately, that too can be little more than a smoke screen, and an excuse that makes our love for money a little more palatable.

Our shared reality is that few of us will ever be rich enough. There will always be more we want that is just beyond our financial reach. And so, we drive to make just a little more.

Having said that, there are things that we need our finances to do. We need to save for our retirement. We are living longer, but unfortunately, our health often doesn't keep pace with our increasing lifespan. I have known many people who had decided they just weren't going to retire, only to find out that not retiring wasn't a choice they could make. Their health declined until they were forced into retirement. One friend, who had worked in manual labor jobs all of his life, was let go from his job as he entered his sixties because his employers found that he couldn't keep up with the younger workers. We pretend that we can do everything in our sixties that we did in our forties, but I think we know that is just not true.

But it is Ecclesiastes that lays out our real problem. If we love money, then we will never have enough. I have told the story of a friend who demonstrated this principle. When I met him, he and his wife made about $40,000 a year, but it wasn't quite enough. He used to promise me that if God gave him just a little more, then he would be able to tithe and still pay his bills. God delivered the needed miracle. Just a few years after our first money conversation, we had another. By this time, household income had more than doubled, but not the conversation. If God would give him just a little more, his books would balance, he would be able to begin the process of getting out of debt, and, of course, since he was talking to me, he would tithe to the church. God delivered again a few years later. Now with a household income in the six-figure range, he still needed just a little more.

Today, the family income for this family has dropped severely because of health issues. But the saddest part of the story is that my friend never found a place of contentment with what he had. He never had enough. Instead, he became an illustration of what the Preacher had written almost 3000 years ago. "Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 6

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 30, 2026): Ecclesiastes 4

I am old enough to remember Bobby Orr making end-to-end rushes in the sport of hockey. Orr changed the way defensemen played the game. He set the stage for some of the defensemen who would follow him and become offensive powerhouses. However, Orr could pick up the puck and rush into the opponent’s zone only because he understood that someone, one of the forwards, would drop back to cover his defensive responsibilities. Today, that idea has become more dominant in contemporary hockey. Hockey is a sport that depends on the concept of a team. You might have a superstar playing for you, but one talented person will never win a championship. Winning championships depends on putting together a team of players who are willing to play together.

Ecclesiastes was written about the middle of the 10th Century B.C.E. Three centuries later, the fabulist Aesop put his spin on the concept.

Aesop tells the story of “Four Oxen and a Lion.” Once upon a time, four oxen shared a field. There was also a lion in the vicinity, but he was never able to defeat the four oxen. The problem was that every time the lion came near, the oxen pressed their tails together, showing only their sharp horns to their enemy. It didn’t matter which direction the lion chose for his attack; it was always the horns of the oxen that greeted him. The task of getting to the four oxen was hopeless, and so, eventually, the lion gave up.

Without the pursuit of the lion, the attention of the oxen drifted off to other things. They began to criticize each other and complained about almost every aspect of their life together until, one day, they decided they had had enough. There were lots of pastures available in the area; they didn’t have to share the same one. And so, the four oxen decided to separate, each one finding a place where they could all live on their own without the annoyances of the other.

Up in the hills, the lion caught wind of the new arrangements and decided to wander down into the pasture to see for himself what was happening. Sure enough, the four oxen had split and, now, each one ruled over its own little pasture, which meant that the lion was now free to attack them one by one. The lion attacked, and soon it was only the lion that was left standing. The four oxen, once invincible, had been defeated by their own bickering.

It is funny how often the end appears because of our disagreements. Just before Aesop stepped onto the stage, the end of the Assyrian Empire began with a civil war that followed the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 B.C.E. Suddenly, the great war machine that had terrorized the nations was turned on itself, as one faction sought to lead the empire against the desires of another. The war was brutal, and one by one, those areas that had been defeated by the Assyrians once again began to assert their independence. And without a united front, the Assyrian Empire didn’t have the power to do anything about it.

Assyria fought back, but after a few initial wins, all of those who had been on the receiving end of Assyria’s military might unified for one final push to the capital city, Nineveh. The capital city fell in 609 B.C.E., and the Assyrian Empire disappeared into the pages of history.

