The proceeding verse said, "Let the lowly brother glory in his humiliation,"
This opening verse, ten, says, "but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away."
Definition of rich is having a great deal of assets or money.
Definition of glory is to take great pleasure or pride in something or someone.
Definition of humiliation is the state of disgrace or a loss of respect.
Putting these together, we can rephrase this to mean that those who seem to have everything you could want materially should be willing to enjoy losing it all.
It explains that a flower that is so beautiful in the spring and summer will eventually turn brown as it dries up and dies. So evidently no matter how wealthy you are, someday you will lose that wealth.
When you die, that wealth will not be going with you anywhere. No matter your beliefs on death, the bank account with several billion dollars will still be here and not in the grave, in heaven, in hell, or floating around you in some state of cloud 9. You will lose it.
Verse eleven explains in detail how the flower dies, and then points out that humans also die. Thankfully there were no graphic details on what happens to the human anatomy over the years and when a human dies. The flower gets the stage for that. However a point is made.
"So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits."
Definition of rich is having a great deal of assets or money.
Definition of fade is (verb) is grow faint and disappear.
Definition of pursuits is either following someone or doing a specific activity.
Putting these together, we can rephrase this to mean that someone with a lot of wealth will disappear while doing his activities.
What I get out of all of this is that you should enjoy life even if it means that you lose everything you hold of value because when you die, you lose it anyways.
Putting this on the back of the previous post and verse about poor people, I would add that what we should enjoy while we can is not wealth but what is left when the material things are put aside - relationships.
God is always there for us. A relationship with Him should be the one relationship we put those most into.
This is a place where I am study God's Word for myself. I am a bit of a historian so also including some research into the culture of the times and people that I come across as I read the Bible will be here too. This is just a way for me to share what I learn with others as well as feel like I am being held accountable for keeping up with my devotions. I am lazy by nature and need that small check and balance.
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