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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.

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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

Download Here:

Thinking About Maintaining Purity
Psalms 119:9-16
September 26, 2021

Tonight we come again to this wonderful 119th Psalm
And the topic of the stanza sits right on top for the whole world to see.

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

It is a question regarding purity
Or perhaps we might call it sanctification.

It is NOT a question of how a sinful man can be made pure.
• That is done through the process of justification and identification with Christ as the perfect righteousness of Christ is credited to your account.

This ISN’T LIKE the first 8 verses where we have a David floundering in sin and wishing he was one of the righteous who could enjoy fellowship with God.

No, this is a young man who has found purity, at least for a time.
This is a young man whose concern is remaining pure.
This is a young man whose desire is to never return to sin.

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

Purity is such an important theme in Scripture.

Certainly we are familiar with the foundational Old Testament passage:
Leviticus 11:45 “‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

Jesus certainly reiterated it in His Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Both of those statements should certainly suffice to drive us to Christ
Who alone is righteous and who alone can justify us in the sight of God.

However, we know that the command for holiness
DOES NOT STOP WHEN WE GET SAVED.

WE ARE NOT those like Paul referenced in Romans 6 who think it is ok now to fall back into sin since Christ has graciously saved us.

Jude pointed out that it was false believers who promoted such licentious living.

PURITY AND HOLINESS REMAINS THE DESIRE OF ALL BELIEVERS.

Peter spelled it out:
1 Peter 1:13-19 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

Peter was clear that God PAID A HIGH PRICE for us
And that price came with the expectation of holiness.

Peter most certainly learned this from Jesus.
• We remember in the upper room before the disciples took the Last Supper as
Jesus began to wash their feet.

John 13:7-8 “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.”

Jesus made a very direct statement.
He’s not interested in fellowship with those who aren’t interested in purity

When Paul spoke of Christ’s relationship wo the church, he wrote:
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.”

PURITY IS CHRIST’S DESIRE FOR THE CHURCH.

The writer of Hebrews spoke of the importance of purity or sanctification:
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

And so certainly we understand
THE VALIDITY to the question of this stanza.

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

IS A LEGITIMATE QUESTION.

WE ALSO RECOGNIZE in this question that the young man wants to know what HIS PART is in the whole process.

He DOESN’T ask, “God, how do you plan on keeping me pure?”
He asks what he might do to secure it.

And this we also know of sanctification;
Namely that it is a synergistic effort.

We work for it as God also works for it.

The point is clearly made in Philippians 2
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

We are not into QUIETISM where we just sort of “Let go and let God”
(Regarding the governing authorities, sure – but not regarding our sanctification)

There is very much a Christian responsibility to our sanctification.

Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 “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.”

There is a definite expectation from God
That as Christians we will labor and strive for purity.

And that is all bound up in the question of this stanza of Psalms 119.

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

And the ANSWER and MAIN POINT of the stanza is this:
“By keeping it according to Your word.”

David sees the word of God as the necessary tool
To preserving the pure life of the believer.

Ten years ago when we last studied this stanza we laid out here 4 points
That we can once again hit quickly.

And if you want to see them in more detail then that sermon is still on our website.
This second time around we aren’t looking at the forest, we’ll look at one of the trees.

We talked about: HIS CONCERNS
Which are evident in verses 9-11

He was concerned with PURITY in verse 9
“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

He was concerned about APATHY in verse 10
“Do not let me wander from Your commandments”

He was concerned about INIQUITY in verse 11
“That I may not sin against You.”

These are certainly legitimate concerns
Of the man of God in a sin infested world.

• Staying pure amidst temptation.
• Not growing apathetic with our commitment.
• Not falling into sin.

Those are real issues, and with every single one of those issues
THE SOLUTION WAS THE SAME THING.

GOD’S WORD.

Purity is maintained: “By keeping it according to Your word.”
Apathy is avoided: By seeking God “with all my heart”
Iniquity is rejected: By treasuring or hiding God’s word “in my heart.”

There really is a 1 to 1 correlation here.
• When you see a believer slip into impurity…
• When you see a believer become apathetic about the things of God…
• When you see a believer commit sin against God in any way…

There is 1 COMMON DENOMINATOR behind all of those.
The believer at some level has neglected God’s word.

The word of God is that which guides the believer into purity.
The word of God is that which holds the believer in obedience.
The word of God is that which keep the believer from iniquity.

