Blood and guts.
Lots of famous lines.
Double trouble...
What is that I see before me....
Out Out damn'ed spot.....
The soliloquy that Macbeth rehearses upon discovering Lady Macbeth dead is famous and oft quoted. It can be nihilistic. Yet, there is reality that is horrible for the unbeliever and comforting for the believer. Here's what he says:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,I placed the spaces as I heard Ben Carlson give them. The breaks.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow,
a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale Told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
Signifying
nothing.
Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19–28
People who don't know Jesus look at this soliloquy and say, "see....... even Shakespeare knew there is no god".
Except that God talks about the foolishness of life when it's not invested in Him. How we can lose our life because we waste it in vain pursuits. The devil wants us to perish. John 3:16 has less to do with heaven and much to do with life here and now. We have a Godly purpose. The devil wants to destroy it. To perish. Still alive but spiritually dead.
God speaks in his word things that seem to agree with Macbeth.
Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."
"The one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business." Jam 1:10,11
Hebrews 9:27"Everyone must die once and after this comes judgment."BUT, there is hope in God -
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."1 John 2:17
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.1Peter 1:23-25
The reality is blind ambition, the killing that goes on in the name of being king in this play is futile....King of WHAT? Watch as kings of industry are taken down and humiliated. They are destroyed by ambition without God.
We were all made for something much greater. We were made for significance. We were made to fulfil our Godly purpose. It's only when we chase after shadows that our brief time on this earth is wasted. We perish. Without Hope. Signifying NOTHING.
So next time you see or hear someone pontificating about how important they are or what they are doing is, remember they are only amusing God:
Psalm 2
1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
He who seeks God finds him. And he finds life. He doesn't end as Macbeth does. Alone and hopeless. He will find himself like David:
Psalm 63
A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
6 I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.
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