He was a brilliant man. Those who knew him well and those who only knew him by reputation said he had more than merely “raw” intelligence. He had been given a particular gift and of course it was from God.
He was handed the kingdom on a platter. His father had already defeated the principle opponents in the struggle for the land. Now he had to build the temple to God, secure the borders of the kingdom and keep the peace.
Of course I’m writing about Solomon. He was considered to be the wisest of men.
We don’t really know when Solomon decided to write some his “books” or reflections on life. He wrote many of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
For this study I will be reflecting on his writings in Ecclesiastes. In Hebrew this is called “Quoheleth”…which can be translated as “wise ways or one who speaks to an assembly”. We can call it writing of the Preacher. He wants to teach us about life and a warning for those who forsake their faith. That’s the job of a Preacher.
It is the realism of his words that is striking. They are brutally honest. What Solomon seems to be showing us is that life can be experienced from two distinct points of view……..one who fears the Lord and one who does not.
As I read his words I know that he has experienced what he is teaching. He isn’t pulling any punches. He knows what these two choices mean in one’s life and he is sharing his world view.
“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless”. This word, meaningless, means vapor, breath, something transitory. It means something that eludes us and in actuality doesn’t bring fulfillment.
He looks at different areas of life….work, nature, the senses, history, etc to see what they might teach about the meaning of life now while we are alive. Solomon was a realist. He knew and experienced life to fullest.
Let’s look for a moment at work, or labor as he puts.
We spend most of our hours in some sort of work. Not all bad. We need to eat after all, and meaningful work can be fulfilling in our lives. Helping others brings a sense of deep satisfaction. Our Lord, often speaks of laboring in the vineyards or fields. However at the end of the day, Solomon declares that working only to acquire wealth is as though we are chasing the wind! Even if all of our efforts result in acquiring a fortune, what good is that to us? We have a few years of pleasure and then it’s over.
But here are my four objectives for work.
(1). We work to bring Glory to God.
“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Paul here states the real purpose of our work. Gosh, how can my washing the floors bring glory to God? Let me think about that! You have ideas?
(2). We work to gain a living.
“If a man will not work, he shall not eat (2Thess 3:10). This is God’s plan. Always was and always will be.
(3). Work brings us opportunities for Christian witness. Jesus said…….”Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest (John 4:35). This is definitely our work as Christians.
I know you might add your definition of work to mine.
Take heart dear friend. Your labor will not be in vain.
We labor to give glory to God, helping others, and to build bridges for winning and disciplining people for Him.
Seeking Happiness and Fulfillment……Reading Ecclesiastes.
So who doesn’t want to be happy? Some people spend their whole lives searching for and never finding real happiness or personal fulfillment. Others make happiness come to them. They find happiness in a variety of ways. No one of us can claim to be happy all the time. Life isn’t that simple. It’s frustrating! Bad things do happen to good people. Perhaps that describes you.
However we look at life, there will be the best of times and the worst of times. We’ve all been there.
I seldom read Ecclesiastes. I find it somewhat depressing. Solomon, the writer, son of the great King David, seemed to reflect on how happiness was an illusion. Could one really find happiness, security, peace in this world?
He was given great wisdom by God and yet he didn’t find real happiness. Isn’t that part of being wise? If Solomon had trouble with happiness where does that leave us? What is happiness anyway?
He sought this illusive feeling in philosophy, pleasure, mirth, drinking, building an empire, possessions, wealth, music and women. The pity is, that he found it all empty and meaningless. He tried it all, had it all, experienced it all…….and was profoundly unhappy. The very thing he sought escaped him.
The name Ecclesiastes means preacher. He writes his own story. This is so named because his writings include meditations and sermons of this wisest of men. His great question is, “is life worth living?”
He has a turning point in his life however. Something so simple that he actually failed to recognize that true happiness comes from only one source. He writes in chapter 8:12……”Yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God.” The full meaning of this verse is in the last chapter” Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
When was the last time you read this book? If you are like me I skip this one for a variety of reasons. However, Solomon lays it all out for us. I would even call him a realist’s realist. He writes with candor about frustrations, fulfillment, work, sex, injustice, friendship, worship, happiness, insecurity, temptations, etc…all of my concerns and yours.
For the next few lessons let’s read and study together this book written by a great man of God. He has problems….but he can teach us great lessons along the way.
When one of my kids was little and I was reading her a bedtime story about Jonah and the Big Fish, and I asked her what she knew about God. She said….”God lives inside me, but you won’t find him there because he’s too big!” (He’s there but also he is not there). Wow! What a theological idea for a kid.
Yes, God is there but he is also everywhere. He’s here and there and everywhere. He is in our lives but he’s also “out there”. God is always more than anything we could ever experience or say or even think.
