SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/25/2013 1:18 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Look
Ahead: Death Is Coming to All
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Eccl. 3:15-22
Message of the
verses: Let us first of all look at
all of the times that Solomon brings up the subject of death in this book.
For there is no lasting
remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days
all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! (Eccl.
2:16)
As he had come naked from
his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the
fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil-exactly as a man
is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the
wind? (Eccl. 5:15-16)
"Even if the other man
lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things-do not all go to
one place?" (Eccl. 6:6)
No man has authority to
restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there
is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who
practice it (Eccl. 8:8).”
2 It is the same for all. There is one fate for
the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the
unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not
sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the
one who is afraid to swear. 3 This is an
evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men.
Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in
their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead (Eccl.
9:2-3).”
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
(Eccl. 9:12).”
Then the dust will return
to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it (Eccl.
12:7).”
Now back to the verses we are looking at in today’s
SD: “15
That which is has been already and that which will be has already been,
for God seeks what has passed by. 16
Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is
wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said to myself, "God will judge both
the righteous man and the wicked man," for a time for every matter and for
every deed is there. 18 I said to myself
concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them in order for them
to see that they are but beasts." 19
For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As
one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is
no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the
dust and all return to the dust. 21 Who
knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast
descends downward to the earth? 22 I
have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his
activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur
after him? (Eccl. 3:15-22)
Verse fifteen seems to go back to the cycle that Solomon
speaks of in chapter one and verses nine through eleven. We must remember that God is in control of
all things and even though it seems like a repeated cycle that goes on and on
the Lord can break the cycle. He did
that with the miraculous birth of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and He has the
ability to change everything: “17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creature; the old things 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 (2Cor. 5:17-21).”
Dr. Wiersbe writes “Solomon added a new thought
here: ‘and God will call the past to
account’ (v15, NIV). Scholars have a
difficult time agreeing on the translation of this phrase. It literally says ‘God seeks what hurries
along.’ Solomon seems to say that time
goes by swiftly and gets away from us; but God keeps track of it and will, at
the end of time, call into account what we have done with time (12:14). This ties in with verses 16-17 where Solomon
witnessed the injustices of his day and wondered why divine judgment was
delayed.
‘How can God be in control when there is so much evil in
our world, with the wicked prospering in their sin and the righteous suffering
in their obedience?’ Solomon was not the
first to raise that question, nor will he be the last. But once again, he comforted himself with two
assurances: God has a time for
everything, including judgment (see 8:6, 11), and God is working out His
eternal purposes in and through the deeds of men, even the deeds of the wicked.
We know from Scripture that God will judge everyone at
the end of the age, but verse eighteen says that He is judging now. God tests man while Satan tempts man, and
this testing is a part of the experience of man.
Verses 19-20 can be misinterpreted if we are not careful,
and then think that there is no difference between men and animals. What Solomon is pointing out is that both
people and animals have two things in common, they both will die, and they both
will turn back to dust. However as we
see in the creation that when God made man He made him in the image of God,
which is not what He did for the animals.
Man has no advantage over animals at death as far as their bodies are
concerned, but Dr. Wiersbe writes “Of course, people who are saved through
faith in Christ will one day be resurrected to have glorified bodies suitable
for the new heavenly home (1Cor. 15:35ff).”
James puts it this way in describing how death occurs, “For
just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is
dead.” Let’s look at Genesis 35:18 “It
came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him
Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.”
Now Luke 8:55 “And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and
He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.” The wonderful Pastor of the Moody Church in
Chicago, Erwin Luster has written a book he entitles “One minute after you
Die.” It is a rather short book but I am
sure will help anyone out that is looking into the subject we are addressing
today.
“I have seen that nothing is better than that man should
be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see
what will occur after him?” This is
verse twenty-two of Eccl. three and it shows that the Preacher closed this
section by again reminding us to accept life from the hand of God and to enjoy
it while we have it here under the sun.
Dr. Wiersbe quotes J. Parker near the end of his
commentary: “God holds the key of all
unknown, And I am glad; If other hands should hold the key, Or if He trusted it
to me, I might be sad.
“I cannot read His future plans, But this I know: I have
the smiling of His face, And all the refuge of His grace, While here below.”
Faith in God teaches us to live by promises and not by
explanations. We must accept life and
enjoy it a day at a time which is something that my wife’s mother uses to say
all of the time. Learn to grow in character and to enjoy the gifts that God has
given to you.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: One can hardly
miss after reading these verses that God is in control, even though at times we
don’t think He is, for if He were not in control then He would not be God.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Be thankful that God is in control.
Memory verse for the
week: Mark 14:38
14 Keep watching and praying that you may not come into
temptation; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question: “They burned them.” (Acts 19:18-19)
Today’s Bible
Question: “Who said he could find no
fault in Jesus?”
Answer in Tomorrow’s SD.
4/25/2013 5:56 PM
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