In a strange twist of fate, Nabonidus seized power in the Babylonian Empire in 556 B.C.E. Nabonidus was an Assyrian from Harran. But Nabonidus, who would be the last king of the Babylonian Empire, made no effort to rebuild the Assyrian Empire. There really wasn’t a point. Less than 100 years after the demise of the Assyrian Empire, there was nothing left of Nineveh but ruins, and precious few Assyrians even lived anywhere near the remains of the former capital city.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 5

A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. – Ecclesiastes 3:8

Today's Scripture Reading (January 29, 2026): Ecclesiastes 3

If you are on social media, you have probably played the game. You know the one; you are shown a page of letters, and the first three words that you see in this mass of letters are your reality, or maybe your future, things that will dominate your life in 2026. By the way, I took this test, and my first three words were Power, Creation, and Breakthrough. A close fourth was Family. But the problem with the test is that it is skewed. Look as hard as you want, you won't find Bankruptcy, Destitution, or Divorce. The word on the screen only contains good things. It is the same with those tests that claim to predict the future based on your name. I have seen your responses to these exercises, and the results are always good. This year, you will finally get a brand-new house or a new fortune. I have never seen you post that, based on your name, you are destined for sickness, death, or even broken relationships this year. The tests are fixed. And by the way, some of you took the same test at the end of 2019, and none of you revealed that what was in your future for 2020 was a pandemic.

But in Ecclesiastes 3, we find a mirror, because it is all there: Birth, Death, Planting, Harvesting, Killing, Healing, tear down, build up, weep, dance, scatter stones, gather stones, embracing, refrain from embracing, search, stop searching, keep, discard, tear, mend, silence, speaking, love, hate, war, and peace. Whatever you feel, it is there.

On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded the independent State of Kuwait. I have to admit that at the time I didn't know where Kuwait was, but I do now. But Iraq's action set up a moral crisis inside of me. I may not have known where Kuwait was, but Iraq, at the time, had one of the top militaries among nations not named the United States, Russia, or China. They may not have been the strongest nation in the world, but they were the strongest among the non-superpower nations. Kuwait was not. The Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq became the grounds for the invasion of Iraq by the United States. One of the things that I remember, and that left its mark on me, was a conversation that I had with a young friend. I know, back then I was young, but he was younger. He opposed the United States' action. I did not. I wasn't in favor. I have admitted that I am a reluctant pacifist, but the question that bothered me was "do we not have some responsibility to stand up for those who are the weak, the ones that Jesus called the least of these. Did Kuwait deserve to be demolished because it was weak but rich?

I must admit, I have a bias. You see, I am a Canadian. I belong to a prosperous nation that is militarily somewhere in the middle - upper middle of military nations. But this I know: we are no match for our neighbors to the south, the United States, which still seems intent on taking us over. If President Trump decided today that he was going to make us the fifty-first state, there is very little that we could do to resist him. I hope that as the United States attacked, the world would come to our defense, but I don't know of any nation that wants to get into a fight with Donald Trump's country.

The thought that kept going through my mind in 1990 was, "Does not Kuwait deserve some sort of defense?" To say no almost seemed an act of cowardice. I want peace, but sometimes I wonder whether we need to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. And at that moment, I wondered about Solomon's words that there was "a time for war and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 8:8b).

Let me be clear, I want peace. Pete Seeger's song "Turn, Turn, Turn" depends on Ecclesiastes 3 for its lyrics. But in the closing words of the song, Seeger adds, "A time for peace, I swear it's not too late." Me too. Maybe I would change one word. "A time for peace, I pray it's not too late."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 4

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 2:11

Today's Scripture Reading (January 28, 2026): Ecclesiastes 2

I love the history of bands. And so, I watch and consume what is available. One of the bands I have studied in recent history is "The Eagles." And one of the great stories from the band is the fight between Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner over the song "Take It to the Limit." The song was primarily written by Meisner. The Eagles' bass guitarist also sang the song. "Take It to the Limit" was the first million-selling song in the Eagles' history. And often, the band held the song back for a possible encore. The problem was that, because of the song's demanding musical range, he was the only member of the band who could sing it; Meisner was also very shy and hated the spotlight. He was not confident that he could consistently reach the high notes at the end of the song. As a result, sometimes, at the end of the concert, with the crowd going wild, there was a fight taking place backstage about whether Meisner was willing to sing the hit song. "Take It to the Limit" became one of the key factors that would eventually break up the band.

Another storyline from the band involved the Eagles replacing guitarist Don Felder with Joe Walsh. The reality was that the trade would cost them vocally. There is no doubt that, from a musical basis, Felder's voice is more melodic than Walsh's. However, the gain would be in guitar playing. If you have listened to the musical interlude in Hotel California, that interlude of dueling guitars was written by Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey, each trying to one-up the other. Another gain the band would realize in Walsh would be in the intangible "Rock Cred." Joe Walsh led a "Rock and Roll" lifestyle. Joe Walsh's song "Life's Been Good" is autobiographical, and it tells a rock-and-roll story. Walsh wrote both the music and lyrics of the song.

I have a mansion but forget the price.
Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice.
I live in hotels, tear out the walls.
I have accountants, pay for it all.

 

They say I'm crazy but I have a good time.
I'm just looking for clues at the scene of the crime.
Life's been good to me so far.

 

My Maserati does one-eighty-five
I lost my license, now I don't drive.
I have a limo, ride in the back.
I lock the doors in case I'm attacked.

 

I'm making records, my fans they can't wait.
They write me letters, tell me I'm great.
So I got me an office, gold records on the wall.
Just leave a message, maybe I'll call.

 

Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
I can't complain but sometimes I still do
Life's been good to me so far.

 

I go to parties sometimes until four.
It's hard to leave when you can't find the door.
It's tough to handle this fortune and fame.
Everybody's so different, I haven't changed.

 

They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time.
I keep on goin' guess I'll never know why
Life's been good to me so far.

Joe Walsh's song is autobiographical, but it is also the song of a modern-day Solomon. I selfishly denied myself of nothing. But part two of the story is essential as well. Walsh was one of the original Bad Boys of rock and roll. He admits trashing hotel rooms for no other reason than boredom. At the same time, an older Joe Walsh acknowledges that part of the problem is that he never felt he truly belonged. His own self-confidence was low, and with everything he had consuming everything he wanted, nothing satisfied him.

Both Solomon and Joe Walsh present similar accounts. I denied myself nothing, and yet none of it satisfied: it was all meaningless.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3

Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. – Ecclesiastes 1:10

Today's Scripture Reading (January 27, 2026): Ecclesiastes 1

Life seems to travel in circles. In the 1970s, I wore bell-bottom jeans. It was the 70s, and that is the only excuse that I have for my fashion decision. I was also a junior high school student who stood over six feet tall and wore platform shoes. And the idea was that if my bell-bottoms were right, they would totally cover the tops of my boots. The style was made popular by Sonny and Cher early in the decade. But by the end of the decade, the practice had already faded, never to be seen again.

Well, maybe not. Bell-bottoms, under various names, made a comeback in the 1980s and 1990s, though they were designed primarily for women. And then, in 2006, they totally disappeared. Sharon Haver, of FocusOnStyle.com. said "It's as if all the girls wearing premium boot-cut jeans threw them away one day, and the next day began wearing skinny jeans and flats."

So, the life of bell-bottom pants lasted from the early 1970s with Sonny and Cher until 2006. Except that there are pictures of sailors wearing what looks suspiciously like bell-bottom pants in 1854. There is nothing new—everything cycles.

I also used to wear a mullet, a hairstyle described as "business in the front and party at the back." The name "Mullet" goes back to 1992 and the Beastie Boys. In 1994, the Beastie Boys released their song "Mullet Head." The style dates back to Keifer Sutherland in the movie "The Lost Boys" (1987), and, according to Keifer, his hairstyle in the film was inspired by Billy Idol. So, finally, we had something new to celebrate. Except that in 2018, construction workers in England discovered a metal figurine dating back to the time of Christ, depicting a man wearing something that looked an awful lot like a mullet. And one researcher commented that the hairstyle probably made a lot of sense in antiquity. It kept the hair out of the eyes while providing warmth and protection for the neck.

So, the Preacher argues that there is nothing new. Nothing. It has all been done before—everything cycles. What has been written has been written before and will be written again. There is nothing new under the sun.

Back in the early seventies, a new band arrived on the scene. They were actually a Canadian band, but what gave them their moment of fame was a rumor. Their first album sounded surprisingly like another band that had recently broken up: The Beatles. Furthering the mystery, the album provided no information about the band's members. The group was called Klaatu, and all the songs were written by the anonymous "Klaatoons." The band's name was taken from the science fiction movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." And so, the rumor exploded; Klaatu was the Beatles reorganized under a different name.

But in 1978, they wrote a song that fits well with the Preacher's words about a world where nothing is new. The song was entitled "Routine Day."

So tell me what's the bloody point of playing the game?
With so much to lose yet so little to gain
You sell your life away.
Can't you see you're just a cog working like a dog

You trade your future for a dead-end job

That's full of routine days (John Woloschuk – Routine Day).

It is the cycle that keeps repeating itself. Nothing is new, and today will return in the disguise of tomorrow. Nothing has changed since the time of Solomon. But that doesn't make Ecclesiastes dangerous. It makes it real. It was like this in Solomon's time, and it is still like that. And we have to somehow come to grips with that reality, and find a way to move through this repetitive reality

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 2

As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. – 1 Kings 11:14

Today's Scripture Reading (January 26, 2026): 1 Kings 11

A long time ago, there was a television series called "The Love Boat." "The Love Boat" had a devoted audience, but it didn't garner much love from critics. Every week, the story about this cruise ship featured three love stories. One of those love stories featured an elderly couple with a secret. He had just retired from his work; she had scrimped and saved so that she could give him the cruise as a reward for his retirement. Except that she had another secret. She had been in control of the money throughout their marriage, and they had lived a life we might call "working poor." He didn't care. All that mattered was that his wife had remained by his side.