God is essentially a mystery. He will remain a mystery.
In this final blog on the names of God we need to remind ourselves of who God really is.
(1)God is more that our names for him. Just as a person’s name doesn’t really describe him, the writers of the Bible knew this and so they utilized a variety of names for God, knowing that God could never be completely grasped by a single name.
(2) Reverence for God’s name. Wrongful use of God’s name is expressly forbidden in the Ten Commandments. (Ex. 20:7) Because of this, there is an extraordinary reverence for God’s name throughout the Testaments. Ancient Hebrew has no vowels hence the sacred name is YHWH. Since The Name” was so sacred and for fear of using God’s name wrongly, the ancient Jews would only call him “the Holy One”, or Adonai, which means “my Lord.”
(3)God is more than Images. Just as in our own lives, images or titles can help us identify someone but really doesn’t tell us about his or her character……..brother, sister, daughter, mother etc. These all imply relationships but nothing about personalities. Because God is a mystery, he defies reduction and will always remain somewhat illusive. The writers of the Bible knew this and so they developed a variety of images for God. These were titles or images that were familiar to people and they could relate God to the character that was being described.
(4) God is more than human experience. The Bible provides a variety of ways in which people experienced God. Moses encounters God in a burning bush; God was revealed to Samuel in his dreams: Ezekiel and Daniel in visions; Mary through an angelic visit; Jesus in the form a voice from heaven; Paul a vision of the Lord himself. What emerges is the realization that no two people, not even in the Bible, experience God in the same way. No single experience of God could ever completely capture the mystery of God.
God is always more…….more than any of us can ever imagine!
In the last few blogs I have focused on how God is often described by His various attributes or images. Since God is really indescribable……. using attributes or human characteristics makes God more meaningful to us. Of course, we as humans are unable to fully describe God. Words are inadequate, but that’s how we humans must communicate the truths of God. The Bible uses metaphors or “human types” in order for us to more fully understand the ever existing and eternal Father…one who loves His creation and is ever mindful of us.
One of the more fascinating stories about the activity of God is found in the book of Jonah. It is a delightful story, one for both children and adults. It is almost like a Pinocchio story, where a whale or fish plays a major role.
The real truth of this story is deep and meaningful. Jonah, because of his experience, has a new and profound understanding of God.
To Jonah, the prophet, God was a special possession of His people, Israel. If the people obeyed then all would be well. Disobedience meant suffering, great losses in warfare and perhaps even sickness. Jonah saw no reason to go to Nineveh. These were pagans and beyond help. They were considered enemies of Israel.
After his terrifying experience of being “swallowed” Jonah realized that God’s mercy is more universal than Jonah or Israel wanted to believe.
The story is remembered more for Jonah and the fish than for his interaction with pagan Assyrians. These were a wicked and cruel people. Why God wanted Jonah to go there, we can only surmise…except that God really loves all people and his mercy is extended to all. He gave them a chance to repent of their evil ways, just as he gives us the opportunity of repentance.
In Jonah’s attempt to run away from God he was literally “swallowed up”. He was left to die in a “tomb”. Not a literal tomb but a tomb just the same. He was fully aware of the creature that swallowed him.
Even Jesus referred to Jonah being in the belly of a fish…and equating that with his tomb experience. He told his disciples that his burial in a tomb (swallowed by death) was like Jonah and then he would literally be raised or rescued from that death just as Jonah.
Matthew 12:40 ”For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”\
Jonah was confined in complete darkness. No person could comfort him. But now he would confront his own lack of faith. He knew of his own disobedience. He prayed. He sought forgiveness from God. If God allowed him to live…he would go to the Assyrians. He begged, he pleaded. Would God give him a second chance?
It would seem appropriate for God to be angry with Jonah and to punish him. Drowning in an angry sea would be a fitting end for such a recalcitrant and faithless prophet. Yet, that is not what happens.
We are surprised by God’s reaction. Jonah lives. He really isn’t eaten as such nor digested. The giant creature sent by God for this very purpose will vomit up Jonah on the shore. He will emerge wet and slimy but alive.
Jonah’s transformation takes place in the belly of this creature. It was there that God lifted Jonah from the “pit” ( Jonah 2:7) of his own self assurance to the “liberation” of his reliance on God. Liberation then, “frees” us from ourselves when we feel secure in God’s love for us.
Like Jonah, we may need to learn some lessons about God’s mercy and love. I find myself impatient and critical of those who don’t quite see things “my way”.
Reading this story of Jonah has made me realize that I have a narrow view of God’s love. God’s love is extended to all mankind. It has challenged me to rethink my dealings with others.
The challenge for all us is to imitate the “Divine” patience and compassion.
God is full of surprises. He surprises us daily. Are you ready?
Jesus told stories to his disciples. Everyone loves a story. They were mind stories or pictures of things, people, situations, which brought into focus real life problems. These stories or parables were teaching stories. He used them to explain in clear, simple terms what God wanted from His people.
One of the more interesting parables pictures God as a farmer. God as a farmer goes out to sow seed at planting time. However, God the farmer throws the seed in different types of soil which in turn produces or does not produce the grain that the farmer desires. The implication here is that God’s kingdom is sown to all but does not necessarily take root in everyone’s heart.
(Read Matthew 13: 3-23 to remind yourself of this parable.)
After telling the story Jesus goes a step further and explains to the disciples the meaning of the parable. He used everyday illustrations to make a point and they don’t have to guess at this one. The key issue is their responsiveness or non-responsiveness to the God.
Are the people listening to the commands of God and are they producing the proper harvest? If the seed is the message that the kingdom belongs in the heart, is this generation of disciples taking the kingdom seriously? Is God’s kingdom being planted in the world? The word of God once planted in the proper soil results in a fruitful life of discipleship. The parable will cause the disciples to really think about their life in relation to what God expects of them.
So how does this parable relate to us?
Does our conduct and our relationship to God reflect the soil of our hearts? Disciples are ultimately known by their fruit. Does our fruit bear witness to God’s activity in the world?
How are God’s farming skills reflected in your life?
Most of us remember the famous parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7). Jesus is telling his hearers that God is the loving Shepherd who cares for each and every sheep in His fold.
In the Hebrew Scriptures the image of God as a shepherd appears frequently. He is the Good Shepherd over His sheep…. who are His people Israel. Both the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak of God as a Shepherd and of course the famous psalm of David. The nation as a whole comes under the care and watch of God the Shepherd. He is leading them, guiding them and caring for them.
Jesus takes the shepherd image one step further. The sheep now become sinners, who have lost their way to God. He takes the Shepherd on a mission. Although there is only one lost sheep (the sinner), this very sheep is precious and needs to return to the flock.
Although we often think of God as being this Shepherd, in the context of Luke, Jesus is placing the responsibility of shepherding upon the spiritual leaders of the people. Jesus told his followers that the scribes and Pharisees “sit in the seat of Moses” (Matt. 23:2)…….in other words these religious leaders are the spiritual shepherds of the people. However, they had forsaken their commitment and devised their own rules of obedience.
Luke 15……. “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Would any one of them have the left the 99 sheep in order to search for the lost one? No not one of them would have done such a thing…
But God would.
God is the divine shepherd and unlike these human shepherds He would do the unthinkable. He would leave the 99 sheep and search for the one lost sheep. When the lost sheep is found, God the shepherd returns and rejoices over him. This represents a reconciled sinner. God now has a party……he invites his friends and neighbors to rejoice over this poor scrawny runaway that is now returned to the flock.
The challenge presented by the parable is this. Will we rejoice with God and the angels over one returned and repentant sinner? Or will we be more as the Pharisees who see themselves among the 99 that need no repentance. After all, we haven’t strayed from the flock and we have always obeyed! We don’t eat with the “tax collectors and sinners”. We have kept ourselves “religiously” pure. Well, not quite.
Examine yourself. Where do you and I need seek to forgiveness?
God, the Good Shepherd will always be there searching for us and rejoicing when we return to Him.
The images of God in both the Old and the New Testaments are varied and interesting. I have only written on a few of them. When studying your Bibles you will find many more.
When Our Lord was wrestling with his destiny and facing heinous death on the cross, he used a most intimate term for God (Mark 14:36). Normally this would have been akin to blasphemy. The Jews dared not even speak God’s name. They were fearful that perhaps in some way they would profane the Holy name. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain.” When praying or singing the faithful Jews would approach God only by calling on His attributes. They often just said, “Ha Shem” which means, “The Name”.
Jesus however, was entitled to call him “Abba.” He addresses and prays to God as Father. When he addressed God in the Aramaic language, he called him “papa”, or “daddy.” Jesus relationship with God was as intimate as that of a father and child. No devoted Jew would have dared use this intimate term.
However, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11: 1-4) he tells them to call God, “Father.” How radical! In the previous ten chapters of Luke only Jesus himself called God, “Father.” Now he is telling his disciples that they also, can approach God by the more familiar name.
Imagine calling the creator of the universe “Father”!!!
Thus he is telling them (and us) that they may use this intimate term when addressing God in prayer. Why? …because now they have entered into a new and unique relationship with God. God will hear and answer prayer…..not only through the temple worship or private devotionals but they have a new relationship with Him directly through His son. This is an amazing teaching from our Lord. He is providing for his disciples a teaching that we as believers call upon today.
