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The Wisdom of Showing Respect
Ecclesiastes 10:2-20
October 17, 2021

This morning we continue in our study of Ecclesiastes
And the pursuit of practical wisdom.

And we do so by approaching TWO DIFFERENT TOPICS
That we have ALREADY DISCUSSED before.

On one hand we are going to talk about the tongue,
On the other we are going to talk about how we use it in regard to the governing authorities.

The preacher first addressed the issue of the tongue
Back in chapter 5 especially as it related to our addressing God.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.”

It was an important reminder that GOD IS GOD AND WE ARE NOT,
And that we are not here to give Him advice, but rather to receive His instruction.

And we remember Ecclesiastes 8 where the preacher told us to obey the king.

Ecclesiastes 8:2 “I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God.”

• We were reminded by the preacher that God sits sovereign over all rulers

• And just because we may not understand why He might bring a certain man to
power does not mean He does not know what He is doing.

• Rather, God simply asked us to trust that He knows what He is doing and to
obey Him by being submissive to the king that He has placed in authority.

Both of those topics were extremely convicting
And now, in order to make sure we grasp wisdom
The preacher combined them and brings them to us again.

VERSES 2-20 DEAL PRIMARILY WITH
The way we talk to and the way we talk about
Those whom God has place in authority over us.

The most obvious application here is regarding a ruler.
But I think it is an easy application made to anyone whom God has put in authority over us.
• It could be parents, a boss, or certainly the civil authorities.

But the issue here is regarding the respect we show.

What you’re going to see is that the whole of the text deals again with
Having an incompetent ruler and how we should wisely respond.

Only this time the message is NOT talking about your civil submission.
No, the preacher hasn’t changed his mind about that.

But rather, this chapter deals with your attitude toward this ruler,
And respect that wisdom will give him.

And namely because your attitude can go a long way toward determining
• Not only your safety (because the king could punish you)
• But also it can do a long way toward determining your effectiveness in giving
him your advice.

We are talking about the type of wisdom it takes
To positively influence a situation
When someone above you has all the authority.

THIS IS VALUABLE WISDOM.
• Certainly applicable to how we show respect to the governing authorities,
• But you will see it is also wisdom that is extremely valuable to how we deal with people in general.

So we’re going to study these verses and learn a little about
THE WISDOM OF SHOWING RESPECT.

Now, that’s NOT the current trend of our culture.

The current trend is to belittle and curse and complain and mock.

Our culture has totally lost its grip on respect and grace and gentleness.
There isn’t really any such thing as civil disagreement anymore.

That is true in general, but it is certainly true in the political arena.
• Where mocking and cursing even the highest official in our land just seems to
come with the territory.
• It is certainly a violation of Scripture since we are unequivocally commanded
to render honor to whom honor is due.

But what the preacher wants you to understand here is that
Not only is it disobedient to curse the king, but it is also foolish.

So let’s look at our text this morning
And learn about the wisdom of showing respect.

There are 5 points to be seen here.
#1 HIS ADVICE
Ecclesiastes 10:2-4

You’ll notice that the preacher begins by talking about how
A wise man is directed to the right and the foolish man to the left.

(2) “A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.”

No, this is not a reference to American politics that a wise man is on the right and a foolish man on the left…politically.
(although you might have fun quoting it that way)

Rather the reference is to the right hand or the left hand of the king.

The right hand of the king was a place of HONOR,
A place of PROTECTION, and a place of INFLUENCE.

Consider Jesus’ parable:
Matthew 25:31-33 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”

And you remember how the sheep are welcomed into the kingdom,
But goats are sent to judgment.

There was honor and protection to be on the right hand of the king.

Not only that, but it was also a PLACE OF INFLUENCE.
• Consider that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father and there
He performs His work as our Great High Priest and intercessor.

And perhaps more than any other aspect
THIS IS WHAT THE PREACHER HAS IN MIND.

“A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right…”

MEANING THAT
• A wise man would seek to be in the good graces of the king.
• A wise man would seek to be in the protection of the king.
• A wise man would seek to be in a position of influence with the king.

It doesn’t do you any good to walk around all day airing your opinions
If the king is unwilling to listen to you.

You may feel better for doing it, but there is no real benefit.

All that happens is that you end up on the king’s bad side.
And “the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left.”

That’s really THE SCENARIO of wisdom we are dealing with here.

Sometimes those who bark loudly may really think they are doing all the good, but are they?

• Is that wisdom?
• Or is it foolishness?

The preacher goes on to say:
(3) “Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.”

Being loud and running your mouth and complaining and threatening
Is not the type of behavior that lends people to think you are wise.

Perhaps you’ve heard the old adage, “Better to keep your mouth closed and to be thought of a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.”

As you will see, we are talking here about a loudmouth
And though he may think he is doing all the good
All he is really accomplishing is
Losing favor with the king and proving himself a fool.

That is not a wise move.

But the preacher DOES HAVE ADVICE for what wisdom looks like.

(4) “If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.”

To understand the point
You simply need to understand the protocol of the day.

When you went before a king what was your “position”?
• You bowed.
• You humbled yourself in his presence.

Well here a man went before the king and bowed himself,
But the king was angry at him.

“the ruler’s temper” rose against this man.

But what was the preacher’s advice?
“do not abandon your position”

“Don’t get off the floor; don’t puff up to him. Stay humble.”

WHY?
“because composure allays great offenses.”

That word for “composure” is translated “yielding” in the KJV
And carries more the idea of meekness than anything.

The idea here is that when the king is upset and you are at odds with him
The WISEST MOVE IS NOT for you to jump up and argue with him,
But rather to humble yourself under his authority.

It is the wisdom and power of humility.
It is the wisdom and power of meekness.

Certainly we have long since learned this when dealing with God.
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

• You know that about God.
• You don’t argue with Him.
• You don’t defend your position.
• You humble yourself before him and plead for mercy.

That is certainly true for God, but it is ALSO TRUE
When dealing with those who have authority over you in this life.

I’m going to share with you the verse that probably has a greater impact on how I deal with people on a daily basis than any verse in the Bible.

I recommend that is you are ever going to deal with people on any level that you commit this verse to your memory and apply it liberally and apply it often.

Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”

I have proven that proverb true countless times.

Just a couple of weeks ago we went on our yearly golf trip.
• Leo and Lance drove on the fairway
• The manager came out angry
• I gave a gentle answer
• By the end he was super friendly

But if when confrontation arises you feel the need to rise up and state your case, well get ready for a fight.

My dad used to have that mentality.
Even at the end of his life when he was sort of taking inventory he told my mom, “You know I don’t think I ever accomplished anything by doing that.”

The wise advice of the preacher is to keep your mouth shut, humble yourself, and instead of winning the argument
Try to end up on the right side of the king.

It won’t do you any good to state your argument
If it only causes you to end up on the wrong side of the king.

You may have a good story to tell at the coffee shop,
But you just ruined your chance to influence the king.

NOW, THAT’S THE PREACHERS ADVICE.
• Be humble, stay on the king’s good side.
• Don’t be a fool who delights in airing his grievances.

But you know that brings with it the next logical question.

Well preacher I understand that if I made a mistake, but what if I was actually right? What if the king was wrong?

#2 HIS OBSERVATION
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7

Here the preacher’s point gets more obvious.
• And we return that the previous point about submission to the governing authorities.

The preacher here is NOT telling you to respond with humility because you are wrong and he is right.
The preacher IS telling you to respond with humility
Because he is the king and you are not.

In fact, what we have here is a king who lacks discernment.

We have a king who, according to the preacher, commits error.

Namely he exalts the wrong people and overlooks the wrong people.

(5-6) “There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler— folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.”

Here we have a ruler who appoints foolish men to lead
And overlooks more qualified men.

For example:
(7) “I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.”

He is NOT here bragging on a king for freeing slaves.
• Rather he is making the point that he has seen people in positions they were not qualified to hold.
• And he has seen people who were qualified for those roles totally overlooked and relegated to nominal tasks.

The point is that the king routinely commits error
And places the wrong kind of people in leadership positions.

He sees that.
It “is an evil I have seen under the sun”
• He is aware that when he asks you to humble yourself before the king that it may be a difficult task.
• He is aware that when he asks you to keep your mouth shut that it may be hard to do.

But the wise advice to you and I remains the same.
“do not abandon your position” – be humble.

Now at this point we clearly see the advice,
But we are HAVING TROUBLE SEEING THE WISDOM of it.

How is that going to help?
What is that going to accomplish?

Well, the preacher is about to give that.

His Advice, His Observation
#3 HIS WISDOM
Ecclesiastes 10:8-14

His wisdom starts with a sort of proverb
And then he’ll get more plain spoken.

These are the types of statements that I suppose could stand alone,
But if we keep them in context we’ll know better what the preacher means.

He says, “He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. He who quarries stone may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.”

Now in a simple sense all of those proverbs make sense.
• Things don’t always work out like you plan.
• There are inherent risks to everything.
• What you think will work, might actually end up hurting you.

That could be applied in a wide variety of places.

But let’s consider them in context and regarding a man
Who is being asked to be humble before a foolish king.

“He who digs a pit may fall into it”

Digging a pit carries the connotation of setting a trap.
• Think about Joseph’s brothers throwing him into a pit.
• Or Jeremiah being thrown into a well.

You may think that rebellion and setting a trap for the ruler is a good plan,
But be careful sometimes men who set traps fall into them.

We all remember the story of Haman and how he was hung
On the very gallows he had built for Mordecai.

“a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.”

• You can go charging through that wall…
• You can go bust down that door…
• But are you sure you know what is on the other side?

Going after a ruler might come with unexpected consequences.

“He who quarries stones may be hurt by them”

You can gather stones and the implication here would be for a stoning.
You can pick up a rock to throw, but be careful.

We’ve heard the adage about how
“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

The Pharisees who set out to stone the woman caught in adultery found out that the plan to attack massively backfired.

When you attack the king it could backfire on you as well.
It didn’t work out so well for Absalom.

“he who splits logs may be endangered by them.”

• You can go to swinging that axe if you want, but be careful.
• You might end up hurting yourself.

YOU GET THE POINT.
It may seem like a wise move to go on the attack against the king,
But are you sure?

• Are you sure you know how it will play out?
• Furthermore are you sure your plan will be effective?

That sort of bold, impulsive, prideful attack may gratify the flesh, but is it the most EFFECTIVE approach to accomplishing your goal?

Are you really going to fix anything by setting a trap, busting through a door, throwing rocks, or swinging an axe?

Blowing your top and running your mouth
Might not accomplish what you hoped for.

INSTEAD, HERE IS SOME WISDOM.
(10-11) “If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.”

Do you want the axe to work better? Sharpen it first.
• Wet the stone, take your time, sharpen it.

Do you want to keep the snake from biting? Charm it first.
• Hissing at a snake won’t help.

“Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.”

If you want to influence your ruler, try sharpening the axe.
If you want to influence your ruler, try charming the snake.

Today we might say something like:
“You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

If you really want to influence the king. If you really want to effect change.
Then get on the king’s good side.
“A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right”

Be humble and quiet.
Don’t go badmouthing him…
That won’t work nearly as well as you think.

And I know today you likely realize that
YOU HAVE NO ACCESS TO THE RULERS OF OUR LAND
And so you wonder how this applies.

I would lift up to you:
1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

You will accomplish way more regarding the direction of our nation
By talking to God than you ever will by complaining on Facebook.

APPLY WISDOM.
The fool kicks down walls and utters threats.

And that is how the preacher GOES ON TO EXPLAIN his wise proverbs.
(12-14) “Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?”

Now the preacher’s wisdom comes to light.

Instead of being accusatory and criticizing
And expecting that banter and threats are going to advance your cause,
Take some guidance from the preacher.

“Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious”

Aren’t you are more apt to listen to and take advice from a person who speaks graciously to you as opposed to a man who condemns you?

All you accomplish when you get accusatory and threatening
Is to cause the person you are speaking to
To want to get away from you as quickly as possible.

“the lips of a fool consume him”

You don’t win, you only set your cause back.

IT DOESN’T WORK.
THAT’S THE POINT OF THE PREACHER.

And listen to how he describes this argumentative and arrogant person.
I can promise you that this is how you sound to the person you attack.

(13) “the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness.”

To the person you start lambasting.
You start out sounding stupid and you end up sounding insane.

• Can’t you see that person give that “wide eyed” look to their friend or roll their eyes to their buddy?
• They are giving the body language that you are a madman and can’t be reasoned with.
• At that point they have quit listening to you and now just want to appease you enough to get away from you.

You didn’t win anything.
And the only thing you accomplished
Was to convince them that you are a fool.

(14) “Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?”

Ever argue with that guy?
• His lack of insight doesn’t seem to translate to a lack of words.
• They don’t know, but they keep on talking.
• And you can’t tell them anything.

We all know what it’s like to deal with that type of person.
• Waitresses know about those kind of people…
• Customer service workers know about those kind of people…
• And according to the preacher, so does the king…

And the point is again that there is wisdom in saying sweet words…
• There is wisdom in a gracious tongue…
• There is wisdom in a gentle answer…
• There is wisdom in a humble response…
• There is wisdom in showing respect…

And again, that DOESN’T IMPLY that the situation is easy.

#4 HIS SYMPATHY
Ecclesiastes 10:15-19

He is well-aware that you have a lazy, good-for-nothing ruler
Who is ruining everything.

Here he describes the grief of a nation who has a lazy and unfit king.

We have a king who toils but he toils so foolishly he accomplishes nothing.
(15) “The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not eve know how to go to a city.”

He’s working…on something…but he’s accomplishing nothing.

And we have a king who is far too consumed with his own personal interests than the interests of the kingdom.
(16) “Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning.”

They party when they should work.

(17) “Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time – for strength and not for drunkenness.”

A good king who works hard is certainly to be desired.

BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU MAY HAVE.
You could actually have a lazy and foolish king who is ruining everything.

(18-19) “Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.”

He’s talking there about a bad ruler.
• He doesn’t take care of business, like a man who doesn’t take care of his house.
• Eventually if you neglect responsibility long enough the whole thing falls apart.

But instead of taking care of business
This ruler only wants to eat and drink and get rich
Because he things that “money is the answer to everything.”

THAT IS A BAD RULER.

So the preacher sympathizes.
BUT THAT DOES NOT change his advice.

Having a bad or lazy ruler does not negate wisdom.

• Just because you may not like the job your superior is doing DOES NOT MEAN that you should take up that tactics of a fool.

• Just because you don’t like the work of the king DOES NOT MEAN you should dig a pit for him, break through the door, go to throwing rocks and swinging the axe.

YOU SHOULD STILL MAINTAIN WISDOM.
• You should still use gracious words.
• You should still be humble.
• You should still show discretion.

He’s merely telling you how a wise man lives
In this fallen and backward world.

While a fool rises up, runs his mouth and kicks down a door,
The wise man holds his tongue, humbles himself, and gives grace.

And then we get one final point.

#5 HIS WARNING
Ecclesiastes 10:20

The verse starts with the word “Furthermore”
But I think it is more fitting to see it as “However”.

That is to say that
Just because you have a foolish king who feasts in the morning, neglects the rafters, and is only interested in getting rich.

Even then you had better BE CAREFUL cursing him.

Why?
“in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.”

Our words have a way of getting exposed.

Jesus told us:
Matthew 12:36-37 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

And even if this was a warning 3,000 years ago
It is certainly STILL RELEVANT today.

Go ask the recently resigned and publicly berated former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders (Jon Gruden) who found himself in trouble for private emails he sent over 10 years ago.

Do people really think that all the words they post on social media or send in emails or text messages have just disappeared?

It’s all seen, it’s all saved.

And the warning of the preacher is that
It never ends well for the fool who multiplies words.

If you want to know how a wise man acts even when under a foolish king,
• He maintains his humility,
• He limits his words,
• He speaks with grace,
• And he shows respect.

He charms the snake before he approaches it.
He sharpens the axe before he swings it.

THAT IS WISDOM.

NOW, ONE FINAL POINT.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?
What does it have to do with the gospel or salvation?

I have told you all along that the preacher in Ecclesiastes
Is not just giving you wisdom, but it the wisdom that leads to salvation.

And I’m just going to tell you straight out.

If you can’t learn meekness and humility,
You’ll never be ready to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Have you considered that one of the reasons God in His sovereign prerogative gave you such a contemptable king is to teach you respect and grace and humility?

You have to have it if you are to be saved.

Listen to what Jesus said:
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

If you can’t learn to lower your head and close your mouth and respond with grace and respect then you’ll never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Because when HEAVEN’S KING comes knocking
He’s going to OFFEND MORE than your sense of patriotism.

When heaven’s King comes knocking
He’s going to expose the very corruption of your heart.

• He’s going to expose how sinful you are…
• He’s going to expose your motives…
• He’s going to expose your corruption…
• And He’s going to demand repentance…

But if your response is to get up off the floor
And give Him a piece of your mind then you can forget salvation.

When He approaches you,
You’d better humble yourself, close your mouth, respond with respect
And do whatever you can to get on the good side of the king.

Be a sheep on the right, not a goat on the left.

For as we read:
Matthew 25:31-34, 41 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

And I remind you again that all authority comes from Him.

So learn to submit to your earthly authority
If for no other reason than to prepare you
To submit to your heavenly one.

I’ll leave you with one illustrative story that fits the text so well:
Matthew 15:21-28 “Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

The wisdom of showing respect pays off.

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Thinking About The Faithful Way
Psalms 119:25-32
October 10, 2021

Tonight we come to the 4th stanza of this 119th Psalm.

I would remind you again that
We completed a study of Psalm 119 almost ten years ago.
(We actually last studied this stanza September 4, 2011)

And because those sermons and the notes are readily available on our website I have no intention of just covering it the same way again, so I would encourage you during the week to go look those up and familiarize yourself with it.

That study was more comprehensive,
What we are doing now is merely seeking to build upon what we learned then.

Tonight we are going to do a little thinking about “The Faithful Way”

When you read the stanza
There are TWO CONTRASTING WAYS that emerge.

In verse 29 the Psalmist cries, “Remove the false way from me,”
In verse 30 he declares, “I have chosen the faithful way;”

What we are discussing is lifestyles or life patterns or directions of living.

And the Psalmist is clear in this stanza that
His goal and objective and desire is to follow the path of faithfulness.

It reminds us of that great prayer to end Psalms 139
Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

In the New Testament we see a parallel
In Paul’s pattern in Philippians 3.

After expounding on his desire to leave the old life
And gain Christ and the righteousness of Christ.

Paul then says:
Philippians 3:12-16 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

• It is true that in Christ Paul had been declared righteous.
• It is true that being found in Him had resulted in Christ’s righteousness being credited to his account.

Before God, Paul had been declared righteous.
That is JUSTIFICATION.

But like all true believers Paul’s goal was more than just justification.

The glory of the gospel is that God declares men righteous while they are still sinners. That is a wonderful truth.
But it is also true that the desire of those justified sinners
Is to stop acting like sinners.

Those who have been justified crave to be sanctified.
There is no Scriptural basis for a true believer who is content in their sin.

That is what Paul is talking about there in that Philippians passage.

Righteousness had been credited to his account,
But perfect righteousness had not yet been achieved in his life.

And so Paul’s goal, his objective, his journey was to
“lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

THIS IS THE CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE.

It is the desire to see the false way disappear
And to walk in the faithful way.

If I might give you some other lingo that speaks to the same point.
Ephesians 4:17-24 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

Paul says, “Look, if you’ve really been saved then you know that Christ didn’t save you so that you could keep living like a lost person. Quit living like a sinner and start living like Christ.”

It is the Christian objective.

We often talk about justification as
• Us being clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
• We say that we are wearing His righteous robe.

Well Paul, in a sense, is bidding you now to wear it daily
And to never put your old work clothes back on.

Paul would tell you to put it on and leave it on
And do your best to live up to it.

To the Colossians he wrote:
Colossians 3:8-10 “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”

• Take off that old man and “put on the new self”
• That new creation which you have been made in Christ.
• Put that on.

Colossians 3:12-14 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

• There it is again, “put on…compassion”; “put on love”
• Walk like Christ.

IT’S ALL THE SAME POINT.
Stop walking in the false way and start walking in the faithful way.

That is very clearly the Christian ambition.
That is the Christian goal.

BUT HAVE YOU EVER FELT THE GRIEF OF FALLING SHORT OF THAT GOAL?

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and out of habit you just put on the old man, that old set of clothes, and walked right out the door and acted like the old unredeemed you?
• The driver cut you off…
• The waitress wouldn’t come back and refill your drink…
• Your boss gave credit you deserved to someone else…

And in a flash you found yourself wearing that old man and those old clothes
And the old you just came gushing out.