The wife, who controlled the money, had apparently attended Dave Ramsey's Financial University. (Okay, at the time of The Love Boat, Ramsey was probably still in grade school, but she had learned money management from somebody.) She had saved money throughout their marriage and invested it in the Stock Market. Her dirty little secret was that as they embarked on their retirement, they were multi-millionaires. However, her husband wasn't sure this was good news. He had brought brown-bag lunches to work every day for years; they had scrimped, the couple rarely ate out, and now he finds out he didn't need to do any of it. His wife had probably made more money on the Stock Market over the last forty years than he had earned at his job. Yes, out of that saving had come this cruise, but there was so much more.

As the husband reviews the list of stocks his wife had invested in, he asks this important question. How did she choose the stocks? She answered that whenever he called her by a nickname, she would go out and buy a stock that began with the same letter. He started cycling through the names. When he called her Dear, she bought DuPont. When he called her Honey, she bought Hewlett-Packard. And then he noticed that at the bottom of the list was another stock name – Xerox. And he looks at his wife and asks, "What did I call you to prompt you to go by Xerox?" She smiled and noted that it had been one of her best investments, bought the day her husband was angry with her and called her a Jezebel; she couldn't spell Jezebel, so it accidentally became Xerox.

The historical Jezebel ruled Israel as the Queen Consort of King Ahab. But as you read through the account of the reign of Ahab, there is little doubt who the monarch really was. Ahab was a figurehead under his wife's rule. Jezebel was a princess, the daughter of the King of Sidon. And she brought with her the gods she had worshipped in her Father's house: Ba'al and Asherah. And she demanded that the nation worship with her.

Her nemesis was the prophet Elijah, who continually sought to draw the nation back to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he couldn't. One of my favorite stories in the Hebrew Bible is the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Ba'al and Asherah. Elijah wins, and the story ends with Ahab and Elijah racing off Mount Carmel before the long-awaited rains come sweeping over Israel. It was a moment of victory for the God of Israel. But as Ahab arrives home to tell Jezebel what has happened, her reaction is not to worship Yahweh or Adonai, but rather to demand that Ahab place a price on the head of Elijah.

And Elijah falls into a deep depression that doesn't end until he has his own meeting with Adonai on another mountain. There he hears God whether Solomon ever met a woman he did not want to sleep with in the gentle whisper, "Eijah, what are you doing here?"

Marriages have to work in the same direction. Usually, they work best if both partners understand the direction before entering into the relationship. This is actually true of all relationships. Can we test each other and strengthen each other, yes, but ultimately, the relationship must be moving toward the same place. I have often wondered what would have happened if Ahab had not married Jezebel. However, Ahab was so weak that he naturally allowed his foreign wife to lead, regardless of who that wife might have been.

Solomon wasn't weak, but his priority was to amass the power and financial gain that God had promised. Sometimes I wonder whether Solomon ever met a woman he did not want to sleep with. Although never officially mentioned among Solomon's 1000 women, the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon because of his wisdom. And rumor has it she left pregnant with Solomon's child. That child became Menelik I, founding the Solomonic Dynasty in Ethiopia. The last descendant of Solomon to rule in Ethiopia was Haile Selassie, who was deposed in 1974. The Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia may reflect King Solomon's lack of wisdom and insatiable need for power, which led him to be more concerned with keeping his foreign wives happy than with keeping the God who had placed him on the throne of Israel happy.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 1

 

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. – 2 Chronicles 9:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 25, 2026): 2 Chronicles 9

Alexander the Great changed the way we wage war. He conquered the known world, but his genius lay in what happened after he had finished conquering. Alexander was a genius in the area of cultural diffusion. After he had conquered an area, he made it culturally Greek. And he was so good at that task that for generations, the places that he had conquered hundreds of years earlier, places that were now subject to a new Roman Empire, continued to be culturally Greek. The Christian, or New Testament, was written in Greek because of Alexander the Great’s ability to spread Greek culture.

Alexander the Great was a student of Aristotle. Often Aristotle is referred to simply as “The Philosopher.” Aristotle, alongside his teacher Plato and the philosopher Sophocles, has revolutionized the way we think. They are the founders of Western Philosophy and have impacted all Western Religions.

Later, during the early years of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus would build on the ideas of Alexander the Great and Aristotle, developing a system for governing a vast empire. The Roman Empire of Augustus changed our expectations about this world once more. There is a thought that while the Holy Roman Empire lasted for centuries, if those kings that followed in the footsteps of Augustus had only ruled in the way that he ruled, and if many of the kings of Rome had not been insane, then maybe the Roman Empire would have been a force for generations longer, and might even still be a force today.