There are many great lessons in the simple prayer which we call the “Lord’s Prayer.” But this we know. Jesus makes it clear that we need continued forgiveness from God and one another. Prayer is a time in which we examine our own ability to feel forgiveness from God, to pray for his for kingdom to come in the hearts and minds of all people and to forgive ourselves as well as others.
What is your relationship to God? Is He your most trusted friend? Can you call him Father but in awe of His power as Creator? He is both loving and fearsome at the same time.
We as mere humans are unable to fully understand how He works in the lives of his people………but He is there.
He is waiting for us to call him Father!
Galatians 4:6
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
Roman 8:16
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
A favorite image for God in several of the psalms is that of a thunderstorm. God’s power is violent and turbulent as a tornado. The thunderstorm represents God as a physical manifestation of His mighty power. Using natural phenomena to evoke an experience of the divine is not unusual in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Psalm 29 is a hymn to God. Verses 3 to 9 present God’s manifestation in the thunderstorm.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The “voice of the Lord”, occurs seven times in this Psalm. This number symbolizes fullness and completeness. The voice of the Lord is a synonym for mighty thunder. What majesty lies in His voice!! What fearsome power! With that voice…God, is able to control all of His creation.
Armed with thunder and lightening the Lord controls the most humble of his creatures to the most powerful. He controls the universe
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”
In Psalm 97: 1-5, the storm imagery again appears. God’s power is life-giving as well as controlling the destructive powers of the universe.
The Lord reigns;
Let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about. His lightning’s light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.
God is exalted as King and Protector. The natural elements of nature extol his mighty powers. He is not only the personification of the powers of the universe but his great majesty is combined with the divine qualities of righteousness and justice. What is man’s power compared this almighty and powerful God!
In this psalm the writer refers to God as taking him from the womb and keeping him safe on his mother’s breast. God is pictured as the midwife who delivers David, the writer, as well as the nation of Israel. He brought them into new life with His deliverance.
God did the delivery but now has He forgotten them and David?
But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God. Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
We call this psalm a hymn of lament. David is afraid, and he complains to God; not only for himself but for the people. God has “birthed” them both….. and now there is nothing but fear and sorrow. However, though the psalmist complains and laments he finally comes to the point where he recognizes that God will care for His own.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
God is the giver of life as the one who makes the wombs fertile and aids in the birthing process.
He made fertile the wombs of Sarah, the mother of Isaac, and Hannah the mother of Samuel. Then the prophet, Isaiah (66:6-9) building on this tradition applies a midwife image to God. “Shall I open the womb and not deliver?” Says the Lord; shall I, the one who delivers, shut the womb? “
Although the images may seem strange to us, yet God is still in the birthing process. Mankind still endures the birth pangs of being born in faith.
Remember what Jesus told Nicodemus? (John 3:3-6)
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.”
Therefore, God, himself, will midwife humans into a spiritual life.
Do you believe that God has known you and been with you since conception?
Take heart….. He has known you from birth and continues to hold you close.
Of all the animal images applied to God in the Bible, none surpasses that of the eagle. Since ancient times, this majestic bird has been recognized as a symbol of strength, speed, ferocity and power. The eagle has been designated by our country as our national symbol of strength.
Interestingly, of the 27 times that the word eagle appears in the Hebrew Scriptures, only twice does it refer to the actual bird; all other occurrences are a fitting image to be applied to God.
Read Exodus, chapter 19 versus 1-6 (also Psalm 91: 1-16). The context in which the symbol of the eagle is used for God is important. First, there is the image of Egypt, the enslaving, nation, itself enslaved to its own pride. What fates befell Israel and Egypt are in contrast. Egypt is weighed down with pride and drowned in the sea, while Israel was borne up out of bondage on the wings of God.
Second, the image of eagles’ wings has multiple implications. To the strength, speed and ferocity of the eagle are added the qualities of protection and education. The comparison of God to an eagle is parental. Both mothers and fathers train their little hatchlings to fly by example. They rouse the young ones to flight by flapping their wings. When the young are aloft, the parent birds fly under the eaglets, ever ready to catch them if they falter and fall.
So thus those first Hebrew slaves, recently freed after 400 years , immature in their thinking, not having a real relationship with God, are being protected by the Father as an eagle protects her young.
These people however, must not remain nestlings forever. Now rescued and protected by God they are charged with embracing adulthood, for God told them, “If you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all peoples.”
Yes, Israel, as a people were chosen and protected by God. Through these very people, “stiffed necked” and disobedient, the promised Messiah came. He came first to the house of Israel and then to the whole world. But God will keep His promises.
He also holds us as an eagle protecting its young. When we can no longer count on our own strength to manage our lives……..God is there. Teaching us, protecting us and nurturing us. He is the God of power and strength.
AbideLines 