Taught on 30 October 2005
Leonardtown Baptist Church
Our study book says that this chapter discusses “How Should I Act When There Doesn’t Seem Any Way To Win In Life?”
This chapter discusses being courageous in Life and being bold in doing right even if you are not rewarded.
1 Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hard appearance.
In other words, “What authority is intelligent enough to be compared with a person who has a Bible in his hand and who knows God’s will?
Solomon is saying that the wise person is illuminated and has so much joy that you can see it on his face.
Our study book talks a lot in this chapter about “Poise”. Can someone define poise for us?
Poise means that you do not “shift” due to outside circumstances.
I really liked what our study book discussed for this verse: “that there is no greater privilege than understanding where we came from, who we are, where we are going, how sin is removed, and what the will of God is.”
We’ve briefly mentioned this before…but for us born again Christians the “wisdom” that we have of God should give us a bright face and we shouldn’t walk around with a “hard appearance” as mentioned in verse one.
Solomon is saying that in a world full of questions, it’s wonderful to know the absolutes of life. We know and understand that God is in control of our life and that the creator of our universe is with us and on our side.
BIBLE TRIVIA FOR THE DAY
Wisdom “brightens a man’s face”: Can anyone remember times in the bible when a man’s face was brightened?
Moses when he came down from the mountain.
Ex 34:30 (NIV) When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
Jesus when he was transfigured when he was with Peter, James and John.
Matt 17:1-3 (NIV) After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Stephen…when he was in the Sanhedrin and the Jews were plotting against him.
Acts 6:15 (NIV) All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Obey the King
2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.
OK, that’s not too hard to understand.
Ezra 7:26 (NIV) Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
Prov 24:21 (NIV) Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious,
Romans 13:1 (NIV) Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
So, how many of you have heard your friends, or even “Pastors” of churches talk “bad” about a certain “PRESIDENT” of our country…. President Clinton, or President Bush, etc.
What does the bible say about talking “bad” about your President? Would God approve of such talk?
Romans 13:1 says, as we discussed a few chapters ago, that the authorities that exist have been established by God….so…. if we talk bad about a government, are we really out of God’s will?
FIRST reason to obey government: because you are a citizen of that government. Remember this…”I pledge allegiance, to the flag..”. When you said that as a child, or as an adult, you made a pledge, or a commitment to obey the laws of the land.
Obedience is not always based on convenience. Getting called to jury duty as you are leaving for vacation is not convenient.
I liked what Will Rogers said about government: “We should be glad that we don’t have as much government as we’ve paid for!”
3 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.
Do not be in a hurry: (Be patient)
Prov 14:29 (NIV) A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.
Do not stand up for a bad cause: (Use your head…before you lose it)
Prov 16:14 (NIV) A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will appease it.
4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
SECOND reason why we should obey government (v 3 & 4): Because it has power to compel us to do so.
5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
THIRD reason to obey government: because if we do, no harm can come to us from the government.
Verses 2 through 5: Our study book makes the following points:
These verses remind us that we are called to obey authority. Don’t abandon that position.
Even if you have an evil King, don’t panic.
Every time a person in the Old Testament rebelled against the king, he ended up being killed.
Nobody can challenge the king, he will do what he pleases.
It takes patience and trust in God to submit to frail, human authority (the King).
Our study book also used the story of David and Saul. David, who could have killed King Saul many times, did not kill him. He maintained his “poise” and obeyed God.
Does anyone remember a New Testament book that says almost the exact same thing as verses 2 through 5?
Romans 13, verses 1 through 7. Someone read that for us please.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
Proper Time = voting day…. vote the evil king out! There will also be times when you are “asked” for your input (polls, election meetings, letters, etc.), those are the proper times to face the political agendas.
though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
It is HARD for us to remain quiet. We all have the natural tendency to try to fix things. But, these scriptures remind us to have patience. A time and a place will eventually be revealed so that you can correctly voice your opinion and take the necessary actions.
Don’t we believe that God can take an evil man “out” at any time? Anytime he wants to, can’t God turn a government upside down? What recent world events prove this?
The overthrow of IRAQ.
“Though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him“… so, this is just saying that even though we suffer because of an evil or misguided King, God is still in control. AND, here we go again, God is not making it easy on us is He. Once again we are to occasionally suffer from injustice.
I liked this statement (question) out of our study books: “If you are going through great struggles right now, how much of your difficulties involve things you can’t change and how much involves things you can change? Verse 6 indicates that you need not worry about the things you can not change. Rest in the sovereignty of God. The things you can change, you need to change.”
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NOW WE TRANSITION AWAY FROM POLITICS.
7 Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?
“Since no man knows the future”: Obviously, God has gotten you here in our church somehow. How many of you had to make “choices” that affected you being here right now? For example, I had prayed and prayed to God to lead me to a good Church after I retired from active duty. I got this job offer in Maryland, and I lived in Florida at the time. I didn’t know about LBC, but I trusted that God was leading me in the right direction. After 3 years of prayer, I felt God was answering my prayers, so I listened and I followed. And, here I am today. In the best church I’ve ever had the pleasure of worshipping God in. I could not foresee all that!
Are there any other examples from the group here today?
We can look at this in lots of ways when we are talking about the “FUTURE”.