The Queen of Sheba comes to Solomon. The reality is that, from our historical perspective, we do not know much about either of these people. We know that Solomon was the son of David, and that he was reputed to be wise, and that he had many wives and concubines. But of the private Solomon, we know almost nothing. About the Queen of Sheba, we know even less. We do not even know from where she originated. Today, we debate whether she called Ethiopia or Arabia home. But we do know that she came to Solomon, drawn by the stories that she had heard about him. In Solomon, she found a man who seemed to be part Alexander, who would change the world culture around him; part Aristotle, who would change the way people thought; and part Augustus, who would change the way an Empire could be ruled.

However, the test the Queen of Sheba brought to Solomon was actually a spiritual one. The test explored whether this king only possessed the knowledge of the time or whether he also possessed the wisdom to use that knowledge correctly. The idea behind the test was that anyone could pursue knowledge and gain significant amounts of information, but true wisdom meant being able to use that knowledge in a way that could only come from God. We do not know the questions that Sheba asked Solomon, but historical gossip has left us with three possibilities. One possible problem was that Solomon was presented with real and fake flowers and that he was asked to discern between the two by sight alone. Another was that he was presented with a group of boys and girls, dressed alike, and the King was asked to discern between them, and the last was that he was asked to gather a cup of water that came neither from the clouds nor from the earth. Solomon’s rumored responses to these problems were to unleash some bees and see which flowers they went to, to watch the children as they washed their hands to see which were boys and which were girls, and to run a horse hard, almost to the dropping point, and collect the sweat of the horse in a cup. These may not have been the actual questions, but whatever the real questions were, Solomon convinced this mysterious Queen of Sheba that he was wise and that this wisdom was a gift that only God could give to a king.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 11

 

And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. – 1 Kings 10:10

Today's Scripture Reading (January 24, 2026): 1 Kings 10

We are all created differently. We have different strengths and weaknesses. We have different abilities. And we have different access. This catalogue of differences is what makes networking such an important activity. As we build relationships with diverse people, we open ourselves to many possibilities if we are willing to make use of them.

Of course, so do they. There are many things we can do that others can't. This means we need to understand our own catalogue of abilities and how others might use them. I believe that the American Dream, consisting of the idea that "anyone can become anything that they want," is essentially a lie. There are many things we can achieve, but the best way to succeed in our culture is to build on what we can do, rather than attempting to copy others or pursue something for which we are not well-suited.

All of this brings me back to a concept popularized by Marcus Buckingham, who argues that to succeed, we should focus on our strengths rather than our weaknesses. If we work on what we are weak at, the best we can hope for is to be average. But if we work on our strengths, it is there that we can learn to excel. It reminds me of an exchange between Curly, the rugged cowboy, and Mitch, the city boy, in the 1991 movie "City Slickers."

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [points index finger skyward] This.

Mitch: Your finger?

Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and the rest don't mean sh*t.

Mitch: But, what is the "one thing?"

Curly: [smiles and points his finger at Mitch] That's what you have to find out.

Success in life often depends on identifying Curly's "one thing."

The Queen of Sheba had answered that question for her nation. What they possessed was spices, and what they did better than anyone else was gather and process those spices. It was that ability that made the Queen rich, and that prowess was what she was willing to share with Solomon. We might dispute what she received in return, but she received something, even if it was only an essential alliance with Israel.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 9

If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar. – Song of Songs 8:9

Today's Scripture Reading (January 23, 2026): Song of Songs 8

I had several nicknames as a kid. Some were based on my name; I was often called "Watermullen," and one family friend called me "Garrybaldi." I hoped that the latter wasn't a comment on my future hairline, and so far, it hasn't been. Some nicknames were based on my age. For a while, I was just referred to as "kid." Some were based on my physical features, such as nicknames like "The Incredible Bulk," and one that connects more closely to this verse in Song of Songs: "The Brick Wall." This last nickname was based on the idea that, in several games, it was difficult to get anything past me. I remember several times when I was playing floor hockey, which can be a very physical game, at least the way I play it, opposing players would sometimes run into me and subsequently bounce off of me and land on the floor.

The idea of hitting an object and bouncing off of it is a feature of a well-built wall. I was the Youth Pastor at a church with a lower level featuring a central hallway that formed a square. And kids being kids, there was more than one time when the guys, it was almost always guys, would get into a chase around the square. Often, especially in winter, the guys were wearing only socks, which meant they would race down one straight hallway, then negotiate a 90-degree turn to race down another straight hallway. Often, one of the guys couldn't make the turn and ended up crashing into the wall. And a few times, the crash would put a hole in the wall, usually in the shape of a teenage head, which exasperated the building maintenance people. At other times, it was the kid who took the brunt of the damage. But there were no instances in which the collision caused the wall to fall. In every instance, the wall was the ultimate victor.

