The Foolish Ruler (Eccl. 10:4-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2013 11:06 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  The Foolish Ruler

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eccl. 10:4-7

            Message of the verses:  Just so we understand where we are going in this section I will quote what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introductory commentary on chapter eleven:  “Having laid down the principle, Solomon then applied it to four different ‘fools.’”

            “4 If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses. 5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler- 6 folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. 7 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.”  (NASB)  “4 ¶  If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!  A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes. 5  There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6  when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. 7  I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes-and princes walking like servants!”  (NLT)

            When God spoke to Solomon in a vision He asked Solomon wanted and Solomon said that he wanted great wisdom so that he could lead the people of God.  God granted Solomon that wisdom and he is the wisest man ever to live on this earth other than the Lord Jesus Christ.  Solomon knew that a leader needed wisdom to rule well.  One of our former Presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson said “A president’s hardest task is not to do what’s right, but to know what’s right.”  To know what is right requires wisdom.

            We see a proud ruler in verse four, and that is not what a nation needs to have as we well know.  A proud leader will take out his frustrations on those around him, and that is not good.  Solomon wrote the following in two of his proverbs:  “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city (Pr. 16:32).  “Like a city that is broken into and without walls Is a man who has no control over his spirit (Pr. 25:28).”

            In Proverbs 25:15 we read the following that tells us that just because the ruler is foolish and proud those who work with him do not need to be:  “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.”  (NIV)  Next we will look at another Proverb:  “The fury of a king is like messengers of death, But a wise man will appease it (Pr. 16:14).”

            In verses 5-7 we see the results of a ruler who is too pliable, and he will put fools in charge because of his foolishness and put the wise people into lower positions.  “Luxury is not fitting for a fool; Much less for a slave to rule over princes (Pr. 19:10).”  21 Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot bear up: 22 Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food (Pr. 30:21-22).” 

            Solomon’s son Rehoboam is an example of what we have been studying as recorded in 1 Kings 12:1-24, and he would take the advice of youthful leaders instead of the wiser older leaders and the result was that the kingdom of Israel was split.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following at the end of his commentary on this section:  “The best rulers (and leaders) are men and women who are tough-minded but tenderhearted, who put the best people on the horses and don’t apologize for it.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It seems harder for me to pray for bad leaders and easier to pray for good leaders, but as I think about it the opposite should be true for the bad leaders need much more prayer.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  As a believer I want people to see the Lord through what I do as I desire to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-21

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Simon Peter” (John 21:15-17).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘Get her for me for she pleases me well?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

5/31/2013 12:01 PM

Wisdom & Folly (Eccl. 10:1-3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2013 11:29 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Wisdom & Folly

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eccl. 10:1-3

            Message of the verses:  Today we begin a new chapter in the book of Ecclesiastes and also a new chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes in which he entitled “Be Satisfied.”  He entitled this chapter “A Little Folly is Dangerous.”  Let’s first clear up what the word folly means, for in the NASB the word is translated as foolishness to that is what the word folly means.  We have in this chapter kind of a return of Solomon writing about wisdom, and he even uses something similar in verse one that he used in 7:1 “A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.  And the day you die is better than the day you are born.”

            When we read through the tenth chapter of Ecclesiastes we will find the word “folly” (KJV) used nine times and so we can determine from that that it is a major theme in this chapter.  Let’s look at the first three verses of this chapter to see what they have to say:  “1 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left. 3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.”

            We can conclude from verse one that what dead flies does to perfume foolishness will do to the reputation of the wise person.  The conclusion is that “wise people will stay away from folly!”

            Now we will move onto verse two which has the word “heart” in it, and we can conclude that it is not talking about the physical that beats inside your chest:  “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life (Pr. 4:23).”  As far as the right and the left and how they are used in this verse we have to realize that in the time that Solomon wrote this book and even before the right had was a symbol of power and it also represented honor while the left hand represented weakness and also rejection.  Let’s look at a couple of NT verses to help us understand this a bit better:  “and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”  “"Then He will also say to those on His left, ’Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”  These two verses are from the 25^th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew and Jesus is speaking about when He will return from heaven at the end of the tribulation period.  During that time there will be a lot less people on planet earth than at the beginning of the tribulation and there will be a mix of believers and non-believers and these verses shows the fate of them both.  Note that the ones on the Lord’s right will go into the 1000 year kingdom and the ones on the left will go into hell. Dr. Wiersbe writes on this verse the following (“The English word ‘sinister’ comes from a Latin word that means ‘on the left hand.’)  Since the fool doesn’t have wisdom in his heart, he gravitates toward that which is wrong (the left) and gets into trouble (see 2:14).  People try to correct him, but he refuses to listen, and this tells everybody that he is a fool (vs.3).

            “Having laid down the principle, Solomon then applied it to four different ‘fools.’”  We will begin to look at these four different fools in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose that I have acted foolishly in my life, even after becoming a believer some 39+ years ago.  The thing that I don’t want to do is act like a foolish person in the same area that I have in the past and that means that I need wisdom.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to guide me in the different decisions that have to make today.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-21

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Satan” (1 Thessalonians 2:18).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Whom did Jesus ask three times if he love Him?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

5/31/2013 12:20 AM

                       

Life is Unpredictable (Eccl. 9:11-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2013 10:50 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Life is Unpredictable

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eccl. 9:11-18

            Message of the verses:  Just a little review so we can understand where we came from in this chapter and where we are going in this SD.  First of all we need to be reminded that we are talking about the very uncomfortable subject of death.  Second we need to hear what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his opening commentary for chapter nine of Ecclesiastes, “In this chapter, Solomon drew two conclusions: death is unavoidable (1-10) and life is unpredictable (11-18).  That being the case, the best thing we can do is trust God, live by faith and enjoy whatever blessings God gives us.”

            Live is Unpredictable (Eccl. 9:11-18):  “11 I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all. 12 Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.

    “13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me. 14 There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded. 17 The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.”

            Some may think that after all of that talk about death and the fact that it is unavoidable that we may as well focus on our strength and do the best we can for as long as we can so we can enjoy life.  Solomon changes his subject in this section and begins to talk about the unpredictably of life, for things don’t always go as we think that they should.

            Our abilities are no guarantee of success (vs. 11-12).  First we had better look at the word chance and explain what it means for we may get the wrong idea about this word.  It means simply occurrence or event.  Here is an example of what this word means as a person may say that he happened to be in the right place at the right time and therefore he was able to land the job.  Now as believers we do not depend upon chance or luck, but we depend upon the Lord to lead our lives in the way that He has planned it for us.

            As we look at these verses we see that the fastest team or person does not always win the race, they may do it on many occasions, but just because they have all the skills does not mean that they will always win.  I am person who likes sports and also one who likes the underdog.  I was alive when “free agency” came into play and to me, it kinds of spoils the games that are played professionally in our country and so when a team with a smaller payroll is playing a team that has a very large payroll, say 200% more I will generally cheer on the underpaid team and I have found out that sometimes they win.  I think that perhaps Solomon would route for the underdog too.

            Verse 12 shows us that a man does not always know when trouble is coming his way and gives a couple of examples to prove his point.  Fish don’t think they will get caught, but they do and birds don’t think they will get caught but they do too.  It happens when they least expect it.  James has something to say about people who think that they have all their life planned out:  “13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”   

            Next we see our opportunities are no guarantee of success and this is covered in verses 13-18.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that perhaps the old wise man did not save the city because “The Hebrew allows for the translation ‘could have’; see the verse 15 in the NASB footnote.”  The word “delivered” is said to mean fools so it would read fools the city by wisdom.  What Solomon could have been saying was that there was a wise old man, but because he was quiet no one would listen to him but only heard the loud know it all man and so the city was lost.  We see in verse 18 that “one sinner [the loud ruler] destroys much good.”  We can see this principle throughout the whole of Scripture and it begins with Adam and his disobedience to God.  Achan and brought defeat to the children of Israel.  David sinned by numbering the troops and many were killed by God.  Absalom sinned by leading the nation into a civil war.

            We can conclude by saying that because death is unavoidable and life is unpredictable that we should yield ourselves into the hand of God and walk by faith trusting that He will bring good to us and glory to Himself.  We can trust the words that Jesus spoke in Revelations 1:17b-18 “"Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18  and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We can know the promises that God has given to us in His Word, but we have to trust Him by faith.  “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to direct me and not to do the directing myself.

Memory verses for the week:  2Cor 5:17-21

            17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Silver and gold.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who hindered Paul from coming to the Thessalonians?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

           

Death is Unavoidable PT-3 (Ecclesiastes 9:4-10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2013 11:24 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Death is Unavoidable PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Ecclesiastes 9:4-10

            Message of the verses:  Dr. Wiersbe wrote the following in his commentary that will aid us in understanding where we are in Eccl. 9:  “Solomon pointed out three possible responses that people make to the ever-present fear of death.”

            Endurance (Eccl. 9:4-6):  “4 For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.”

            Not all people give false hope to the dying, some just grit their teeth and endure it.  A good paraphrase of verse four could come from an old saying or motto from the third century BC:  “Where there’s life, there is hope.”  Dr. Wiersbe points out that a Greek poet named Theokritos wrote a poem in which he said “Counsel yourself, dear Battos things may be better tomorrow.  While there’s life there’s hope.  Only the dead have note.”  This surely sounds like Solomon’s writing in Ecclesiastes.

            To begin with, let’s keep in mind that one day we shall die (vs. 5).  “5 For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.”  Now as far as believers we have a “living hope” and not a dead hope.  Let’s look at a couple of sections from the NT that confirms this:  “3 ¶  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4  to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5  who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).  “10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10).”  We have this living hope because of what Christ did for us on the cross.  Solomon is saying in this section that the dead do not know what is happening on planet earth, but the living do.  The dead cannot add anything to their reward or their reputation.  The dead cannot relate to people on planet earth.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Solomon was emphasizing the importance of seizing opportunities while we live, rather than blindly hoping for something better in the future, because death will end our opportunities on this earth.”  I do have on slight disagreement with this and that is that there are people who are now in heaven who will continually receive rewards for their works on earth because their works still continue while they are in heaven.  I think of D. L. Moody whose Bible Institute is still doing things for the Lord, and I am sure that there are others.

            Enjoyment (vs. 7-10):   “7 Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. 8 Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”

            Solomon has been writing about enjoyment of life in earlier parts of this book, and he continues on this theme in this section here.  Solomon is suggesting that enjoyment of life should begin in the home with things like happy leisurely meals, and family celebrations, and loving the wife of your youth having a happy marriage.  This is far different in what we have in our mixed up society with people trying to find happiness by living with people of the same sex or just a man and a women living together without getting married.  This surely will not bring happiness.  If one takes a look at our country in years past they will discover that when the country was close to the Lord, that is living in the fear of the Lord, the country was doing much better because God was blessing our country.  Are we at the point in our countries where as Paul wrote in Romans chapter one that God is giving us over to the sinful desires we want and will have to then live with the consequences? 

            Enjoy your meals (vs. 7):  “7 Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes on this subject:  “The most important thing on any menu is family love, for love turns an ordinary meal into a banquet.  When the children would rather eat at a friend’s house than bring their friends home to enjoy their mother’s cooking, it’s time to take inventory of what goes on around the table.”

            Enjoy every occasion (vs. 8):  “8 Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head.”   We see the word white referring to their clothes and this is talking about when the family would get together for celebrations, like weddings or like family reunions.  Giving thanks to the Lord must not only be done when we are celebrating on special occasions for Paul wrote to the Philippians “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say rejoice.” 

            Enjoy your marriage (vs. 9):  “9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.”

            Let’s look at what Solomon wrote about a wife in Proverbs:  “He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD (18:22).”  “House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD (19:14).”  It is too bad that Solomon did not live up to the values that he penned in the books he wrote. 

            Enjoy your work (vs. 1):  “10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”

            Some people think that work is a result of the curse that God put upon the earth as a result of sin.  While are work is harder because of the fall Adam was working in the garden tending it before he sinned so work was ordained by the Lord before the fall.  Work can be a ministry as we meet unsaved people and can led them to the Lord.  Work can bring satisfaction to people along with the income they need to survive.  Paul writes that “If any would not work, neither should he eat” in 2 Thes. 3:10.  There were some in that day who though that the Lord would return soon and so they did not need to work so Paul had to set them straight. 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on this section by writing “If we fear God and walk by faith we will not try to escape or merely endure life.  We will enjoy life and receive it happily as a gift from the Lord.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: What I get from this section is that I am not to fear death; I am to enjoy my life that God has given to me as a gift and that I am to love my wife for she is a gift from the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Pr. 3:5-6 “5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-21

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question: “General Epistles.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “Of which two precious metals were the children of Israel not to make gods?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

5/28/2013 12:27 PM