READINGS FOR MAY 29 - JUNE 4

MAY 29

When Solomon wrote of the emptiness of pleasure and achievement, was he making excuses for all the “pleasures” in which he had indulged?

One of Solomon's bits of wisdom is that there are some questions that cannot be answered.  Wisdom is knowing that very fact.  At least these questions cannot be answered on our own.  Answers come from God, not from earthly wisdom that we have.  

"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief."

The more we know about God and His Word the more we are able to understand what has happened with churchianity and religiosity, therefore the more sorrow and grief we feel for those who are deceived and for those who don't know the truth of Scripture.

In all of Solomon's wisdom he sees that everything here on earth is empty, transitory, unsatisfactory, and vain. so there must be something more.

In Chapter 4 he writes, "I saw the tears of the oppressed - and they have no comforter."

How very blessed we are as Believers in Jesus!  We have the Great Comforter in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever, 

As Solomon comments of the empty, transitory, unsatisfactory, and vanity of false worship, these words stand out.  "Therefore stand in awe of God."  What wonderful words of wisdom for us today - to stand in awe of our Creator, Savior, and Lord!  

In chapter 5, he writes about the emptiness of wealth.  He seems to come to an understanding that it is God who enables us to enjoy what He gives us.  "He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." We should focus on the Giver.  With God we have everything we need.

In his wisdom Solomon was thinking "There must be something more".

Praise God, we know there is something more – Salvation through Jesus and life everlasting.  

MAY 30

Ecclesiastes 12:9-10
Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

Was Solomon given the spiritual gift of teaching?

Ecclesiastes 7:9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

It is not easily done, being calm when provoked.  And yet we are told that calmness can lay great errors to rest. Ecclesiastes 10:4b

Ecclesiastes 7:20
There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.
Paul said a similar thing.
Romans 3:12
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

Wise as he was, there was wisdom beyond Solomon’s grasp. He investigated and turned his mind to understand.  He was the "pencil" in God's hands.  Solomon understood the need to keep his "pencil sharp."

Ecclesiastes 10:2
The heart of the wise inclines to the right but the heart of the fool to the left.

Soooo...was Solomon given a prophecy of politics today?

Ecclesiastes 10:19
A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.

That certainly is true physically and materially, not so much spiritually.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

As we contemplated these verses this morning it seemed as if they were contained within the frame of evangelistic urgency.

Let's look at a few of words and phrases in these verses. Cast your bread.  The bread is the Bread of Life - spiritual nourishment that can only come through Jesus.  The word "cast" implies that we are spreading something.  In this case we are spreading spiritual seeds, spiritual nourishment of Jesus, the Bread of Life.  We as Believers cast this spiritual nourishment upon the waters.  If we look at this verse in a literal way it makes no sense to cast bread upon water.  I know what happens when we toss bread into the pond near our back yard.  If the fish don't come and eat it right away, it gets very soggy and breaks apart and eventually disintegrates. So that image doesn't make sense with the rest of the verse for after many days you will find it again.  We won't find any bread after many days.  It won't be there.  The word "waters" figuratively means people as stated in Revelation 17:15.

Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.

The Hebrew word for water in this verse however is "mayim" and figuratively means "sewage water".  We cast this Bread of Life, these spiritual seeds, the gospel message upon all people, especially unbelievers.  Many unbelievers are languishing in the sewage of sin. But what happens when seed is planted in fertilized soil.  It flourishes.  Someone who has been languishing in the sewage of sin can flourish and bear luscious fruit for the kingdom.

We may never know what seeds we've planted or how those seeds have grown or who has watered those seeds after they've been planted or who's coming along to fertilize and feed the soil around those seeds.  As we have stated many times, that's God's call.  We do what He calls us to do, it will accomplish what He desires. What we say and do will not return to us empty. There is this promise from the Ecclesiastes verse, for after many days you will find it again. Maybe not in this lifetime, but certainly in the next.

Going back to the verses in Ecclesiastes, let's look at the word seven.  The number seven signifies completeness.  So when the verse says Give portions to seven, yes to eight it speaks to us of going above and beyond what's expected of us.  Seven is complete.  That would be fulfilling our calling. By using the number eight, we are encouraged to do more. The verse, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land implies an urgency to spread the gospel. There will come a time when it is too late for us to spread the gospel.  It's either too late because it's the end of the world or it's too late because it's the end of that person's life or the end of our lives.  There are many lost souls out there who are languishing in the sewage of sin. We need to be prepared at all times to cast the spiritual seeds, to share the gospel, the bread of Life to everyone we meet.

“The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-- given by one Shepherd.

The words of the wise are collected sayings, the books of the Bible.  Of course, the Shepherd is Jesus. A goad is a rod about eight feet long, brought to a sharp point and sometimes cased with iron at the bigger end.  The sharpened end of the goad was used to guide oxen in plowing a field or guiding sheep.  The blunt end of the goad was used to clear the plow of clay or dirt, like a spade fastened at the opposite end of the goad. God’s Word is as a goad. The truth can prick us into going in the direction that the Shepherd wants us to go.  We may begin to stray from the path He’s laid out for us, it is the truth of Scripture that pricks us into getting back on the right path. The blunt end of the goad helps us to clear the dirt, the clay, the muddy misconceptions of churchianity and religiosity and reveal the pure undiluted truth of Scripture, so that our plow will be unencumbered.

Look at the context for the use of the word goad. It mentions “The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-- given by one Shepherd.

My, my, did Solomon know about THE Shepherd? Did he know about THE Shepherd’s nails on the cross? Did he know about the collected sayings (God’s Word) and why they were written? WOW!

Certainly Solomon's father David knew.  He wrote about Him numerous times.

How often do we “kick against the goads” and rebel against God’s authority in our lives? If so...Ouch!

MAY 31

Reflect on Ecclesiastes 3:1-17.  Spiritually speaking, what do each of these mean?  These are our thoughts. You may come up with some entirely different ones of your own.

a time to be born and a time to die - born again spiritually but die physically
a time to plant and a time to uproot - plant seed of truth and uproot false teaching
a time to kill and a time to heal - destroy false teaching and tend to wounds inflicted by false teaching
a time to tear down and a time to build up - destroy false teaching and build up monument of truth
a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance- weep and mourn over lost opportunities to spread the gospel and laugh and dance with those who come to salvation
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them - scatter stones of false gods, build up God's holy altars
a time to embrace and a time to refrain - embrace is to fold hands in idleness - there is a time for resting and a time for working in kingdom work
a time to search and a time to give up - some questions we will never have the answers for
a time to keep and a time to throw away - keep the truth and throw away the false
a time to tear and a time to mend -  tear out false doctrine and mend damage done to the truth
a time to be silent and a time to speak up - speak the truth at the right time
a time to love and a time to hate - love the truth and hate the false
a time for war and a time for peace - a time to actively attack evil and then enjoy the true peace that can only come from God

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Romans 1:20-21
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

God has “set eternity in the hearts of men” so that “men are without excuse”. There will be no excuses at the judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15)

Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Nothing added.  Nothing taken away. A scientific principle is that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed.  Energy changes to mass and mass to energy.  Pure science points to the Creator.  As an example, consider the Big Bang theory.  Spiritually speaking, the unapproachable light of God (energy) is changed into the components of the universe (mass).  One day everything will return to energy. (see Isaiah 43:4, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 6:14, and Revelation 21:1)

Ecclesiastes 3:15
Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.

This verse is great confirmation of foreshadows in Scripture. God “calls back the past” to play out in the future.

Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

All Believers' sins will be forgiven.  God does forgive and forget but someone must pay the penalty before the sins are forgotten and atoned.

Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 

As we look at the end of Solomon's reign, we must reflect on his life.  Solomon started out well.  Then he began to slip away.  At first he resisted the idols of his wives, then tolerated them, and finally rationalized away the potential danger.  He didn't turn away from God all at once.  Little sins grew until they resulted in his downfall. That's why we as Believers in Jesus need to watch our step so that we do not slip away and out of God's will for us.

Solomon was given everything, but it was vanity and emptiness to him.  We don't have records in the canonized Bible that tell much about the end of Solomon's life. However, at the end of  Ecclesiastes, he writes, "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:  Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." 

Way to go Solomon.  You finally "got it"!

JUNE 1

Solomon's death, after a forty year reign, ends an era of peace and prosperity for all Israel.  As a direct result of heavy taxation on the people, the kingdom is split into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  From this point forward in the records, the tribes are divided.  The only time the nations of Israel and Judah are united was during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon.

We can draw some conclusions about Solomon's son Rehoboam based on his actions shortly after the death of his father.  Quite possibly he grew up as heir-apparent to the throne because of how united the people were in making him king.  He lived in the palace of perhaps the richest and and most certainly the wisest man on earth. He may have enjoyed an overindulgent lifestyle.  Chances are the peers he grew up with enjoyed a similar luxuriant life. Overindulgent people tend to get what they want in life regardless as to whether it's right or wrong, mainly because they expect it.

I Kings 12:8
But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.

This Scripture certainly expresses the importance of carefully selecting others for advice. Rehoboam and many others will suffer because of his decision.

While fellow believers can help us in daily living, it is the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit that never fails and should be relied on as our primary source.

I Kings 12:15
So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

Even today, when nations turn away from God, He will allow disaster to happen.

Rehoboam made some bad choices in seeking advice, but it was nothing compared to what his counterpart Jeroboam did in Israel. 

 Oh there is so much to write about concerning the altars at Dan and Bethel. On our trip to Israel in 2005 we were able to see the place in Dan where the golden calves were placed. Interestingly right behind the high place of the altar two golden colored cows were grazing in the grass. Quite ironic wouldn’t you say? We even videotaped the occasion. 

Jeroboam appointed priests from all sorts of people. He instituted festivals according to God’s command but unfortunately he sacrificed to the calves he had made instead of to God. He in effect blasphemed the feast days that God established by having the people worship a golden calf. Then to add insult to injury he instituted his own festival, one not ordained by God.

What connections can we make to today’s church? How many "festivals" do we honor in our churches that have not been ordained by God?   And how many festivals and holy days that are ordained by God do we simply ignore?  For more on this subject, read the book, The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the Mansion by Phil and Patti Moore available on Amazon.

Fascinating story about the man of God and the old prophet. The man of God had direct word from God. The old prophet claimed he had heard from God so the man of God discounted what God had said to him and listened to the old prophet. Lesson to be learned – don’t take someone else’s opinion of God’s Word over God’s Word.

JUNE 2

Even though Jeroboam was warned by the man of God to stop the pagan practices at the altar in Bethel, he still persisted in his evil ways. This led to his downfall and to his destruction.

Ahijah the prophet at Shiloh also gave some dire predictions warning Jeroboam that God would uproot Israel from the land and scatter them beyond the River because they provoked the Lord to anger by making Asherah poles.  Asherah was a pagan goddess of sex and fertility.  By erecting a statue to her, Jeroboam was paying homage to forbidden sexual activities.

2 Chronicles 12:14
He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD.

What a potent and applicable verse for us today! If we as Believers do not set our hearts on seeking the Lord, we are inclined to do evil. How do we seek the Lord?  The word "seek" in both Greek and Hebrew means "to search out, to look for", etc. but it has a more detailed specific meaning "to crave", specifically in regards to worshiping God.  So, we are to crave Him to worship Him.  We are to crave Him as much as a starving man craves food! WOW!

Shemaiah explained to the leaders of Judah the reason for the invasion from Egypt was that it was discipline from God. They had to learn the difference between serving God and serving the world.

How about us as Believers, why can’t we just learn the difference and not have to go through the discipline?  Life would be so much simpler that way.

2 Chronicles 13:18
The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

Very important to rely on the Lord and not our own strength! We fall miserably short!  And He never does!

I Kings 15:3
He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.

Abijah followed in the footsteps of Solomon who allowed his wives to entice him to turn his heart after other gods. (I Kings 11:4)

What does it mean to have our hearts fully devoted to the Lord? What kind of witnesses would we be to unbelievers if our hearts were fully devoted to the Lord?  If we were craving Him to worship Him?  We might just stand out from the crowd.  And that would be a very good thing!

