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Are You Sleeping, Are You Sleeping, Father God? (Psalm 44)

September 1, 2024

Let It Be is one of The Beatles’ most enduring hits. But did you know that John Lennon loathed the song? He thought Paul was too traditionalist – that the song was too religious. He said, “What can you say? [It has] nothing to do with The Beatles.”[1]

In the second-century B.C., the high priest of Israel had a similar response to Psalm 44. He was so disturbed by what he read in this song that he forbade the Levites from reciting some of its verses.[2]

This is a song about suffering. It is not only a personal and national lament,[3] it is also a bold plea to God, accusing Him of abandonment and demanding a response.

It can sound almost disrespectful to the Lord. And yet, this song has applied to just about every generation of God’s people. Some scholars tie it to the time of David.[4] Others to Jehoshaphat or Hezekiah.[5] Others say it was a song for the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.[6] Others the time of the Maccabees. Others say it’s for the Great Tribulation.[7] The Apostle Paul applied this song to his time.

Every generation faces suffering we can’t understand. I’m sure many here can identify some area of defeat or difficulty that doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t God act? Why doesn’t He speak or direct? If you’ve felt those discouragements, take courage: God has given you a song to sing.

How do you get God’s attention when seems like He’s not watching? If you were a psalmist, you’d write a song.  And this song, in particular, is meant to teach us how to speak to God when we feel unfairly defeated or when the suffering we face makes no sense. It’s called a Maskil. That is a category of songs that give special insight. They’re also noted for their musical difficulty.[8]

As we move through these verses, we’ll see this isn’t just a musician lashing out impulsively. Despite his frustration and desperation, we’ll see that he remains full of faith in God’s love and power. But he doesn’t hold back. He carefully and deliberately constructs a song that culminates in this prayer: “God, why are You sleeping? Please wake up and intervene for us.”

I use the word “constructs” purposefully. In our english translations, we miss something truly remarkable about this song: It’s a ziggurat![9] The psalmist builds from start to finish in 4 stanzas.

In the Hebrew, the first stanza is 10 lines of poetry, and it is a stanza of praise. The second stanza is 8 lines of poetry. It is the stanza of pain. The third stanza is 6 lines and it is the stanza of protest. The final stanza is 4 lines, and it is the stanza of petition. Ten, eight, six, four. The pinnacle is a bold and honest prayer – a call for God to act. Let’s begin at the slab foundation of praise.

Psalm 44:Superscript – For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

The sons of Korah were originally custodians and doorkeepers in the Tabernacle. But during the time of David, they became elite singers and songwriters. Eleven of their psalms are preserved for us, and we still sing their lyrics. As The Deer, Better Is One Day. They were faithful, faith-filled men.

The first stanza is the bedrock they build on. In it they praise God’s work, grace, and faithfulness.

Psalm 44:1 – 1 God, we have heard with our ears—our ancestors have told us—the work you accomplished in their days, in days long ago:

One reason John Lennon didn’t like Let It Be was because he thought it was “granny music.” Paul McCartney grew up singing songs around the piano with his family. John wasn’t a fan of the style.

The sons of Korah are excited to sing their grannies’ song. They begin with this wonderful declaration: God, we’ve heard and we believe! Generations of God’s people had walked with Him and seen Him work and passed those truths on to their children and grandchildren. The sons of Korah kept singing the story – even when part of that story was when their own direct ancestors were judged by God for rebellion.[10] But this group heard and believed and proclaimed.

We are responsible to proclaim the true story of God’s faithfulness first to our families, then to our communities and then wider world as the Lord sends us out.

Psalm 44:2-3 – 2 In order to plant them, you displaced the nations by your hand; in order to settle them, you brought disaster on the peoples. 3 For they did not take the land by their sword—their arm did not bring them victory—but by your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable toward them.

It wasn’t Joshua’s sword that conquered Canaan. It was all God’s strength. The Israelites couldn’t do it in their own strength. Just look at the battle of Ai. But when God was working among them, nothing could stop it. No nation could stop God from His plans to plant and settle His people in the place He wanted to give them.

For Old Testament Israel, this was a physical gift – a kingdom on earth. But God still wants to plant and settle His people. Look at Psalm 1. Look at Ephesians. God’s desire for you is growth and peace. Why? Because God delights in His people. That’s what “favorable” means there in verse 3. God takes pleasure in us.

Psalm 44:4-7 – 4 You are my King, my God, who ordains victories for Jacob. 5 Through you we drive back our foes; through your name we trample our enemies. 6 For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory. 7 But you give us victory over our foes and let those who hate us be disgraced.

The sons of Korah were extremely loyal to David. They were some of David’s first supporters when he was banished by Saul.[11] But they did not tie their identity to his political power. They recognized that God was really their King. He was their strength. He was their hope. He was their song.

They were willing not only to sing, but also to battle. That’s not an easy thing to do. It’s easy to talk a big game about God’s power and deliverance, but when it’s time to actually put on a sword and march to the front, that’s something else. Especially when you know your strength is not enough. But they believed that God still had victories for His people.

He still does for you and I today. Not the kind of physical and political victories we see in the Old Testament. We no longer struggle against flesh and blood. Now we conquer with love and grace.

Psalm 44:8 – 8 We boast in God all day long; we will praise your name forever. Selah

They put their belief into practice. They were going to praise God all day long. In the Temple. Marching out to war. Swinging a sword. They made a plan to praise. Boasting here means to exclaim, to rejoice, to lift up, to praise with sincere and deep thanks.[12]

From this foundation, they now begin their complaint. The bedrock of faith and hope and praise. In fact, before moving on they give a Selah, which we believe was some sort of a directive to pause and consider. From this place we now move to stanza two – the stanza of pain. They turn from what has happened to what is happening.

Psalm 44:9-11 – 9 But you have rejected and humiliated us; you do not march out with our armies. 10 You make us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have taken plunder for themselves. 11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep and scatter us among the nations.

When you compare what God had done and what was now happening, there was a total reversal. Instead of victory, there was defeat. Instead of settling, there was scattering. Instead of provision, they had become plunder. Instead of being shepherded, they were being sacrificed.

The singers are confused. This isn’t just bad luck. They’re convinced that, “God, You did this!” As we move through these verses, Derek Kidner points out that the distress deepens with every line.[13]

Psalm 44:12-16 – 12 You sell your people for nothing; you make no profit from selling them. 13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us. 14 You make us a joke among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 15 My disgrace is before me all day long, and shame has covered my face, 16 because of the taunts of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy and avenger.

Where is the favor? Where is the delight? It seems like God was so disgusted with His people that He was willing to sell them at a loss!

As good theologians, this is the part where we say, “Well, it must be because of something they did. After all, lots of judgments in the Old Testament were punishment for sin.” It’s true, God would, at times, use other nations to discipline His people. But we need to be careful. Sometimes in the Bible, “good” theologians come upon a scene of suffering and conclude it must be the victim’s fault, but they turn out to be wrong. Think of Job’s friends. Think of the blind man in John 9. The disciples asked the Lord, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” Jesus said, “Neither!”

And that’s what the next stanza is all about. The protest. The sons of Korah present their case that while they aren’t perfect, they had done nothing to deserve this present suffering.

Psalm 44:17-21 – 17 All this has happened to us, but we have not forgotten you or betrayed your covenant. 18 Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from your path. 19 But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals and have covered us with deepest darkness. 20 If we had forgotten the name of our God and spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21 wouldn’t God have found this out, since he knows the secrets of the heart?

The truth is: Sometimes you will suffer when you haven’t done anything wrong. Some pain, some defeat, some mistreatment. Look at the Apostle Paul. Look at the children of Israel when they were enslaved in Egypt. God had sent them to Egypt. They didn’t disobey Him. Yet they were oppressed.

This world is diseased with sin. It touches every corner of the planet, every aspect of the human experience. God is going to fix the problem, but meanwhile you will suffer unfairly at some point.

Now, sometimes we suffer because of the choices we make, either individually or nationally. Joshua, at the end of his life, said, “Hey, you guys have got to get rid of your foreign idols and turn your hearts to the Lord.” The people wouldn’t do it, and what followed was the time of the Judges.

But the sons of Korah invite God to investigate them in verse 21. “God, come look! Audit our hearts and lives!” They still were loyal to Him even when it seemed like they had been abandoned.[14] “Our hearts have not turned back!” Their circumstances were terrible, but remember the bedrock: The foundation of their song and their lives was their faith in a true and mighty God – their trust that He would not ultimately fail them.

Psalm 44:22 – 22 Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

For context – their suffering wasn’t just a hostile work environment or unfair treatment. People were actually being butchered. That doesn’t mean our less-extreme sufferings don’t matter – they do –  but the severity of their suffering makes the toughness of their faith all the more significant.

As they grapple with why all this is happening, the sons of Korah accidentally stumble on an answer that was new to Old Testament believers. Gerald Wilson writes, “In this context of feeling abandoned and rejected by God for no apparent reason…the community of faith makes an amazing step of understanding – not complete understanding…but understanding that shapes their will to commit themselves in a new and painful way: ‘For your sake we face death all day long.”[15]

Paul famously quoted this verse in Romans saying this was the plight of Christians. His conclusion was not that God had failed us, but that despite suffering, God’s love conquers. And we conquer through the love of Christ. Some suffering is a result of the fact that God loves us and we love Him.

Derek Kidner writes, “[Psalm 44] implies the revolutionary thought that suffering may be a battle-scar rather than a punishment; the price of loyalty in a world which is at war with God.”[16]

Now, I tend to think of life as all Jericho or all Ai. Jericho, the walls just come down, God’s people go in and win easily. At Ai there’s defeat, but oh, we know why! There was sin in the camp. Ok, we take care of that, now it’s all Jericho from here on out. But what about the fight at Gibeon? So much work. A protracted battle that took longer than they had daylight for. And that was them fighting someone else’s battle. And then there was the rest of the land to conquer and settle. The Christian life is lived on the battlefield. In this world we will have suffering. But be of good cheer. Be courageous. Our God and King, Christ Jesus has conquered the world.[17] Victory is coming.

The sons of Korah are convinced that they are suffering unjustly, that God Himself is responsible, that He should be helping them and He’s not, but still they go to Him for relief. This is the musical version of Job’s famous line, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

So, after a foundation of praise, and then building upward the levels of pain and protest, they’re ready to stand at the top and bring their petition to the Lord, still believing God truly loves them.

Psalm 44:23-24 – 23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping? Get up! Don’t reject us forever! 24 Why do you hide and forget our affliction and oppression?

Verse 23 is what the high priest Yohanan couldn’t accept. He said, “God neither slumbers nor sleeps.” Of course, that is true. God does not sleep…except when He does.

In Mark 4, Jesus and His disciples get into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. A great storm crashed upon them and the boat was being swamped while Jesus slept. What did those men do? They woke Him up and said, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”[18] Very Psalm 44.

Had God abandoned them? They felt like He was asleep on the job. And we feel that way, too sometimes. God welcomes us to call out to Him in those moments.

The sons of Korah are bold. In some sense, they may even step over a line. Then we remember that God the Holy Spirit put His stamp of approval on this song. Psalm 44 is a gift from God to us to use.

Are you in a storm of some kind? Do you feel like Christ has abandoned you? It’s ok if you do. But now remember He is with you. He does care. He is working in your life. Fear is not the answer. Walking away from Him is not the answer. Lashing out is not the answer. Holding to your faith is.