When you see a believer struggle in those areas
You can always trace it back to an apathetic approach to Scripture.

That was the young man’s CONCERN,
And the solution was Scripture.

We talked about HIS DESIRE in verse 12.

Namely that he wanted God to “Teach me Your statutes.”

If God’s word is the source of purity
Then by all means we approach God and ask to learn His word.

But the way he asks it is very interesting.
• He starts by saying, “Blessed are You, O LORD”
• And then he says, “Teach me Your statutes.”

It is him asking THE ULTIMATE EXPERT for guidance.
• It might be like asking Nolan Ryan to teach you how to throw a fastball
• Or Tiger Woods to teach you how to hit a driver
• Or Bob Vila how to make a dovetail drawer.

God is the ultimate in matters of purity and holiness.
There is no higher standard.
There is no better teacher.

His plan is THE plan. His blueprint is THE blueprint.

And so this young man who recognizes a need for purity
Shows a DESIRE to learn that purity from God’s directives.

From there we see HIS SATISFACTION

(13-14) “With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.”

The point here is that God’s word has NEVER DISAPPOINTED him.
• He is not the least bit concerned in asking God for counsel.
• He is not the least bit concerned that it will be bad instruction.

Every time God has given an ordinance it has been so good that
The Psalmist couldn’t help but share it with others.

Every time God has given a command it has delighted the Psalmist
More than a great heap of treasures.

And all of this simply points to the fact that in his quest for purity
• The Psalmist has recognized that there is only one place to find it
• That place will not disappoint
• Because the author of this word is the holy God.

Where else are you going to go to learn about holiness better than God?
God’s word leads to purity.
God’s word leads to sanctification.

Can I remind you of some of these principles?

Galatians 16-17 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”

That is a great promise.
• Our flesh is sinful and weak and prone to stumbling under temptation.

If our flesh is all we have we will never defeat sin.
But to combat the flesh we have the Spirit who wars against the flesh.

And Paul says “walk by the Spirit,
And you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Well how do you do that?
How do you “walk by the Spirit”?

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Hopefully you recognize that as the sister passage to Ephesians 5:18
Where Paul says to be “filled with the Spirit”.

The point is this.
• Only the Spirit can help you overcome the flesh.
• Only the Spirit can give you victory over the flesh.
• Only the Spirit can produce sanctification in your life.
• Only the Spirit can lead you to purity.
• And He does it exclusively through the word of God.

If you try to exclude the word of God from your life
You will never achieve the purity you seek.

Trying to find holiness without the Scripture
Is like trying to get wet without water.

IT WON’T HAPPEN.

The Psalmist here knows that he needs the Scripture to achieve the purity he seeks.
And the Scripture has never failed to satisfy him.

Well all of that then leads to HIS PLAN
(15-16) “I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.”

And I think tonight this is where I want to spend
Perhaps a little more time and take a little closer look.
(let’s look at this tree)

“I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.”

“meditate” translates: SIAH (see-akh)

It means “to talk” with the implication of talking to yourself.
It can even be translated “to complain” which indicates a conversation
In which you don’t understand everything so you are talking it out.

And this is the idea here.

This verse GIVES WEIGHT to everything he has already said.

The Psalmists desire to meditate on Scripture
Is the indicator that his commitment to Scripture
As a means to purity is legitimate.

On Wednesday nights with the youth…
We do a thing called “Popcorn Prayer”.

• That is we make everyone around the room participate in the prayer, but no one is allowed to pray more than one sentence.
• We started this because I wanted to break the notion in these kids at an early age that they could not participate in a corporate prayer meeting of the church.

I run across too many adults who are intimidated or unwilling to participate in a corporate prayer time and so we are sort of trying to push these youth past that fear at an early age.

On a weekly basis we hear prayers like this:
• “Let everyone come closer to You”
• “Help me to read Your word more”
• “Help me to share Your word with other people”

And there is nothing wrong with that, those are great requests.

In fact, those are some of the same requests
That the Psalmist made in the first 6 verses of this stanza.

And yet, I am well aware that
Though these students may in fact utter these requests
They may or may not mean it.

IT IS ONE THING to acknowledge that the Bible needs to read,
IT IS ANOTHER TO ACTUALLY READ IT.

WE COULD ALSO SAY:

IT IS ONE THING to read the Bible consistently,
IT IS ANOTHER THING TO BE COMMITTED TO UNDERSTANDING IT.

• Acknowledging that Bible can help you with purity is one thing…
• Knowing the Bible can keep you from straying from God is one thing…
• Seeing that the Bible can keep you from falling into sin is one thing…

But the OBJECTIVE IS NOT just to cause you
To have a proper understanding of how good the Bible is.

The objective is to READ it and to UNDERSTAND it.

We know that when the Psalmist says he wants purity
That he is not just making religious statements.

And we know this because not only does he recognize the value of Scripture but we see his commitment to understand Scripture.

He says, “I will meditate on Your precepts”

“I am going to read your word, and I am going to have an inner conversation; even an argument with myself about your word.”

I am not just going to read it, check the box, and then move on.
• I am going to chew on it…
• I am going to argue on it…
• I am going to debate it…
• I am going to squeeze it until I get more out of it…

This statement from the Psalmist tells us so much
About his heart regarding God’s word and finding purity through it.

NOW LET ME BRING HOME WHAT I MEAN.

Have you ever been on a Bible reading plan and you came across a verse that you didn’t understand?

• Maybe it was a statement or an entire verse or even an entire story that didn’t make sense to you.

And the question is: WHAT DO YOU DO?

Do you just shrug your shoulders and say, “Oh well” and go on,
Or do you stop and meditate until you understand?

This is one of the greatest blessings
Of being a preacher or a teacher of God’s word.

Because you come across a passage or even a book like an Ecclesiastes which may have many statements which you do not comprehend.

But what is hanging over your head is the fact that in a few days people are going to show up to hear you teach that verse and to say, “I don’t know what that means” and go on is not acceptable.

So out of obligation you will mediate, you will argue, you will talk it out, you will complain until you can get some sense of the passage because you are going to be tasked with explaining it.

NOW TEACHERS HAVE TO DO THIS ALL THE TIME.

But this young man DOESN’T SAY ANYTHING
About meditating on God’s word because he has to teach it in 3 days.

WHY IS HE MEDITATING ON GOD’S WORD?
• Because he believes God’s word holds the keys to the life of purity.
• He believes God’s word is a treasure that can keep him from sin.
• He believes God’s word is more valuable than all earthly riches.

And so when he reads a passage he doesn’t understand
He is not willing to just pass it over, no!
He wrestles until he gets what he seeks.

• What does that tell you about his desire for purity?
• What does that tell you about his belief that the Bible can supply it?

See, you know his desire for purity is genuine
Because of his commitment to understand what he reads.

IN ADDITION: What does it say about our love for God if we don’t care if we understand His word?

Let’s say you are young and are dating and you’ve got a sweet thing that just turns your world over.

Now, in my day, if you were apart you had two options.
You could talk on the phone or you could write a card or letter.

Now days they text, which only proves I’m getting too old, but that’s what they do.

Now, do you remember getting a card or letter or text from that person you were crazy about?

But in that letter or text they make a statement
That doesn’t make sense to you.
What do you?

Do you just skip over it and say, “Oh well, who knows?”
Or do you meditate upon it and try to figure it out.

Your dedication to understanding is testimony to your love for the author.

That is what we are getting from the Psalmist.

And I don’t mind telling you that
I think meditation upon God’s word
Is perhaps the most under used discipline in the church.

Christian book stores are filled with 3 minute daily devotions…
(some of them only quote a verse or part of a verse and fill the time with heart-warming stories or illustrations)

But the true discipline of Bible study and meditation upon a difficult passage is a rarity.
• By in large the church is too lazy.
• By in large the church is too complacent.

It takes work to make the obscure become clear.
I use the analogy of “hammering at the rock”
It’s like mining.

SO WHY DOES THE PSALMIST DO IT?

Look at what he says next:
“And regard Your ways.”

“Regard” translates
NABAT (na-vat)
“pay attention to; consider; show regard for”

It is because he sees value in what God knows.

LET’S SAY you bought a new electronic or something that has to be assembled but THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE UNCLEAR.

• Do you just throw the electronic in the corner or leave the
unassembled pieces in the box?

No, you read and reread and think and ponder and read it slower
And think on it until you understand.

Because what the author says has value
To what you are seeking to accomplish.

SO DO YOU REALLY WANT PURITY IN YOUR LIFE?
• Do you really want holiness?
• Do you really want sanctification?

Well that comes through God’s word.
And the fact is that some times it takes work to understand it.

So do the work.
Value God’s word enough to dig at it.

I HAVE GROWN TO LOVE THIS.
When I approach a text that I don’t understand I know that by the time I do I am going to know God so much better, and that is exciting.

And that is really sort of what I am pushing to you tonight.
• Do you meditate on God’s precepts or just let them go?
• Do you regard God’s ways enough that you are devoted to understanding them?

THE PSALMIST WAS.
He is committed to doing the work because he knows two things.

1) “I shall delight in Your statutes”
• He knows he is going to like what he finds.
• He knows it won’t disappoint.

2) “I shall not forget Your word.”
• He knows he will never forget what he learns.

This is the secret to retaining Bible knowledge,
It is to do the work yourself.

If you watch me swing the pick axe and pull a treasure from the rock you may enjoy it; you may even like it; and you may remember it.

But if you do the work of swinging that axe you will remember it forever.

AND SO THE PALMIST IS COMMITTED.
And the end result will be the purity he seeks.

Now, I want to leave you with a great passage on this.
I’ve likely shared it with you before, but it is so good.

TURN TO: PROVERBS 2:1-6

There are four elements here regarding meditation.
This is how you do it.

If you want to be one who does not take a casual approach to Scripture
But you want to be one who hammers at the rock until you understand it,
HERE IS HOW.

And notice first THE RESULT?
(5-6) “Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

That is what we want.
• We want “the fear of the LORD”
• We want “the knowledge of God”
• We want “wisdom”
• We want “knowledge and understanding”

We might add to that list that WE WANT PURITY
Which comes from the knowledge of God’s word.

Well here is what meditation looks like so that you might obtain it.

(1) “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you,”

We have a word for this, we call it: PRIORITY

First to take the time to “receive” and then to “treasure…within”

If God’s word has no value to you
Then there is no priority to read it.

But this I am sure of:
“If you never read God’s word then you will never benefit from it.”

• You have to receive what God has to say.
• There has to be a desire for it.
• It has to be treasured.

Now eventually this may come naturally.
• As you begin to treasure God’s word you won’t have to be made to receive it,
• But as natural men sometimes the commitment comes first.

Some times you have to exercise the discipline first.
You may honestly say in your heart, “I don’t treasure God’s word like I should and that is why I don’t read it more often.”

Well, make a commitment;
Make a PRIORITY and determine to read God’s word.

That is the first step.

(2) “Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding;”

Here we are talking about: PERSISTENCE

• We have read God’s word.
• We have made it a priority to hear what God has to say.
• Now we incline our heart to understand it.

We ARE NOT just reading it to say we read it.
We ARE reading it to hear what God has to say.

So again the commitment is to understanding.
I want to be able to understand what I read.

Some have found journaling to be helpful here.
That is to say they read something and then they force themselves to write down what they learned.

But it is because there is a desire for understanding.

Then comes the third aspect:
(3) “For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding;”

Now we are talking about: PETITION

• Since Scripture is God-breathed.
• Since Scripture is from the Spirit of God.
• Since a natural man cannot comprehend the things of God apart from the Spirit of God.

Then it makes sense that prayer must be a part of all Bible study.

There has never been a man born
And there will never be a man born
Who is smart enough to understand the Bible
Without the help of God’s Spirit.

And yet, while we pray a lot for blessing and healing and safety how much of your prayer time is devoted to understanding what God is saying?

If you are a preacher or a teacher this comes much easier.

But the point is this.

• People read the Bible,
• They don’t understand it,
• They might ponder it a minute and then walk away
• And say, “I don’t know what that was about.”

Well did you ask God?
• Did you “cry for discernment”?
• Did you “lift your voice for understanding”?

How do you expect to understand God’s word
If you don’t even ask God to help you understand it?

And then the final aspect:
(4) “If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;”

We call this: PASSION

• Have you ever lost your wallet?
• Have you ever lost your car keys?
• Have you ever lost your cell phone?

Did you look for it?

What happened if you didn’t find it in the first 2 minutes of your search?
You kept looking…

What if you didn’t find it in your first 10 minutes?
You asked someone if they had seen it…
You kept looking…

It was an intense search.

What if you cashed your paycheck and then dropped the cash envelope between the seat and the console of your car, how intently would you work to get it out?

You know the question that is coming.
Do you work that hard to understand the Bible?

Here we see Priority, Persistence, Petition, and Passion.
Those 4 together is what we mean when we talk about
Meditating on God’s word or regarding God’s ways.

• How badly do you want to be made pure?
• How badly do you want holiness?
• God’s word is the tool to bring it about, are you willing to dig until you find it?

(5-6) “Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Download Here:

The Wisdom of Civil Submission – Part 3
Ecclesiastes 8:1-17 (14-17)
September 26, 2021

This morning we are going to conclude
What I think has been a difficult but vitally important study
Regarding the wisdom of civil submission.

Certainly as those who have been redeemed by God,
We are well-aware that we are in need of God’s direction
In every area of our lives.

We know there are many instances in which our THINKING
Must be CORRECTED by God through the understanding of His word.

And so, we rejoice any time God confronts our thinking with His truth,
For we do delight in having God transform our minds.

And we are grateful that God would give us wisdom
Even if His wisdom at first runs contrary to ours.

I certainly have felt that during the last 3 weeks of study,
And I would imagine that some of you have felt that too.

Civil submission is NOT something that comes NATURALLY to us,
At least not in our western culture.

We are very individualistic and we are very much about personal rights and freedoms.

AND I AM ALL FOR PERSONAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS.

But focusing on personal rights can at times cause us to struggle,
Especially during those times when God calls us into submission.

And yet Scripture does this continually.

When Peter talks to slaves about their responsibility to be submissive,
He is very careful to make sure they understand that this submission is required even when they serve an unworthy master.

1 Peter 2:18-19 “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.”

When Peter talks to wives about their responsibility to be submissive,
He is very careful to make sure they understand that this submission is required even when they are married to a disobedient man.

1 Peter 3:1-2 “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.”

When Peter talks to husbands about their responsibility to submit to the Lord by loving their wives,
He is very careful to make sure they understand that this is necessary even though they could win the argument by brute force.

1 Peter 3:7 “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

And when Peter calls for us to submit to the governing authorities,
He is very careful to make sure that we understand that this is required even if they are ignorant and foolish men.

1 Peter 2:13-17 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”

And if we were looking for a summation
Of why such submission is commanded
Peter would tell us to look no further than CHRIST.

1 Peter 2:21-25 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

And that really sums up Christian submission.

We don’t do it because those in earthly positions of authority
Have necessarily earned it.

• We do it because God, who is the ultimate authority, has commanded it.
• We do it because Jesus Christ, who is our example, has demonstrated it.
• We do it because the lost, whom we seek to reach, is observing it.
• We do it because ultimately the righteous Judge will reward it.

1 Peter 2:19-20 “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”

So, I understand the difficulty of such a study,
Especially in the times in which we live.

But as those who have been redeemed,
We seek also to be redeemed from the foolish thinking of the world
And to walk in wisdom.

And this is the wisdom that has been given to us
Here in the 8th chapter of Ecclesiastes.

I’m not going to go into much detail in rehashing what we have discussed the past 2 weeks, but it is necessary to perhaps refreshen our minds as to the main points of the preacher.

#1 HIS WISDOM
Ecclesiastes 8:1

The preacher reminded us that we are looking here for wisdom.

This is the primary goal of the Christian.
We want to walk in wisdom.
We want to walk as God would have us walk.

And the preacher promised that walking in wisdom would result in causing our “stern face to beam.”

It could remove frustration and replace it with satisfaction.
That is what we are after.

#2 HIS ADVICE
Ecclesiastes 8:2-4

And here the preacher gave us advice that is a little hard to swallow.

“I say, ‘Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God.’”

It is a hard command.
Especially when you have an INCOMPETENT or even IMMORAL king.

Yet, the preacher reminded NOT to rebel, NOT to join a revolt,
And even to be careful questioning him.

I know that this flies right in the face of our red-blooded views
Of American patriotism.
But we aren’t after what feels right, we are after wisdom.

And according to Scripture, wisdom is to submit to the civil authorities.

Now, again, we make our DISTINCTION that not on the table in Ecclesiastes would be a king who commands us to disobey God.

That is a different scenario, and under such circumstances
Scripture tells us that wisdom is to disobey the king.

We saw that last time in Revelation 13 regarding the mark of the beast.
Such commands must be disobeyed.

However, even then I would say that
You still DON’T SEE Scripture calling for a revolution.

• To be certain Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego didn’t bow, but they also didn’t try to overthrow Nebuchadnezzar. They submitted to the fiery furnace.

• To be certain Daniel refused to quit praying but he didn’t try to rally the Jews to fight against the Medes. Daniel submitted to the den of lions.

• To be certain the Apostles refused to quit preaching Jesus and the resurrection, but they didn’t try to lead a militia into the temple to overthrow Annas or Caiaphas.

There are times when a Christian must resist a civil command,
But even then we still recognize a certain level of submission
If not to the command then to the consequences.

But here in Ecclesiastes
We DON’T HAVE a king who is commanding disobedience to God,
He is just a bad king who harms those under his authority.

And the ADVICE of the preacher is to submit.

#3 HIS EXPLANATION
Ecclesiastes 8:5-8

Here he told us why we should submit.
And his reasoning was spot on.

1) Obedience to the king will cause less trouble for you in this life. (5a)
• The civil authorities have the power to arrest and imprison you,
• If you rebel you will bring trouble on yourselves.

2) A wise man knows that God is in control. (5b-6)
• Even when the Jews were commanded to submit to Nebuchadnezzar they were called to do it in faith that God was at work.

3) You don’t know the future or what God is doing. (7)
• It doesn’t make much sense for a man who doesn’t know the future
• To rebel against the command of a God who does know the future.

4) Evil never delivered anyone. (8)
• You will never find deliverance in your life through disobeying God.
• No matter how bad the situation and how difficult the circumstances, walking contrary to God’s command will never work.

And so we apply wisdom here.
• We don’t know what God is doing.
• We don’t see how it could work.
• But wisdom is not understanding, wisdom is trusting that God does.

And that is the preacher’s explanation

And then last time we started looking at this 4th point.
#4 HIS OBSERVATION
Ecclesiastes 8:9-15

It is NOT AS THOUGH the preacher is living in a time of prosperity
And is OUT OF TOUCH with what true oppression looks like.

He has seen a bad king.
(9) “All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.”

• He has seen wicked hypocritical men live in life in their evil and then when they die and are buried they are treated like heroes. (10)

• He has seen a justice system that does not punish what is evil and thus it only encourages the wicked to be even more wicked. (11)

So when the preacher tells you to submit to the king,
It’s not like he doesn’t understand what it is to live under a bad king.

So why would a Godly man who loves righteousness be willing to submit to an ungodly king who contributes to the spread of evil?

Well because he is exercising wisdom.
• The wisdom that obeys God even when he doesn’t understand.
• The wisdom that knows God is in control.
• The wisdom that realizes he doesn’t know the future, but God does.
• The wisdom that knows that regardless of the problem disobedience is never
the answer.

And we might add he is exercising the WISDOM OF FAITH that even though the wicked may appear to escape today, they will not forever.

(12-13) “Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.”

HE KNOWS THAT, HE HANGS ON TO THAT, HE TRUSTS THAT.

But listen, that DOESN’T MEAN he SEES it with his eyes.
Things in his culture are bad.

(14) “There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility.”

There is no other explanation for this than that
Here we have a government that has totally disregarded
Their Biblical responsibility from God.

What this man describes is a TOTALLY CORRUPT GOVERNMENT
Which has FAILED in every area of what it was commissioned to do.

There are many ideas today about what a government should be
And what a government should provide.
But what does God say is the legitimate function of the civil authorities?

Romans 13:3-4 “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

Paul there describes the legitimate function of the civil government.
“it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

That is God’s ordained function of the civil government.
It is to be a MORAL RESTRAINT upon humanity.

The gov’t bears the sword, it is a mediator of God’s vengeance,
It is meant to discourage the spread of evil
By bringing wrath and judgment on those who practice evil.

It ISN’T necessarily mandated to run things like:
• Economy and retirement
• Health care and welfare
• Environmentalism or even infrastructure
• Trade or business

From a biblical standpoint the civil government has one job
And that is to punish evil doers.

The civil authorities are another restraint which God has commissioned
To keep sinful man from being as wicked as he might be.

THAT IS THEIR LEGITIMATE FUNCTION.

So what the preacher is speaking of here in his day
Is a government that has totally and completely
Abdicated it’s one legitimate function.

Instead of stopping the spread of evil,
It has actually contributed to the spread of evil.

But in wisdom this man is being asked to submit anyway.
• In wisdom he is instead trusting God’s plan and God’s timing.
• In wisdom he is instead obeying God in faith that God will intervene and one day set things right.

It is a TALL ORDER to be sure,
But as those who desire to be wise and to honor God in this world,
We take the example of our Lord even when being treated unjustly.

1 Peter 2:21-23 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

That is what we do.
• When reviled we do not revile in return…
• When we suffer we utter no threats…
• Instead we keep entrusting ourselves to Him who judges righteously…

THAT IS WISDOM

BUT SO FAR, none of that has done anything about the frustration
Or “stern face” that the preacher promised to help.

We’ve been at this thing for 14 verses
And if anything our countenance has grown more grim.

But I thought wisdom was supposed to cause our “stern face to beam”

I thought we were supposed to be able to rejoice under this oppression?

WELL HERE YOU GO.
Here is the preacher’s consolation if you will.

(15) “So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.”

Well we’ve certainly been here before.
The preacher likes this piece of advice.

Now, DON’T LOSE FOCUS because all of a sudden he says that he “commended pleasure”.

That DOES NOT MEAN that he is now reversing his previous stance
That seeking pleasure as the source of satisfaction is like striving after wind.

HE IS NOT CHANGING HIS STANCE.

But at the same time he is not throwing out pleasure altogether either.

But there is a difference between
Pleasure that is generated by the world
And pleasure that is generated by faith.

In fact, even as we said back in chapter 2 when talking about the futility of pleasure we noted that it is God who gave you the capacity for pleasure.
• God created your nervous system…
• God gave you the ability to feel pleasure and euphoria and joy…
• Certainly all pleasure is not sinful.

And here the preacher points you to that reality.

He says, “I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry…”

And we’ve heard that before too.

He reminds that there is plenty of evil and bad all around us.
• Watch the news…
• Read social media…
• And you will quickly be thrown into despair over the corruption of our government.

I won’t even argue with you if you say that our government
Seems to be doing their best to ruin our nation.

IT IS A DARK TIME.

So what does the preacher tell us to do?

WELL FIRST, OBVIOUSLY,
Use wisdom and submit knowing that God is in control.

BUT SECONDLY he says “eat…drink and…be merry”

And he has again now retreated to life’s simple pleasures.

Sometimes in our discontentment
We are so eager to see the big picture conformed to our will
That we fail to see the simple blessings right in front of us.

Yes, I would prefer a godly president.
Yes, I would prefer a non-corrupt government.

And it may be true that they succeed in totally ruining life as we know it.
I don’t know, because I don’t know what God is doing.

BUT TODAY, I am at church.
• Today, I worship among friends.
• Today, I sit on padded pews in central air conditioning.
• Today, my refrigerator has food.
• Today, I will eat a good meal and drink a glass of tea.
• Today, I will get a nap in my recliner.

And I will do all this with the absolute certainty that God has promised
That “all things will work together for good to them that love Him.”

NOT ONLY THAT.
But this God who loves me and has promised good to me
Has at the same time SAID THAT I DON’T HAVE TO FIX ANYTHING
Regarding the civil government.

All I have to do is sit back in submission
And trust that He will take care of it all.

Does that not take away your frustration and replace it with a smile?
Does that cause your “stern face to beam”?

Early on in this study we talked about how
God even commanded the children of Israel to submit to Nebuchadnezzar.

He told them to put their neck under his yoke.
• To Habakkuk this was totally inconceivable.
• To Zedekiah this was a command who refused to obey.

Submission to that godless ruler seemed backward in every way.

BUT CAN I REMIND YOU, that at the same time
God was telling the children of Israel to submit to Nebuchadnezzar
GOD ALSO ISSUED A PROMISE TO THEM.

It is a promise you know well.
Jeremiah 29:10-14 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”

How many of you have quoted that verse when facing affliction of various kinds?

How many of you knew that the context of that promise was when God was commanding His people to submit to a pagan ruler?

And could I remind you
Of what Jeremiah told the people who were already in Babylon?

Jeremiah 29:4-7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’”

Again, the command is to make the most of the life you have
While God is at work doing what only God can do.

This is the effect of exercising the wisdom of civil submission.

Now, let’s think about it a second.
• I know we get frustrated with the government…
• I know we get angry at the way they may rule…
• I know a command to submit to them is hard to read…
• I know it is hard to trust God’s plan when we can’t see it…

But would you prefer to open the Bible and read:
“You’re in trouble, your king is ruining everything. You’re only hope is to rebel, revolt and change the situation yourself. God has decided to just let you deal with the problem as seems best to you. Good luck!”

Do you really want to go to war?
Do you want your kids to go to war?
Do you really want the weight of securing justice to fall on your back?

I understand frustration, I really do.
• But I am thankful that the Bible has reminded me again that God is in charge
• All He is asking me to do is trust Him through my submission to His plan.

When I do, I get peace.
When I do, I get joy.
When I do, I get satisfaction.

I already read you a lot of passages from Peter on the call of submission.
Can I read you one more at the end of his letter?

1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

That is the call isn’t it?

So wisdom is what we are after.
• Wisdom is to obey God and submit to the king.
• We do this because God is sovereign and we are not.
• And the joy and peace comes when we quit seeking to control things that are beyond us and learn to appreciate the simple things which God has given.

LOOK AGAIN at verse 15.
“So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.”

Did you catch the end?

When you learn to take satisfaction and joy in the little pleasures which God has granted you along the way…

The preachers says, “this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.”

Isn’t that great!

• Have wisdom enough to trust God.
• Have wisdom enough to rest in God.
• Have wisdom enough to be content with God.
• And God will reward that with joy and satisfaction and strength

That is the preacher’s observation.

His wisdom, His advice, His explanation, His Observation
#5 HIS CONCLUSION
Ecclesiastes 8:16-17

Here comes yet another summary to a very difficult topic.

(16) “When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night),”

That speaks of the depth of his search.
• When he asked you to submit to the king this WASN’T just some idea that came from the hip.
• This WASN’T just some random idea that popped into his brain.

This was the result of a search that he gave his heart to.
This was the result of a search that deprived him of sleep.

He went all out in his search to understand what God was doing
With this wicked king so that he could relate it to you.

It would be nice to know why God brought such rulers to power.

(17) “and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.”

There it is again.
You can’t know it.

The quicker we accept our place here
The more stress free life is going to become.

God is not going to allow you up into the control booth
So that you can fully understand why He does what He does
Or allows what He allows or why He brings to power who He brings to power.

HE’S JUST NOT GOING TO TELL YOU THAT.

Wisdom is not when you fully understand.

The wise man is the man who obeys God
Even when he doesn’t understand.

Go back to the story of Jesus if you must.
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

• Neither one of those men knew about the coming storm.
• Perhaps neither of them knew why it was necessary to build on the rock.
• But the wise man obeyed and the foolish man disobeyed.

There have been more wicked rulers in this world than I can count.
There are currently in this world a bunch of them.

And I don’t know why God brought them to power,
But wisdom tells me I don’t have to understand to obey Him.

And someday, when we are with Christ,
And we know fully just as we are fully known,
Then I am supremely confident that we will say that
“GOD’S PLAN WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!”

In the meantime IF YOU NEED SOME REASSURANCE there are some rulers that are explained to us.

We already saw how Nebuchadnezzar was used to purify Israel of her idolatry.
But he’s not the only one we know about.

How about Pharaoh?
That hard-hearted tyrant who enslaved God’s people.

Romans 9:17 “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.”

God brought that wicked man to power
So that He could demonstrate His power in crushing him.

How about Pilate?
That cowardly Roman who would not save Jesus.

Acts 3:13-15 “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”

God used that corrupt coward to secure the atoning work of Jesus.

Some day God will bring Anti-Christ to power,
Who will be the most despicable man the world has ever seen.

But he will be an instrument of God
To drive Israel to Christ so that they might be saved.

THE POINT IS that God knows what He is doing, we are called only to have the wisdom to trust and obey Him.

Now I want to wrap up this study with one more passage.
• We’ve seen all the commands to submit to the governing authorities.
• We’ve seen Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon and Habakkuk.
• We’ve read Romans 13 and 1 Peter.
• We see the many commands to submit.

But there is ONE MORE COMMAND for God’s people
Regarding the civil authorities and I want to leave you with this one.

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.”

The goal is to “lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

That’s what we want.

The means to obtaining it is not revolt or rebellion
Or getting on social media and bashing the governing authorities.

The means through which we obtain the quiet life is prayer.

We petition the sovereign God who is over all authority
And ask Him for the privilege of leaders who will allow us such a life.

THAT FITS THE NARRATIVE DOESN’T IT

Because our God is the ultimate authority we SUBMIT.
And because our God is the ultimate authority we PETITION Him.

Isaiah 40:21-24 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.”

Rest in that.
Rejoice in that.
Let go of your frustration, walk in wisdom and have joy and peace.