Has that ever happened to you?
Of course it has.

We are in a spiritual battle 24/7.
• Paul told us to keep that belt of truth on at all times.
• He told us not to remove that righteous breast plate.
• He told us to be shod with the gospel of peace.

But the enemy blindsided us; it was a surprise attack.
An unexpected temptation and without even thinking we took the bait.

And just like that, the old Rory came right out and started talking.

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN THAT HAPPENS?

Well, if you aren’t saved, it doesn’t bother you at all.
In fact, if you are unsaved the only thing about that that will bother you is if you got caught and are looking at some unfavorable consequences.

But if you are saved, it makes you feel just terrible.

One writer DESCRIBED THAT FEELING like this:
“My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders. My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word. Remove the false way from me, And graciously grant me Your law. I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.”

That is what we find here in this 4th stanza of Psalms 119.
• We have here a redeemed man.
• We have here a saved man.
• We have here a man of faith.

That is easy to spot.
You see the beatitudes all over his life.

• You see him “poor in spirit” – “My soul cleaves to the dust”
• You see him “mourning over sin” – “My soul weeps because of grief”
• You see him “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” – “Teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts.”
• You see him “pure in heart” – “Remove the false way from me”

This is a saved man.
But he blew it.

Once again “the false way” reared its ugly head.

WE WOULD CALL THAT HYPOCRISY.
• This believer had a moment when he didn’t live like a believer.
• His outside didn’t match what he claimed on the inside.
• He stumbled…
• He tripped up…

AND HE HATED IT!
He wanted it gone and gone forever.

THE LAST TIME we looked at this stanza we broke it into 4 main points.

1) His Circumstance (25, 28)
• We talked about how broken and grieved he was.

2) His Confession (26)
• We talked about how he had confessed that sin to God.

3) His Cry (27-29)
• We talked about how he asked God to enlighten him and strengthen him and purify him and bless him.

4) His Commitment (30-32)
• We talked about how he would no choose and cling to and run toward God’s word.

And we referenced the LIFE OF PETER here for an example.

If you’ve read the gospels you know that when Peter first shows up in the gospel account his name is not Peter, it’s Simon.
• It was Jesus who said, “I’m going to call you Peter”
• The name Peter meant “Rock”
• That is what Jesus was going to make Simon in to. Jesus was going to make
Simon into a rock.

But what is interesting in the gospel accounts is that while most of the time Jesus called him Peter, there were some of those “hiccup” moments where Jesus called him Simon because he was acting more like the old man than the new man.
• We can think of Peter telling Jesus that the crucifixion should never happen.
• We can think of Peter walking on water and then sinking in fear.
• We can think of Peter pulling his sword in the garden.
• We can think of Peter boldly declaring allegiance and then denying 3 times.

And we talked about Peter because after that final blunder
Luke’s gospel says he went out and wept bitterly.

And that sure feels like the same mindset of our Psalmist here.

“My soul cleaves to the dust”
“My soul weeps because of grief”

• He has blown it.
• He went back temporarily to “the false way”
• And he is begging God that it never happen again.

WELL TONIGHT, LET’S GET PRACTICAL.

LET’S ASSUME that you have fallen temporarily into sin and you’d desperately like out of it…
• Maybe you’ve got a recurring habit that you have yet to see removed from your
life…
• Maybe you periodically blow it with an old sin that can reemerge from time to
time…

And you really want that false way gone
And you really want to walk in the faithful way.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Well it’s clear what the Psalmist did.
HE RAN TO GOD’S WORD.

(30-32) “I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.”

Clearly the Psalmist saw that any success that he would have
Leaving the false way behind and walking in the faithful way
Would center around God’s word.

But I think tonight perhaps we should try to understand that a little better.

There seems to be at this point a BIT OF A DILEMMA that emerges.
And if you study the Scripture you know what I mean.

Here we have an Old Testament man who has fallen in sin
And his goal to see that sin fixed is to run to the word of God.

When this man speaks of God’s word,
In the Old Testament he is talking about God’s Law.

So he has fallen in sin and his plan is to go to God’s Law to fix it?

What does the New Testament tell us about that approach?

Romans 7:7-12 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

When Paul first went to the Law what did he find?
• He found a command “You shall not covet”
• So, PROBLEM SOLVED RIGHT? No more coveting for him.

WRONG!
“sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind”

If anything he got worse!
And he said that “this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;”

• I found out about sin, I ran to the Law, and it didn’t help me at all.
• It just kept condemning me.
• It just kept exposing me.

You know how that chapter goes.
The good I wanted to do, I never did, I kept doing the very evil that I hated.

You know the dilemma.

It CULMINATED in Paul saying what?
“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

When Paul found sin in his life and ran to the Law,
It didn’t help him at all.
His sin got worse and his conviction and despair grew stronger.

Where did Paul get relief?
Where did Paul find victory?

• Christ, right.
• Christ set him free
• Christ declared him righteous

Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

But what about that lingering problem of sin?

WHAT ABOUT COVETING NOW?
How was he going to defeat it?

If you read Romans 8 the answer is given: THE HOLY SPIRIT

Romans 8:5-11 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

• Paul said that it was the Spirit who sanctified him.
• Paul said that it was Christ who freed him
• And the Spirit who gave him a new resurrected life.

• The Law didn’t make him righteous, Christ did.
• The Law didn’t sanctify him, the Holy Spirit did.

SO IT’S A LITTLE MISLEADING
To come to Psalms 119:29 and see a man who has struggled with sin
And to tell him that the solution to his problem
Is to just be more committed to God’s word.

We’re not sure how well that’s going to work out for him.

Beyond that, does not the Old Testament spell this out?
Do you we not remember Jeremiah or Ezekiel and their talk of the coming New Covenant?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

Even the prophets knew that simply going to God’s Law
Was not going to provide any relief.

Sinful men with sinful hearts were not capable of obeying God’s Law.
IT WAS BEYOND THEM.

All they were going to find was more failure, more conviction,
More regret, and ultimately condemnation.

WE KNOW THIS ABOUT THE LAW.

• We know that Christ had to come and redeem us from the curse of the Law.
• We know that Christ had to condemn sin in the flesh.
• We know that Christ had to fulfill the Law in our stead.
• We know that Christ had to atone for our transgressions against God’s Law.

We know that.

So I don’t want you to read Psalms 119:25-32
And take some simplistic approach to it.

I DON’T WANT YOU TO READ IT AND SAY, “Oh, well if you stumble in sin, then the solution is to go read your Bible.”

Now, here’s the kicker, that is true.
THAT IS THE SOLUTION.

But I want you to know WHY that is the solution.
I want you to know what is happening and how it is happening.

IF YOU ARE A LOST PERSON
• And you seek relief from your sin
• And you think that you will get it by reading the Bible more,
• I have some sad news for you.

Just reading the Bible is NOT going to help.
NOT, IF you are reading it like some sort of checklist.

The Bible helps because it bears witness of Jesus.
Remember?

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

We definitely tell a lost person to read the Bible.
Not so they can learn how to live better,
But so they will run smack dab into Jesus.

BUT WE’RE NOT TALKING HERE ABOUT A LOST MAN BEING SAVED.

We are talking about a saved man who stumbles in sin
And doesn’t want to do it anymore.

We say that this man should also run to the Bible.
We say that this man should also read Scripture.

I mean, that’s what the Psalmist clearly did.
(30-32) “I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.”

• He clearly gave a new and greater commitment to Scripture.
• He placed God’s ordinances in front of him – HE READ IT
• He determined to cling to it
• He ran after obedience.

Certainly we see the commitment to God’s word.

What I want you to understand tonight is
WHY THAT APPROACH WORKS.

So let me just make a statement here:

You cannot use the Bible to sanctify yourself.
But when you go to the Bible, God will use it to sanctify you.

If you think that Scripture reading is some sort of tool or process
THAT YOU USE to become a better person, you are wrong.

The Scripture is a tool that THE HOLY SPIRIT USES
To mold and shape you into the image of Christ.

This Psalmist is not running to the Bible
So he can do away with his sin.
He is running to the Bible so God can do away with his sin.

Look at his requests.
• (25) “Revive me according to Your word”
• (26) “Teach me Your statutes”
• (27) “Make me understand the way of Your precepts”
• (28) “Strengthen me according to Your word.”
• (29) “Remove the false way from me”

Let me ask you, is the Psalmist doing any of that?
No, God is doing it all.

• The Psalmist can’t revive himself
• The Psalmist can’t teach himself
• The Psalmist can’t give himself understanding
• The Psalmist can’t strengthen himself
• The Psalmist can’t remove his own false way

BUT GOD CAN

And how does God do it?
Through His word.

The best analogy I could think of to illustrate this
Was an AUTOMATIC CAR WASH.

Often times when we go to Lubbock we might say,
“We need to go wash the car.”

So where do we go?
We go to an automatic car wash.

• Now, if I don’t go to the carwash will the car get washed? NO
• If I don’t commit to the carwash (pay money) will the car get washed? NO
• If I don’t pull into the little rail and put it in neutral will the car get washed? NO

So I DO have some responsibility here.

But am I about wash this car? Not at all.

THINK ABOUT READING YOUR BIBLE IN THE SAME WAY.

You aren’t reading your Bible to wash your life.
You are reading your Bible so God can wash your life.

It is the Spirit of God that uses the word of God
To perform sanctification in you.

Now, if you grieve because you stumble in sin
But you never go read your Bible,

That’s like a man who cries because his car is dirty
But won’t drive it through the carwash.

If you want a clean life, you must run to the Scripture.
But don’t be under any allusion here
As to who is doing the cleaning.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

• Christ washes his bride with the water of His word.
• She doesn’t wash herself, He washes her and He uses His word.

We think then to the upper room and that great illustration of sanctification.

John 13:3-10 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”

• The disciples were clean, that is to say they were justified.
• They had been declared righteous (all but Judas).
• But they still needed their feet washed because at times this world still sticks to you.

But they didn’t wash their own feet, Jesus washed their feet.
In fact He said, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

THAT IS THE SANCTIFICATION PROCESS.

I saw a quote by Robert Godfrey this week that I shared on Facebook, some of you may have seen it.

Since October is Reformation Month.
Godfrey said, “It wasn’t Luther or Calvin who reformed the church, it was the Word of God that reformed the church.”

THAT’S TRUE.
• You don’t revive yourself
• You don’t reform yourself
• You don’t teach or cleanse or sanctify yourself

God does that, and He does it through His word.

This Psalmist knew that.
He was going to commit himself to God’s word
So that God could complete all that he desired
Regarding his sanctification.

SO HERE’S THE APPLICATION PART.

Do you desire sanctification?
Do you want to stop seeing “the false way” show up in your life?
Do you want to walk in “the faithful way”?

Then place God’s word before you, cling to it, and run after it.
God will use it to clean you up.

AS YOU READ,
• He’ll change your thoughts,
• He’ll change your desires,
• He’ll change your motives,
• He’ll change your perspectives,
• He’ll change what gratifies you,
• He’ll change what offends you,
• He’ll change everything.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”

So as we think about the faithful way and walking in it.

For us, that begins with a commitment to reading Scripture
So that God may perform His work on us.

Download Here:

When Wisdom Is Despised
Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:1
October 10, 2021

As you know we are listening to the preacher as he discusses with us
THE IMPORTANCE OF PURSUING WISDOM.

And you are also aware now that the wisdom which he is discussing
Is not so much a wisdom of understanding
So much as it is a wisdom of submission and obedience.

Many times the preacher has reminded us that there will be things which we do not understand, but wisdom is to trust and obey God anyway.

In this regard wisdom is closely associated with faith.
• True wisdom would be to trust God’s knowledge when you don’t know.
• True wisdom would be to trust God’s leadership when you don’t understand.

AND THIS IS THE WISDOM WE PROCLAIM TO THE WORLD.
(It is certainly the wisdom which the preacher has given to us)

But as you know, just because wisdom is presented,
That doesn’t mean that wisdom is always accepted.

Even last week, as the preacher spoke of the uncertainty of death, he made a fitting analogy.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.”

In our mind
• The fastest should always win the race,
• The strongest should always win the battle,
• The wisest should always have bread,
• The discerning should always have wealth,
• And the able should always earn favor.

And in a perfect world with controlled variables
Perhaps that is the way it would be.

But we don’t live in a world of controlled variables.
We live in a world with unpredictable realities.

The preacher said that “time and chance overtake them all.”

• The fastest will win the race provided he doesn’t have an injury.
• The strong will win the battle unless outside circumstances prevail.
• And wisdom will succeed, provided it is accepted and followed.

But the point of the preacher is that
Things don’t always go according to plan.

And this morning his main point is that wisdom is in fact great,
But we live in a world where it is not always accepted.

We live in a fallen world under the curse.

• It is a world where the fastest don’t always win
• It is a world where the strongest don’t always prevail
• It is a world where the discerning don’t always succeed
• And it is a world where the wise aren’t always listened to.

And while that can certainly be frustrating to us
The fact that we know this can also be of great comfort to us.

One of the ways that we deal with frustration is by knowing that
Sometimes things go wrong and it may not necessarily be our fault.

This will prove to be a great comfort to the preacher.
As he recounts to you how at times his wisdom (and yours)
May be despised, and that is not your fault.

He writes:
(13) “Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me.”

Literally there he says, “it was great to me.”
This was important to me, this was big in my mind.

It was a lesson he learned and now wanted to share.

It is in fact a lesson that all preachers have learned, and not just preachers
But anyone who has ever endeavored to share the wisdom of God with someone else.

The fact is this: You can share your wisdom with the world
But there is no guarantee the world will accept it.

We have sort of a slang variation of that truth today when we say,
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”

Such is the truth about disseminating wisdom.
• You can preach…
• You can evangelize…
• You can instruct…
• You can teach…
• But there is no guarantee that anyone will listen.

Consider the prophets of old.
Isaiah 6:8-12 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, “The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.”

Jeremiah 1:18-19 “Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. “They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 6:10 “To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.”

Ezekiel 3:4-7 “Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. “For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate.”

Ezekiel 33:30-33 “But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, ‘Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.’ “They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. “Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. “So when it comes to pass—as surely it will—then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.”

These men proclaimed the truth of God and yet men would not hear it.

Jesus even addressed this reality when He warned us:
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

• Sometimes people don’t listen to your wisdom.
• Sometimes people don’t want your wisdom.

Now while that is frustrating, the knowledge of this truth
CAN ALSO BE OF GREAT COMFORT.

FOR KNOW THIS.
• Your rejection does not mean that you are wrong, or that your wisdom is bad.
• It may be a reflection on the hearer’s sinfulness rather than your message.

The simple point we will discuss today is that
Wisdom is good, but don’t be surprised if your wisdom is ignored
And certainly don’t be discouraged if sinful men won’t accept it.

In this fallen world sometimes wisdom is despised.
But that certainly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue it or proclaim it.

THIS MORNING the preacher is going to explain to you
Some of the reasons why wisdom is rejected in the world.

He’s going to show you why there are times when wisdom is not effective
And there are 3 reasons given here.

Wisdom is ineffective:
#1 WHEN IT IS NOT HONORED
Ecclesiastes 9:14-16

That is to say if you are in a situation where wisdom is not honored
Then don’t be surprised if your wisdom is rejected.

Listen to the preacher as he illustrates.

(14-15) “There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it. But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.”

IT IS CERTAINLY QUITE LIKELY THAT
• The story the preacher references is an actual historical event.
• There is no reason to assume it is a mere parable.
• Yet it is also true that we have no clue what incident he is referring to
• Or even if it is one that is contained in the Biblical record.

But that isn’t important for our understanding.

Simply here we have
• A “small city with few men in it”
• And that city comes under attack by “a great king”,
• And that king “surrounded it and constructed siegeworks against it.”

This is a “David and Goliath” type battle.
There is no reason to assume the small city has any chance of victory.
It is, by all accounts, a lost cause.

HOWEVER “a poor wise man…delivered the city by his wisdom.”

And we don’t even know how he did it.
• Maybe he devised a unique military defense…
• Maybe he devised terms of a ceasefire…
• Maybe he conceived a trade or compromise…

Who knows what he did, and again it doesn’t matter.
All we know is that by his wisdom
This poor insignificant man saved this small city.

At this point there could be NO DOUBT TO THE VALUE of his wisdom.
This man should have been honored.
This man should have been sought routinely.

It is clear that this man possessed saving wisdom.

AND YET, the preacher says, “Yet no one remembered that poor man.”

They never listened to another thing he had to say.
• He received no recognition.
• He received no honor.
• He received no future opportunities.

WHY?
The implication is that it was because he was “poor”.

He wasn’t an important person by worldly standards
And so his message was routinely disregarded.

WE SEE THIS TODAY
• Our world puts more stock in the opinion of celebrities or rich men than anyone.
• It’s not that they are more wise, it’s that they are worldly successful.

What the world is saying is that
They value success more than the value wisdom.

(16) “So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded.”

WHAT IS THE POINT?

This man lived in a city where wisdom was not as important as riches.

You may possess genuine saving wisdom,
But in that city men rejected it if you didn’t appear to be successful.

AND THAT IS A TRUE REALITY.

In some scenarios it doesn’t matter if you speak the truth,
People reject it because they have no respect for your status.

People don’t evaluate your message, they evaluate your status.
• Are you rich?
• Are you successful?
• Are you educated?

OUR WORLD ISN’T LOOKING FOR WISDOM
THEY ARE LOOKING FOR SUCCESS.

They follow people who have what they want, not who tell them the truth.

In that city a poor man wasn’t valued as highly as a rich man
So his wisdom was ignored;
Even though he had a track record of good advice.

And we see this in other places in Scripture.

Remember the blind man Jesus healed and how he told the Pharisees that Jesus was clearly from God?

John 9:34 “They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.”

Remember when the Sanhedrin disdained the apostles because of their lack of education?

Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”

They even said the same about Jesus:
John 7:14-15 “But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach. The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”

This was perhaps part of what Paul had in mind when he told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:11-16 “Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

Paul knew that Timothy would have to be overly careful
To make sure that his lifestyle supported his message
Because people were already going to overlook his wisdom due to his age.

THE SIMPLE POINT IS THAT
In this fallen world there are times that your wisdom will be rejected,
Not because you are wrong,
But because we live in a culture that doesn’t value wisdom.

So don’t get discouraged if people don’t listen to you,
It may only reveal that they don’t value wisdom.

Wisdom is only effective when it is honored.

There is another time when wisdom is not effective:
#2 WHEN IT IS NOT HEARD
Ecclesiastes 9:17

Sometimes people don’t honor wisdom or value wisdom.
And sometimes they aren’t even willing to hear it at all.

The preacher notes ANOTHER SCENARIO when wisdom is not effective.
(17) “The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.”

HERE WE HAVE ANOTHER CONTRAST.
We have the guy who stands behind the scenes and who speaks quietly perhaps to only a few, but he is heard.

And then we have the loud ruler who is shouting to the masses in the streets, but no none is listening to him.

And the preacher says that
It is better to be in the quiet with a few listeners
Than to be on stage with a multitude of fools who won’t listen.

AGAIN, WHAT IS THE POINT?
Sometimes you talk to people who just won’t hear.

It may make you feel better to preach to the masses
But the fact is that often times the crowd won’t hear what you have to say.

Ezekiel learned this
• When God told him that those large crowds were coming but they weren’t listening; they were just enamored with the show.
• Ezekiel was nothing more than good entertainment to them.

And you can gather up a crowd and yell and scream and kick and stomp
But if the people won’t hear, it won’t matter.

YOU CAN’T BEAT WISDOM INTO PEOPLE.

This was in essence WHAT JESUS MEANT by his pearls before swine comment.
Matthew 7:5-6 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

You remember that as Jesus’ statement on judging.
• It was a warning against self-righteousness and that you should examine your
own eye before dealing with your brother.

Jesus never intended that you leave the speck in your brother’s eye,
It was just important that you deal with your own beam first.

However, even then Jesus warned that there some who still won’t hear it.
Jesus called them “dogs” and “swine”.
• A dog doesn’t know what to do with a good piece of meat so throwing ribeye to
a dog is pointless.
• A pig doesn’t know what to do with a pearl necklace so giving one is a waste.

And the analogy would be of the futility of giving your wisdom to some people.
Some people just won’t hear it.

Consider what Jesus said as He commissioned the disciples.
Matthew 10:11-15 “And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. “As you enter the house, give it your greeting. “If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

• Certainly they were to go
• Certainly they were to preach
• But they were not to assume that everyone would love it
• Some wouldn’t hear it and they were to shake the dust off their feet

That certainly wasn’t a knock on the disciple’s wisdom
It was a knock on that city’s refusal to hear.
Jesus knew that sometimes people just won’t listen.

