Pray

Read: Ecc 4:4-12.

Meditation

We’ve seen that envy and laziness as forces of individualism, but Solomon has two more insights to give. Reading from verse 9: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Solomon gives us a small picture in these verses, but there is a great deal there to see. The basic point is clear, isn’t it? It is not good to be alone. The one who is alone will not find help in the day of trouble, he will not find warmth in the cold, nor will he have protection in a time of danger.

And so let me ask the question plainly: Are you an isolated person? Are you cut off from close relationships? Are the relationships you do have distant? Do you keep to yourself? What Solomon is saying is that this tendency is not good. It is destructive.

In terms of our faith, if we do not have companions, we will have no one to lift us up when we stumble. In despair, there will be no one to offer us hope. We might easily fall into doctrinal error or even heresy. And just as our bodies are cold when we are alone in the nighttime of winter, so too our spirits grow cold in isolation. By ourselves, our affections may well grow cold, and we will have no one to warm us.

And so the question remains: Do we have close relationships together? And more importantly, do we have a close relationship with the Lord? Do we draw near to him? Do we draw near to each other? God did not create us to do life alone. It is not good for man to be alone. He created us to do life together, to love God, and to love one another. Whatever path in life we walk, we can be sure that walking alone is not good. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

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Ep 137: Don’t be a loner (Ecc 4:9-12).