Psalm 44:25-26 – 25 For we have sunk down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. 26 Rise up! Help us! Redeem us because of your faithful love.

The psalm ends without resolution or relief. As the melody comes to a close, the singers are still crushed in the dirt. There is no response from heaven. But look at the last phrase.

As Paul McCartney sang the refrain of Let It Be for the first time, one article reports that John Lennon sat grimacing. He hated it. Wanted it over. Wanted it done.

The sons of Korah end their song not with a grimace but with confidence – the same hope they had at the start. Their hearts are full of faith in God’s hesed love. A love of loyal tenderness and action. They still trusted that God was a Redeemer – that it was His delight to help His people.

They say, “Lord, we know You love us! We know You’re not done! Come and work in us as You have before.” Love gets the last word.

This was also Paul’s conclusion when he applied this psalm to himself and all suffering Christians.

Romans 8:35-39 – 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Are you suffering today? Maybe it’s because of choices you’ve made. Maybe it’s because of persecution of some form. Maybe you really can’t make sense of why it’s happening. The words of wisdom this maskil has for you are this: God hears your prayer. He has great power and plans for your life. Your suffering will not ultimately end in defeat, thought it may end in physical death. But God’s hesed love is the last word. A faithful love. A loyal love. A love that cannot lose. A love you cannot be separated from if you belong to Jesus Christ. Cling to Christ, even if the world is crashing down.

Two questions now present themselves to us: First, do you belong to Jesus Christ? Are you one of His people? Are you safe in His love? You can be, even today. He has invited you into relationship.

Second, if you’re here and you’re suffering, the Lord knows. But we can all put our circumstances in perspective. That’s certainly what the sons of Korah were trying to do. “God, here’s what You’ve done, here are Your promises, here’s what You’ve called me to, but here’s what we’re experiencing.” They were struggling with understanding and perspective.

When it’s not our suffering, it’s easy to put it in perspective, right? The fiery furnace? What a great situation! …Unless you’re the one in the flames! David in the cave about to be killed? AMAZING! Look at how God works! Paul bobbing up and down in the sea! WOW! What a testimony of God’s faithful goodness.

But my circumstances? Send an overwatch! Get me a chopper out of this battlefield! God, this has to STOP! Maybe. Maybe God wants to deliver you. Maybe He wants us to endure. Maybe someday our suffering will be seen a moment of honor or refining or a chance for the Lord to do a new work in us the way He so loves to.

None of us want to suffer, especially when it’s not our fault. But in this world we have trouble of all sorts. God doesn’t ignore it. And He doesn’t demand we pretend like it isn’t happening or it doesn’t hurt. He gives us songs like this to pray and sing to Him to remind ourselves of the truth.

And, as we close, we can see one last image. There are the sons of Korah, singing loudly from the top of their ziggurat. Suffering. Taking painful shrapnel. They said, “We’re going to praise God all day long.” Three times we see that phrase, “all day long.” They said, “we’re being killed all day long. When we’re not dying, we’re being disgraced to everyone around us all day long. But we know God is still God and so we will praise You all day long.”

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/beatles-song-john-lennon-hated-passion/
↑2 C. Hassell Bullock   Psalms, Volume 1: Psalms 1-72
↑3 The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
↑4 Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, David Brown   Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
↑5, ↑14 EBC
↑6 J.J. Stewart Perowne   Commentary On The Psalms
↑7 Arno Gaebelein   The Psalms: An Exposition
↑8 Theological Wordbook Of The Old Testament
↑9 Glenn Paauw   Why We Need a Literary Bible
↑10 Numbers 26:9-11
↑11 1 Chronicles 12:1-6
↑12 TWOT
↑13 Derek Kidner   Psalms 1-72
↑15 Gerald Wilson   The NIV Application Commentary: Psalms, Volume 1
↑16 Kidner
↑17 John 16:33
↑18 Mark 4:35-41

The Fantastic Fore-head (Ezekiel 3:1-21)

August 25, 2024

I’ve always been a skeptic when it comes to the head-butt as a fighting technique.

Seems it would hurt me as much as it would my opponent.

Turns out that’s not true – not if you perform the head-butt properly. Michael Rayburn, in a column for Police Magazine, wrote, “One only need look back at soccer’s World Cup series of 2006 and the devastating head butt delivered by French player Zinedine Zidane to Italy’s Marco Materazzi to realize how effective this tactic really is.” He head-butted him in the chest and Materazzi went down hard.[1] He might still be down!

Don’t rock back and broadcast your head butt. Instead, compress and launch. Use the crown of your head and go for the bridge of the nose.

Hands down the best ever head-butter has got to be the prophet Ezekiel.

He was given a divine advantage. The LORD said to him, “Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead…” (3:8-9).

Ezekiel would butt heads with Israelites who were “impudent [brazen] and hard-hearted” (v7). They would “not listen to [Ezekiel], because they [would] not listen to [the LORD]” (v7).

Are the majority today listening to the Lord? They’re not listening to us, either. Brazen & hard-hearted would be an understatement.

We need to be more hard-headed…Hard-headed overcomes hard-hearted

I’ll organize my comments around two points:

#1 You Are A Hard-Headed Watchman

Who Hears & Receives God’s Word

#2 You Are A Hard-Headed Watchman

Who Hears & Repeats God’s Word

**********

#1 You Are A Hard-Headed Watchman

Who Hears & Receives God’s Word

(v1-15)

Before there was Logan, there was Perseus.

He was tasked with killing Medusa. One of the divine gifts he was given to kill her was an adamantine sword. It was made from a substance known as adamant. In modern comics, it’s the stuff that they added to Logan to make him Wolverine. Only they call it adamantium. I guess that makes Ezekiel the first X-Man. He was spiritually infused with adamant to perform his prophetic tasks.

Ezk 3:1  Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

Ezk 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

Ezk 3:3  And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.

Three of Godʼs prophets were commanded to eat Godʼs Word – Jeremiah, John, & Ezekiel. I am definitely in the minority, but I like to think they really ate the scrolls. If that’s a little too literal, I can live with it being a metaphor for our being fortified in the inner man by God’s Word.

H.A. Ironside is a Bible commentator you want to read. He has an interesting take on this. He says the phrasing indicates that Ezekiel took in the portion but didnʼt swallow at first. Ezekiel chewed on it.

There is value in reading large portions of Scripture, and in reading through the entire Bible in a period of time. Do not neglect waiting on the Lord over a shorter passage for Him to reveal its treasures to you. Read it over & over… Pray before, during, and after… Jot down notes… Consult a Bible reference book, like a Bible dictionary, for things you need defined.  Only then reach for a commentary.[2]

Ezk 3:4  Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.

Ezk 3:5  For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel,

Ezk 3:6  not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

Ezk 3:7  But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted.

Ezekiel is in exile, having been forcibly removed from Judah during the second siege by the invading Babylonians. The LORD has come to him in a whirlwind on His throne-chariot, borne by four mighty Cherubim. He is being ‘called’ – drafted – for his ministry among the captives.

How many times does the LORD say “the house of Israel?” Four. The title refers to the unified nation composed of the 12 tribes. After King Solomon died, the nation of Israel split in two. The Northern Kingdom was called Israel, and the Southern Kingdom was called Judah. The Northern Kingdom was conquered and its tribes dispersed about 200 years before Ezekiel prophesied to Judah.

In his conspicuous usage of “house of Israel,” Ezekiel is putting us on notice that there are no lost tribes. The LORD would regather all Jews from every tribe back home.

He did it, by the way; or at least it has begun.

Ezekiel would have a language barrier among his own people. We see this in our families & places of business. Go on a mission trip, and even with the language barrier you have greater success than you do at Thanksgiving.

Why send Ezekiel when the LORD could foresee their continued hardness? The LORD was playing the long game. Subsequent generations would see Him striving with their ancestors, out of love. His love manifests in giving us His light in order that we might receive His life.

Ezk 3:8  Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads.

Ezk 3:9  Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

This reads like a superhero origins story. What do we want to call him? Ironhead… Skull Crusher… Steel Brow… Head Strong?

Ezk 3:10  Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.

Ezk 3:11  And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

It’s time we zero-in on what we mean by hardheaded. It involves hearing, receiving, and speaking.

“Hear with your ears” sounds a lot like “he who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says.”  We sometimes describe people as having an ‘ear’ for music. Having “an ear for something” suggests a heightened auditory perception or sensitivity.

There are over 120 million radio receivers in cars now. It’s a clunky illustration, but God the Holy Spirit indwelling you is a receiver for God’s Word, transmitting it to our hearts.

“Speaking” includes more than words. It is words and actions that reveal our affections and worldview.  Your worldview is the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual filter you use to experience, interpret, and respond to reality. Possessing a Biblical worldview implies that your ideas about all aspects of life and eternity derive from Scriptural principles and commands.

Hardheaded believers are tuned-in to God’s Word by the indwelling Holy Spirit. It sets the dial to a Christian worldview that doesn’t back-down from secular criticism. We have an answer for every man. We are in that way hard-heads… But tenderhearted.

Ezk 3:12  Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!”

Ezk 3:13  I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise.

The ISV and other translations read, “Then the Spirit lifted me up and I heard a great earthquake behind me and the glory of the LORD arose from his place.” The LORD’s chariot is take-your-muffler-off loud.

Ezk 3:14  So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

Ezekiel experiences a horizontal ‘rapture’ from one place to another. This was apparently quite common in the Old Testament among prophets. There are several passages that nonchalantly mention Elijah was a frequent flyer.

In the NT, Philip baptizes the Ethiopian official, and “the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away… [and] Philip was found at Azotus” (Acts 8:39-40).

The Word of the LORD can be described as “bitter” in that it reveals many hard truths about life, death, and life after death.

John Gill commented, “In the heat of my spirit [means] ‘in the indignation of my spirit;’ his spirit was hot and angry, he was froward and unwilling to go on the errand, to prophesy sad and dismal things to his people.”

Ezk 3:15  Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

He wasn’t commiserating with them in their distress. “Appalled” is a better word than “astonished.” As we progress we will see the prideful, unrepentant attitude of the exiles.

I want to be described as a believer who ‘has an ear’ for God the Holy Spirit. I began in the Spirit; I want to continue with Him.

Don’t start Google-ing for “how to have an ear to hear.” You’ll discover thousands of websites & blogs, each with their own 3 or 5 or 10 steps.

We recommend immersion.

‘Immersion’ in language learning is a method where you learn a language by being surrounded by it in everyday situations, using it constantly to speak, listen, read, and write. You might move in with a family that speaks only the language you want to learn. You might even move to another country.

I don’t know what immersion in the Holy Spirit looks like for you. It will involve these four things: Prayer… Bible study… Fellowship in a local Church… Telling others about Jesus.[3]

Immerse yourself in those things and over the course of your time on Earth, and you will develop your “ear to what the Spirit says.”

**********

#2 You Are A Hard-Headed Watchman

Who Hears & Repeats God’s Word

(v16-21)

Nothing mysterious about a “watchman.” He attentively looks out from his tower and sees to the safety of the people.

Ezk 3:16  Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 3:17  “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:

Ezekiel showed-up suddenly. He uttered not a word for a full week. It’s an appropriate prequel to his often odd ministry.

Ezk 3:18  When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

Ezk 3:19  Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

Ezk 3:20  “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.

