Ecclesiastes 8 -- Wisdom And Authorities

Solomon discusses the value of wisdom and how it can help us exercise discernment in our interactions with authorities.  Here are some things I read:

“Suppose the king commanded the servant to do something evil, something that the servant did not want to do?  What should the servant do?  Here is where wisdom comes to his aid … Four possible approaches he could take to this problem.”

First, Disobedience – Solomon advised against this, since the king could do no wrong and no one could decide against him (since he was the king, he’d know, I guess).

Second, Desertion – “More than one person has quit a job or resigned from office in order to maintain his or her integrity.  But Solomon warned that even this action may not be safe, because the king might be offended and punish the person anyway.

Third, Defiance – Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”  My commentary said about “standing up for what is right – This doesn’t mean we can resist the law on every minor matter that disturbs us, but it does mean we have the obligation to obey our conscience.  How we express our disagreement with the authorities demands wisdom and grace.”

Fourth, Discernment – “It takes discernment to know the right procedure for the right time.  The impulsive person who overreacts and storms out of the room is probably only making the problem worse.  Wisdom helps us understand people and situations and to figure out the right thing to do at the right time.”

My commentary talked about the apostles when they went before the religious leaders in their day.  “They exercised spiritual discernment … they showed respect toward those in authority even though the religious leaders were prejudiced and acted illegally.  The apostles were even willing to suffer for their faith, and the Lord honored them.”

Father God, I value what You have to say this morning about discernment, and I ask that You continue to grow it within me.  I want to know the proper thing to do at the proper time.  Your Word shows that even religious leaders are susceptible to error.  You Son, in His wisdom and with Your blessing, showed them the error of their ways.  In all I have to face, help me to be more like Christ.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Ecclesiastes 7 -- Not Paralyzed By Yesterday Or Hypnotized By Tomorrow

It’s easy to think that Solomon is just being sarcastic here.  My commentary helped out by explaining what was behind what he was saying. 

He said sorrow is better than laughter.  “Laughter can be like medicine that heals the broken heart, but sorrow can be like nourishing food that strengthens the inner person.  It takes both for a balanced life, but few people realize this.”

“We must live today in the will of God and not be paralyzed by yesterday or hypnotized by tomorrow … While you are dreaming of the future or regretting the past, the present, which is all you have, slips from you and is gone.”

Regarding adversity and prosperity, my commentary explained, “God balances our lives by giving us enough blessings to keep us happy and enough burdens to keep us humble … Whey does God constitute our lives in this way?  The answer is simple:  to keep us from thinking we know it all and that we can manage our lives by ourselves.”

It also noted that verses 10-18 are easily misunderstood.  He wasn’t telling us, “Don’t be too righteous, but don’t be too great a sinner.”  According to my commentary, “He was warning them against self-righteousness and the pride that comes when we think we have arrived and know it all … We should take hold of true righteousness and should not withdraw from true wisdom, and the way to do it is to walk in the fear of God.”

Father, help me to have balance in my life.  I feel like I’ve experienced lots of adversity this year, and I’d sure love more joy.  I know that I have it in You, and I don’t know how I would have made it without You.  You have strengthened my faith this year.  Guard my heart to keep self-righteousness and pride out.  Help me not to be paralyzed by yesterday or hypnotized by tomorrow.  Show me how to not let the opportunities You present for me today slip away.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Ecclesiastes 6 -- Trusting God's Love

The previous times I’ve read this, I’ve heard and also agreed that Solomon has become incredibly sarcastic about God and about life at this point.  That makes it hard to find nuggets of truth for living.  However, my commentary seems to think Solomon is trying to get his audience to agree with him so that he can then show them the futility of a life lived without God.  Here are some of those nuggets:

“Enjoy the blessings of God now and thank Him for all of them.  Don’t plan to live – start living now.  Be satisfied with what He gives you and use it all for His glory.”

“If you devote your life only to the pursuit of happiness, you will be miserable; however, if you devote your life to doing God’s will, you will find happiness as well.”

“God has named everything … We cooperate with God as we accept the ‘names’ he has given to things:  sin is sin; obedience is obedience; truth is truth.  If we alter these names, we move into a world of illusion and lose touch with reality … We are free to decide and choose our world, but we are not free to change the consequences.”

“Solomon seems to say that it just doesn’t pay to argue with God or fight God … just accept it and let God have His way.  You can’t win … But this is a negative view … It gives the impression that God’s will is a difficult and painful thing that should be avoided at all cost.  Jesus said that God’s will was the food that nourished and satisfied Him.  It was meat, not medicine.  The will of God comes from the heart of God and is an expression of the love of God.  What God wills for us is best for us, because He knows far more about us than we do.”

Father, help me continue to surrender to Your will for my life, because I know that my sin nature will always try to deceive me into thinking You are a killjoy.  I know better.  Thank You for loving me more than I love myself.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Ecclesiastes 5 -- Insincere Worship And Prayer

Solomon noticed people coming to worship, but saw insincerity in their actions.  “They were robbing God of the reverence and honor that He deserved … The worship of God is the highest ministry of the church and must come from devoted hearts and yielded wills.  For God’s people to participate in public worship while harboring unconfessed sin is to ask for God’s rebuke and judgment,” my commentary said.

He saw careless praying.  My commentary continued, “Prayer is serious business.  Like marriage, it must not be entered into lightly or carelessly, but soberly and in the fear of God … Yet there is so much flippant praying done by people who seem to know nothing about the fear of the Lord.”

Solomon saw how often people make promises to God that they have no intention of keeping.  “They live in a religious dream world;  they think that words are the same as deeds.  Their worship is not serious, so their words are not dependable.  They enjoy the good feelings when they make their promises to God … they like to dream about fulfilling their vows, but they never get around to doing it.  They practice a make-believe religion that neither glorifies God nor builds Christian character.

Father, help me to realize the incredible opportunity You have given me to come before You in prayer.  That You even choose to hear me is amazing.  Remind me that You are worthy of reverence and respect, and don’t let me be flippant in prayer.  Also, keep my relationship with You vibrant.  Constantly remind me to take care in what I promise You and help me to keep those promises or else not make them.  I don’t want a make-believe religion.  I want You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Ecclesiastes 4 -- Balance In Life And Not Checking Out

What we observe of life can certainly make us cynical and sarcastic if we let it.  Solomon observed all of the unfairness, evil, and sin in society and said, “Those who have never been born are better off … they haven’t seen the evil that is done here on earth.” 

The chase of materialism was causing people to get their lives totally out of balance, and Solomon noticed their discontentment. (Of course, he had everything he wanted and was experiencing it, too.)  He saw workaholics with no family who made lots of money but never took time to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Infrastructure was so lacking back then that traveling alone was quite dangerous.  Solomon did see value in having friends and family, particularly as one gets older. 

He also noticed that youth often trumped incumbency in politics, but it wouldn’t be long before another generation grew up around the “winner” and rejected him.  My commentary quoted Oliver Cromwell, who took the British throne away from Charles I and said, “Do not trust to the cheering, for those persons would shout as much if you and I were going to be hanged.”

All of this can be very disheartening, but my commentary said, “Nowhere does he tell us to get out of the race and retreat to some safe and comfortable corner of the world where nothing can bother us … Life comes at us full speed, without warning, and we must stand up and take it, and with God’s help, make the most of it.”

Father, keep careful watch over my spirit and remind me of these truths when You see me becoming overwhelmed and wanting to retreat.  Keep me in the game.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Ecclesiastes 3 -- Maybe Not Giving Up, But Something Else

“Solomon affirmed that God is at work in our individual lives, seeking to accomplish His will,” in these verses, my commentary said.  “All of these events come from God, and they are good in their time.  The inference is plain:  if we cooperate with God’s timing, life will not be meaningless.”

I have always been a finisher.  I like to see projects completed.  I remember reading this before and not liking these parts:  “ … a time to pull up plants … a time to destroy … a time to throw away stones … a time to stop looking for something … a time to throw things away…”

At that time, I was thinking that all these implied giving up, and giving up equaled losing.  But that’s not the case always.  Sometimes there are old buildings that are best torn down and replaced – like what the bank did, improving our main street.  Sometimes we hang on to “the way we’ve always done it” when a new way might work much better.  Sometimes our desire to maintain the status quo gets in the way of what God wants to do now.

Last week we had water damage in the church library and needed to move shelves and shelves of books out of harm’s way.  I saw one very thin book printed probably in the 1960’s on how to enhance the “cradle roll department” at a church.  I imagine that no one has looked at that book since the 1960’s.  Also, society has so changed since that time that I wondered why it hadn’t been thrown away.  There were many like that.

The “time to stop looking for something” really got to me.  It sounded like giving up on someone.  But then, god seemed to say, “I never give up on the them.  But sometimes you need to rest from the hunt.”

Father, I admit that as I saw those “there is a time…” verses, I thought, “Oh, boy.  Here it comes again.”  But I thank You for showing me something new in them that I needed to hear.  Please develop in me what You started this morning.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Ecclesiastes 2 -- Enjoyment and Employment

My commentary said that in this chapter Solomon “decided to test his own heart to see how he would respond to enjoyment and employment.  “He did not consider God a celestial spoilsport, who watched closely to make certain nobody was having a good time.”  He found that in general, pleasure leaves the heart dissatisfied and empty.  That’s because “it usually becomes a selfish endeavor and selfishness destroys true joy … the sad result is desire without satisfaction… When pleasure alone is the center of life, the result will ultimately be disappointment and emptiness.”  It also “appeals to only part of the person and ignores the total being.”

Solomon decided to try work as means of happiness.  Solomon knew that work is a blessing from God, but it seemed only that “the journey was a pleasure, but the destination brought pain.”  Solomon wasn’t condemning work itself, but “work alone can’t satisfy the human heart, no matter how successful that work may be.”  Oftentimes achievers are unhappy people because “achievement can become the death of endeavor and the birth of disgust… Workaholics try to escape themselves, leading to disappointments.

Solomon finally concluded that he needed to accept life as God’s gift and that enjoying life is God’s will.  “He wants us to enjoy His blessings and please His heart.  If we rejoice in the gifts but forget the Giver, then we are ungrateful idolaters.”

There is another thing to employment that I don’t think Solomon ever experienced – the oppression of government has the real ability to inject futility into employment.  When regulations become so onerous that complying with them supersedes the original job itself, all hope can be crushed and desire is strangled from work.  That is an evil produced from Satan when all of his other efforts fail.

Father, I can related to Solomon here.  I need restoration and relief in order that I can find enjoyment again in the tasks You have given me.  Please change things as only You can, so that I can find enjoyment as I once did.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford