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

 

All Is Vanity

 

Ecclesiastes  Introduction

 

“The Bible is never shy about confronting painful truths or hard questions.  The book of Ecclesiastes faces the issue of how we can find meaning in life in light of the seemingly futile nature of everything.  It does not answer this problem by comforting us with hollow slogans.  To the contrary, its motto is “Everything Is Futile,”  But by forcing us to face the futility of human existence, it guides us to a life of empty purpose and deceitful vindication.” (HCSB)

 

Chapter 1:1-11

 

All Is Vanity

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.  What does man gain by all the toil which he toils under the sun?  

 

Could the answer be found to that haunting question that mankind has asked since the beginning of time?  Why are we here?  What is the purpose of life?  Where are we going?

 

My translation uses the term Preacher, but most use Teacher, the word used is not the normal word for teacher or preacher, it is a rare Hebrew word (found seven times in Ecclesiastes, and no where else in the Bible.)  The HCSB in its notes tells us it may mean “assembly leader” or “public speaker”.  It is believed that it is referring to Solomon in that he only was king over all of Israel from Jerusalem none another ruled the whole kingdom.

 

Your translation may use the word futile and not vanity, but they have become to have the same meaning.  Beware of this, it does not mean that something is altogether worthless, but it implies it of fleeing value.  I know a man who spent his energy and money to acquire land and leftover 12 hundred acres debt-free to his son.  In less than three years he only had 25 acres left for him and his mother to live in, he had lost the land and the home to the bank.  I can not think of a better example of “Fleeing Value.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

God as a Divine Warrior

 August 28, 2020

 

Zachariah 9:14-17

 

The Lord Will Save His People

Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl,
drenched like the corners of the altar.  On that day the Lord their God will save them,
as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.  For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!  Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.

 

The O.T.  is often referring to God as a Divine Warrior, as seen in the book of Exodus 15:3-8, The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.  “Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.  The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.  Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.  In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.   At the blast of your nostrils, the waters piled the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.  What about Joshua 5:13-15,  ^“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”  “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”   The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

Could the takeaway be this question, Are you still fighting your battles, how that going?  Are maybe you have entered into a battle without the correct weapons, for our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil.  You and I must run to Jesus and let Him teach us how to fight spiritual battles.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Coming King of Zion

 

 

Zachariah 9:9-13

 

The Coming King of Zion

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River^[c] to the ends of the earth.   As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.  Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.  For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword.

 

Jerusalem has had many kings since David and Solomon and though the people longed for another like them, none had shown up.  But now Zachariah is proclaiming a King that is coming who is righteous and victorious.  An instead of riding on a mule as was the custom for a king, he would be on a colt of a donkey, a sign of humility.  Zachariah's writing took place sometime between 640 – 612 B.C.

 

Shall we see when this prophecy took place, turn in your Bibles to Matthew 21:1-5, “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her? Untie them and bring them to me.   If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”   This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

 

Two areas a wise person will pay heed to, all prophecy that is from God will be acted on in His timeline, and the second is a wise person will believe it and away it happening.

 

 

From the Back Porch, 

 

Bob Rice

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

 

 

August 26, 2020

 

Zachariah 9:1-8

 

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

A prophecy:

The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak and will come to rest on Damascus—for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel are on the Lord— and on Hamath too, which borders on it, and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.  Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.  But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.  Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.  Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted.   A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.  I will take the blood from their mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth. Those who are left will belong to our God and become a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.  But I will encamp at my temple to guard it against marauding forces.  Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now, I am keeping watch.

 

If you been reading my blog for any time, you understand that I attempt to give credit to others when I use their materials or thoughts.  With that stated, I am at a total loss on what the Lord is saying to you and me or what I should be taking away from this, so I’m going to give some thoughts from the Holman Christian Study Bible.

 

“The third section of Zechariah is different in many ways from the first and second sections.  Leading many Commentators to conclude that it was written by a different person (see introduction).  It is an extended poem, beginning with a description of God as victorious Conqueror and King, which follows the pattern of oracles against the nations (see notes at Amos 1:3-2:16).  Since poetry is often characterized by piling on images to emphasize a point it is not surprising to find God’s overpowering strength expressed in numerous ways and against many different enemies.  The poet included obscure cities and regions not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible (Zechariah 9:1-2), with little archaeological or literary data preserved about them.  The intent was to underscore the contrast between the enemies who would be consumed by God’s power and the new king ruling from Jerusalem.”

 

They also believe that God is proclaiming that the eyes of the nations will be on Him and that the 12 tribes and Israel would be united along with the Gentiles. Tyre the great and powerful Island nations would come under attack by Alexander the Great, and he and his army would take seven months destroying the part on the mainland and building a causeway to the island of Tyre.  This was the prophetic judgment of prophets like (Isaiah 23, Jeremiah 25:17-22, and Amos 1:9-10).  The HCSB also tells us that Alexander the Great, also came to Jerusalem but did not conquer it but chose to spare it.  Some used the statement that no oppressor will march against them again but it clear that the Romans A.D. 70 totally destroyed Jerusalem, suggests that it is better to understand the statement as the poetic language for God’s general protection.

 

Let me be clear these are not my thoughts and both you and I should ask the author of the Bible to give us understanding.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Favor of the LORD

 

Zachariah 8:18-23

 

And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,   “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore, love truth, and peace.

 “Thus, says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities.  The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’   

 

Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.  Thus, says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

God is instructing Zachariah, to bring this message to the people who have returned from captivity, it was not necessary to continue fasting and mourning the destruction of Jerusalem.  It is a new day, a new beginning, fasts of lamentation were to be transformed into times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals.  In 1970 our home was destroyed, most of it gone with all our earthly possession.  We lived on five acres in Oden, Texas, and we called it the Oleo Ranch, cheap spread.  Our next-door neighbor also lived in a 12’ x 60’ trailer on five acres with five of them in the trailer.  Both of us were without homes and we were not protected by insurance, when we settle with the insurance company, we got $3000,00.

 

We both build homes on the land, the difference was my neighbor's wife was very angry with God and kept living in the past as if she could not see the new three-bedroom house all brick home she was now enjoying.  Jan and I were new believers and everywhere we turn we saw God’s blessing on our life and new home.

 

Jerusalem went from captivity to abundance, and all the nations around them, that at one time despised they now looked at Jerusalem and its God as a place they wanted to visit and learn from.

 

When God show-up in your life, people will do as they did to my friend Johnny Anderson, often people would stop him and ask what’s different about you.  I’ve only had that happen one time from a receptionist at a distributor I called on often.  One day she said you are different from all the other salespeople that call on us, why?  I ask if she would ask one of the other secretaries to join us for lunch and I would give her the answer to her question.  It never happens.

 

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice