Daily Devotions
Ecclesiastes
"When your king is the son of nobles"
Text: Ecclesiastes 10:17
GOOD UPBRINGING
Parenting is a skill worth learning well! A good upbringing can make such a difference, especially in the royal family.
“Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles,
And your princes feast at the proper time—
For strength and not for drunkenness!”
Ecclesiastes 10:17
1. “Blessed are you, O land”
a) On the one hand, a land may experience woes (Ecclesiastes 10:16).
b) On the other hand, a land may also experience blessing.
2. Blessings
a) Ultimately, we trace it to the Lord.
b) But in the immediate, blessings on the land depends on those who rule it.
c) If well ruled, the land can be blessed wonderfully.
3. “When your king is the son of nobles”
a) The good king is not “a child”.
b) He is “the son of nobles”.
i) Nobility is a cultivated virtue.
ii) One is not “born” with nobility.
iii) One learns nobility.
c) If the parents are noble people:
i) They are able to teach the heir to the throne about being a noble king.
ii) They would teach their children about responsibilities that come with privileges.
4. “And your princes feast at the proper time”
a) We note again that it is not wrong to have feasts.
b) But they must be held “at the proper time”.
i) Good planning must be considered.
ii) For suitable reasons.
iii) The length of the celebration must be considered too.
5. “For strength and not for drunkenness!”
a) Feasts must have clear and good goals.
i) They must cause the people to be “stronger”.
ii) The celebrations must be uplifting to the heart and spirit.
b) “Not for drunkenness”
i) Feasting must not be an excuse for getting drunk.
ii) If feasting ends up with drunkenness, it will defeat the goal
of finding strength.