Scripture

Are we are Remembered?

Dan

It was my observation, while reading Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes (chapter 12), that Solomon expresses an ardent desire for us to remember him and his life. I suspect that is true of most of us, we all want to leave things behind that stand the test of time, which are of some sort of value. It can be houses we built, children we taught, families we raised, records of achievement we set – it can be as varied as there are butterfly species, but we all wonder; did we have influence? Death brings a momentous change to us — are we remembered?

Solomon asks us in Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 to — remember him, before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it [NIV].

Pepper told me a parable about a guy who tried to barter with God on the topic of creation. This guy seemed to think that any of us could do what God did. He talked about the marvels of technology, the things we do now that were not conceivable in the day of Moses. He mused that we had more thinking power in our hand (cell phone) that every person existent during the time Moses could muster in the aggregate. This guy bragged that our medical advancement had negated the need for healing. He accused God of being a foolish dated relic. The Man claimed we had moved far beyond God’s primitive sense of morality; our understanding of human relationships and genetics are far more enlightened than Gods. Then the man said to God – give me a few days – I will make a better human than you made. The man bent over and started to pick up a little dirt to build a new human. God, who was silent until now, said – You can’t use that dirt. The man asked, why? It’s just dirt. God replied, well, that is my dirt, I made it. Make your own dirt, and while you’re at it, make your own earth and your own air.

Psalms 49:10-14 — For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve of their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions [NIV].

We are a strange sort of a creation, we are created in God’s image, yet we are made from dirt. With Jesus, our body may decay in the grave, but our soul communes with God on gold streets. We could live our entire life like the Frank Sinatra song – I did it my Way (see Genesis 3:19). But we all will eventually answer for our foolishness. Our mortal bodies are a mere transportation device.

But our soul, that is a different matter. We are like a beam of light that returns to God. He raised us from dust, breathed life into us, and placed the soul inside of us (Genesis 2:7). The soul does not perish with the body; it is redeemed by the blood of the Lamb from the darkness of the grave (Psalm 49:15). The soul can subsist without the body and will flourish in heaven (as a candle burns brighter in the open space rather than in a lantern). On Judgement Day, if we are among the redeemed, we do not endure death, we stand in front of the living God, the one who owns the dirt, the one who owns us. We are defended by the mediator (Jesus) and found not guilty – our debt paid. Are we remembered? Oh yes. In the most important event of our existence, the mediator remembers us forever. We live forever, our body and soul are reunited just after death.

I choose Jesus.

Thou Taught Me to Say

Dan

It was my observation that some men experience a lifelong struggle trying to reconcile the success of wicked and the struggles of the godly with the nature of God (holiness, justice, goodness, and mercy). Solomon takes a look at this issue in Ecclesiastes.

He wrote — There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. So, I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun. When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the labor that is done on earth—people getting no sleep day or night— then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it (Ecclesiastes 8:14-17, NIV).

Solomon set the pace for his thoughts with a classic thesis-antithesis message. Good people get what evil people deserve, the evil people get what good people deserve. Why? He immediately starts talking about being content with what you have. Huh?

Consider this. I once read about a lawyer named H Spafford. His investments and assets were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire; then his son died from scarlet fever. Planning a missionary trip to Europe with DL Moody, he sent his wife and four daughters ahead on a ship. Several days later, he heard from his wife – ‘only I survived’ an accident at sea. Devastated, Spafford sailed to join his wife. As he approached the deadly location, he pondered on his family and created the song, “It is Well with My Soul”. He wrote, “When peace like a river attends my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”  Spafford was standing in the eye of a Hurricane.

Solomon knew we suffer greatly from time to time. He was honest by saying it does not seem fair. The wicked seemed to live happily as if they had been rewarded, we the troubled, the run-down, the abused, we struggle to find stability. Then he changes our focus. We should let God be God. We should not be second guessing his actions. We need to focus on his will for us, not for everybody else.  When we say too much about others, we quickly move towards accusing God with unjust behavior. Please understand the larger situation — Free will makes life messy. Not all things happen the way WE desire.

We are wise to look closely and focus on the concrete things God has done for us. We are wise to carefully remove the rather large sticks from our eyes and leave the splinters in other people’s eyes for the professionals to remove. Furthermore, we should be extremely aware that the things of this world are not the best stuff to rely upon for happiness and peace. We are wise to seek the things of God. If the things of this world were extremely useful for us to pursue, then God would not have distributed so much of the worldly things to his enemies. I think we are wise to find troubles as an opportunity to serve God. We are unlikely to understand the goodness of God without living through the struggles of life.

Our plan? We should not spend time fretting and grappling with the trouble of the day, the only outcome of that effort will be uneasy angst. Rather we are to quietly accept our situation and stay in the eye of the hurricane — focus on God. We should take pleasure in the things that God has given us. Unnecessary striving suggests that you have become unsatisfied with Gods gifts. We should be content with God’s gifts. Be careful with the things you think about – the things you desire. Please be careful.

I choose Jesus.

Where is thy Sting?

Dan

It was my observation while reading Ecclesiastes 8:6-8 that Solomon commented on proper government procedures, future events, our time of death, and sustained wickedness in this section. Solomon writes — For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery. Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come? As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, wickedness will not release those who practice it [NIV].

Most of us know that a wise man can manage his time and make proper judgements during his day-to-day business activities. He knows God’s assurance — blessings will come his way. Yet, at the same time, Solomon is aware that few men are actually wise. Furthermore, he knows that are times when even the wisest man does not foresee the trouble on the horizon. And that leads to our passage in Ecclesiastes; there is a proper time for us to deal with every matter and there is a proper method to deal with each matter, with all this coming together at the right time, to accomplish the task in front of us. When we accept our task from God, he will help us understand what is needed to render the task successful. We know that following the plan will rarely lead to trouble (if we stick to the plan).

It is a sure thing that we are in the dark about the future, in fact it could be considered a blessing to be in the dark about the future. Who among us at the Saturday morning group (given most are type A personalities) could resist tweaking God’s plan to ‘make it better.’ I think it is a blessing we do not know. We are told what we need to know when we need to know it. I suggest you are wary of those who would tell you about the future. They may have some insight and perhaps not. Seek God before you act.

Now, being weighed down by misery can be difficult, to be sure, we are pressed from all sides when trouble strikes. It could be troubles with the county or the city, it could be troubles with your HOA, it could be troubles with your neighbors, it could be troubles with your family. For example, when dealing with government or local officials we may struggle because they have one way, a method or process to fix the issue. If we have little recourse or interest to avoid the problem, misery can move right in and take control of our thoughts. Then we experience diminished capability to solve problems because we are burning brain cells thinking about our angst, caught in the circle of self-pity and misery. Once we let misery in, we will make mistakes, and we will have trouble pushing misery back out the door.

What do we do? We take the time to get close to God, we look for the goodness in the situation, even if it is hard to find. We work hard to be attentive to the situation and look for the best (not easiest or quickest) path to rectify the situation and move on – never looking back. Most of all – We look for God.

On the topic of death. We cannot run from death, hide from it, or otherwise prevent death. When our soul is called to heaven we shall respond. Fortunately, it is not an actual time of sorrow, rather it is a time to be happy. We are going home. Evil men fear this event, they try to bring their fear into our life and supplant our hope. But the evil will fail, those who remain will be sad for a season, but in time they will heal and move on. Evil does not ultimately win, it may hinder us for a time, but it will never win. Jesus has already won!

The deeper truth — for those who have yielded to Jesus, misery has no hold, death has no sting. Death calls us home and we go, knowing of the glory to come. Evil men try to crush our hope, but they cannot. We stand tall, pointing to the cross, resting in the restoration of Grace – safe in the palm of the Father.

I choose Jesus.

The Wise Man Knows

Dan

It was my observation while reading Ecclesiastes, Solomon delivers an amazing compendium of wisdom in chapter 8, the nature of true humility is defined, a humility enabled by all manner of awareness and discernment. Solomon intimates that the wise man exhibits meekness, walks with God, and this man attributes all success in their life to the grace of God. This wise man knows himself and carries himself in an upright manner, is content with the things of God, is content in his place; is gentle in spirit, and able to communicate this wisdom to others in need.

Solomon wrote In Ecclesiastes 8:1-5 — Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes their hard appearance. Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure [NIV].

Solomon suggests in this passage that wisdom will give a person an edge when dealing with the people that surround him. It will help him understand things, respond properly to things, and know when to stand firm and when to let things go. This type of wisdom sets us apart from others. Not in a haughty or elevated manner, rather in a quite assurance, grace driven, confident but not arrogant, competent but not prideful, comfortable with himself and others in his circle. This person becomes rich, not in wealth but in contentment, content with the place his has been given by God. Content that he walks with God, content he serves God, and lives at peace with his surroundings.

This type of personality will cause people to find us, Why? We are helpful on the job or at home with our family. This type of personality is somebody you can rely upon. This type of person understands the larger set of events that drive our life, understands the times and events, can identify the critical junctures and discern how to move through the mine field of life events (see 1 Chronicles 12:32).

This wisdom can make his face shine with the shekinah glory that comes from God, similar to what happened to Moses when he walked from the mount. This kind of wisdom brings a quiet confidence that draws people to his words and guidance (see Job 29:7) and the strength of his resolve when confronted with the troubles of the day, bring peace to the situation. This man is never very far from God’s word. He walks with God. There is something obliging and calming with God’s presence.

Even for people who have a natural temperament of roughness, they are altered by the grace of God, they become easier to be around, mild and gentle – God intervenes into their firmness and build a new work in them. Their roughness is transformed by God into courage, their strength is transformed by God into helpmates for the downtrodden.  They see beyond themselves to the larger need.  Where wisdom goes, grace follows. The enemy has no tools, no power, no influence. God prevails.

In this wisdom a wise man learns to respect the things of God. When dealing with human affairs we are to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to hand all things that belong to God, to God. We know to always hold back and not quarrel with God in any fashion or manner. We may not always know why God has moved the way he did, we may not understand why evil appears to be prevailing at the moment, we may not always understand why we feel alone. But the wise man knows – above all else, to respect the decisions of God, in all things, in all places, no matter what the outcome.

I choose Jesus.

Respecting the Things of God

Dan

It was my observation while reading Ecclesiastes that Solomon was clear in Ecclesiastes 8:9-13 that we should avoid engaging with tyrannical and oppressive people. Why? In the end, the righteous succeed and evil men will diminish. He also talked about the need for a speedy trial and resolution in court cases.

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 8:9-13 — All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive [men’s] praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless. When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do [more] wrong. Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, their days will not lengthen like a shadow [NIV].

Solomon made it clear he had observed many rulers that ruled over others even to their own hurt. They were put into power to administrate justice for their people, to preserve public peace, and to protect the people from aggressive outsiders. Yet, they used power to hurt, take property, freedom, and justice away from the people to the benefit of the few. Their pride and greed led to their decline in power; bringing the troubles they imposed on others back to themselves. They had no respect for God or God’s people.

He saw these rulers and potentates come and go from the temple, never being held accountable for their actions. They continued with the behavior all their life in office, died and were buried with the honor of the office they held (not the honor they carried because of their actions). Their vanity, wealth and power vanished with the whiff of their death. Their life was considered to be meaningless. Nothing was remembered – neither the good things nor the bad things. They became obscure. Their bodies buried in the dust, vanishing into dust. God had the last word. Death put them in their place.

Solomon has sufficient experience and foresight to understand that some leaders, placed into power, would do improper things one hundred times over and yet God’s response would be deferred, patience would be applied to the situation much beyond the range of human kindness. This would add to the leader’s days, and then, at the same time – God told us to hang tough – He is in control. We are not to become discouraged or demoralized. You may recall the song lyric – Be happy! That is God’s counsel. Focus on the one true living God, not some random human who is out of control. The message of God for people who are enduring poor leadership is found in Ecclesiastes 3:14. He says — I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him [NIV].

We are given the fruit of the Spirit for a reason; our character is shaped by each of the fruits. The notion of fearing God can be easily defined as ‘respecting God’ and his plans. We know his eye is always on us, even when things are falling apart, His eye is on us. In turn, we are to keep our eye on the one true living God (eternal things), not on the things around us (temporal things). If we stand in awe of his majesty, trust his judgement in our lives, and focus our life on walking with God, we will find peace.

When we are flat on the ground, fully at the mercy of proud oppressors then we find the true meaning of fearing God. We stay focused, submit to God’s will, find our way through the trouble, and find a place of respite to reel in our thoughts. We learn through these experiences they cannot interrupt our communion with God. We know it will be well with our soul when we respect the things of God. I choose Jesus.

The Words you cannot Understand

Dan

It was my observation that the end of Ezekiel chapter 2 included a scroll that was not tasty and now we find at the top of chapter 3 a scroll that tastes like honey. Clearly these preliminary events are preparing Ezekiel for his work, he is being filled up with the message from God.

Ezekiel 3:1-6 says — And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.  Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So, I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.  He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. [NIV]

What is Ezekiel to do? He is to take in the twin messages (scrolls) and admit the messages to his heart, to apply it to his mind, to embrace the nature of the message, and ruminate and chew upon the thoughts of God in the entirety, overcome any difficulties and then discover God’s plan as to how to deliver the message. 

We know that Jeremiah encountered a similar situation, he was told to find the words from God and eat them (see Jeremiah 15:16). Imagine finding a stack of Naam Bread with God’s word printed on them.  Then consider the request from God to eat that Naam bread. This is the situation Ezekiel was in. He was told to receive the message into his heart, meditate on the message, and give himself to the message (see 1 Timothy 4:15).

I think that Ezekiel had reason to fear that the consumption would not be pleasant if he had any inkling as to the nature of the message. God can say eat this much faster than he can actually chew and swallow the message. His angst was clear, but his obedience was greeted with a good tasting morsal. This suggests if we are willing to obey, we will find comfort in the event outcome that overcomes any hardship we might encounter. If we are willing to receive the word of God into our heart, enable Jesus to write it upon our heart with his blood, then we can anticipate a rich indwelling of the message and the Spirit of God.

When Ezekiel opens the scroll, as a spirit of revelation, the message spreads before him, opening his understanding to the deeper things of God, as the Spirit of wisdom provides knowledge of things and causes us to embrace the unfamiliar. We know that gracious people can receive the truth of God with great delight, even as those who are aware of the message but reject the content find extreme discomfort. John the revelator talked about such things. John indicated that a book was removed from the angel’s hand and was consumed. At first the book was sweet as honey, but then the message produced a tummy ache (see Revelation 10:9-10).

He knew he was required to find the Israelis and talk. Why? Because it was for their benefit to hear the message from God, and to hear the Judgements soon to come if their behavior was not tamped down.  This message is not for the conquer in Babylon, it is for the conquered, Israel. Strangers are not used to correct the child, good parenting requires the parents engage in proper conduct, bringing the nation to repentance. Their response? Not so good. But for me… I choose Jesus.

Stay in your Swim Lane

Dan

It has been my Observation, that Ezekiel is repeatedly told he must speak to them the specific message, and only the message which God spoke to him. This suggests he was not free to speak the mere substance of the message from God, but to speak the same language, terms, and phrases used by God. Paul was careful to differentiate between his words and the words of the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 2:13). It is best to speak God’s mind with his term, his phrases, his logic. When needed, take the time to define the words; but use his words.  That is the safe harbor.

There is more in this line of reasoning. We are wise to recall that Ezekiel is directed to speak to the House of Israel, not the house of Babylon. Ezekiel was commissioned to help the captives not the captors. This provided impetus for his compassion. His concern caused him to focus on the House of Isreal with a tender hand.

Ezekiel 3:5-6 (paraphrased) says — You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange culture, but to the people of Israel – you speak their language. If I had sent you to the foreigners, they would have understood your words and listened to you; but you do not speak their language. Therefore, you were not sent to them.  [NIV]

Ezekiel himself was a captive, but he seemed to have some freedom to accomplish his prophetic vocation without significant interference from Babylon. We can presume this was God’s protection.  Initially, he traveled in a mob once he was captive; forced to migrate travel to a strange land and join a bilingual group of slaves who were building the city of Babylon and the surrounding area. The Babylon King needed a cheap workforce, slaves were free labor. Invade, win a battle, gather the loosing team, and put them to work to accomplish your goals. The people of Isreal were blended in with a bunch of nations. They shared a common toil and tribulation, they were fellow-sufferers and travelers, and in sadness they migrated (under force) from the coastal regions of Judah to Babylon. The tears of many nations were mingled, but they had little trust in each other, they remained apart even in the crowd of slaves.

Certainly, the other slave nations were aware of Ezekiel and his ministry. They knew he was trying to help the Israelis recover from their shock and reconnect with their God. But at the same time, I suspect the message of Ezekiel had no real interest to them or the Babylonians until Cyrus came into the picture.

At the same time, it was enough for Ezekiel to minister to the house of Israel. He had little time to learn new languages and cultures. He had enough to keep his captors at bay and deliver the message to the House of Israel. Interpreters were not easy to find nor had God prepared an interpreter for Ezekiel. The mandate was clear from God given the circumstances and the language barrier sealed the deal.

Consider this – all languages we do not know will seem strange and awkward to speak. Our profit was not sent to them, he did not know their language, culture, or habits. Clearly no serious messaging could happen. We know that Paul was a learned man and given to several languages. Still, we see from the book of Acts a practical use of the Gift of Tongues and Gift of Interpretation. Many people heard the church, speaking in their own tongue. God could have done the same thing for Ezekiel. But he did not! The time was not right for the message to be spread to a group beyond the captive House of Isreal.  That time did not come until the new covenant.  Ezekiel was sent to only one group – the house of Isreal.

Once again, we see how the Grace of God works, his plan, his schedule, his message.  His distribution plan for the message.  We worship the one true living God.  Stay in your swim lane.  I choose Jesus.