The friends suggest two possible outcomes: either the bride was a wall or a door. If she were a wall, if she were strong and stable and unable to be moved, then she would be adorned with silver. However, if she was easily moved or in the language of her friends, a door that could be easily opened or swayed, then precautions would have to be made to secure access to her. Theologian S. Craig Glickman phrases it this way: "If she could handle responsibility, they would give it to her; if not, she would be restricted" (S. Craig Glickman, "Solomon's Song of Love.)

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 10

 

Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle. – Song of Songs 7:3

Today's Scripture Reading (January 22, 2026): Song of Songs 7

In an episode of M.A.S.H., Father Mulcahey walks into the recovery ward of the hospital to find a patient reading the Bible. "Ah, spending some time in the Good Book," the priest remarks upon seeing the patient with the Bible in his hands. The patient responded by looking back at the priest, sheepishly.

The M.A.S.H. priest continued, "No need to be embarrassed. When I'm feeling low, I like to spend time reading the Bible. So, what are you reading?" He looks over to see what the patient is reading and recognizes that it is the Song of Songs. "Oh, yes, well, the Song of Solomon, maybe in your condition you should read something a little less … stimulating."

Mulcahey effectively captures the church's attitude toward the Song of Songs. Many people become very uncomfortable when confronted with Solomon's love song. We don't know how to read it. And when we try to interpret it as a love song that sums up God's love for us, it only makes us even more uncomfortable. Is it possible that this is the way that God feels toward us? 

We are more comfortable with the metaphor of God as the Potter and us as the clay. That expression we turn into songs and sing about; at times, this is the relationship we need with God. There are times when we come into the presence of God as broken people and need the shaping power of God in our lives.

The Bible also talks of God being the Good Shepherd, with us as His sheep. There is a significant difference between clay and sheep. I know how much I need God's guiding touch in my life, but I also have to admit that sheep don't exactly have a reputation as the most graceful and intelligent creatures in the world.

We are also called His children, and He is our Heavenly Father. If God truly wants an intimate relationship with us, this is where that relationship finally becomes possible. We aren't just servants, or sheep, or lumps of clay to be molded, but we are the children of the King. This parent-child relationship is likely where we feel most comfortable. Children of the King seems to be a good place to be.

The analogies continue. The Bible says that God calls us "friends." There is an added intimacy between friends that doesn't exist between a five-year-old and his parents. God calling us a friend implies that God sees something in us. Too often, we refuse to see that side of the equation. The God of creation sees something of enough value in me to call me a friend. 

But it doesn't stop even there. The level of intimacy God desires goes even beyond being a friend. He calls us "lovers." Paul writes, "' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:31-32). God speaks to Isaiah, saying, "As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5).

The words of the Song of Songs might be more explicit, but they reflect a similar intimacy as to what both Paul and Isaiah are trying to describe to us. They are the words of one who loves every aspect of the object of his attention, much as a groom might describe his new bride.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Song of Songs 8

You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners. – Song of Songs 6:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 21, 2026): Song of Songs 6

Capital cities vary in size and shape. Some are old and antiquated; others are newer and often the result of significant planning. Some Capitals are beautiful, others are ugly, and frequently the ugliness is a direct result of war and crime. When Donald Trump ordered troops into Washington, D.C. in 2025, the President seemed to indicate that his concern was that the American Capital had become ugly because of the high crime rate in the city. Historically, he was probably right. Washington, D.C., had become a dangerous city. But at the time of President Trump’s order, crime in the city had hit a 30-year low. Still, an argument can be made that crime in a city, especially a capital city, can never be too low.

I recently read an article that listed the ugliest capital cities in the world. This list of the ugly included Damascus, Syria, primarily due to the devastating effects of a civil war. It also listed Lagos, Nigeria, because of high crime rates, a lack of adequate infrastructure, and overcrowding, as well as Tripoli, Libya, because of political instability. Recent events might require us to add Caracas, Venezuela, to this list. Caracas is plagued by crime, hyperinflation, and economic instability, all of which diminish the city's appeal.

On the other side of this coin are the beautiful capitals of the world: cities such as Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Islamabad, Pakistan. Maybe that last city is a bit of a surprise to those of us living in the West. However, Islamabad is known for its natural beauty. The city is nestled in the Margalla Hills and is recognized for its lush greenery and modern architecture.

There are many questions surrounding the Song of Songs, including who really wrote it. Solomon is the traditional author, and it is possible that the last King of the United Kingdom of Israel wrote it. We sometimes like to think that this King wrote it to Abishag, the beautiful woman who appears to have been used as a pawn for a significant portion of her early life, including being chosen to warm King David’s bed during the last days of his life. But it is equally possible that it was written by someone else.