We can look at this pertaining to our personal future, or our governments future, our church future, etc.
How many of you here today have been praying, and praying, and praying about something but it doesn’t seem like God is answering your prayer about something?
Why? What are some of the things that might be preventing God from answering your prayers right now?
Right now I have a MAJOR prayer. I’ve been praying that my oldest son get saved. Out of my six children, he’s the only one that hasn’t accepted Jesus as his Lord and savior.
This too is out of my control. I can pray, and pray, and pray. After that, I’m just called to let God handle the rest. God hears my prayers and will answer them in his own time.
Our study book reminds us that we are not supposed to keep a stopwatch on God. We are to remain POISED. Keep going to church, keep singing, and keep listening.
8 No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
The Stedman commentaries say that this verse discusses the possibility of losing your life when obeying the government, like when you go to war.
Looking at this verse it makes three statements: (1) death is wholly in God’s hands. You can go through a combat zone, people will die next to you, left and right of you, but for some reason, you live. God is totally in control, not you. (2) It states that there is no discharge in time of war. War involves a total commitment to your government to try and preserve the integrity and values of our government. As such it requires the wholehearted commitment of it’s citizens. (3) And lastly it says that war does not justify wickedness. A soldier who disobeys the laws of justice while he is wearing the uniform can be guilty of murder just like any private citizen. Wicked violence is not justified.
NEXT…SOLOMON ADDRESSES THE QUESTION “ARE GOVERNMENTS ALWAYS RIGHT? DON’T GOVERNMENTS DO WRONG AT TIMES?”
9 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.
Governments come from God right? Both the old and new testaments tell us that.
BUT, evil in government arises from the evil in fallen man, living in a fallen world. “There are none righteous, no not one.”
Does “evil” usually win?
They might, maybe, win in this world. They don’t usually win for their entire life. Their time of ruling is usually brief.
But, there is a judgment day a coming….and we all know that they won’t win in heaven, and that lasts for an ETERNITY.
10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried–those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
Any idea what this means: “come and go from the holy place”?
The sacred office which they held. Annointed as either kings or priests to God.
“receive praise” : some Hebrew manuscripts show this scripture as reading “receive praise and are forgotten”
Once again, good or bad, the end is the same. Men are eventually forgotten and we can’t control the sovereignty of God.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.
“Sentence for a crime: Why does God not immediately punish us for our crimes?
God’s longsuffering is meant to give us time to repent of our sinful ways. If he punished us immediately, every time, he’d be constantly punishing us.
Since God doesn’t punish us immediately, what do we do? What do we think?
Since God doesn’t punish us immediately we think that he disregards evil acts; and therefore we are tempted to sin even more because of our sinful nature.
Does anyone here know the significance of the usage of the word “heart” in this scripture?
According to the Bible, the heart is the center not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. “Heart” and “soul” are often used interchangeably. So, this is actually an extremely powerful statement.
12 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.
If God is so merciful to the unrepentant sinner as to delay their punishment, surely he will be peculiarly kind to them that fear him and endeavor to walk uprightly before him.
I know that it will go better with God-fearing men: Anyone know of any scriptures that tell us this:
Deut 4:40 (NIV) Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
Isaiah 3:10 (NIV) Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them : God will judge the wrong in his own time. God will preserve the innocent.
QUESTION: Do evil men get away with evil things indefinitely on this earth? Don’t we believe that for the most part, evil men will be found out one day and will be punished for their deeds?
Job 20:5 (NIV) that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.
Once again, as in previous chapters, Solomon is telling us to not be surprised by injustice. Just know that it is out there and God is still in control.
15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
QUESTION: If we were sad every time we saw an injustice in this world, would there ever be a time when we could be happy?
1 Tim 6:17 (NIV) Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth–his eyes not seeing sleep day or night–
When I applied my mind to know wisdom = Adam Clarke’s commentary:
This is the reply of the wise man, “I have also considered these seeming contradictions. God governs the world; but we can not see the reasons of his conduct, nor know why he does this, omits that, or permits a third thing. We may study night and day, and deprive ourselves of rest and sleep, but we shall never fathom the depths that are in the Divine government; but all is right and just. But eternity is at hand; and then shall every man receive according to his works.”
17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.
God’s nature is such that (1) That a man cannot find it out and (2) that if he does labor to find it out he shall not succeed and (3) it is beyond our abilities.
S/N = “When wisdom fails, we must simply trust God and realize that we are in His hands. It is more important that we yield to Him than that we know how to master life itself.
Bibliography:
1) A Life Well Lived, A Study of Ecclesiastes. 2005. Tommy Nelson. Broadman & Holdman Publishers, Nashville, TN.
2) Shepherd’s Notes. Ecclesiastes / Song of Solomon. 1995. Broadman & Holdman Publishers, Nashville, TN.
3) Adam Clarke’s Commentaries. First release in England in 1810. Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN.
4) Ray C. Stedman, Title: Can we Trust Government ? Series: Things that Don’t Work: Ecclesiastes Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:1-5:20 Message No: 4 Catalog No: 3809 Date: November 21, 1982
5) Matthew Henry’s Study bible, World Bibles, 1994.
6) Thru the Bible with Vernon McGee. Thomas Nelson INC, Nashville, TN. 1983.