Consider the ministry of Jesus and how He preached.
Matthew 12:17-21 “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

I love this passage about Jesus.
Scripture says that He will not “quarrel, nor cry out”

• “quarrel” is ERIZO and it means “to harass or even to brawl”
• “cry out” is KRAUGAZO and it means “to yell or scream excitedly”

JESUS WAS WISDOM INCARNATE
And yet so often His wisdom was rejected by the crowds.

But He didn’t threaten or bully or scream or try to beat it into them.
He understood that there are some who just won’t hear.

How many times do you read in the gospels Jesus saying:
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Some people just won’t hear and that is not your fault.

Paul understood this:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

Paul saw no value in ELOQUENCE or CHARISMA or CHARM.

Those things didn’t increase the effectiveness of his message.
• It was only the Holy Spirit’s power
• Behind the message of the cross that mattered
• And people would either hear it or they wouldn’t.

Wisdom is of great value and it should be proclaimed.
But don’t be surprised if it is not honored or heard.

There is a 3rd time when your wisdom may be ineffective.
#3 WHEN IT IS NOT HEEDED
Ecclesiastes 9:18-10:1

• Sometimes people just don’t care about it and never give you a chance because you aren’t rich or educated or whatever.
• Sometimes you deliver your wisdom to people but they just won’t hear it.

And sometimes you deliver your wisdom to people who do hear it,
BUT THEY DON’T HEED IT.
That is to say, “they don’t do it.”

Here we find a proverb of sorts; two of them actually.

(18) “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.”

In other words, you can have the best battle plan in the world,
But if the soldier doesn’t listen to it, it won’t do any good.

Remember Joshua had a plan to defeat Ai
As they entered the promised land, but the plan failed.

Joshua couldn’t figure out why.
Joshua 7:5-11 “The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! “O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? “For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?” So the LORD said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things.”

• When the Israelites fought against Jericho God had put Jericho under the ban.
• He said that if it was alive they should kill it, if it would burn they should burn it, and everything else they should bring to God.
• But Achan saw some spoil, coveted it, and took it and hid it in his tent.
• And God’s anger burned against Israel and caused them to lose their next battle.

It was a wise plan, but one sinner ruined it.

We’ve all heard the story about the battle of Gettysburg
• On day 2 when General Lee ordered General James Longstreet to take the two hills known as Round Top and Big Round Top,
• And to take them at sunrise.
The plan was to attack the union army flank
And to take a vantage point of high ground for cannon fire.

It was a wise plan, but
• General Longstreet delayed and did not attack at sunrise as he waited on cavalry help. By the time he started his attack at around 3pm,
• The plan was figured out by Union General G.K. Warren and the Union army took the hill first.
• This blunder ultimately led to the Union victory at Gettysburg and what most credit as turning the entire war.

A PLAN IS ONLY EFFECTIVE IF IT IS HEEDED.
“one sinner destroys much good.”

The preacher continued.
(10:1) “Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.”

It is a simple analogy.
• A dead fly can ruin a jar of perfume and cause it to stink.

It is the power of things that defile.

Think about this reality all throughout the Old Testament.

If you take a person who is ceremonially clean and the are contacted by someone who is ceremonially unclean what is the result?

THE CLEAN DOES NOT CLEANS THE UNCLEAN,
RATHER THE UNCLEAN DEFILES THAT WHICH IS CLEAN.

THAT IS THE POINT OF THIS PARABLE.

AND IN APPLICATION the preacher says: “so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.”

It is a sad reality in our world, but it is a reality none the less.

In the first analogy we saw a poor man.
He had wisdom, but no honor and so he wasn’t listened.

In the second analogy we saw a ruler yelling at people.
He had honor, but no wisdom and he wasn’t heard either.

And now the preacher reveals to us that
“a little foolishness” is “weightier” than both of them.

What does he mean?
That far too often when wisdom and foolishness are both offered,
In this cursed world foolishness too often comes out on top.

That is hard to swallow, but it will encourage you
As you face rejection when you preach the wisdom of the gospel.

• We know that Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God.
• We know that the gospel is the message of that wisdom.
• We know that there has never been a better message ever proclaimed.
• Indeed, it is the good news.

And yet, we have all felt the sting of having that message rejected.

Some men reject it because we aren’t suitable messengers to them.
• We aren’t rich or we aren’t educated or whatever.
• They don’t honor our wisdom.
• Our wisdom has no value to them because they see no value in us.
• We are clay pots and they don’t listen to clay pots.

Many of you have felt that sting.

Some men reject our message because they aren’t interested in hearing wisdom at all.
• They don’t want the truth.
• They are dogs, they are pigs, and a message of salvation through the atonement of Christ doesn’t appeal to them at all.

In neither case is it our fault.
In neither case is it wisdom’s fault.

The problem is that we live in a world that is fallen
And doesn’t value or want wisdom.

It is what the preacher said in the text last week: (9:11) “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.”

It doesn’t mean you don’t have wisdom…
It doesn’t mean your message isn’t wise…

It’s just that you are preaching it to people who DON’T HONOR wisdom,
Who DON’T HEAR wisdom, and who DON’T HEED wisdom.

This was a truth that Jesus also gave us in His famous
Parable of the sower or soils.

Jesus spoke of a farmer who went out to sow his seed.
• Some fell on the road and the birds at it.
• Some fell among the weeds and the weeds choked it.
• Some fell on the rocks and it sprang up but withered and died.
• Some fell on good soil and produced fruit.

Later, Jesus would explain the parable.
Matthew 13:18-23 “Hear then the parable of the sower. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

This is such a comforting message to the evangelist of our day.

The analogy is clear.
• The seed is God’s word.
• The sower is the preacher.
• The soil is the hearer.

Now notice, ALL 4 TIMES it was the same sower.
ALL 4 TIMES it was the same seed.
But it only succeeded 25% of the time.

Was it the sower’s fault? No, he sowed the seed.
Was it the seed’s fault? No, it clearly has the ability to produce fruit.

Where is the blame? The soil.

SOME OF IT WAS TOO HARD – IT WOULDN’T HEAR THE MESSAGE.
It kept the seed right on top, never let it penetrate
Until the devil came and took it away.

Someone preaches the gospel and it offends the hearer.
• They don’t want it so they sort of maintain a skeptical attitude about it.
• Then they go and find someone who will take that seed away for them.
• Maybe they go to a scientist who will seek to refute it.
• Maybe they go to a friend who will discredit it.
• Maybe they go to a family member who will tell them not to worry about it.

And just like their hardened heart pushed away the seed long enough
For Satan to come and get rid of it so that they are no longer bothered.

SOME OF THE SOIL HAD TOO MANY WEEDS.
They heard the message but they wouldn’t honor it.
They loved the things of the world more.

• They were consumed with the message of the world and of money and of
pleasure in life and they had no time for a message of salvation.
• And in time the message they did love totally choked out the wise message
of the gospel.

SOME OF THE SOIL HAD A BEDROCK UNDERNEATH IT.
They heard it, and even pondered it at while, but they did not heed it.

• When life got hard, they quit trusting the message and tossed the seed away.
• It wasn’t worth listening to anymore.

All of those 3 people represent those who are lost.

Only THE 4TH PATCH OF SOIL heard and honored and heeded the message of wisdom and thus produced fruit.

And the point we would make this morning is that
THE SOWER DID THE EXACT SAME THING FOR ALL 4 OF THEM.

It’s just that we live in a world where wisdom is often rejected.

IS WISDOM VALUABLE? ABSOLUTELY!
• (16) “wisdom is BETTER than strength.”
• (17) “the words of the wise heard in quietness are BETTER than the shouting of a ruler among fools.”
• (18) “Wisdom is BETTER than weapons of war”

Wisdom is better, but often times foolishness is “weightier”.

Wisdom is better but men love foolishness more
And thus your message is rejected.

That is this cursed world in which we live.

But again notice the first verse of this text.
(13) “Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me.”

I saw this and it was great to me.
This meant a great deal to me.

The preacher found solace here.
The preacher found encouragement here.

Namely that rejection of his wisdom was not his fault.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have wisdom
It was that he lived in a world that didn’t value it.

Take comfort here Christian.
Take comfort here evangelist.
Take comfort here preacher.
Take comfort here teacher.

Be encouraged that it is not your seed,
Nor is it your manner of sowing
It is only that we live in a world with cursed soil.

JUST KEEP ON SOWING.

In fact, the preacher will say later:
Ecclesiastes 11:1 “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.”

Just keep sowing.

The secondary application would be this:
Don’t be the fool that fails to honor, hear, or heed the wisdom of God.

Don’t be the sinner who destroys much good.
• It didn’t work well for Adam.
• It didn’t work well for Achan.
• It won’t work well for you.

Soil that rejects the seed is promised a miserable fate.

Hebrews 6:7-8 “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”

Make sure you value wisdom
And even if you live in a world that doesn’t,
Keep on preaching it.

Download Here:

Thinking About Arrogance
Psalms 119:17-24
October 3, 2021

Tonight we come into the 3rd stanza of the 119th Psalm.

The last time we studied it we talked about “Dealing with Distress”.

• We noted that the Psalmist admitted to being (19) “a stranger on the earth”
• That he was under (22) “reproach and contempt”
• That (23) “princes sit and talk against me”

And yet how in the midst of such distress
He found his solace and satisfaction in the word God.

God’s word was sufficient for him during that time of distress.

But I think this time we’re going to look at this stanza in a different light.

I specifically tonight want to call your attention to verse 21.
• This verse certainly stands out from the rest.
• It is the only verse that is theological based in the stanza.
• It is also the only verse where the Psalmist doesn’t mention himself.

Verse 21 rather is basic theological truth
And it seems to me to be the driving force
Behind the rest of what he says in the stanza.

Verse 21 says this: “You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, Who wander from Your commandments.”

This is simply something that the Psalmist believes about God.

“You rebuke the arrogant”

And I don’t think that is a surprise to anyone.

We’re well acquainted with passages like:
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

Or
Proverbs 3:34 “Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.”

(that verse being quoted by both James (4:6) and Peter (5:5), only there it is quoted as “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”)

So when we read that “You rebuke the arrogant” we are NOT SURPRISED

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

And it apparent that the Psalmist knows this.

He is well-aware that the worst thing he can do is be arrogant before God.
THE WORST THING HE CAN DO IS WALK IN PRIDE.

