SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/23/2013
5:48 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Look
Up: God Orders Time PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Eccl. 3:1-8
Message of the
verses: We began with the looking at
the third chapter of Ecclesiastes in yesterday’s SD and will continue looking
at the first main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary.
Planting and Plucking (Ecc. 3:2): A time to be born and a time to die, a time
to plant and a time to uproot.” How do
people get an increase from the crops that they plant? “9 You visit the earth and
cause it to overflow; You
greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with
fatness. 12 The pastures of the
wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing. 13 The meadows are clothed with flocks And the
valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing (Ps.
65:9-13).” In Israel they had two calendars,
on for their religious feasts and that calendar was around the seasons of the
year.
Killing and healing (Ecc. 3:3): “A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to
tear down and a time to build.” ‘”The
LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up (1Samuel
2:6).” This verse may shed some light
upon what Eccl. 3:3 is talking about, for it does not seem to be talking about
wars, but about what the Lord does, and it does not mean that we should not
provide medical aid, for we read in the 38th chapter of Isaiah that
medical help was used on King Hezekiah.
Casting away stones and gathering stones (Eccl. 3:5): “A time to scatter stones and a time to
gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain.” An old joke is that when
the Lord made the earth that he asked an angel to distribute stones evenly
around the world and the angel tripped and there were too many stones placed in
the land of Israel. Stones are neither
good or bad, for it depends upon what they are used for. At times an enemy would put a lot of stones
on a person’s field, making it hard to plant crops. Take the stones and build something with them
and outsmart your enemy.
Embracing and refraining from embracing (Eccl. 3:5): “A
time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time
to refrain.” It is because of the way
that those in the Middle East greet each other that this verse could be
paraphrased by saying “A time to say hello and a time to say goodbye.”
Getting and losing
(Eccl. 3:6): “A time to search and a
time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.” Dr. Wiersbe writes “A time to search and a
time to give it up for lost’ is another translation. Then next phrase gives biblical authority for
garage sales: a time to keep and a time to clean house!”
Tearing and mending (Eccl 3:7): A time to tear apart and a time to sew
together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.” We know that in the OT times and even up to
the NT times that people would tear their clothes when they were morning over
the loss of a loved one, and then they would have to sew up their torn
clothes. As believers the NT book of
1Thes. 4:13-18 tells us that we do not morn like those who have no hope. As far as the last part of this verse about
speaking and not speaking we should know when this should happen.
Loving and hating (Eccl. 3:8): “A time to love and a time to hate; A time
for war and a time for peace.” I think
it best to quote Dr. Wiersbe on this verse:
“Are God’s people allowed to hate?
The fact that the next phrase mentions ‘war and peace’ suggests that Solomon
may have had the nation in mind.
However, there are some things that even Christians ought to hate
(2Chron. 19:2; Ps 97:10; Prov. 6:16-19; Rev. 2:6, 15).
“Life is something like a doctor’s prescription: taken alone, the ingredients might kill you;
but properly blended, they bring healing.
God is sovereignty in control and has a time and purpose for everything
(Rom. 8:28). This is not fatalism, nor does
it rob us of freedom or responsibility.
It is the wise providence of a loving Father Who does all things well
and promises to make everything work for good.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I see God’s
wisdom and power in these verses.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust that all the things that are mentioned
in these first eight verses are the things that God controls in my life.
Memory verse for the
week: Mark 14:38
38. 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: “The bread and the cup.”
Today’s Bible
Question: “When God called Moses from
the burning bush, how did Moses answer?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
4/23/2013 6:53 PM
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