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July 26, 2007
Ecclesiastes 9-12
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Ecclesiastes
Chapter 9
- For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
- All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
- This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
- For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
- For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
- Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
- Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
- Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
- Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
- Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
- I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
- For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
- This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
- There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
- Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
- Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
- The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
- Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
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Ecclesiastes
Chapter 10
- Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
- A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.
- Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.
- If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
- There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
- Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
- I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
- He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
- Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
- If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.
- Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
- The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
- The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
- A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
- The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
- Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
- Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
- By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
- A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
- Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
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Ecclesiastes
Chapter 11
- Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
- Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
- If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
- He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
- As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
- In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
- Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
- But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
- Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
- Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
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Ecclesiastes
Chapter 12
- Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
- While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
- In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
- And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
- Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
- Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
- Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
- Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
- And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
- The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
- The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
- And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
- Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
- For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
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Thought for the day:
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As Solomon draws his book to its conclusion he gives some additional advice to his readers. At the end of chapter 9 he writes these words,
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good (18)."
Throughout the book Solomon has encouraged his listeners to follow after God and His wisdom and to reject the wisdom of the world. In the first phrase of this verse, he reminds us that Godly wisdom carries more power than does military might. Our society may say that "might makes right," but our God tells us that it is "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts," (Zech. 4:6). Having established once again the importance of Biblical wisdom, Solomon adds this thought:
"but one sinner destroys much good."
What a truth this is! A church can take a strong stand for the Word of God for many years, but one man in the church breaking the law can destroy that church's reputation for years to come. The outside community does not remember that hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of members of that church have been moral, honest citizens. They don't remember the charitable works that church has done, nor its outreach to those who were spiritually needy. The event that the community will think of is that one man's sin. From that point on, the church's testimony and ability to evangelize will be hindered severely. The same is true in a family. Mom and Dad spend a lifetime cultivating a reputation for godliness, and a wayward child destroys it all in a moment of self-indulgence. A man does his best to live for God on the job so that he can be a witness to his unsaved co-workers. Then in a fit of anger he says something that he should not say, and his testimony must be rebuilt from the ground up.
This leads to the first verse of chapter 10, which reads,
"Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour."
Little things make a huge difference in the Christian life. We often divide our life into "important" and "unimportant" areas. For example, many Christians view their behavior at church to be very important, but their behavior at home to be less important, and their behavior on the job to be less important still. They talk in one way at church, another way with their spouse, and a third way with the "boys". In the same way many believers divide their transgressions into "big" sins and "little" sins. In their opinions, it would be a big sin to commit adultery, but a little sin to look at dirty pictures or watch sexually-oriented movies or television shows. It would be a big sin to say certain vulgar words, but a little sin to take God's name in vain. It would be a big sin to murder someone, but a little sin to lose your temper. It would be a big sin to rob the bank, but a little sin to cheat your employer or the IRS. Yet the Bible says that even a little foolishness will wreck an individual's reputation, and cause his testimony to stink. Watch out for the "little things", because there are no "little things" with God.
Solomon finishes the book with these words:
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil," (12:13-14).
After spending much of his life following the world's concept of happiness, Solomon tells us that the only thing that matters is obeying the Word of God. We will be held accountable for everything we do, even the 'little things", and thus we must live in such a way that God will be pleased with us. Don't waste your life listening to the philosophy of the unsaved, even if it is being taught to you by a backslidden Christian! Learn the Bible and put It into practice in every aspect of your being, and your life will make a difference for the cause of Christ.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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