If King Solomon wrote it, one problematic passage is this one, in which the author compares his bride to the beauty of Tirzah and Jerusalem. Both cities are capitals, and both are considered very beautiful by the author. The problem is that Tirzah might have been a lovely city; the name of the city itself means “delight” or “pleasantness.” However, if the Song of Songs was written by Solomon somewhere around 950 B.C.E., Tirzah wasn’t a capital city; therefore, it was not a city on par with Jerusalem. Tirzah didn’t become the Capital of the Kingdom of Israel and the counterpart of Jerusalem until after the death of Solomon in 931 B.C.E. It remained the Capital city of the Northern Kingdom until Omri burnt Tirzah when he took control of the Kingdom in 886 B.C.E. At that time, Omri moved the Capital of the Northern Kingdom to Samaria. This comment about Tirzah would seem to indicate that the Song of Songs was written between 930 and 886 B.C.E.

However, whoever wrote Song of Songs compares his bride to the most beautiful cities that he could imagine: Jerusalem, the Capital of Judah, and Tirzah, the Capital of Israel.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Song of Songs 7

I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer. – Song of Songs 5:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 20, 2026): Song of Songs 5

Most couples have stories of times when there was a miscommunication. Maybe how we react to those moments is the real story of our relationships. My wife and I have had a few humorous moments, although they were probably not so funny at the time.

One such moment came early in our relationship. During our college years, we both lived in the dormitory with many other students. We hadn’t been dating for long when, one evening, a few of the guys came up to me to warn me that someone was making a move on my girlfriend. According to my “friends,” someone had decided that she was the one for him and, at this very moment, was proposing marriage. I have no idea if he was. Over the years, I have teased my wife about this moment, but we have never really discussed it.

As I mentioned, the event took place relatively early in our relationship, and I wasn’t sure what any of my “spies” expected me to do about the situation. I hung around some of the public areas I knew she frequented. Later that evening, we saw each other, and as I remember it, neither of us made a big deal of what had just happened. However, it is entirely possible that our relationship would have progressed differently if I had responded differently.

There is so much that could be said about this passage in Song of Songs. Experts make the most out of a possible “double entendre” throughout this group of verses and throughout the whole book. However, regardless of the meaning we find in this passage, it appears that the bride is hesitant about what comes next. There are excuses offered, but none of them change the reality that by the time the bride is ready to welcome her beloved, her beloved is no longer ready for her.

The groom could have been frustrated over his beloved’s hesitancy to welcome him. He could have stomped off angrily, but there is no evidence in this passage that he reacts in this manner. Instead, he patiently waits for his bride to welcome him. He leaves to give her the space she requires in this moment, rather than demand or force what it is that he wants. For a King in antiquity, it is an unusual response, but one from which we can all learn.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Song of Songs 6

You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. – Song of Songs 4:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 19, 2026): Song of Songs 4

They are called “Consanguinity Laws,” the regulations that govern how close a relative you are allowed to marry. Most societies and cultures have either laws or taboos about marrying a close relative. And with good reason. The problem is that marrying someone with a very similar gene pool can have adverse effects on health. Recessive traits are more likely to become dominant in a child whose parents share similar genetic backgrounds. Couples who are related to each other are recommended to have genetic counselling to explore some of the problems that such a union might produce.

As a result, many cultures have incorporated regulations concerning such marriages into their laws. In the United States, it is the individual States that enact these laws. As a result, they vary from state to state. Marrying close relatives, such as siblings, parents, or children, is widely prohibited. The variance arises with the union of first cousins. In some states, such as California or New York, marrying a first cousin is legal, while in states like Virginia and Tennessee, such unions are prohibited. In Canada, marriage between first cousins is legal, although it is not generally culturally accepted.

I have mentioned elsewhere in this blog that there has been some inbreeding in my family. My paternal grandparents shared the same surname. When they married, my grandmother’s maiden name did not change. She was Fanny Mullen all of her life and didn’t have to change her last name when she married my grandfather. They were eighth cousins, a relationship distance commonly declared acceptable by law, but some in the family disagreed on cultural grounds. Culturally, some people believed that even eighth cousins were too close to permit marriage. My grandparents paid no heed to those complaints.

But the cultural aversion is so great that it often intrudes into relationships between unrelated people. I recall one friend remarking that his relationship with another woman had been so close since childhood that he never considered dating her. The reason? He said, “It would be like dating my sister.” Even though the woman wasn’t his sister, the taboo seemed to be still in place.