Ezk 3:21  Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”

Among the exiles were wicked & righteous individuals. We would say, unbelievers & believers:

  1. The unbelievers go on in their sin despite God warning them.
  2. The believers are tried and proven through trials, here called “stumbling blocks,” to exhibit their love for the LORD. (Think Job).

Upon first reading, there seems to be an urgency for Ezekiel to act as their watchman.

Urgency is not one of the lessons here.

  1. First, we would note that Ezekiel said absolutely nothing for seven days.
  2. Second, we are going to see that for the next two years his ministry will take place at his home. He only ministers to people who come to him.

While taking nothing away from the urgency of sharing God’s Word, we don’t need to be whipped up into a frenzy by something God is not telling Ezekiel to do.

Chuck Missler’s take on this – Ezekiel needs to be faithful to his calling. If that sounds watered-down, faithfulness is much harder than you think.

We are understandably concerned about the LORD telling Ezekiel if he fails in sharing God’s Word that “his blood I will require at your hand.”

There is a legal principle here that we don’t recognize, but a Jew would.

The Law of God deals with “blood-guiltiness.”

Blood-guilt is the accountability one bears for causing the death of another person, whether directly (murder) or indirectly (manslaughter). The one who sheds blood is held responsible and is considered guilty before God and the community.

Capital punishment was required for intentional murder. Fleeing to a city of refuge offered a merciful solution for manslaughter. A trial would be held, and if the death was ruled accidental, the perpetrator was not executed, but remained in exile in a city of refuge until the current High Priest died.

Ezekiel had not begun his ministry. This is still part of his calling. The LORD, therefore, was telling Ezekiel that his ministry of sharing the Word was a matter of life & death. He would be stained with blood-guiltiness should he refuse or later reject his calling.

Remember from verse fourteen that, “his spirit was hot and angry, he was froward and unwilling to go on the errand, to prophesy sad and dismal things to his people.” The LORD wasn’t giving Ezekiel a choice to volunteer. If Ezekiel refused, he would be considered a murderer or a man-slayer.

God can bring the hammer down on His prophets when He calls upon them. Think Jonah!

Our calling & commission is the Great Commission:

“All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on Earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

It is a serious calling. The apostle Paul remarked, “Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel! … I have been entrusted with a stewardship” (First Corinthians 9:16 & 18).

What does the Bible say is required of stewards? To be faithful. You and I are to be faithful in our own callings.

Get this through your head: Be faithful in your calling.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 https://youtu.be/vF4iWIE77Ts?si=kzvY7EWFv5fPT5B4
↑2 Try it this week. Let’s all take this deep dive into Revelation 3:7-13, Jesus’ letter to the church in Philadelphia.
↑3 Acts 2:42

Prophecy Update #797 – ACU OMG

August 25, 2024

We reserve a few minutes to discuss current trends that you’d expect from reading Bible prophecy.

We are futurists. We interpret all unfulfilled prophetic passages as future events that will occur in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.

Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, cashless commerce, the manipulation of human DNA, global government, instantaneous global communication, the exponential growth of human knowledge, and the movement to rebuild a Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. These are predicted in the Bible and unfolding as never before.

We are also warned of a deliberate falling away from the faith.

One of the prophecy sites I use explains it this way:

The “great apostasy” is mentioned in Second Thessalonians 2:3. The KJV calls it the “falling away,” while the NIV and ESV call it “the rebellion.” And that’s what apostasy is: a rebellion, an abandonment of the truth. The End Times will include a wholesale rejection of God’s revelation, a further “falling away” of an already fallen world.

Arizona Christian University conducts an annual worldview survey among incoming freshmen and other respondents. The 2023 study documented significant declines among born-again Christians, indicating that a Biblical worldview does not inform their actions or decisions.

A few of the alarming survey results:

  • Of American adult “born-again Christians,” only 13% hold a consistently Biblical worldview.
  • While 22% of preteens’ parents are born-again Christians, only 8% of the teens themselves hold a Biblical worldview.
  • About 1% of preteens have a Biblical worldview.
  • Of young teens, only 36% believe God exists and is the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator of the universe.
  • 61% either accept Jesus Christ sinned while He was on Earth or believe it’s possible.
  • The majority think there are no absolute, objective truths, or can’t apply a Biblical worldview to their decisions.
  • 21% of born-again teens believe they will live with God in eternity because of a personal decision to trust Christ, but nearly double that believe in reincarnation.
  • Roughly 25% of parents of preteens relegate to their churches the responsibility of instilling a Christian worldview in their children.
  • Only 51% of senior pastors have a consistently Biblical worldview.
  • Less than 30% of associate pastors hold a consistently Biblical viewpoint.
  • Only 13% of teaching pastors hold a Biblical worldview.
  • Of youth pastors, only 12% have a consistently Biblical viewpoint.

The research shows churches, pastors, and youth leaders are increasingly unreliable for truly Biblical discipleship.[1]

We live in the Church Age. It began on the day of Pentecost fifty days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It precedes the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, more commonly known as the seven-year Great Tribulation.

The Tribulation will not begin until something fantastic happens. The Lord said He would return for us, the Church, raising the dead in Christ, then catching up (rapturing) believers who are alive when He comes.

Jesus promised His Church Age believers, “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The resurrection and rapture of the church is always imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=7204

Injustice Fatigue (Ecclesiastes 3:15-4:3)

August 21, 2024

Do you consider yourself a good, law-abiding person? What if I told you that you are part of the injustice around us? Research shows that you commit about three felonies every day?[1]

We may not worry too much about the technicalities of the crimes we commit, but usually we worry about the crimes of others. We’re concerned because of what that means for our society, for our family’s safety, how it impacts our lives.

The Teacher was also concerned about injustice. Actually, he was despondent about it. Remember: he dedicated himself to finding satisfaction and purpose and meaning in life. He’d spent decades in his pursuit – sparing no expense – going to lengths none of us could ever dream.

After a long process, he came to a tentative conclusion: The best thing you can do is accept life as it is and enjoy your days, because this is God’s gift to you. Be willing to receive whatever He’s written for you and try to keep the less desirable aspects of life in perspective, knowing God has a master plan. It seems that the Teacher has finally discovered the solution to this incredibly complex and important equation and so for the first time in decades, he’s able to sleep peacefully.

But in the middle of the night he jolts awake. He realizes a flaw in his solution. There is still sand in the gears: Injustice. If God is sovereign and if He has a plan for our lives, then why oh why would He allow humans to rebel against Him and carry out wicked injustice against innocent people?

The Teacher’s pursuit has again derailed. Though he has acknowledged God, he still does so from afar. But his distance from God leaves the Teacher in the wasteland of the secular human experience. Looking around, he is frustrated by what he sees. Death. Injustice. Oppression.

The final part of verse 15 is transitional, introducing the rest of the verses we’re looking at tonight.[2]

Ecclesiastes 3:15b – However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.

Your version may have much different rendering of that sentence. The New King James says, “God requires an account of what is past.” The ESV says, “God seeks what has been driven away.” The NLT says, “God makes the same things happen over and over.”

Scholars are open with the fact that the words are very hard to translate. The idea the Teacher is trying to get across is that over all that follows there is a transcendent truth: that God is watching, accounting, advocating, and overruling. It’s important that we keep that in the back of our minds, particularly as we face the shocking statements made later on in our text.

This overarching truth reminds us that your life is not just about your enjoyment or your personal satisfaction or you making a mark on history. There is an eternal standard set by God Himself and He is keeping track of whether you meet His standard or not.

The problem is: None of us meet that standard. None of us are righteous. There’s injustice all over the place, even in the halls of justice!

Ecclesiastes 3:16 – 16 I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

In our last passage, for a brief moment the Teacher widened his scope to include a glimpse of heaven. But now we’re back under the sun. He is speaking from a purely human perspective of life on earth from the mind of a person trying to live apart from God.

But he has a point. How long do we wait for certain rulings to be overturned? How often do we hear people talking about how the justice department being weaponized? Right now, only 25% of Americans say they have confidence in the Supreme Court.[3]

Human wickedness is a big problem because it impacts every aspect of our society. Sometimes it’s not even just the outright, purposeful evil. On top of that, sin has so debased our minds and systems that we get things wrong even when we don’t mean to.

For example: In 1906, the government passed the Meat Inspection Act. From 1906 until the 1990’s, the government mandated what was known as poke-and-sniff inspection. They would have all these hunks of meat, assembly line style, and they had metal skewers. They would pass the raw meat to an inspector, he would jab the meat, then sniff it. If it smelled fine, the meat must be fine. They would do that over and over. The problem? They didn’t wash the skewers! Infected meat would often pass inspection because it wasn’t smelly enough and then countless portions of clean meat became contaminated.[4] The authority that was supposed to bring safety instead brought death because humans systems have been corrupted by sin. Wickedness prevails.

Ecclesiastes 3:17 – 17 I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

God is a Judge and He will overrule the wicked. Unfortunately, that might not happen until the end of time. That can be a frustrating answer. It can feel like a cop out. But it isn’t. God will repay.

Maybe a financial illustration can give us some perspective: We understand the benefit of short-term savings and long-term savings. In the short term, we have some cash to work with right now, which is great. But it’s the long-term savings that grows and grows into a much larger return.

The problem of pain, of injustice, is one of the biggest obstacles in many people’s minds to trusting God. The truth is that He is not slack concerning His promises. He won’t forget to judge. There is no statute of limitations in God’s courtroom. The wicked won’t walk free just because it happened a long time ago. He keeps a record and the debt will come due.

Before we leave verse 17, it would be a mistake if we didn’t stop and ask, “What is the difference between the righteous and the wicked?” That seems to be a very important question. In chapter 7 the Teacher will say (and the Apostle Paul agrees) that there is no one on earth who is righteous and never sins.[5] So we’ve got ourselves a serious problem in heaven’s court. Judgment is coming.

What are you going to do about that problem? As I said, all of us technically commit about 3 felonies a day. What if you knew that at the end of the week you were going to be hauled into court? How would you prepare? What attorney would you hire? What would your defense be?

Ecclesiastes 3:18 – 18 I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

In these next verses, the Teacher is going to say some shocking things. But we need to remember the scope of his experiments. He’s talking about under the sun. He’s talking from the perspective of a person who is trying to use his own know-how, his own ability, human wisdom, to find meaning in life. He’s speaking as someone who thinks he can solve the problems himself.

This is the natural state of the human heart ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Humans turned their backs on God, they did not think it was worthwhile to acknowledge God.[6] Instead, humans appeal to humanity for salvation. That’s what the Tower of Babel was all about. That’s what every human religion is about. We want to find our own way out of death and guilt.

Now, God could put a stop to our rebellion. In some cases, He does. Babel. Nebuchadnezzar. Herod Agrippa. But generally God allows humans to rebel. Here the Teacher tells us why: God allows it so that the fallen nature of humanity can be exposed for what it is.[7] It’s beastly.

In some ways humans are worse than animals. The level of squalor we’re willing to live in.[8] The way we destroy ourselves with addictions and stubbornness and evil desires.

God allows humans to go their own way so that the difference between our way and His way is clear and so we can have an informed choice of which way we want to go. It’s Romans 1! The Gospel reveals the righteousness of God, man’s systems reveal the “righteousness” of humanity.

In fact, some scholars translate this verse this way, “God is making it clear to them…that…by themselves they are animals.”[9] We are not gods. We are not heroes. We aren’t going to build our way out of death. On this level, we’re just like the animals.

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 – 19 For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. 20 All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

Did your eyebrows go up? The Teacher is not saying humans don’t have an immortal soul. He’ll say specifically that our spirits return to God after death in chapter 12.[10] The word he uses for breath here isn’t the one that refers to the soul.[11] He’s talking about breath in the way that humans and animals are alive in contrast to, say, plants. We have breath – we have an animated life.

The paradox is that humans long for eternal things but we die just like dogs. Ray Stedman said, “From a human standpoint, a dead man and a dead dog look as if the same thing happened to both of them.”[12] But humans don’t think like dogs and dogs don’t think like humans. Humans want to come out of the grave. God put eternity in our hearts. So what are we to do about death?

The Old Testament lays out plainly that the only way to escape Sheol – the only way out of the grave – is if you are redeemed.[13] But Who will save us? We cannot buy ourselves out. We cannot buy our loved ones out. All the believers of the Old Testament died waiting for the Redeemer to arrive.

As New Testament Christians who have the rest of God’s revelation, we know the answer. The Redeemer came. He paid the price. He came out of the grave. Now He offers to buy us back.

This is one reason why the reliability of the Scriptures is so important, by the way. We’re talking about how to get out of the grave – the most important issue imaginable. Islam offers a way. Hinduism offers a way. Joseph Smith offers a way. The Bible offers a way. Which book is reliable? Which book is proven? Which book is full of words that are actually from God the Creator?

Ecclesiastes 3:21 – 21 Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth?

The Teacher didn’t know – not for sure. Because you can’t know this answer by observation. Or at least you couldn’t know it…until Christ came out of the grave! Now we know. Now it’s proven.

Did you know that in every sermon in the book of Acts the resurrection is mentioned?[14] The resurrection is our hope. It’s the answer. It is the ultimate proof that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer.

There are a lot of beliefs about the afterlife. Which ones are true? The ones found in the Word of God which has been proven through the centuries and sealed with the indisputable stamp of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Now we know. The question is, will you believe and trust?

Ecclesiastes 3:22 – 22 I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

The Teacher drives home this point again: We can’t know on our own, through observation or interviews or study. The truth of what happens after we die must be revealed to us. And it has been revealed by a loving and merciful God Who wants us to know the truth.

The reliability of the Bible matters. It matters because it tells us Who God is and who we are and what happens next. We can’t surrender when it comes to the reliability of the Bible, the infallibility of Scripture, inerrancy. Through God’s word we are enabled to see.

Ecclesiastes 4:1 – Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.

As the Teacher kept investigating, he realized this wasn’t just a problem with a couple of random, corrupt judges. Oppression and injustice are the rule under the sun, not the exception. This leads him into a dark depression. One commentator calls this the saddest part of the whole book.[15]

He’s heartbroken not only because of the suffering of the weak, but because there’s no one to comfort them. He mentions it twice. It begs the question: Why didn’t he comfort them? After all, he was rich, powerful, and wise.

But what was his life about? For all these years, his life had been about his enjoyment. His satisfaction. His greatness. His renown. In chapter 2 he admitted that he had gathered servants and slaves and concubines for his own use. He had done a lot of oppressing!

We think of “oppression” as something dictators do. But in the Bible, oppression involves “cheating your neighbor of something…defrauding him…abuse of power” of any kind.[16] Humans are out for self and so we can’t help but wrong others. That is the nature of our human nature.

One application we can make from this verse is very simple, but so hard for us to hold onto: Don’t put your hope in the powers that be. Don’t trust human authorities to solve life’s problems. At worst they’ll be tyrants who crush you. At best, they give you poke-and-sniff.

More importantly: Solomon told us to look at the tears of those who are oppressed. Often there’s nothing we can do to ease the suffering of the others, especially today when we’re able to hear about every tragedy taking place all around the world. We look on, helplessly.

What does God do with tears? He counts them. He puts them in His bottle. He plants them so that those who sowed with their tears will reap joy.[17] He wipes them from our faces, making everything sad untrue. Removing every disgrace. One day doing away with sorrow and pain forever.

But the Teacher doesn’t have close communion with this loving God. So, here’s his conclusion:

Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 – 2 So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

Without a relationship with the God of the Bible, without His perspective on life and justice and the ultimate reconciliation of all things, then hopelessness is the only alternative. The Teacher says it would be better to never live at all. The same point is made in Herodotus, Sophocles, Cicero, Buddhism and other world philosophies, by the way.[18]

John Mayer says it in a less despondent but no less hopeless way:

I’m so scared of getting older, I’m only good at being young…
One generation’s length away from fighting life out on my own…
Stop this train, I wanna get off and go home again…
I know I can’t but honestly won’t someone stop this train?

This is the hopelessness of life without Jesus.

Now, as believers, it’s not that we pretend there isn’t sorrow and suffering in life. But we’re the ones who have real life, true meaning, eternal peace.

Asaph, the great Psalmist, saw the same oppression that the Teacher had seen. Asaph was broken hearted about it – frustrated about the way things are. He said, “I’m afflicted all day long.” Here’s how his investigation ended:

Psalm 73:16-17, 22-28 – 16 When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless 17 until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their destiny… 22 I was stupid and didn’t understand; I was an unthinking animal toward you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me up in glory. 25 Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. 27 Those far from you will certainly perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.

Whose perspective do you want to have? The Teacher’s or Asaph’s? Remember the end of verse 15. God is overruling. He is watching and advocating. He is just. He is tender and kind. He is calling to us, trying to show us the way to life. Are you on the way?

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Harvey Silverglate   Three Felonies A Day
↑2 Duane Garrett   The New American Commentary, Volume 14: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song Of Songs
↑3 https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/declining-confidence-in-the-judiciary/
↑4 https://fee.org/articles/when-government-spreads-disease-the-1906-meat-inspection-act/
↑5 Ecclesiastes 7:20
↑6 Romans 1:28
↑7 Derek Kidner   A Time To Mourn And A Time To Dance: The Message Of Ecclesiastes
↑8, ↑15 Kidner
↑9 Michael Eaton   Ecclesiastes: An Introduction And Commentary
↑10 Ecclesiastes 12:7
↑11 Dan Lioy   The Divine Sabotage: An Exegetical And Theological Study Of Ecclesiastes 3
↑12 Ray Stedman   Is This All There Is To Life?
↑13 Psalm 49:14-15
↑14 Adrian Warnock  What Did The Resurrection Do for Us? The Sermons Of Acts
↑16 Iain Provan   The NIV Application Commentary: Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
↑17 Psalm 126:5
↑18 Eaton

Ezekiel 1:25-2:10 – Rebels, Rebels, Your Nation’s A Mess

August 18, 2024

Kevin was understandably devastated.

Cowboy Dan wasn’t coming to his birthday party after all. It was a pre-teen social embarrassment he would likely never recover from. “All the kids are gonna hate me,” he whined. “It’s gonna be just like little league.”

Cowboy Dan didn’t come… But Cowboy Gil did! AKA Steve Martin, he put on a hilarious performance in Parenthood.

Ezekiel got a surprise visit on his 30th birthday!

The LORD came to him on His throne-chariot, in a whirlwind, borne by four magnificent Cherubim.

The LORD brought Ezekiel a gift.

“Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me…” (2:2).

If you are in-Christ, God the Holy Spirit entered you the moment you were born-again. We call it His indwelling – His permanent indwelling.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You  Were Given The Gift of God The Holy Spirit On Your Born-Again Day, and #2 You Were Promised The Gifting(s) Of God The Holy Spirit On Your Born-again Day.

#1 – You  Were Given The Gift of God The Holy Spirit On Your Born-Again Day (1:25-28; 2:1-2)

Think for a moment: What is the best birthday gift you’ve ever received? It pales in comparison to God’s gift to you.

The Holy Spirit is called “the gift of God in several places.”[1] He is given to you, He enters you, when you believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ. And we say, based on biblical texts, His entering you is permanent.

On his 30th birthday, on the very day, the LORD surprised Ezekiel in a whirlwind, borne along on His cherried-out Cherubim chariot.

Ezk 1:25  A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

Ezk 1:26  And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone…

What Ezekiel saw and experienced was the real. The thrones on Earth are the representations of the real that exists in the unseen, spiritual realm. When priests perform their tasks in the earthly Tabernacle & Temple, they “serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5).

If I told you I was looking at a custom car, and I said it had ‘sick flames on the hood’ would you speculate that it was a metaphor for the temporary nature of material things? “Don’t collect cars ‘cause they are only going to burn!” I guess you might if you’d never seen flames painted on a car. Chances are, however, you’d know exactly what I saw.

Ezk 1:26  And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it.

In the OT, when God is represented as a “man,” we say it is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Angels appear to mankind, too. It can be a little confusing because Jesus is sometimes called the Angel of the Lord. When the Person allows or commands worship, you can be certain it is Jesus.

Ezk 1:27  Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.

The presence of God is luminous, radiant. So much so that, in the future city, the New Jerusalem, “the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.”

I learned this week that, in the NT, there are only three nouns that are used to describe God: love, life & light.[2] Everything else is an adjective or an office. Any discussion of God must be subordinate to the understanding that God is love, God is life, God is light.

Ezk 1:28  Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

The rainbow is the sign of God’s promise never to order-up a global flood. In His wrath against sin, God remembers mercy. The same will be true in the future Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Though not directly mentioned here, the 7yrs of tribulation are suggested by the rainbow because the apostle John saw the LORD on His Throne in the Revelation, with a rainbow, just prior to judgment.

Ezekiel “fell on his face.” I was asked recently if the Pentecostal practice of being slain in the Spirit could ever be genuine. Proponents point to people in the Bible who “fell down” before God. Many individuals in the Bible experienced a powerful, overwhelming encounter with God or His angels that caused them to fall or bow down: Abraham, Moses & Aaron, Joshua, Daniel, Balaam, Manoah & Mrs. Manoah, the apostle John, the apostle Paul, and Peter, James & John at the Mount of Transfiguration.

Unless I am mistaken… These ALL “fell on their face” before God. They did not fall backward when someone touched their forehead, and their fall wasn’t broken by the ushers.

The example I found of falling backward is the mob that came to arrest Jesus. He identified Himself as “I AM,” and they fell backwards. No ushers!

Ezk 2:1  And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.”

Ezk 2:2  Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.

God the Holy Spirit did not indwell Ezekiel until this moment. In the Old Testament, there is no specific promise to believers that the Spirit of God would continually dwell in them. If God the Holy Spirit indwelt all OT believers, we wouldn’t need to be told that he entered Ezekiel. And we wouldn’t have any examples of His leaving a person; but we do.

Only after Jesus’ death and resurrection could the Holy Spirit be given permanently.

In fact, the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is part of the New Covenant. The nation of Israel rejected Jesus in His first coming. The nation is under discipline. Israel is not enjoying the New Covenant. We are!

The Church has not replaced Israel, but the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant made with Israel have been extended to the Church.  All believers today have the “law of God written on their hearts,” and all believers know the Lord’s presence in their lives.

#2 – You Were Promised Gifting(s) Of God The Holy Spirit On Your Born-Again Day (2:3-10)

The nation of Judah was made up of rebels without remorse.

“Rebellious,” or “rebelled” appear 7x in these few verses. The LORD also describes them as “transgressed,” “impudent,” and “stubborn.”

Despite their rejection of Him, God would not abandon them.

Ezk 2:3  And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.

“Son of Adam” is the literal translation. In the plural it was a synonym for mankind. Daniel would elevate the title to refer to the Jewish Messiah. Jesus used it of Himself some 80x. He was the son of Adam who was the Messiah.

  • When the LORD called Jeremiah, he tried to beg off, saying he was too young.
  • Isaiah found himself in Heaven and volunteered.
  • Ezekiel needed no time to think or react. He hit the ground running.

Each of us is unique. We are going to practice being Christians differently. It is OK as long as we agree upon the essential doctrines. It’s more than OK; it’s healthy.

Ezk 2:4  For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel was “sent,” but not far away. He stayed put and ministered within the captive community.

The prophets of the Bible mostly shared unpopular messages. They were messages of hope, of truth, of eternity. But in order to unlock those things there needed to be repentance.

Our message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is glorious. But it is mostly unpopular when it is properly preached because it involves, you guessed it, a call for repentance.

“Thus says the Lord God.” A prophet was always under a death sentence. It was a capital crime to speak falsely for God.

Ezk 2:5  As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse – for they are a rebellious house – yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Every person who hears God’s Word has a personal responsibility to accept Him or to reject Him. God the Holy Spirit accompanies the Word in such a way that the sinners heart is able to respond.

I’m sorry, but if mankind does not have free will, God has already determined who will hear and who will refuse. Cornelius Van Til writes, “The moment a Christian theologian admits that anything happens in the whole course of history, whether by devil, or man, or power of nature, without the will of God, that moment the foundations of a Christian theology are shaken.” I might want to believe that… But then I remember God is love, life, and light. He therefore cannot be the cause of evil.

Those who do not have the written Word, never heard the name of Jesus, they have the witness of creation around them, and conscience within them. They are responsible to act upon what they know, not what they don’t know.

Ezk 2:6  “And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel’s ministry would take place in an urban setting. But the spiritual landscape would seem like a desert.

Are you familiar with the phrase mad-dogging? It’s that intense stare that someone full of rage has. Boxers & MMA fighters exhibit it at their weigh-ins.  Ezekiel could expect to be mad dogged!

Ezk 2:7  You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious.

For the third time, the Lord emphasizes personal responsibility. He was also encouraging Ezekiel that the success of his ministry would be measured in faithfulness, not by numbers.

Ezk 2:8  But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house…

Our lives and our ministries need constant evaluation. We often point out that of the seven letters to the seven churches in the book of the revelation only one of them is without correction or reproof. It’s the one to the church that is suffering intense persecution.

  • We do not want to be rebellious like the churches in Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, & Laodicea.
  • We do not want to be rebellious like the church in Corinth.

Ezk 2:8  But you, son of man… open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

The Word of God isn’t for others until it’s become part of you. Ezekiel must ‘digest’ God’s Word.

Do you think he ate it? Absolutely. It is going to be the least weird thing that Ezekiel does as he dramatizes God’s Word.

Ezk 2:9  Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.

Ezk 2:10  Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

The majority of prophetic messages were delivered during times of disobedience, decline, or impending judgment. Makes sense because God truly loves His special nation. He would always go after them, never abandon them, and be faithful to discipline them.

**********

Mary Poppins’ travels with a carpet bag from which she can pull out a seemingly endless number of objects, no matter the size or quantity, that are just right for her need.

God the Holy Spirit is an ocean of resources. I’ll mention a few of His more well-known giftings:

➲ He is involved in your regeneration (your new birth).

➲ He is involved in your baptism into the body of Jesus, in your being sealed, in your being adopted, in your being filled.

➲ The spiritual fruit in your life is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

➲ He is your teacher, guide, and comforter. He intercedes for you. ‘

➲ He is the down payment guaranteeing God’s promises.

➲ God the Holy Spirit gives  you the assurance of salvation.

Jesus in His first coming is described as “being in the form of God, [He] did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

Jesus was fully God and fully man. In His first coming, He set aside the independent use of deity. He lived as a man who was indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He didn’t sometimes take back His deity to answer a question, or to perform a healing. He lived as a Spirit-indwelt human.

A commentator paraphrased Jesus: “The Spirit I’m going to send to you… You’ve seen Him in Me. You’ve seen Him dwelling in My life these past three years. He has been with you in Me. And it’s that very same Spirit who has been with you in Me, on My life, indwelling Me these years, that is the Holy Spirit I’m going to ask the Father to send to you.”

With that in mind, listen to these words of the apostle Paul: “It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, He’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to Himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and He does, as surely as He did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s! (Romans 8:11 MSG).

In the classic SyFy series, Quantum Leap, Sam has ‘jumped’ into the body of a woman who is being abducted. Al, who appears only to him as a hologram, reminds Sam he has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. With that realization, Sam subdues the attackers.

If you are a believer, God, the Holy Spirit permanently entered you. You need to be reminded. Otherwise your flesh will reassert itself and you find yourself walking in that energy rather than by the dynamic power & enabling of God.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Acts 2:38; 8:20; 10:45; First Timothy 4:14; Second Timothy 1:6; Hebrews 6:4.
↑2 So says Ben Witherington

Prophecy Update #796 – Face Finger

August 18, 2024

We reserve a few minutes to discuss current trends that you’d expect from reading Bible prophecy.

We are futurists. We interpret all unfulfilled prophetic passages as future events that will occur in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.

Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, cashless commerce, the manipulation of human DNA, global government, instantaneous global communication, and the exponential growth of human knowledge, and the movement to rebuild a Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. These are predicted in the Bible and unfolding as never before.

Technological advances interest us because the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ predicts global government whose economy and services will be accessed by a personal identifier. This identifier, on the forehead or hand, will be necessary for a citizen to purchase anything, and to participate in society.

Once considered fanciful – that system could be implemented right now.

Just when I thought we had covered everything biometric, I discovered something called UID. It stands for Unique Identity Number and is utilized in India.

It is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by all residents of India, based on their biometrics (10 finger prints, 2 iris prints and photo of face) and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

It is the world’s largest biometric ID system. World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer described it as “the most sophisticated ID program in the world.”

If you receive Social Security and have recently tried to log-in to the website, you’ve discovered that they are requiring you to get either ID.Me or LogIn.gov.

I’m not saying UID or ID.Me or LogIn.gov is the Mark of the Beast. It is amazing that the Bible predicted a forehead/hand system of global commerce, and we have the tech to do it.

We live in the Church Age. It began on the day of Pentecost fifty days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It precedes the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, more commonly known as the seven-year Great Tribulation.

The Tribulation will not begin until something fantastic happens. The Lord said He would return for us, the Church, raising the dead in Christ, then catching up (rapturing) believers who are alive when He comes. He promised His Church Age believers, “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The resurrection and rapture of the church is always imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

Memento Dei (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)

August 14, 2024

Is it a duck or a rabbit? I’m sure we’ve all seen the famous sketch – it’s been around since 1892.[1] There are other puzzling images like it. Is it a goblet or two faces? A young woman in a fantastic hat or an old hag in a shawl? Is the dress blue and black or white and gold?

The Ambassadors is a painting that has puzzled viewers since 1533. When facing the image head on, you see a big blob on the floor between two men. Looking from the side, you see the blob is a skull. Historians believe it is meant to be a “memento mori” – a reminder of your mortality.[2]

Like many philosophers, the Teacher struggled with the illusive nature of human existence. We long for eternity but are trapped in time. We have so much ability but are powerless against the course of life. Is the human condition wonderful or meaningless?

The Teacher’s description of the human experience has become a sort of duck/rabbit illusion to scholars. Some say he’s a total pessimist. Others say he’s an optimist.[3] Some say this chapter lays out the “hopelessness of struggle against an arbitrary God.”[4] Others see a beautiful outworking of a merciful God’s sovereign providence.

How can such different conclusions come from the same sketch? And, as God’s people, what does it mean to live a full life? How do we respond to life’s many experiences? Let’s take a look.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:

This begins the most famous section of Ecclesiastes, but notice that the Teacher changed his regular formula: It’s not “every activity under the sun,” but, “under heaven.” By the end of our text we’ll see that your life isn’t just happening randomly. God is the One running the show. He is sovereignly administrating His master plan all over the earth and specifically in your life.

As he starts to tell us about this plan, the Teacher describes it as appropriate. The word can also be translated as beautiful. It includes every activity, occasion, season, and moment that a human being might experience.[5] Some of the things that follow happen only once, some happen in a regular cycle. Some are desirable, some are very undesirable. Some are individual, some are communal. But they are all on your calendar. They have been appointed to you by God on purpose.

Ecclesiastes 3:2 – 2 a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot;

In the Hebrew, this poem consists of seven paired lines. One commentator writes, “The number seven [is] pointedly chosen because of its traditional association with the sacred.”[6]

The ideas are straight-forward, so I’ll only make a comment or two about certain lines. For example, uprooting here (or your version may say “pluck”) can speak of clearing a field of unwanted plants so that you can then plant a desired crop.[7]

Some of these appointed moments we have agency in, others happen to us. You do not choose the day of your birth, for example. But no matter what happens, the Teacher is suggesting that all of it has a purposeful place in God’s plan. None of it escapes His notice or authority.

Ecclesiastes 3:3 – 3 a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build;

The Teacher isn’t condoning murder. This is capital punishment or justifiable homicide in self-defense.[8] State-sponsored war might be included here as well.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 – 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

The first line refers more to activities you do individually, and the second to things you do in a group. God made us with emotions and made us to group together. God forbid we become a culture that refuses to laugh or cry. Christians should resist our culture’s drift into isolation.

Ecclesiastes 3:5 – 5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;

In warfare, an invading army might cover fields with stones to destroy your ability to grow food.[9] At other times, the community might come together to gather stones to build a wall for defense.

The Teacher is painting with big strokes. Life and death, interpersonal relations, international relations, celebrations and sorrows. Next, he turns to economics.[10]

Ecclesiastes 3:6 – 6 a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away;

Sometimes it’s good to be frugal and sometimes it’s good to toss the trash and buy a replacement. Sometimes we need to let go of something that we think is valuable but is actually going to weigh us down. Think of a ship that must jettison its cargo in order to survive the storm at sea.[11]

Ecclesiastes 3:7 – 7 a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;

In this ancient Jewish culture, a person might express sorrow by tearing the front of their garment. Eventually, the sting of that sorrow would subside and, though the loss may still linger, it was time to sew the tear and carry on in life.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 – 8 a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

Is it ever right to hate? There are things God hates and we are to join Him in that hatred. Romans 12:9 tells us to hate what is evil and cling to what is good.

The poem comes to a close, but unlike the Proverbs, we’re not told what to do. Proverbs gives detailed commands about how to act, when to speak, the way you should eat a meal when you’re in the presence of a king, how to parent, what economic choices to make, on and on.

But here? No commands. No suggestions. We’re simply told, “This is the stuff of life and it’s all going to happen to you at some point that you can’t control and all of it has an appropriate place.”

After reciting his own, the Teacher responds with a rhetorical question:[12]

Ecclesiastes 3:9 – 9 What does the worker gain from his struggles?

His conclusion is, “We are trapped in time and time is filled with all sorts of good and bad stuff, some of it leading to sorrow and death, so what does my life matter? If life just happens, what profit is there in the things I do?”

A man might spend months clearing a plot of land of all the stones, all the weeds, every pebble, hoping to plant crops to feed his family, only to then be drafted to fight in a battle where he is killed and the enemy army comes and covers his field with stones again.

In that case, life is futile, right? The Teacher hasn’t used the term hevel in these verses, but that’s what he’s talking about. It’s the problem he can’t escape. The reality that keeps gnawing at him.

The New Testament confirms what the Teacher is about to reveal: Life isn’t random. God purposefully established the way of things. Even what seems arbitrary is part of a heavenly plan.

Romans 8:20a – 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—

God has subjected this world to futility. Why? Paul reveals why in the verses surrounding Romans 8:20, but let’s see what the Teacher has to say first.

Ecclesiastes 3:10 – 10 I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied.

God occupies Himself by keeping us occupied. Why does God involve Himself in our affairs? The Teacher gives us a revelatory hint like he likes to do. He calls us “the children of Adam.”

That makes us stop and consider why things are the way they are. Sorrow, suffering, and death weren’t supposed to be part of the our experience. But because humans wanted to be like God, because they wanted to depose Him and reign in His place, they brought sin into the world and with it all the consequences we now deal with as a result. So, God responded powerfully.

This is where different views on sovereignty diverge. Some say God’s sovereignty is deterministic, meaning He does all the doing. Every thing that happens is God forcing it to happen. That every person who dies and goes to hell was purposefully, sovereignly created by God for that destiny.

One of the many problems with that point of view is that it totally dismantles the character of God that is revealed in the Bible. That He is love. That He is good. That He is just. That He is merciful.

Rather than God’s sovereignty being a machine that even He is trapped in, we understand that God is sovereign even over His own sovereignty! And the Bible reveals things about how God’s sovereignty works: First, that God has freed the wills of all mankind to give us a genuine choice whether we will accept salvation or reject it. Second, that God’s sovereignty allows for flex in His providential accomplishments. The 40 year wilderness wandering. Esther. Hastening the arrival of the Day of the Lord in 2 Peter 3. How can God be absolutely all-knowing and totally in charge but also allow these sort of free-will choices? He’s sovereign over His sovereignty and He not only allows true, relational interactivity with between us and Him, He desires it.

When Romans 8 spoke of creation being subjected to futility, echoing the sentiments of the Teacher’s writings, here’s what else it says:

Romans 8:19-21 – 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

Life is the way it is because God wants to adopt as many children as possible. Life/death, war/peace, weeping/laughing continues on and on while the Lord brings His plan to fulfillment.

“The Man Upstairs” is the Boss. He is absolute in charge. He is sovereign over all the affairs of this universe. You are at the mercy of His divine will. The good news is that this God is merciful!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – 11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

What a verse! In the first third, we learn that God not only has a specific timing, but that He makes all things beautiful in their time.[13] Now, we cannot always understand the divine beauty of certain moments in our lives – moments of pain or sorrow or loss – but, because God is so sovereign and so powerful, He is able to bring beauty from ashes.

Here’s one example from the New Testament. When Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, He told His disciples He was glad that He wasn’t there to heal Lazarus – it was a good moment for them. Now, it wasn’t lovely that Lazarus died. In fact, Jesus wept at the tomb. But what followed was beautiful and timely and heavenly. God accomplished a good plan through that unique life moment.

Does that mean that God causes all the suffering on earth? He is sovereign after all. No. Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, which then spread to all people.[14] Today, God waits with long-suffering so that more people have an time to be saved. And as He waits, He works all things together for the good. He works with specific purpose. He invades human experience in His effort to rescue us from the futility of a life dominated by sin.

In the second part of verse 11 we read: God has put eternity in our hearts. We are hard-wired to know there is more to life. We know that there’s something beyond our galaxy, something beyond the grave, something supernatural that calls out to our hearts.

But, we have a problem, and it’s the third part of verse 11: No one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

Is this a cruel joke God is playing on us? Michael Eaton writes, “We have a capacity for eternal things, [but] this inward ‘eternity’ has a negative result…man has found nothing in the finite, earthly realm which can satisfy the human heart.”[15]

We were meant to have full, unbroken communion with God Himself. But sin has ruined our understanding. Now we are trapped in time, hounded by death, and our relationship with God has been broken. We can’t comprehend His thoughts and His ways, not in full, even when we want to.

Even when we are born again and receive the mind of Christ, we still can’t fully understand Him. Paul said, “Right now, we see in part and know in part. One day, we’ll finally know everything.”[16] That’s why we still can’t grasp how sovereignty and free-will can work together. Which is why we should always remember the character of God, the loving and merciful nature of God. What kind of Person is God? That will help us fill in the gaps we have in our understanding.

Ecclesiastes 3:12 – 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

What is “the good life?” In our last passage, the Teacher told us to enjoy life. Now he qualifies it by saying, “enjoy the good life.” The problem is, he’s going to say in chapter 7 that there is no one righteous on the earth, no one who does good. Another truth echoed in Romans.

The good life, according to the Teacher and confirmed in the New Testament, is not the most comfortable life or the wealthiest life or the most exotic life. It is a life connected with God, surrendered to His will, and understanding of His purposes.

Paul explained to the Ephesians that our lives are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that we’re meant to do.[17] And so living the good life is walking with God with an active faith. That is the best life you could possibly have – a life that will be full of meaning and joy.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 – 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

God not only has eternal purposes for you, He also wants your day-to-day to be full of satisfaction. He doesn’t consider small parts of life unimportant. He wants each day to be occupied with His joy.

Of course not every instance of life is desirable. There’s going to be tearing, sorrow – even death. But God’s grace and His joy are always ours to experience because they are gifts we’ve been given.

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15a – 14 I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him. 15 Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is.

God is working all over the earth to get your attention so that you can discover what He has done for you, how He loves you, the plans He’s made for you, and what He wants to do with your life. When we try to live life outside of a personal relationship with God, we miss the point. What’s left is the futility of existence resulting from sin. If you try to live a life without a personal relationship with the God Who gave you life and ordains your life, you’ll only end up frustrated and aimless.

God works so that we will be in awe of Him – so that we will fear Him. Walter Kaiser writes, “The fear of God appears in Ecclesiastes at seven crucial points. This fear is not an attitude of terror. It is instead a commitment of the total being to trust and believe the living God.”[18]

God uses His sovereign power to draw you to Himself so that you can discover He is the Author of your life, He is the Savior of your soul, He is the answer to your longing, He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift. He is the source of real living. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Fearing God changes everything. It supplies the necessary context. It gives us a framework so that we can not only appreciate the real value of the things that happen to us, but also so that we can understand what the appropriate actions are for us to take as we respond to times and seasons.

Fearing God helps us navigate all those things we read about in the first 8 verses. Is someone near me weeping? Now I know I should weep with them with compassion and support. Is it time for me to love or time for me to hate? Well, as I embrace the Word of God, my priorities and affections get ordered according to His principles. Right and wrong, profitable and unprofitable become clear.

But it’s not always cut and dry. Should I speak or should I be silent? It depends on the moment. It depends on what God might be ordaining for your life in that moment. You don’t have to post every thought you have on social media just because you can.

Should I embrace or refrain from embracing? Those can be hard choices to make. As we commune with the Lord He will help us in those less obvious situations. He has a good work for you to walk in and He will lead you both in the big moments and the little moments of life.

Research shows that when people look at that duck/rabbit drawing, their immediate perception will change depending on the time of year. [19] There are some other mental factors that come into play.

There were a lot of times when the Teacher looked at life but saw death. The images around him were a memento mori because he so often forgot to include God in his thoughts – in the pursuit of his life.

When we remember God, remember that He is the Giver of life and that He gives it on purpose, for a reason, then our experiences come into focus. Our daily lives can be a memento Dei.

God has a sovereign plan that He is accomplishing. It’s a beautiful plan and we have a part to play in it. Our part is not arbitrary, it’s not random. It’s tailor made for God’s glory, our satisfaction, and the benefit of those around us.

The best life we can live is to play the part the Lord has written for us. Though not always easy, it is full of beauty, joy, dignity, and purpose. As you face the moments ahead, remember your God in heaven Who gave you your life on purpose, has appointed your life with many moments, and intends to make a forever difference out of the times and seasons He brings to you.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 https://www.businessinsider.com/optical-illusions-popular-famous-history-2019-6
↑2 ibid.
↑3 Michael Eaton   Ecclesiastes: An Introduction And Commentary
↑4 Abingdon Bible Commentary
↑5 Philip Ryken   Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters
↑6 Robert Alter   The Hebrew Bible: A Translation With Commentary
↑7 Douglas Miller   Ecclesiastes
↑8 James Smith   The Wisdom Literature And Psalms
↑9 John Goldingay   Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, And Song Of Songs For Everyone
↑10 Iain Provan   The NIV Application Commentary: Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
↑11 Smith
↑12 Ronald Murphy   Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 23: Ecclesiastes
↑13 Walter Kaiser   Ecclesiastes: Total Life
↑14 Romans 5:12
↑15 Eaton
↑16 1 Corinthians 13:9-12
↑17 Ephesians 2:10
↑18 Kaiser
↑19 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/duck-and-rabbit-illusion-b1821663.html

Creature Features (Ezekiel 1:4-24)

August 11, 2024

The Batmobile is just the most well-known.

There are additionally the Bat-Cycle, the Batwing, the Bat-Boat, the Bat-Sub, the Bat-Ski, the Bat-Glider, the Bat-Truck, the Bat-Shuttle, the Bat-Trike, the Bat-Copter, and the Bat-Train.

There may be cooler comic rides, but the Batman has the deepest inventory.

The LORD has a sweet ride!

  • Its “wheels” are mentioned 10x.
  • Its “rims” are mentioned 2x.

It is conveyed by four supernatural chauffeurs called “living creatures.” Further on in the book, Ezekiel says, “I knew they were Cherubim” (10:20).

He knew because the Cherubim were associated with the presence of God in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem. There were carved images of them, out of gold and olive wood; as well as images embroidered on curtains; and carvings.

The nation of Judah was a vassal of Babylon. No worries, thought the Jews. God’s presence was in Solomon’s Temple. Certainly God would not allow Babylon to prevail.

They were wrong to trust in the Temple; God allowed it to be leveled.

Before the Temple was destroyed, God would remove His presence from the Temple. Ezekiel was relocated in a refugee camp in a Babylonian city called Tel Abib, by the River Kebar. He would be God’s prophet to break the awful news to the captives in Babylon that God had left the building!

Aren’t you glad that can’t happen today? Not so fast! Jesus wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus warning them that He was about to “remove [their] lampstand from its place – unless [they] repent” (Revelation 2:5).

I’ll organize my comments around the two subjects we encounter: #1 @therealCherubim, and #2 @therealChariot.

#1 – @therealCherubim (v4-14)

Angels… or Aliens?

UFOlogists claim that Ezekiel was an ignorant man using primitive language to describe his encounters with extraterrestrial visitors, “Ancient Astronauts.”

  • Ezekiel was no ignorant man. He was God’s prophet.
  • His language is far from being primitive; it is marvelous.

Besides, we referenced earlier that he said he knew that were Cherubim – not Chewbacca.

We choose aliens over angels because mankind does not like to retain God in our knowledge. Weʼd rather believe some fantastic tale than the truth that we were created by, and then visited by, the loving and merciful and forgiving God of the Bible. We can fight ET, and win, on account of our indomitable human, Captain Kirk-like, spirit, that proclaims, “Never say die, never surrender.” If there really is a God then we need to face the fact we are sinners in need of His saving and our submission.

Ezk 1:4  Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Whirlwind Ezekiel, magnitude off the charts, was bearing down on the man who would never be priest. The storm was supernatural, in the unseen realm. It was geo-political, involving God’s plan for the ages, for Israel and the nations.

Ezk 1:5  Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.

Ezk 1:6  Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.

Ezk 1:7  Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze.

Ezk 1:8  The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings.

When we encounter visions like this in the Bible, we immediately look for symbolism. Let me give you an example. In verse eighteen we are told that these living creatures “were full of eyes.”

  • One commentator said, “The number of eyes, wherever they may be, speaks of multi-dimensional awareness. Our two eyes help us to perceive a three-dimensional reality. A multitude of eyes suggests a greater awareness than we know as human.”
  • Another commentator explains the eyes, “We can hide nothing from God. He sees and knows everything.”

Symbolism is subjective. So what does Ezekiel mean? He means that they were full of eyes!

Another rather distinguishing physical trait is in verse seven. “Their legs were straight.” They don’t have knees!

Ezk 1:9  Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.

Cherubim appear in a few other settings, associated with the presence of God, and especially His visible presence in the Tabernacle and the Temple.

In the Wilderness Tabernacle…

  • Cherubim were woven into the the curtains of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:1)
  • Two golden figures of the Cherubim stretched their wings over the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18-21).
  • God said to Moses, “There I will meet with you, and from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the Ark of the [Covenant], I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel” (Exodus 25:22). In essence, it was God’s throne on Earth.

In Solomon’sTemple…

  • There were four Cherubim in the Temple – the two gold ones on the Mercy Seat and two larger ones, carved out of olive wood, overshadowing the entire Ark (First Kings 6:23-28).
  • The doors leading to the Holy Place were decorated with carvings of Cherubim (First Kings 6.31-32).

Notice the phrase, “their wings touched one another.” The Cherubim in the Temple were carved that way. Ezekiel saw the @therealCherubim which those in the Temple represented.

That place was where the presence of God visibly dwelt among His people.

This divine presence of God is called“Shekinah,” the “Shekinah glory,”  the “glory of the LORD,” “the cloud,” and “the fire.”

The Shekinah makes many appearances in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Exodus from Egypt, for instance, the pillar of fire by day and the cloud by night were Shekinah.

When Solomon’s Temple was being dedicated, we read, “When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the Temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the Temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever”(Second Chronicles 7:1-3).

God wants His creatures to dwell with Him. It’s not an easy thing to accomplish, because we are depraved sinners and He is infinitely holy.

God is up to the task. The last four English words of this book declare the future time when, “The LORD is there!”

As we journey through Ezekiel and the temples, we will see the LORD was there, then He wasn’t there, then He will be there.

Ezk 1:10  As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.

They were like the Mayor of Halloween Town in Nightmare Before Christmas.

Weird as this was, a Jew would instantly ‘recognize’ these four faces. They are lifted from Jewish history.

In the Book of Numbers God told the nation of Israel how they were to set up camp around the Tabernacle in the wilderness and where to put their tribal ensigns. Each of the four sides were to be encamped by three of the tribes:

  1. The tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulon were to camp on the east and were collectively called the camp of Judah. The symbol on the ensign of Judah was a lion.
  2. The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin were to camp on the west side and were collectively called the camp of Ephraim. The symbol on the ensign of Ephraim was an ox.
  3. The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad were to camp on the south side and were collectively called the camp of Reuben. The symbol on the ensign of Reuben was a man.
  4. The tribes of Dan, Naphtali, and Asher were to camp on the north side and were collectively called the camp of Dan. The symbol on the ensign of Dan was an eagle.

Israel camped about the Tabernacle as an earthly representation of the Cherubim surrounding Godʼs throne in Heaven.[1]

Ezk 1:11  Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies.

In addition to Ezekiel’s description, Isaiah, Daniel, and the apostle John describe them from their own experiences. There are slight differences in each, but that is to be expected. No contradictions, just different emphases that can be reconciled.

Ezk 1:12  And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit [mentioned 4 more times in the next set of verses] wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

Ezk 1:13  As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.

Ezk 1:14  And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

If, as a Christian, you have liberty to use AI, read this description into an artwork app and see what comes up.

We saw last time that this vision came to Ezekiel on his 30th birthday. It was the day he would have begun his service in the Temple.

God remembered Ezekiel’s birthday and He crashed his non-party.

#2 – @therealChariot (v15-24)

The burning question I’m sure we all have is this: “What does God need with a starship?”

Ok, so maybe that’s from Star Trek V. God doesn’t need a starship to travel. He doesn’t require Cherubim to drive Him. He doesn’t need a prophet. He doesn’t need you & He doesn’t need me.

He has created us to have fellowship with Him & with one another as members of one another. It is the way of things. And we are to be in a local fellowship because we are a body & a building:

  • If you are a stone for a building, you are useless alone.
  • If you are a body part, you are useless alone. And gangrenous.

Ezk 1:15  Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces.

Ezk 1:16  The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

Ezk 1:17  When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went.

Ezk 1:18  As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.

Ezk 1:19  When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

I’ve seen what are called ‘Omni-Wheels’ on the Apple iCar prototype. They look like soccer balls & go in every direction. The car can go sideways.

Ezk 1:20  Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Ezk 1:21  When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

  • The Cherubim had control of the wheels. When the Cherubim moved, the wheels moved.
  • The Spirit of God had control of the Cherubim.

Ezk 1:22  The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads.

There was a cover above the Cherubim, a platform. Light shone through it as light through a precious stone. The final verses of the chapter – we will look at them next time. There is a throne above the Cherubim & on the platform.

Ezk 1:23  And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body.

Ezk 1:24  When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings.

The Ark and Mercy Seat were removed before Solomon’s Temple was destroyed. There are many theories as to where it went. Jeremiah may have hidden it. The Ethiopian Church claims that they have it.

It was never seen again after the First Temple was destroyed. In its place was a large stone slab onto which the High Priest sprinkled the blood on the Day of Atonement.

The Shekinah will return. There will be a Third Temple after the 7yr Time of Jacob’s Trouble – the Millennial Temple (43:1-5).

In Back to the Future there is a scene where Marty McFly is worried about whether Doc Brown will show up to help him get ‘back to the future.’ As tension builds, another character reassures Marty by saying, “Don’t worry, he’ll be here.” This line underscores the trust and belief in the hero’s timely arrival, despite the uncertainty of the moment.

Remember how Ezekiel ends – “The LORD will be there!”

God’s people were conquered and held captive. Shortly their trust in the Temple would be taken away. Looking back on centuries of intense persecution and suffering, it is easy to conclude that Israel has been abandoned by God.

Has God abandoned them? “Certainly not! … God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew” (Romans 11:1-2).

Meanwhile…The Lord is here!

  • If you are “in” Him, then He is indwelling you. Your body is the Temple of God the Holy Spirit.
  • He is present when we gather together. Collectively, we are His temple on Earth, being built together.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Chuck Missler points out that Bible gives an account of the number of Jews in each encampment. From an aerial view of their tents, it looks like a Cross!

Prophecy Update #795 – Soul Wars

August 11, 2024

We reserve a few minutes to discuss current trends that you’d expect from reading Bible prophecy.

We are futurists. We interpret all unfulfilled prophetic passages as future events that will occur in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.

Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, cashless commerce, the manipulation of human DNA, global government, instantaneous global communication, and the exponential growth of human knowledge, are End Times phenomena the Bible predicts.

All of these are increasingly trending in the news.

By far the major subject in Bible prophecy is the nation of Israel.

  • The Bible accurately predicted that the nation would be scattered all over the world.
  • It accurately predicted that the Jews would be regathered to their homeland.
  • It predicted Israel would be “born in a day,” which it was on May 14, 1948.
  • It predicted Jerusalem would be a burden upon all the nations of the world, and it has been for 76yrs.
  • Jesus told His followers there would constantly be wars & rumors of wars.

As Israel fights Hamas, Hezbollah, and eventually Iran, there is an intensifying supernatural war… for souls.

Journalist Michael Faust of crosswalk.com posted an article titled, 200 Muslims in Gaza Reportedly Accept Christ after Seeing Him in ‘Visions and Dreams.’

Taysir Saada, a Muslim-turned-Christian who authored the book Once an Arafat Man, recounted the incredible story in an interview with CBN, saying he believes God is on the move in Gaza amidst war with Israel. Saada once was an aide to Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat. Saada also was a sniper for the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).

“About 200 Gazans gave their heart to Jesus in one lump sum because the Lord appeared to them in visions and dreams and they were hugging each other and, you know, rejoicing and realized that all of them had the same vision that each one of them had,” Saada told CBN.[1]

Joel Rosenberg is a trustworthy resource. He reports that millions of Iranian Muslims are converting to Christianity.

The Middle East is not the only front in the spiritual war. There are counter-attacks. A Morocco World News headline read, Rate of Islam Conversion in Europe Up 400% Since Start of Israel’s Massacres on Gaza.

Researchers predict Muslims will become the majority in Sweden, France, and Greece within a century from now, with other European countries following suit by 2200.[2]

Studies estimate about 30,000 converting to Islam annually in the United States. According to The New York Times, an estimated 25% of American Muslims are converts.

We live in the Church Age. It began on the day of Pentecost fifty days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It precedes the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, more commonly known as the seven-year Great Tribulation.

The Tribulation will not begin until something fantastic happens. The Lord said He would return for us, the Church, raising the dead in Christ, then catching up (rapturing) believers who are alive when He comes. He promised His Church Age believers, “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The resurrection and rapture of the church is always imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 https://klty.com/articles/headlines/200-muslims-gaza-reportedly-accept-christ-seeing-visions-dreams#google_vignette
↑2 https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/07/363801/rate-of-islam-conversion-in-europe-up-400-since-start-of-israels-massacres-on-gaza

One Life To Leave (Ecclesiastes 2:12-26)

August 7, 2024

At the end of the original script of Planet Of The Apes, George Taylor says, “We’re back at the beginning. I still don’t know the why…A world turned wrong side up. A puzzle with one piece missing.” Dr. Zaius warns him: “Don’t look for it, Taylor. You may not like what you find.”[1]

A few moments later, George Taylor’s world comes crashing down as he discovers the truth. His search for answers ends in desperation and defeat and hopelessness.

Ecclesiastes is a lecture being delivered by a man called Qohelet. It’s King Solomon, but he comes to us as a Teacher, sharing his discoveries about the meaning of life.

The problem is, no matter where he tries to find meaning in life, whether in pleasure or power or genius or industry or philanthropy or exhilaration, the result was always the same: Hevel. Smoke or vapor that passes through your fingers when you try to grab it.

But, the Teacher keeps trying to find his answer – to find the last piece of the puzzle. Tonight his investigation leads him into a deep and crushing despair. But he finally realizes that there is no satisfaction or meaning to life apart from a personal relationship with the sovereign God.

Ecclesiastes 2:12 – 12 Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king’s successor be like? He will do what has already been done.

The first half of chapter 2 lists the mind-blowing experiences and achievements the Teacher had enjoyed during his long life. But after every accomplishment, every party, he still felt empty.

So now he turns. And rather than do more things, he decides to investigate why he can’t find what he’s looking for. He pops the hood to see which part of the engine isn’t working right.

A problem immediately confronts him: Death. Despite all his riches, all his power, all his genius, the Teacher is going to die. Someone will take his place and time will march on.

Ecclesiastes 2:13 – 13 And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

Being worldly wise (because that’s the wisdom the Teacher is talking about) does give some advantages in life. The simple example is, would you rather walk from one room to another in total darkness or with a light on? Light is obviously better. It is advantageous.

That’s a word, actually a group of words, the Teacher uses throughout this book. They mean advantage, benefit, gain.[2] He wants to come out ahead in life. He’s looking for a profit. And he comes to the rather obvious but no less important discover that human wisdom can be profitable.

Ecclesiastes 2:14 – 14 The wise person has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.

The CSB Study Bible notes: “The fool may be lazy, quarrelsome, not handle money well, or fall into promiscuity. All these things bring about ruin.”[3] It’s better to be wise. But human wisdom cannot ultimately save you from death.

Homer Simpson once listened to a presentation about a historical figure. His response was, “If he’s so smart, how come he’s dead?” Smarts can’t keep you out of the grave forever.

But wait, if human wisdom is beneficial, if it helps me achieve all the things the world says make life worth living, then why doesn’t it solve the one most significant problem that we face?

This bothers the Teacher. The engine of life shouldn’t work this way. He pops the hood to see which component needs to be replaced. He grabs the flashlight of wisdom to get a better look only to find the engine is unrepairable. And this drives him into a deep depression. He’s been buying all sorts of accessories, machining all kinds of add-on parts, and none of it made a difference.

Ecclesiastes 2:15 – 15 So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

Is he saying it’s hevel to be wise? Remember: He’s talking about wisdom under the sun. Man’s intellect. Man’s understanding. So far in the book, the Teacher’s great mistake has been that he’s ignored theology. So, yeah, facing the reality of death, why bother with all those hours of study and discipline? Why carefully plan your decisions? Why delay gratification since that’s better in the long run? In the long run, I’ll be just as dead.

His studies helped him achieve more than anyone in history. But all the wisdom in the world cannot guarantee you a long and happy life. Because this world is plagued by time, death, and chance.

Here’s an example of why the Teacher is upset: If you smoke cigarettes, statistically speaking you have a 15-30x higher chance of developing lung cancer.[4] But, every year, 30,000 people who have never smoked also get lung cancer.[5] So the wisdom of how to have healthier lungs is profitable, but it’s not a guarantee. To the Teacher that seems wrong and unfair. He’s saying, “I did the right thing. I did the smart thing. Why am I still subject to death?” He’s ignoring the theological.

I saw a National Geographic Kids article today that said, “Scientists believe in the next few decades it will be possible for humans to live 1,000 years or more.”[6] They ignore the theological.

The Teacher realizes, “Oh, worldly wisdom doesn’t ultimately answer my questions.” But, he’s got a problem, because he already knows that foolishness leaves him even more empty.

Ecclesiastes 2:16 – 16 For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool?

If he can’t live forever, at least the memory of his greatness should live forever, right? But no. Whether he’s the best or just average or a failure, give it enough time and it won’t matter at all.

This leads the Teacher to what Douglas Miller calls an “emotional crescendo” of frustration.[7] Like Charlton Heston at the end of Planet Of The Apes, beating the sand in anger and defeat.

Ecclesiastes 2:17 – 17 Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Remember who’s talking. The richest man in the world. The most powerful man in the world. The smartest man in the world. A man who did anything and everything he wanted to the extreme with no one slowing him down. He hated life because he was still empty in his soul.

But again we see that hint – that qualifier: what was done under the sun. Where is God? Where is eternity? The Teacher hasn’t stopped to consider that satisfaction might be found beyond himself.

Because he has limited life to self, to his lifespan, he has no peace. In fact, life was terrible to him.[8]

Ecclesiastes 2:18 – 18 I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.

As the Teacher shares his complaints with us from here till verse 23, notice how self-focused he is. Try to tally how many times he says “I,” “me,” or “my.”

He’s incensed that his wealth is going to be left as an inheritance to someone else. Aren’t you happy for him? No. No he wasn’t. That’s mine. It’s for me. What matters is my satisfaction. This is another “intense expression” of emotion.[9] The Teacher is angry and despondent at his discoveries.

Ecclesiastes 2:19 – 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

He’s not wrong. After Solomon’s death, the crown passed to his son, Rehoboam. And Rehoboam destroyed Solomon’s glorious, unified kingdom with one foolish decision.

The Teacher’s attitude is, “I deserve better. I deserve eternal life, or at least an eternal appreciation for my greatness.”

He thinks that because he doesn’t have a proper theology yet. The work you labored at? I think you mean the thousands of slaves who you forced into that labor. I wonder what they thought of you? Or the women you objectified and took advantage of in your excessive pursuit of pleasure? But the Teacher has a self-centered, secular mindset. “I shouldn’t die.” But that’s not how this world works.

Ecclesiastes 2:20 – 20 So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun.

We should take a moment and consider the bombshell that is revealed here. Solomon did more than anyone to ever live. But the scope of his achievement wasn’t big enough. It was still under the sun and therefore subject to time, death, and chance, which equalizes everyone.

The Teacher’s despair is getting worse. There where I read “I began to give myself,” your version may say “I turned my heart.” This is the second turning of the night. The room is spinning now as he realizes all his pursuits were, ultimately, for nothing. They were all for him, so they won’t last.

Ecclesiastes 2:21 – 21 When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

You can hear him seething at this perceived unfairness. But once again he exempts himself. He did not found the nation of Israel. He received the throne from a king who came before him.

The real problem is not that his successor might be a fool or that someone who worked less hard might live longer than him. The real problem is that he doesn’t know what to do about death. And that is the one question a person needs to answer.

Ecclesiastes 2:22 – 22 For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

Well, Solomon, you got quite a lot. A life of fame and wealth and ease and enjoyment. You were the richest, most powerful, most celebrated person on planet earth. But it wasn’t enough. He heart was still empty. He wanted more. He wanted to be appreciated forever, worshiped for his greatness.

Jesus spoke to this mindset in Matthew chapter 6. He said, “Ok, if you want to live so people can see what you’re doing and be impressed by you and give you accolades, fine. You have your reward.”[10] Elsewhere He said, “You can gain the whole world (like the Teacher had), but you can lose your soul, lose your life in the process.”[11] Real satisfaction can’t be found under the sun.

We’ve got to get out from under it. We’ve got to lay hold of the eternal.

Ecclesiastes 2:23 – 23 For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

By now, the Teacher wasn’t even able to sleep in his palace. He’s literally the most comfortable person in the whole world at the time, but he has no rest, no peace. He spent a lifetime storing up treasures on earth only to realize he was going to lose it all when death came knocking.

Proper theology solves this problem. Because proper theology – and by that I mean a living faith in the God of the Bible – saves us from the grave, grants us everlasting life, and gives us a place where we can build and invest and store up where rust does not destroy and thieves cannot steal.

Finally, the Teacher stops to consider the theological in the last three verses of the chapter.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 – 24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand, 25 because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him

Is the Teacher suddenly contradicting himself? We have to understand the differences in terms. On the one hand, you have the life he made for himself. The human achievements. The human pursuits. The human goals. Now he’s talking about life as something God gives to us as a gift.

Before he was talking about human wisdom and knowledge and ingenuity. Now he’s going to talk about God’s wisdom, which is of a much different character and bears much different fruit.

As the Teacher considers his questions and investigates his problem, he is inevitably brought face-to-face with the revelation of God. Now, in the unfolding of this lecture, the Teacher does not yet have a personal relationship with the Lord. In fact, he never specifically calls God by His name. He’s using the more impersonal title here.[12] But as the Teacher seeks for answers, in his despair, the Lord reveals Himself. And the Teacher comes to understand that life cannot be filled and satisfied or have real meaning without a relationship with the God Who gave you life.

God does want you to enjoy the life life He’s given you. He is a tender gift giver. Look at the picture here: Life was not found in God’s storehouse, or in God’s quarry, or in God’s reservoir. It’s not in some place where you have to find on the map, make your way to, and draw out yourself. No, this God hand-delivers His gifts to us. That indicates closeness and kindness and personal knowledge.

We learn quite a few things theologically in these closing verses. One is that God’s desire is for you to enjoy real satisfaction in your life. Obviously that doesn’t mean we won’t get hurt or have sorrow. But life is a gift and God wants you to enjoy it. Even the basic pleasures of a delicious meal.[13] One translation says there’s nothing better than for us to sate ourselves on the gifts of God.[14]

In fact, six times in this book, the Teacher is going to come to the conclusion that we should enjoy the life God has given us. Even in the frustrations, even in the hardships. God intends there to be joy and real satisfaction even when our lives are touched by time, death, and chance.

Ecclesiastes 2:26 – 26 For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

One commentator writes, “[The Teacher]  is beginning to see the difference it makes to live with God instead of without him.”[15]

He’s sharing more theological truths. One is the sovereignty of God whether you obey Him or not. Duane Garrett says, “God uses the lives of the wicked to achieve His own purposes.”[16]

We also learn we can please God. Now, the Teacher doesn’t know how to do that yet, but we do. We please God by seeking Him and exercising faith in Him and walking in the Spirit.[17]

We also see an essential difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. The Teacher had more of the world’s wisdom than anyone ever and he told us, “with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.”[18] We saw that sorrow and grief tonight.

But God’s wisdom does not bring grief, it brings joy. God’s wisdom is treasure![19] It cultivates peace in our lives.[20] It sanctifies and redeems. It breaks us out from under the sun.

And we also learn that God’s intention is not only to gift us with life, but to give us an inheritance. What a gracious King He is. Solomon was throwing a tantrum a few verses ago that his successor would get an inheritance from him. Not the Lord. He is ready to share all He has with those who are willing to humble themselves and lose their lives to Him so that He can save them.

These theological truths solve all the problems the Teacher is lamenting in these verses. Now, work isn’t meaningless, it’s valuable. Now life isn’t a struggle, it’s a sanctified gift from God. Now all you work for isn’t lost when you’re buried, instead you have eternal rewards waiting for you in heaven. Now, death is not a looming nemesis. In fact, death has no sting or victory.

But we have to think theologically. We have to acknowledge the Creator of Life, the Giver of Life, and understand that He’s the only One Who knows how to run a life. We don’t. When we take His outstretched hand and commune with Him, the meaning of life clicks into place, and peace, joy, and satisfaction come with it.

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 https://sfy.ru/?script=poa_1968
↑2 Theological Wordbook Of The Old Testament
↑3 CSB Study Bible: Notes
↑4 https://www.cdc.gov/lung-cancer/risk-factors/index.html
↑5 https://www.cdc.gov/lung-cancer/nonsmokers/index.html
↑6 https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/books/article/could-humans-live-forever
↑7 Douglas Miller   Ecclesiastes
↑8 Choon-Leong Seow   Ecclesiastes
↑9 Ronald Murphy   Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 23: Ecclesiastes
↑10 Matthew 6:2
↑11 Mark 8:36
↑12 Robert Alter   The Hebrew Bible: A Translation With Commentary
↑13 CSB Study Bible: Notes
↑14 Alter
↑15 Philip Ryken   Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters
↑16 Duane A. Garrett   The New American Commentary, Volume 14: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
↑17 Hebrews 11:6, Romans 8:8-9
↑18 Ecclesiastes 1:18
↑19 Colossians 2:3
↑20 James 3:18
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