MAR 28

Ecclesiastes 12:11
Memorise Ecclesiastes 12:11
"The words of the wise are as goads…give from one shepherd."

HAVE YOU BEEN GOADED?

A goad is a basically a long staff with a pointed end, used by farmers and shepherds to guide their sheep and cattle. The end is sometimes headed with iron, like the people of Israel had in 1 Samuel 13:21, whereby they had a file to sharpen it. It was also used as a weapon by Shamgar to slay 600 men (Judges 3:31). When the shepherd, armed with a goad leads his flock and directs them in a certain direction, there would be some sheep that try to go off the part, or wander off towards danger. What the shepherd would do would be to prod the sheep with his goad, to make it experience pain as it tried to go off in the direction it should not be going, and in so doing to goad it back into the right path.

Thus when Solomon describes the words of the wise as goads, it is clear what this illustration means. We are all like sheep going astray, wandering off into the world, thinking that there is something there to be enjoyed. The book of Ecclesiastes will then stand as a goad in our way, provoking us to reflect on our ways, to prod us back into the right path, to direct us to the right fear of the Lord.

Dear teen, as you studied through the book of Ecclesiastes, have you been goaded? Have you been provoked to return to the path of righteousness, and away from the sin and vanity of the world? As you heard all the experiences and observations that Solomon shared, have you been goaded to realize how vain and empty the foolishness of the world is, and how important it is to submit to the sovereign Almighty God? His experiences that he shared are meant to push us, to maybe at times even to hurt us, so that we would not make the same mistakes that he had made in his life, and return to the Lord. Yet these hurts and provocations are not the grievous wounds of an enemy, but the gentle prodding of a loving shepherd who cares for our souls, and desires nothing more that we love the Lord, and live lives that are pleasing to Him.

Thought: Better to be goaded and suffer temporarily, than to be led astray and lost forever.
Prayer: Lord, may You help me to respond to the goading from Thy Word with humility and repentance.