It hasn’t always been that way. And so, Solomon writes, “You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride.” The words are probably enough to produce a collective “Eww” from most siblings. But in Solomon’s day, it was a common description of your bride. The love a brother held for a sister was supreme. Nothing could top the dedication of a brother to his sister. Not even a wife. However, in this case, Solomon is so much in love with his bride that he argues she has become “like a sister” to him. And there is no collective “Eww” that was ever expected.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Song of Songs 5

The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. “Have you seen the one my heart loves?” – Song of Songs 3:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 18, 2026): Song of Songs 3

I attended High School in a small town. As a result, most of us kids had a pretty good relationship with the local police officers. There were only four or five officers responsible for the area, and it seemed like they wanted to build relationships with at least some of us kids. That meant that we felt pretty comfortable being around them. I recall one incident in which a Check Stop was set up on a local bridge. Everyone coming into town had to cross the bridge; there were no other choices other than to drive at least a couple of hours out of your way so that you could approach the town from a different direction.

So, I drove up to the Check Stop. I hadn’t been drinking or doing anything illegal, just a kid trying to make his way home. The officer, whom I knew slightly, approached my window and requested my license, insurance, and registration. No other traffic was on the bridge, so it was just me and this young police officer. I retrieved my wallet, gave the officer my license, and then leaned over to open the glove compartment to get my registration and insurance. The registration was right where it was supposed to be; however, the insurance card was missing.

The police officer was not impressed and started to really press me. Did I know what the penalty was for driving without insurance? I assured him that I had insurance; I just couldn’t find my proof of insurance. I offered to bring my insurance to the police station the next day, but the officer wasn’t buying any of it. At one point, I wondered whether I would be arrested for driving without an insurance card. Again, it was a small town, and one of the local officials who was responsible for the jail was a friend (and my boss at my part-time job), and he had warned me that he didn’t ever want to be woken up to find out that I was spending the night in the local lock-up. And to this point, he never had.

Just as my fear was reaching its peak, a car pulled up behind me. The officer handed me back my license and insurance with the words, “Get lost, Garry. I have a real customer.” My “police confrontation” had a good ending. Still, maybe for a moment, I understood a little of what some minorities in several places in the world experience every time they encounter a police official. (I found my insurance card the next day. It had fallen to the floor when I pulled out the insurance. In the darkness of the night on the bridge, I couldn’t see it.)

The bride would have had a good relationship with the Watchman. But it wasn’t the watchman for whom she was searching. It was her beloved. She would ask if he had seen him, but then she would move on. I love the way Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) describes this passage.

She did not sit down, and say to any one of them, “O watchman of the night, thy company cheers me! The streets are lonely and dangerous; but if thou art near, I feel perfectly safe, and I will be content to stay awhile with thee.” Nay, but she leaves the watchmen, and still goes along the streets until she finds him whom her soul loveth (Charles Spurgeon).

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Song of Songs 4

Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. – Song of Songs 2:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 17, 2026): Song of Songs 2

For a while, I lived in the basement of an official who often performed marriages. While I lived in his basement, several couples chose to marry in his well backyard. That meant that I had the opportunity to play the part of the Best Man, for a price. I don’t know how many men I stood beside as the Bride and Groom took their vows and then signed the marriage license as a witness. Somewhere, there are several marriage documents containing my signature; who knows how many of those couples are still together.  

My parents have been married for sixty-six years (as of their last anniversary in June 2025). In our world, sixty-six years of marriage is a significant achievement. No marriage is easy; they all come with problems and difficulties that must be overcome. I have tried to determine how long the average marriage lasts and have found substantial contradictory evidence. But as close as I can figure out, there are two very different numbers. Including all marriages, those that end in divorce as well as those that end with the death of a spouse, the average length of these marriages is approximately 20 years, perhaps slightly shorter. The average person who makes the commitment and says “I do” in a ceremony, whether in a church, courthouse, or even in a stranger’s backyard, can expect to remain together for about 20 years.

But there is a second question. For those who marry and that marriage does not last until one spouse dies, but instead ends in divorce, how long do those marriages last? And the answer to that question is about eight years. Most marriages that end in divorce last fewer than 10 years. And there is a reason for that length of time—the brain hormone phenethylamine governs romantic love. Phenethylamine has a cycle. At the beginning of a relationship, there is a significant spike in this hormone, but like many hormones, phenethylamine has a best-before date. After about four or five years, it begins to decrease, and if the couple has not built other reasons to stay together, they often don’t. In almost all cultures, there is a sharp increase in divorce rates that begins at about four and a half years.

The bride in the story of the Song of Songs remarks that she is “faint with love.” What she is talking about is the effects of phenethylamine. She says that she wants her beloved to bring her raisins and fruit to give her strength. But the reality might be that she hopes this feeling will last for a long time, or at least long enough to build other ties with the one whom she loves.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Song of Songs 3