In fact he said, “You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed…”

The Psalmist used a synonym there.
• He gave another name for “the arrogant”.
• He also called them “the cursed”

The Hebrew word means “to be despised or abhorred or detested”

So another word for “the arrogant” is
“the detested” or “the despised” or “the abhorred”.

It carries the opposition of God to a whole new level.
God cannot help but have feelings of animosity and anger
Toward those who walk in arrogance.

There is NOT a fondness followed by a RELUCTANT PUNISHMENT.
No, they are cursed before God.

Might I also remind you that
This was the first description which God assigned to SATAN.

Genesis 3:14 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;”

This is far more than just saying people will hate snakes.
God placed enmity and abhorrence on Satan.
He is despised, he is detested, he is abhorred.

The Psalmist knows that the arrogant are also cursed
And thus they receive God’s negative attention.

And here in the Psalm he speaks of a “rebuke”

And we don’t find many of those that were pleasant in Scripture.

We think of God asking Job:
Job 38:1-2 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?”

To which Job responded:
Job 42:1-6 “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Or like Asaph who was brought into the sanctuary of God to see the error of his envy of the wicked.

To which Asaph responded:
Psalms 73:22 “Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.”

We think of God causing Nebuchadnezzar to eat grass like a cow for 7 years, to which he said:
Daniel 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

So certainly we can understand WHY
Our Psalmist would like to avoid the rebuke.

None of us wants that distinction.

But there is MORE TO HIS THEOLOGY
Than just the fact that God rebukes the arrogant.

The Psalmist even gives us an example of arrogance.

He says the arrogant are those “Who wander from Your commandments”

The Hebrew word for “wander” is: SHAGA (shaw-ga)

And it can mean to “wander” or “to stray” or “to err”

And it can thus speak to open rebellion and insubordination.
That certainly is arrogance, to openly rebel against God.

Which seems to be what the Psalmist had in mind LAST WEEK when we read:
Psalms 119:10 “With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.”

He prayed against his propensity to rebel against God’s word.

But the word can also simply be those who go astray IN IGNORANCE.
It can be those who err simply because they don’t know any better.

For example:
Numbers 15:22-25 “‘But when you unwittingly fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the LORD has spoken to Moses, even all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day when the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations, then it shall be, if it is done unintentionally, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull for a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering. ‘Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their error.”

• There you see a person who “unwittingly” disobeyed God.
• That is the same Hebrew word SHAGA.
• They “wandered” from God’s commandments unintentionally.

It was still a sin and atonement still had to be made
Even though it was unintentional.

But what you should understand is that
In both cases it is still arrogance.

• One was arrogant in that they openly disobeyed God’s command.
• The other was arrogant in that they didn’t care enough to learn it in the first place.

BOTH are arrogance and BOTH brought a rebuke from the lord,
And BOTH required atonement.

And so the simple theological truth here is that
A FAILURE TO KNOW AND OBEY GOD’S WORD IS ARROGANCE.

It either indicates that we don’t care to know what God has said,
Or that we know what God has said but we think He is wrong.

Both are arrogance; both are pride; both will earn a rebuke.

And the Psalmist knows that.

So at the center of this stanza is the theological understanding that
Those who either ignore or neglect God’s word
Are considered arrogant and cursed by God and deserve a rebuke.

And of course the Old Testament certainly bears this out.

We don’t have time to read all of Deuteronomy 28, but it is the chapter where God lays out the blessings of obedience to the Law and the curses of disobedience to the Law.

You see how disobedience and the curse are linked.

And then comes the summation or invitation from Moses.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

THE BLESSING of God was LINKED to obedience to His word.
THE CURSE of God was LINKED to disobedience to His word.

And that is seen throughout Scripture.

Psalms 1 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”

The obedient man who loves God’s word is blessed
Whereas the wicked man who does not obey is cursed.

And this is THE FOUNDATION of the stanza.

(21) “You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, Who wander from Your commandments.”

Now what I want you to see is
HOW THAT UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATED HIM IN LIFE.

The other 7 verses of this stanza all have to do with
The Psalmists appreciation for and commitment to God’s word.

If you believe like the Psalmist
• That those who wander from God’s commandments are considered arrogant and bring God’s rebuke into their lives
• Then certainly your objective should be not to wander from them.

Don’t be willfully ignorant of God’s truth.
Don’t disobey what you do know.
DON’T BE ARROGANT.

Well, based on that understanding, look at the statements of the Psalmist.

(17) “Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word.”

“Deal bountifully” is GAMAL

And last time we talked about how it can mean to “Deal fully”.
It can even be a word that means “to wean” or “to ripen fruit”.

Finish me or complete me.

But having studied again I’m not sure that’s really the idea here.

We see this same verb used in:
Psalms 13:6 “I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

Psalms 116:7 “Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.”

The idea there is that GOD HAS DONE GOOD,
And that is what the Psalmist requests here.

He asks God to do him good.
His desire is for blessing.
• He asks God to treat him well.
• He asks God to show favor to him.

But the important part is THE REASON why he asks that.
“That I may live and keep Your word.”

THIS IS TOTALLY OPPOSITE
Of why most carnal men want God’s blessing today.

• TODAY men typically want God to do them good so they can go back to living it up in the world.
• They want the illness gone or the finances to be blessed so they can go back to the world.

That is not the request of the Psalmist.
He asks for God’s good and God’s favor first “That I may live”

God let me live and let me live that I may “keep Your word.”

This is a man who knows his purpose in life.
• He is here to obey God.
• He is here to humbly submit to God’s word.

Any good that he asks from God is merely that he might obey more
His life has the purpose of obedience.

Have you ever contemplated the purpose of your life?

You are aware that we have a Disciple Now coming up in about a 3 weeks.
The theme is “Identity Crisis”
Because identity has become a huge topic of conversation in our culture.

One of the threads I’ve studied a little bit
Comes from John MacArthur’s book “Slave”.

• The book is titled “slave” because that is the preferred title of believers in the
New Testament.
• Only our bible doesn’t typically translate the word “slave”.
• The word in the Greek is DOULOS and in Greek culture it never meant
anything but slave.
• Yet in our Bibles it is typically translated “bond-servant.”

MacArthur’s point there is that it produces identity confusion.

In the New Testament if you are to ask who you are,
The answer will be given that you are Christ’s slave.

Our entire identity is wrapped up in the fact that
WE ARE UNDER THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST.
We are His. He is our Master, He is our Lord, we are His slaves.
We live to obey Him.

Romans 14:7-9 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

Well that is what the Psalmist seems to understand.
THE PURPOSE OF MY LIFE is to “keep your word.”

That certainly is not arrogance.

He would go on to say:
(18) “Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your Law.”

We understand the “open my eyes” part.
• We are well-aware that God’s word is spiritually appraised.
• We know that apart from God’s Spirit we cannot understand it.
• The Psalmist knows that.

But the beauty of the statement here is
WHY he wants to understand God’s Law.

He doesn’t say, “Open my eyes so I can read Your Law and stay out of trouble.”

There is a joy and an eagerness to read God’s Law.
He expects to “behold Wonderful things”

The word “Wonderful” there is a unique word.

It speaks of that which is EXTRAORDINARY and beyond comprehension.

When Samson’s parents wanted to know the name of the angel who spoke to them, he said:
Judges 13:18 “But the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”

When Job came to his senses regarding his pride before God.
Job 42:3 “‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

Job said, “I was talking about things that were beyond my comprehension”

Well listen to the Psalmist.
• God, I’m going to Your Law!
• I’m going to Your word!
• But one thing I am sure of is that it is too lofty for me.

There are things there more glorious than I can comprehend,
“open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your Law.”

• That is not a reluctant spirit…
• That is not someone who is reading simply out of compulsion…
• It is certainly not an arrogant man who would rather neglect God’s word.

He is a man who is amazed by God’s word, not wearied by it.

And he continues:
(19) “I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.”

• This man is a foreigner.
• This man does not belong.
• This man stands out.

And I don’t think he is a literal foreigner in Israel,
I simply think he is reiterating the fact that
He is SET APART and he DOESN’T FIT in.

We know the cost for following Christ can be severe in the social scene.
• I learned it quickly after salvation.
• I got saved the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college.
• People weren’t flocking to hang around a Christian college student.
• There weren’t a lot of places where a Christian fit in on the college scene.

The Psalmist is feeling that in his culture and society.

BUT WHAT IS HIS ONE SOLACE?
God’s word.
• There is only one place he feels truly at home.
• There is only one place he feels truly satisfied.

So he says, “Do not hide Your commandments from me.”

That certainly isn’t arrogance is it?
A carnal man would distance himself from God’s word
Because of the trouble it brings, this man wants more of it.

In fact, look at the next verse.
(20) “My soul is crushed with longing After Your ordinances at all times.”

That’s poetic language but it speaks to his depth of love.

If you wrote a love letter to your sweet thing and said,
“My soul is crushed as I long for you.”

I promise you she’d know what that meant.

My soul is unsatisfied without you…
There is pain without you…
There is no rest without you…

That is the Psalmist’s love letter, but it is to God.
I need Your word.

And I need it “at all times”.
I can’t get enough of You.

Do you see his humility?
Do you see his desire to hear from and obey God?

It’s because he has learned that
Arrogance is to wander from God’s word.

Arrogance is to disobey God’s word…
Arrogance is to disregard God’s word…

He doesn’t want anything to do with that.
He wants the word of God all the time.

It is a great description of humility.

And again you see his theological basis for all of this.
(21) “You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, Who wander from Your commandments.”

And I certainly don’t want to be that guy.

BUT THEN WE COME TO THE PECULIAR PART OF THE STANZA.
This is why the first time we studied it together we talked about the Psalmist’s distress.

For look at him in verse 22
“Take away reproach and contempt from me, For I observe Your testimonies.”

• He just said that it is the arrogant who are cursed.
• He just said that it is the arrogant who wander from God’s commandments.

But here is the problem.
He is under “reproach and contempt”

HE FEELS CURSED!

And this is peculiar to him because, “I observe Your testimonies.”

The cry of verse 22 is that he is not being treated as he deserves.
All of a sudden this stanza becomes a defense of his humility.

But what a common issue this is.
This was Job’s entire defense in Job 31.
I don’t deserve the treatment I am receiving.

Or look at these Psalms.
Psalms 13:1-4 “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.”

Psalms 69:16-21 “Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me, And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in distress; answer me quickly. Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it; Ransom me because of my enemies! You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; All my adversaries are before You. Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Psalms 88:14 “O LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?”

Psalms 89:46-47 “How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!”

It was a continual cry that my affliction doesn’t make sense.
That is our Psalmist.

• God, I know you are opposed to the proud.
• God, I know the arrogant are cursed.
• God, I know the arrogant bring about a rebuke.

But God, I don’t wander from Your commands, I live to obey them.
• God, I don’t neglect Your law, I beg for further understanding of it.
• God, I don’t reject Your commandments, they are all I have.
• God, I don’t resist Your ordinances, I crave them.

“I observe Your testimonies”

So I should not feel Your reproach.

Well what you notice here is that the ANSWER IS NOT GIVEN.

OH, WE COULD SPECULATE.
• It could be that he is not as righteous as he thinks. Job wasn’t, we aren’t.
Regardless of what we think not all of our suffering is undeserved.
• It could be that God was merely sanctifying him further and using affliction to
do it.

We don’t know why he suffered “reproach and contempt”
Even though he was humble.

But that is NOT the issue of the Psalm.

The ISSUE IS the humility he continued to demonstrate.

There are some who, if they devoted themselves to God’s word like this,
And then still found reproach would say,
“Well then forget it, I’m out of here!”

That would be arrogance, but that is not this man.

Look at his stance.
(23) “Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes.”

• Don’t you like the “even though” there.
• That is to say, “I’m not quitting, even though”

Furthermore his affliction sort of comes to light here.
He has become an enemy of the state.
Princes hate him.

They may even hate him for his love of God’s word.
They certainly hated Jeremiah for it.

But still there is no arrogance, only humility.
“Even though…Your servant meditates on Your statutes.”

You recognize that concept of meditation there from our study last week.
This is no light-hearted search.

God’s word has not paid off in temporal blessing,
It has resulted only in reproach
But he is still committed to it.

THAT IS HUMILITY.

And finally he says:
(24) “Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors.”

His final statement is, “God I love your word!”
It encourages me!

And God your word guides me.
It is my “counselor”

Even though I suffer reproach and contempt…
Even though I don’t know why…
I’m not going anywhere.

• Your word motivates me! (17)
• Your law amazes me! (18)
• Your commandments satisfy me! (19)
• Your ordinances consume me! (20)
• Your testimonies guide me! (22)
• Your statutes console me! (23)
• Your testimonies counsel me! (24)

That is humility.
That is the opposite of arrogance.

To neglect or abandon God’s word in favor of our own understanding is never anything more than arrogance.
But there is one more thing I think we must see tonight.
THAT IS CHRIST!

In verse 17 the Psalmist said that he lived for one purpose and that was obedience.

Hebrews 10:5-7 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’”

John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

In verse 18 we saw that He loved and was amazed by the remarkable things in God’s law.

In verse 19 we found Him as a stranger consumed with learning God’s commandments.

Luke 2:48-49 “When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

In verse 20 He was a man consumed with a longing for God’s ordinances.

John 4:31-34 “Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”

In verse 22 He suffered reproach for His obedience and yet still obeyed God’s word.

John 19:28-29 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.”

In verse 23 He was despised by princes, but still meditated on God’s statutes.

Matthew 26:51-54 “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

In verse 24 God’s word was His counsel.

Matthew 4:3-4 “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

Christ then becomes our example of this great humility.
Christ, who was the word incarnate.
Christ, who was in very nature God.

And yet no one ever showed
A greater commitment to God’s word than Christ did.

His was true humility.
He is our example.

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Living Under The Curse
Ecclesiastes 9:1-12
October 3, 2021

Well you’ll be happy to know we have concluded chapter 8 and the preacher’s call to submit to the immoral and corrupt king.

We actually now go to a topic that is much EASIER to handle;
The absolute and certain death of every man.

The preacher certainly isn’t interested in light-hearted topics.

His objective is to instill wisdom in a chaotic world
And this requires him to address the difficult issues.

Again I remind you that starting in chapter 7 we entered the second half of this book which focuses on THE NOBLE PURSUIT OF WISDOM.

He spent 6 CHAPTERS outlining the FUTILE PURSUITS of life
NOW he would encourage the young man TO OBTAIN TRUE WISDOM.

Chapter 7
• Don’t shy from difficult things because they produce wisdom (funerals)
• Don’t expect that righteous behavior will keep you from suffering.
• Don’t assume that you can get away with wickedness.
• God’s governing of the world is incomprehensible; submit anyway.

THAT IS WISDOM.

THIS MORNING we learn more wisdom
And it is the wisdom of when we face the certainty of death.

TURN TO: GENESIS 2:15

Genesis 2 is the chapter that renders Adam totally without excuse.
Everything about Genesis 2 speaks of God doing everything possible to help Adam succeed.
• In verse 7 God creates Adam
• In verse 8 God plants a perfect garden for Adam
• In verse 9 God causes all plants to grow and even waters them
• In verse 15 God makes His expectation of Adam extremely clear.

(15-17) “Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

And then God even determines to IMPROVE upon Adam’s situation
By giving him a SUITABLE HELPMATE.

(18-25) God creates Eve because it was not good for man to be alone.

And the point of chapter 2 is that God did everything possible to prepare Adam for success in the garden.

And then we come to chapter 3 and everything blows up.

(READ: 3:1-7)

Well that was disastrous.
• Satan tempted, Eve ate and gave some to Adam who also ate.
• And instantly shame and separation entered their lives.

AND THEN THEY FACED GOD.

(READ: 3:8-19)

We call it “The Curse”
Enmity – Pain – Labor – Death
What began as a paradise was now a wilderness.

And then the tragic evictions.
(READ 3:22-24)

One can only wonder what that must have felt like for Adam and Eve.
• All they had ever known was a life of comfort and paradise in the garden of God and all of a sudden they were evicted.
• They were thrown out into a cursed planet where nothing would come easy.

And the effects of the curse were immediate.
• Eve’s PAIN in childbearing shows up first in 4:1 when she has two sons.
• Next implied is LABOR as Cain spends a lifetime farming the cursed earth.
• Then comes ENMITY when Cain begins to hate his brother.
• And certainly we see DEATH when Cain strikes Abel dead.

It didn’t take long for the curse to be full force.

And then things really begin to go downhill.
The world becomes a terrible place to live.

• We get this man named Lamech in 4:19 who introduced POLYGAMY because
he decided to take 2 wives.
• Then Lamech commits MURDER in 4:23 and justifies it.

And things get so bad on the earth that by the end of chapter 4
Men are now beginning to cry out to God for help and salvation.

Genesis 4:26 “To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.”

But the real sting of the curse comes in chapter 5
When we get Adam’s descendants
And one phrase rings in our ear over and over and over again.

“and he died”
(4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31)

THE CURSE IS HERE.

Not only that, but for the first time we begin to GET INSIGHT
Into exactly what it was that men were seeking from God
As they called upon His name.

Genesis 5:28-29 “Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

Man wanted relief from the curse.
The enmity, the pain, the labor, the death.

Fast forward 3,000 years or so
And the preacher in Ecclesiastes is still talking about it.

THAT IS THE REALITY WE APPROACH THIS MORNING.

The preacher cuts through all the frivolous talk
He walks right up to the elephant in the room.

And around that elephant’s neck the preacher hangs a sign which reads, “ONE FATE”.

The truth that humanity CANNOT AVOID.
The truth that humanity CANNOT CONTROL.
The truth that humanity CANNOT FORGET.
• Eat right, exercise daily…
• Buckle your seatbelt…
• Get a mammogram…
• Don’t run with scissors…
• Don’t play with matches…
• Watch out for snakes…
• Drive carefully…
• Wear a helmet…
• Look both ways…

AND STILL DEATH WILL FIND YOU.
There is no avoiding it.
IT IS THE CURSE.

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”

Well there’s three things you should know about this one fate this morning

#1 IT IS A SINGULAR FATE
Ecclesiastes 9:1-2

Verse 1 serves as sort of a BRIDGE into a new thought.
IT is a little TRANSITIONAL in nature.

He reminded us at the end of chapter 8 that no matter how hard you search, you will not understand the reasons why God governs the world the way He does.

He said that “man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun.”

And from there we get to verse 1, where he reiterates that again,
Only this time he reiterates it in regard TO MAN’S FATE.

(1) “For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.”

There are a couple of points there.

One is that God is sovereign over our fate.
The wise man and the righteous man’s “deeds are in the hand of God.”

The other is that we have no control over how that plays out in our lives.
“Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.”

The expectation is that if I live righteous or if I walk in wisdom
Then it should result in being loved and approved.

But the fact is that there are no such guarantees.
• The holiest and wisest man who ever lived was hung on a cross at 33.

There is so much about our future or our fate that we cannot know.

We like to think that if I live right then tomorrow is guaranteed to be good,
BUT THAT’S JUST NOT HOW LIFE WORKS.

We’ve read the story of Job
We’ve read about the life of Joseph

While righteousness and wisdom are certainly to be chosen and pursued,
They are not a guarantee that bad things won’t happen in life.

Even righteous people get cancer.
Even wise people have accidents.

IT’S JUST LIFE.

There is so much about our fate that we cannot know.
BUT…
There is one aspect of our fate that we can all be sure of.

(2) “It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.”

There is one singular fate that all men can expect.

• And it doesn’t matter if you are righteous or wicked.
• And it doesn’t matter if you are good or a sinner.
• And it doesn’t matter if you are clean or unclean.
• And it doesn’t matter if you are religious or irreligious.
• And it doesn’t matter if you swear an oath to God or don’t swear an oath.

ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE SHARE IN THE EXACT SAME FATE.
It is a singular fate.
There is one fate for all.

The point to be understood is this:
WE ALL LIVE UNDER THE SAME CURSE.

• Adam and Eve were both created in an uncursed world, but their sin brought about the curse.
• And every single human born since that day is born into the same cursed world that Adam earned.

Every person on a sinking ship shares in the fate of the ship.
Every person on a falling airplane shares in the fate of the plane.

It doesn’t matter if you are young or old; good or bad; rich or poor.
That boat will sink for everyone…
That plane will crash for everyone…

And this world is cursed for everyone.

And so far the point is this.
• It is impossible for you to know what your future holds except in 1 regard.
• There is only one thing in your future that you can be sure of.

IT IS A SINGULAR FATE.

WHAT IS IT?

#2 IT IS A SAD FATE
Ecclesiastes 9:3-10

The preacher starts by categorizing this fate for you.
“This is an evil all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men.”

We all share in one singular fate, and it is not a pleasant one.
• It is a sad one…
• It is a bad one…
• It is an evil one…

WELL WHAT IS IT?

“Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.”

WHAT IS MAN’S SINGULAR FATE?
A life of struggle that ends in death.

“Insanity” there is the word HOLELA (ho’-lay-la)

We tend to think of it as mental illness, and it can contain that,
But it has more to do with utter foolishness.

Like a man may say, “I’m going to take my paycheck and use the whole thing on lottery tickets.” And you’d say, “You’re out of your mind!” or “This is madness!”

THAT’S THE WORD.
A man’s life will be full of evil and foolish and mindless activity.

A.K.A. – THE CURSE

Men are going to spend their lives doing evil and foolish things
And then they will die.

Now, I know that is a HARD ASSESSMENT, but it is an ACCURATE one.

We’ve read it too many times how God assesses humanity.

How man’s only thought is always evil continually.
How there is none who does good, there is not even one.

We are all in the SAME SINKING SHIP.
We are all in the SAME CRASHING PLANE.

We are all born in sin and headed for death.

IT IS THE DOCTRINE OF TOTAL DEPRAVITY.

David said:
Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

We remember Paul’s explanation in Romans 5
Romans 5:12-14 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

Adam’s sin introduced death and it affected everyone.

And it is important to understand what Paul meant when he said, “death reigned from Adam until Moses.”

That is significant because before Moses there was no Law.
THERE WERE NO COMMANDS.

IT’S EASY TO SEE why Adam was punished,
He broke the Law (don’t eat from that tree).

But no one else ever ate from that tree.
And God’s Law was not here yet.

And, just as Paul said, “sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

So in effect there were no law breakers between Adam and Moses
BECAUSE THERE WAS NO LAW TO BREAK.

“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam…”

Adam didn’t just wreck himself, Adam wrecked us all.
• Adam fell into sin, and we were all born in Adam.
• We inherited a sinful nature from him, and thus we were born in iniquity.
• And even though we weren’t breaking any particular laws, we were intrinsically sinful and thus every man died.

• You could say that Abel was a better man that Cain.
• You could say that Noah was a better men than Lamech.
• You could say that Abraham was a better man than Lot.

But what did they all have in common?
THEY ALL DIED

WE ALL SHARE THE SAME FATE.
A life in a cursed world which ends in death.

AND IN CASE YOU DIDN’T REALIZE IT,
The preacher then goes on to point out that death is a negative thing.

He actually gives you 6 crushing realities about death as it relates to this life.

1) NO HOPE
(4) “For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.”

• Dogs in the ancient east were not loved they were filthy and hated.
• Lions were noble and majestic.

The point is that even a despised living thing
Is better off than a dead noble thing.

Death represented the end.
A sick person has hope of recovery, but death brings with it finality.

2) NO ESCAPE
(5a) “For the living know they will die…”

Everyone knows this day is coming.

3) NO KNOWLEDGE
(5b) “but the dead do not know anything…”

He is speaking purely in matters of this life, but you see his point.

Once a person dies they are cut off from the land of the living.
• They don’t watch the news…
• They don’t read the paper…
• They are separated from the matters of the living…

4) NO REWARD
(5c) “nor have they any longer a reward”

He is not speaking in an eternal sense here, but in an earthly one “under the sun”.

If a man spent a season planting cotton and working his crop
BUT DIED TODAY, he would not receive in this life the reward of his labor.

You don’t reward or pay a dead man.
You may pay his family, but not him.

5) NO REMEMBRANCE
(5d) “for their memory is forgotten.”

Obviously there will be those close to them who remember them,
But in a general sense, the world goes on.

• How many men and women have died from this world that you don’t even know about?
• How many people lived on the land you call yours that you don’t even know their name?

Death erased them from the awareness of the living.

6) NO PARTICIPATION
(6) “Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.”

They don’t participate in life anymore.

I cover those quickly because the sting is too much to bear.
None of us want to think about those things.

They represent the harsh cold realities and the bitter sting of death.
DEATH REMOVES A PERSON FROM THIS LIFE.

It doesn’t matter if they are good or bad, rich or poor, clean or unclean, religious or irreligious, committed or lazy death claims them all.

We all at one point get removed from life as we know it on this planet.

THAT IS THE ONE FATE OF ALL MEN.

BUT WE ARE AFTER WISDOM IN VIEW OF THIS FATE.

And here comes the preacher’s FIRST OFFER OF WISDOM.

(7-10) “Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”

Those are 4 bittersweet verses, but they represent wisdom.

You know how people love anachronyms today.
• LOL – laugh out loud
• SMH – shake my head

Well one I’ve seen circulated the past couple of years is YOLO
“You only live once.”

And the point is that because you only live once
You should live life to the fullest.

Sometimes granted the world uses it to endorse foolishness,
But at it’s root it is a reminder to make the most of every opportunity.

Well, certainly in a NON-FLESHLY OR CARNAL SENSE,
The preacher gives the same advice.

YOU ARE ONLY ON THIS ROCK FOR A SHORT TIME
SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL MAKE THE MOST OF IT.

You might as well seek to find joy and satisfaction and solace
In the everyday good gifts of God.

For example:
“eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart;”

Enjoy your good meal.

And the preacher says, “for God has already approved your works”

That is another way of saying,
“For God has already decreed that it is ok for you to enjoy life.”

God created bread for you to eat it.
God created wine for you to drink it.

That DOES NOT CONDONE gluttony or drunkenness, and that is obvious.
Only a fool offends God in such offenses.

BUT THE POINT IS
God didn’t create those things and then expect humanity not to partake.

They are given to soften the burden of living in a cursed world.

He goes on:
(8) “Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head.”

• Those were comforts and enjoyments and relaxations.
• And again, God has endorsed that you can enjoy them.

This life is full of pain and it ends soon enough in death
So enjoy the blessings and comforts of life.

(9) “Enjoy life with the woman you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.”

It’s the simple joys of love and marriage and a good relationship.

You live in a cursed world with plenty of pain and enmity and toil.
And soon enough you will be dead.
So enjoy the simple little things in life while you can.

And he culminates with one last thought:
(10) “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it will all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”

He’s certainly NOT ADVOCATING you quit your job and just sit around eating bread and drinking wine until you die.

In fact he tells you to work hard and give it your best.
Make the most out of your life.

Eat your bread, drink your wine, wear nice clothes, anoint your head with oil, spend time with your wife, and work hard.

Those are the simple little every day pleasures which God has given to lessen the burden of living under the curse.

THAT IS WISDOM.

And it’s NOT THE FIRST TIME the preacher has told you to do it.
• Quit trying to fix things you have no control over and enjoy the simple little every day pleasures of life.

BUT THIS TIME HIS ADVICE WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
This time his advice was bittersweet.

Because this time, even when he was telling you to enjoy today,
He couldn’t help but remind you that death is still coming.

• In verse 9 he told you to enjoy life with the woman you love but he reminded that it is a “fleeting life which He has given you under the sun.”

• In verse 10 he told you to work hard but he reminded that “there is not activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”

HE GIVES YOU WISDOM ON HOW TO LIVE TODAY,
But the point of the text remains the same.

YOU HAVE ONE FATE.
• It is a singular fate
• It is a sad fat.

#3 IT IS A SUDDEN FATE
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

In this life it seems that once man realizes that death is coming,
The objective of man often shifts gears.

Man goes from trying to escape death (which he cannot do)
To avoiding it as long as he can.

Think about how much of our thinking today
Is based upon prolonging life and delaying death.

WE ARE CONSUMED WITH IT.

So here’s a question.
• How do you delay death?
• How do you prolong life?

Be extra careful? Eat right? Exercise? Medical advancements?
Will that work?

Listen to the preacher here.
(11) “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.”

So let me ask you:
• How do you win a race? (be faster)
• How do you win a battle? (be a more fierce warrior)
• How do you become successful? (be wise or discerning or able)

But the preacher said, “You know what I see when I look at the world?”
“I see that it’s NOT always the fastest who win or the strongest who survive or the smartest who succeed.”

I see that “time and chance overtake them all.”

We think of “chance” as random accidents.
The word here actually means “incident”.

I see that every man is a victim of time and every man is prone to incident

We hear the proverb: “Early to bed, early to rise; makes man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” (Unless he gets hit by a truck)

How many athletes tell stories of having great promise and the prospect of professional greatness…until they blew out the knee.

How many wise men tell the story of business and profession and the expectation of riches…until extenuating circumstances wrecked the business.

How many fitness enthusiasts were committed to eating right and exercising only to find that cancer caught them anyway?

THERE ARE NO CERTAINTIES.
You may think you have a say in death, but do you really?

Are you really in control of your fate? NO

(12) “Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.”

What does he mean?
Death is coming and you don’t know when.

You can, by your own estimation, do everything in this life right,
And still die young or at least premature.

WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT IS CURSED WITH DEATH.
WE LIVE ON A SINKING SHIP.

And there is a sovereign plan at work that is totally beyond you.

Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN IT IS COMING.
• We like to think that death only comes when you are old…
• We like to think that death only comes when you make a mistake…
• We like to think that death only comes when you are reckless…

BUT YOU DON’T KNOW.
We all have this one same fate here under the curse.
It is a singular fate – It is a sad fate – It is a sudden fate

Now on one hand wisdom then is to enjoy life.
• Enjoy the little things that God has granted for you to enjoy.
• That is wisdom.

BUT THERE IS MORE WISDOM here than that.
And it is wisdom that Jesus expounded on.

I actually wonder if Jesus finished this sermon.

The preacher said that man is “like fish caught in a treacherous net…when it suddenly falls on them.”

And Jesus said:
Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

What is wisdom there?
BE READY!

There is death and judgment coming.
BE READY!

You have one fate in this life that you are running towards
And there is no escaping it.

And while on one hand you should enjoy the little things in life
The greater wisdom is that you use this life to prepare for eternity.

That you use this life to find salvation and forgiveness.
Acts 17:26-27 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Are you ready for your fate?
Are you ready for death?
It will come, it must come, and it will come when you may not expect it.

BUT THE BEAUTY OF THE GOSPEL IS THAT
God sent His Son to forgive us of our sin and to conquer death.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

AND HERE IS THE REALITY.
Because of the curse you will die.
But through Jesus you need not perish.
He grants eternal life to those who place their trust in Him.

It’s the old little poem:
Life is short
Death is sure
Sin the cause
Christ the cure