JUNE 3

Today’s reading speaks volumes about trusting in the Lord. Asa trusted the Lord (at least for a while).  "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord". The kingdom was at peace.  Among the things that Asa did was to remove the foreign altars, high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles.  These were pagan idols.  Are there any things in our lives or our churches that could be considered pagan?  Many celebrations in the church today have root origins in paganism. 

Isn't it interesting that whenever the kings did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, the nation was at peace?  When they followed false gods, the nation was at war.

Often we are told in Scripture that the kings did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord and caused the nation to sin.  The people followed the example of their leader.  Leaders in our nation and leaders in our churches can lead the people astray. 

It was the Lord who struck down the Cushites. Asa and his army just chased them. As spoken through the prophet Azariah, “The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

Why would anyone want to be forsaken by the Lord? Why not seek Him? Things are so much easier that way!

When Asa heard these words from the Lord, he took courage and began to remove all the detestable idols from the land again and he repaired the altar at the temple. However, he didn’t remove the high places in Israel.  He was king over Judah only and not over Israel.  He had no jurisdiction there. 

Asa did well in the beginning but he sure took a tumble at the end. Instead of trusting in the Lord as he had done earlier, he relied on his own human power and strength. As a result his nation was at war again. Even concerning his own physical health, Asa relied on his physicians alone instead of seeking help from the Lord. Can we learn any lessons from this? 

Jehoshaphat ruled after his father Asa, but he did not remove the high places (sites of pagan rituals) and "the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their fathers".  

We can't set our hearts on seeking God until we remove our "high places".

2 Chronicles 16:9a
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

1 Peter 3:12a
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

Have we removed our "high places"? Are our hearts fully committed to Him? If so He strengths us and listens to our prayers. What a great comfort!

JUNE 4

The prophet Elijah was given extraordinary power from the Lord, so much so that he was able to raise a young boy from the dead. When reading the story of Elijah bringing the widow’s son back to life, our little grandson, Nicholas (4 years old at the time) said “Elijah prayed him well.”

Indeed he did!

After the raising of her son from the dead, the widow remarked that now she knows that Elijah is a man of God.  Wasn't the miracle of the flour and oil enough for her?  What are the miracles that God is doing in our lives today?  If we paid attention, we might just see His miracles every day.

What astounding events happened on Mount Carmel! And how sad are these words of the people in response to Elijah’s question, “How long will you waver between two opinions?” “But the people said nothing.”

Elijah was asking them to take a stand.  Many of them knew the Lord was God but enjoyed the sinful pleasures and other benefits that came from following Ahab's idols.  The people then didn’t take a stand. How is it with us? Do we take a stand for the Lord in the midst of idol worship, in the midst of the ways of the world?  Idols are anything that cause us to depend on or get gratification from something other than God.

Notice that when Elijah asked God to send down fire from heaven on the altar, God went above and beyond what Elijah asked for or even expected.  Not only did He send down fire from heaven, He burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and even the soil...oh, and the fire also licked up the water in the trench.  Never underestimate the power of God!

Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

This miracle on the mountaintop caused the people to believe. As a reminder, sometimes God answers our prayers quickly as in the fire on the altar and sometimes He answers slowly as in the coming of the rain (the servant saw the small cloud in the distance after checking seven times).

Elijah took a stand when the prophets of Baal were defeated. A lesson for us today would be that

Whatever God commands us to do,

He’ll provide what we need to carry it through.

 

After Elijah saw God’s vast power in the fire on Mount Carmel, he was afraid of Jezebel and ran away. Did he feel alone because he thought he was the only prophet of God left? Ever feel that way? Ever feel as if you are all alone taking a stand for the Lord? If so, learn this next lesson from Elijah.

Elijah waited in the cave for God to speak to him. He must have expected some grand and glorious manifestation (like what God had done on Mount Carmel) but instead, God came to him in a gentle whisper. Sometimes we need to stop in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, shake the dust of our daily activities, and get quiet before the Lord and really listen.

Among the things God told Elijah was that there were 7,000 people in reserve who had not succumbed to idol worship.

So if you think you’re all alone, take a lesson from Elijah – there are others out there who are also willing to take a stand.