A Vision of a Horseman

 

August 12, 2020

 

Zechariah 1:7-17

 

A Vision of a Horseman

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,  “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red sorrel and white horses.  Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’  So, the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’  And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’  Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’  And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.   So, the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.   And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.  Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. ⁷ Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

A wise man learns that appearances and the way things seem are not always what is true.  If you were living in the time of Zechariah one might think God hates Jerusalem and the Jewish people, how wrong they would have been.  Perception, or maybe a better word is “Observation” does not make it a reality.  We must recall these words of God found in Isaiah 55:8,9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,  neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth,  so are my ways higher than your ways   and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  “A wise man knows he doesn't know everything. A fool thinks he knows everything.” (author unknown)  

 

God has spoken in Deuteronomy 14:2, “For you are  a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the people who are on the face of the earth.”  Also read God’s promise to Abram, in Genesis chapter 17.  As one that is a follower of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, must read and understand they also have been grafted into Abraham by faith and grace, and the blood of Jesus Christ, was given to cover your sins and mine on the Cross.

Look with me at 1 Peter 2: 9,10,”But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

 

Note: The article is from google and may or may not be true.  But this you can believe the Scripture is true.  I google I put no faith, but in God, I know He is True to His Word.

 

“Most Jews hold that being the "Chosen People" means that they have been placed on earth to fulfill a certain purpose. Traditional proof for Jewish "closeness" is found in the Torah, the Jewish bible, in the Book of Deuteronomy (chapter 14) where it says: "For you are a holy people to Hashem your God, and God has chosen you to be his treasured people from all the nations that are on the face of the earth."  (Taken from the Jewish Virtual Library) 

 

If you were born in early 1940 as I was you have been a witness to God’s blessing on Israel, and once more they have become a nation, but they are still a stiff neck people, many do not believe God can or did part the Red Sea.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

A Call to Return to the Lord

 

August 11, 2020

 

Zechariah Introduction

 

Zechariah prophesied to a group of discouraged Israelites announcing that it was a new day for God’s chosen people.  He sought to inspire those who had returned from captivity to rebuild the temple and rededicate their lives to the Lord.  The message of encouragement involved surrealistic visions and vivid poetic images focused on a reversal of God’s judgment, and called for a reversal of the people’s behavior.

 

Zechariah returned to Judah with the former exiles and was apparently a priest Neh12:16).   He was a contemporary of Haggai.  Though nothing is known of cooperation between the two prophets, they had similar missions and are credited with the successful reconstruction of the temple (Zech. 5:1-2; 6:14). (Taken from the Holman Study Bible)

 

 

Chapter 1:1-6

 

A Call to Return to the Lord

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,  “The Lord was very angry with your fathers.  Therefore, say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.  Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.  Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?   But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?  So, they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

 

As we explore Zechariah, we must also recall the prophet Haggai in that both men were responsible for the temple being rebuilt.  In fact, they both began the call to rebuild about two months apart.  King Cyrus of Persia had issued an edict giving the Israelites permission to return from exile to their homeland 19 years earlier.

Because their fathers would not listen to God’s prophet they reaped what they sowed, and God sent the Assyrians to destroy Samaria and the northern 10 tribes, and the Babylonians demolished Jerusalem and the southern two tribes.  

 

We see the Lord speaking through His prophet Zechariah almost begging the people not to do as their fathers.  Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.  Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?   But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?  So, they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

 

I believe the USA would be very wise to not only listen to these words but to take action on this message.  For God has spoken in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Wake up, God is Love, Mercy, Kindness, Goodness, and Faithfulness, but He is also a Mighty Judge, and a Mighty Warrior, who has contempt for posers who believe that doing good will put them in right standing with a Holy God.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Israel's Joy and Restoration

 

Zechariah 3:14-20

 

Israel's Joy and Restoration

“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!  The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies.  The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.  On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.  The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.  I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival so that you will no longer suffer reproach.  Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors.  And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.   At that time, I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.”

 

In Psalm 22:3, it is recorded, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”  (ESV) It is an often-quoted verse used by worship leaders, it is from the King James translation of Psalm 22:3 “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.”  After looking into what others have to say on this verse, most agree that ESV is the better translation of Psalm 22:3. That does not mean God does not desire the worship of his people, for we are reminded often in the Scriptures to do so.  John 4:24, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  In that God does not look on the outward appearance of a person but on the heart, worship happens at any time we give God praise with a pure heart.

 

Now, let’s look at the rest of the story; Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!  The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies.  At the Cross, Jesus overcame death, the grave, and sin.   All the judgments against us have been taken away, and you are not under the control of sin.  That is great news, for one and all that is had by grace and faith entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

 

We still have a problem, it is called “the flesh” when a person desires to live life outside of God’s control.  It happens when we want to be the captain of our own ship, it is self-life.  What many a follower of Christ must learn is that we do have flesh, and to understand our version of the flesh, for that is where the “want creators” will attack you and me.  Who are the want creators?  Look at Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Once we allow our flesh to be in charge, we have moved out of the protective umbrella of God's Spirit, allowing the rulers of darkness to have access to our lives.

 

That is bad news, but the good news is you are God’s child, you have been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ, and all it takes to move back under the Fathers protective umbrella is to come to the Father, with a broken and contrite spirit, confessing your desire to run the show.  For the Father is always close by and His desire is to renew your fellowship.

Obedience brings blessing, and disobedience brings discipline. 

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Conversion of the Nations

 

August 9, 2020

 

Zephaniah 3::9-13

 

 

The Conversion of the Nations

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord.  From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.  “On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain.  But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord, those who are left in Israel; they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.”

 

One could only imagine how this would be the conversion of the nations.  It may mean many things, but can you allow your mind to go to a world like the Prophet is telling us, where the nations all call on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?   A people of pure speech, the proud exultant ones will be removed, and leave a people who are humble and lowly.  Those left in Israel, they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue.  What would a world look like without fear?

 

It would look a lot like the garden of Eden, it would be very close to what I imagine heaven to be like.  A place where the people seek the Lord and obey His teaching and commands, where they live in peace and find their rest only in Christ, the Lord.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

 

August 8, 2020

 

Zephaniah 3:1-8

 

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!   She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction.  She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God.

Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.  Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law.  The Lord within her is righteous; he does no injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail, but the unjust knows no shame.  “I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant.  I said, ‘Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction.  Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.’  But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.  “Therefore, wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.  For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.

 

This was written for another people at another time in what we refer to as history, and we read it like a story, as the history of a time in the past, but we do not take it to heart, we do not ponder on the where and why anyone would be like this, and we assume we as a civilization have for exceeded that lifestyle.  Dad was correct when he stated that man learns nothing from history, for if he did he would not repeat it.

 

We would be wise to recall 2 Timothy 3:16 & 17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  

We all need a Ken Ryan, who asks me every time we read the Scripture, Bob, do you believe what we just read, and my answer was always, yes and his reply was, that‘s not true, for if you did you would do as it is instructing you.  The church of the United States is often good with the answers, on Sunday, but when Monday comes it is a very different story.

As I read the above eight verses of Zephaniah 3, it was as if I was revisiting our recent history of the last 30 years and watching a nation forget why it was great.  We the Church are to blame and have become more like the world and have not been that shining light that proclaims our greatness is not in government, but in a God who has blessed us with abundance, not because we are good, but because His Church was seeking Him.  If only we the Church would humble ourselves, if only the people of  Judah, would have bowed their knee to a Holy God, then they would have been forgiven.  “I said, ‘Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction.  Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.’  But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.”

If you can read the above and tell me that is not the USA today, I wonder what planet you are living on?  This is not about what party you vote for, it is about what god you have been following, as for me and my house we will follow the God of Creation, the Triune God who is a God of Promises, and who keeps His word.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Repent and Seek God

 

August 7, 2020

 

Zephaniah 2:4-19

 

For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted.   Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites!  The word of the Lord is against you O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.  And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.  The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon, they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord, their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes.

 

 “I have heard the taunts of Moab and the reviling’s of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory.  Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever.  The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”  This shall be their lot in return for their pride because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts. The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations. You also, O Cushite’s, shall be slain by my sword.  And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria,
and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert.  Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts; even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals a voice shall hoot in the window;  devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare. This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else.”  What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts!  Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

 

In verse four, the Prophet is referring to four of the five Philistine cities that He will bring judgment on.  But for Judah, they will be restored.  It is unclear if it is referring to the physical or the spiritual.  The nations around Judah were taunting and God singles out Moab and the insults of the Ammonites.  Never forget God makes promises, and this is what God promised for Moab and the Ammonites.  God promised that Moab would be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah and that His people would plunder them.

 

You and I are living in a time of ignorant people who hate and are hated, and they in their blindness of God’s love for them have become enemies of His Church.  We the Church should be asking God to open their eyes before God brings judgment on them.  If you’re asking for judgment and not mercy, that will not bring about judgment on them, and maybe harmful to you.  I am asking the Lord to let certain leaders and powerful men and women not have a night that they do not see the judgment that God will bring on them in an everlasting hell if they do not repent, but I’m praying that their eyes will be open to His love for them.  When one becomes prideful, they enter into a very dangerous place, followers of Christ or haters of Christ.

 

As you read verse 15, could that be you?  Christian, have you now placed your faith in what government can do, have you placed your faith in our military, or nation?  If so, you must repent and seek the face of God, for like the Assyrians and Babylonians, the USA will be judged.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Day of the Lord Is Near

 

August 5, 2020

 

Zephaniah 2:7-18

 

The Day of the Lord Is Near

 Be silent before the Lord God!  For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.   And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire.   On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud.  “On that day,” declares the Lord, “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills.  Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!   For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.’  Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste.  Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.”  The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.   A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.  I will bring distress on mankind so that they shall walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.   Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

 

For the people of Judah when the Babylonians attacked, it was the day of God’s judgment, yet for those who were spared it was a time of silence before God, they went from house to rubble.  Shall we bring it into a time we understand, Nazi Germany was going through Europe destroying army after army, most of Germany was not part of the Nazi party, but if you did not agree, the brown shirts of Hitler’s bunch of thugs would hurt you, if they did not kill you.  If you were a Jew they put you in concentration camps, and later when He came to power they would kill six million of them in gas chambers.

 

In God’s providence, He allowed the evil man Hitler to believe he could attack Russia with the same success as those he had so easily defeated the nations in Europe and also attacking shipping of American supplies to China, Russia, and England.  The six-year and one-day war ended with Germany in rubble, and those left were silent before the Lord God.

 

Many who go by the title of Christian have lived in fear during the China virus, but a day when God brings His wrath on those who have put their faith in government, leaders, and wealth, will be judged, and not one thing will stop God’s judgment on this nation.  I believe we are having the birth pains of a Nation that has moved from in God we Trust to in Hollywood, in Socialism, in big government, we trust.  I do not know what tomorrow brings, but this I do know, my Father has full control over all things.

 

Are you one of those the Father has consecrated as his guest?   Shall we revisit verse 7, “Be silent before the Lord God!  For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Why?

 Why?

 

Yes, why did the Church not look to the promises of their God?  Has He not promised has He not Commanded us to do so?  Why did they look to the Government, why did they believe in science, and doctors, governors, mayors, and not the Promises of its God?  What happened to the leadership of the Church?

 

My dad always taught us that actions spoke louder than our words, never has that been truer, than what we saw from the pews.  So let me share what was not preached in most of our Church buildings but should have been.

 

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  Psalm 91:9-11

 

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”   Hebrews 4:15-16

 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.   And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

 

And so many more but it was Isaiah 41:10, that gave Jan and I peace during the pandemic of fear; “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

My pastor is a man of God, he walks the walk, and he is a great leader, as I hope yours also is.  He also reminds us often that we are all messes, and we all make mistakes.  The question "why" is not to attack leadership but is more a hope that the pandemic was used by God to bring to light the reason His Church has little power in the USA.  My hope is it is a wake-up call, as were the parents of students who saw what their children were being taught and are now saying no more will I allow this garbage to be taught to my child.

 

It is always a good time to examine oneself, 2 Corinthians 13:5, ^“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” 

 

Church, why did you turn to the voice of the world, and not to the promises of God?  Has he not told you that He numbered your days before one happened, and has He not said you cannot add or take away one day from the time of your death, so is not the message “Fear Not?  Why do you not believe in God’s Promises?  Why do you put trust in a man, like Dr. Fauci and ignore the PROMISE OF GOD?

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

A Time for Everything

 

Ecclesiastic 3:1-8

 

A Time for Everything

“For everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

 

A season for everything, and a time for every matter.  The first 8 verses of chapter 3 tell us God’s plan, not always man’s.  Often parents have not planned to have a child, very rare would be the young man who tells the girl in the back seat of a car that he loves her, and she allows him to talk her into having sex or have any expectation of a child coming from the encounter.  But God does and He has a plan for that child, you do not know the plan nor does anyone else but God.  God desires good for that child.

 

Now in the USA, we call it a blob or mass of cells, but not a human.  Let me ask a question, if nothing is done to remove that mass of cells, something wonderful happens in nine months, a child is born, and it has been designed by God and He has a plan for their life.  We will never know what God’s plan was for 60 million, but before you talk about Hitler or Stalin being mass murders, they were choir boys compared to the abortion industry in the United States of America.  

 

And do you understand, that before you were, God saw you, that’s right, and He numbered your days on planet earth, each day is a gift, use them wisely.

As one who enjoys gardening, one of the hardest things is to pull up those summer tomato plants so you can prepare the soil to receive new plants for the fall season.  Often, we are well established in a good job, the family is happy in the home and enjoys the neighbors, and God opens a new door, and that is not an easy time for a man, I’ve lived it and I see others do so, but after a time of prayer, one must do what they believe God is leading them to do.  I’ve also seen God giving a man more than one option, and to understand God’s will often comes down to where your heart is.

 

Now let me get really personal, all of the above are part of God’s plan for you and me, but it is this one; “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” that my flesh wrestles with.  The great news is there is no condemnation for those in Christ, but just because you or I have the right answer or opinion does not mean it is appropriate to state at that time.

 

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Vanity of Toil

 

 

Ecclesiastes 2:18-26

 

The Vanity of Toil

I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.   So, I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.   What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?   For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him^[ who can eat or who can have enjoyment?  For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

I’ve had to watch in my own life the results of building and leaving it to a person who did not manage what was given to them and lost all of my many years of work and investment in a few short years.  I had worked very hard to earn the trust and respect of many large corporations in my years at 3M in the industrial business in the Houston market, and yet the ones that followed me did not manage the gift of my toils and much of it has vanished, and I must agree with Solomon, that it was vanity.

Now let me be clear, I received the blessing of my hard work but the one it was left to is a younger generation that had not been instructed in the value of getting their hands dirty, in maintaining a working relationship with the plant engineers or the people who installed those great products.  It did not happen overnight but over time someone else got to spent time with them and took much of the business away.

Once more we see Solomon using the word vexation, he is angry or irritated over the thought of what might happen.

“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.”  I was blessed to have a dad that lived that out, that a job worth doing was worth doing well.  My dad never griped about his job, but I do believe he also never found enjoyment in it, his real desire was to coach young men in the game of football.

I was blessed to not only work for a great company but to have some great people invest in me to teach this uneducated person how to be good at the task, and I enjoyed my work.  I enjoyed the praise of my managers and to have upper management know that I was dependable, but I always knew that it was God who was the real source of my accomplishment.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Vanity of Living Wisely

 

Ecclesiastic 2:12-17 

 

The Vanity of Living Wisely

So, I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.  Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.   The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.   Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.   For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!  So, I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Is there anything new under the sun?  Solomon has discovered that knowledge and wisdom are of some value, and that madness and folly have no value, he is not saying wisdom is not something one should seek, but that it does not answer these questions; (Why are we here?  What is the purpose of life?  Where are we going?)  Only God can teach a man this type of wisdom.  

 

Solomon comes away thinking both wisdom and folly were vanity, but wisdom did have some value, whereas folly had none.

 

Solomon seems to be consumed with life, a fear that he would not be remembered, and that life had a timeline, for both the fool and the man of wisdom.  He could not understand how both the fool and the wise man both had death as their end.  He made it clear that the pursuit of wisdom was vain and like chasing the wind.

 

When we attempt to replace a void, that only God can fill in a person, we end up in futility and chasing after the wind.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Vanity of Self-Indulgence

 

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

 

 

The Vanity of Self-Indulgence

I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?”   I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.   I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.   I made myself gardens and parks and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.   I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.   I bought male and female slaves and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.   I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.

So, I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem.  Also, my wisdom remained with me.  And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.   Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

 

The question has still not been answered, “Why are we here?  What is the purpose of life?  Where are we going?”  Solomon with all his wisdom and knowledge, was searching for these truths, and the best he can share is that being a seeker of pleasure did not have the answer, it was vanity.  He tried wine to make him not give thought to the question, but wine could not shut down his mind from seeking wisdom.

Now we find Solomon the builder and the acquirer of slaves and silver and gold greater wealth than any king before him in Jerusalem.  He also got whatever he desired, and none of this brought peace, it was like striving after the wind.

 

No one knows the power or wealth of Solomon, and none have been given his wisdom, but what good are knowledge and wisdom, if one cannot find the answer to the questions above?  You may be thinking if I can just do this, learn this, or acquire this, I will find true peace and joy in this life.  

 

One problem, the latter is on the wrong wall, Jesus Christ is the giver of real life, and He is the only one that has ever successfully lived the Christian life.  He will live it in you if you seek Him with all your heart, mind, and soul.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Vanity of Wisdom

 

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

The Vanity of Wisdom

I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.   And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.   What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”   And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.   For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

 

Solomon is not stating that he is no longer the king but as king, he set his heart on seeking wisdom, and we know God blessed him with more wisdom and understanding than any other man born of an earthly dad and mom.   With all that searching he still searched for the answer to life; why am I here, where am I going.

 

Solomon, let us in on some important insights, gaining knowledge is not an easy task, and with all learning and knowledge, he never got the whole picture.  Solomon tells us that in his vast search for knowledge and wisdom, it was like chasing after the wind.  Many problems had no solution because he was working with insufficient information.  Also, many of the challenges of our human existence are beyond explaining.

 

Solomon by far was the smartest guy in the room, but each of us has known that person, and without being under the authority of God, that person becomes proud and arrogant.  True wisdom it would seem to this writer, is humbling yourself under the authority of a Holy God, who has shared the knowledge and wisdom with you.  It would also require seeking God’s approval before going after what your heart is desiring.  The Prophet Jeremiah shares a great insight in chapter 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  No telling how different Solomon's life would have been if he had done that.  For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.  Vexation, not a word used that often, it means anger or irritation.

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice

The Earth Remains

  

Ecclesiastes 1:4-11

 

A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it rises.  The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits, the wind returns.   All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.  What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”?  It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

The younger people that have believed the lies of global warming, are now it is called Climate Change, and that man will destroy the earth in a matter of a few years.  Read, Chapter 1:4, “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.”  Now turn to revelation 20:4-10 and read about Jesus returning as King of KINGS and Lord of LORDS to the earth for 1000 years reign. 

The writer also uses the sun, the wind, and the streams as examples of doing the same thing over and over but no new results.  Such is the fate of man!  A generation comes and a generation goes but it does not change the world in any major way.

When the author tells us and there is nothing new under the sun, what is God letting us in on?  Nothing mankind can do changes the heart of people, only Jesus Christ can do so.  The condition of mankind has not changed, yes we see changes in technology, and art, and literature, and many other things some good and many are very bad, but God has set a day for your life on planet earth, and all will die and will stand in judgment before a Holy God.

 

Verse 11 does not state that anyone is remembered in history, but that fame and glory have no lasting significance.  An example is how the statues of great men in our history are being torn down, and a big push to rewrite our history since Obama tried to tell us how much Muslims had to do with our founding as a nation.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice