THE MISDEEDS OF MEN

Biblical Text: Ecclesiastes 1: 15a

“That which is crooked cannot be made straight.”

These are the words of wise King Solomon. How can something crooked be made straight? Solomon said that it can’t. He wasn’t talking about a crooked road, or crooked teeth. He was talking about man’s inability to walk the straight and narrow path. It was an issue for Solomon then, and it’s still an issue for us today. Try as we might, since the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, we just can’t seem to reach that level of perfection God planned for us without God.

Solomon, the son of David, was the third king of Israel. He was certainly known for his wisdom and his wealth (1 Kings 4:29). He knew all about the pursuit of perfection. But he also knew that perfection is a flawed aspiration. As just as he was, and as much good as he did, he was still a weak and blemished man. And his sins led to his downfall.

According to the Bible, Solomon had many wives and concubines, including women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and even the daughter of Pharaoh. His weakness was his lust for women. Even worse, he allowed his wives to continue their idolatrous worship and even participated in it himself. Even though he worshipped Jehovah, he also worshipped strange gods, also sought their favor and observed their ordinances. As a result, Israel no longer delighted in the One True and Living God. Her passion for the worship of the LORD was gone.. They were just going through the motions of their covenant relationship with Jehovah. The bright flame of that loving zeal they once had for God’s commandments died away. Why? Because of Solomon. He no longer had a heart JUST for God.

Solomon had a difficult and troubled life from the start. He was the child of his father’s marriage to Bathsheba. He had roots in his father’s dark side.

You remember the story. Solomon’s mother was married to another man when his father, King David, had an adulterous relationship with her. And when she became pregnant, David had her husband killed in an attempt to cover up the scandal. It didn’t work. The truth always comes to light. That child died shortly after birth.

But David and Bathsheba had another child…Solomon. And the fact that the Lord loved Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24) and made him one of the wisest men the world has ever known illustrates a principle established throughout Scripture …that God does not hold us accountable for the sins of our fathers.

Let’s sidestep a minute and review the spiritual climate at the time of David’s impending death. Solomon came to the throne in the middle of family conflict. When David was about to die, his oldest son Adonijah, by another wife, tried to steal the throne that had been promised to Solomon. At a critical moment, Bathsheba intervened and reminded the king that he had promised the throne to her son Solomon (1 Kings 1:15-21). Since God had told David earlier that Solomon would be king (1 Chronicles 22:9-10), David crowned Solomon king, while his older brother Adonijah was off in Gaza, prematurely celebrating his expected ascension to the throne. When he heard the great celebration off in the distance, Adonijah was both furious and scared. He felt robbed of his right to be the next king of Israel, but he also knew that the Lord had chosen Solomon. So in a devious twist of events, Adonijah asked Bathsheba to petition Solomon to give him a woman from his concubine, Abishag, to marry, knowing that this action would, by default, make Adonijah, his older brother, the king. When Bathsheba delivered the request to Solomon, the wise king saw through the plot, and had Adonijah killed (1 Kings 2:25). This whole dramatic turn of events is a reminder to us that our enemies cannot prevent us from doing what God wants to do through us.

But the events that followed in the life of Solomon also teach us that sin is ever present, and no man will ever be sin free with his own works. “That which is crooked cannot be made straight.” That’s the realism we find ourselves living in today. And we need to take a close look at it from Solomon’s perspective.

THE MISDEEDS OF MEN

First, there is the nature of sin.

Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Lo, this only have I found…that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

It’s true that God did make man upright. In other words, God made man holy and perfect. He made us in His own image. But man deflected from the Divine standard set forth by God. In the Garden of Eden, man was coaxed into taking a detour.

· He departed from God’s Divine Way.

· He abused God’s Divine provision.

· He renounced God’s Divine Purpose

And that was the beginning of our struggle to try and achieve perfection. Actually, once Satan’s evil seed had been planted in man, it marked the beginning of our desire to pursue any manner of evil we felt big enough to chase. Solomon called them inventions…inventions of the mind. And today, this evil detour from holiness still fuels the battle between righteousness and unrighteousness.

Sin’s nature is in us. It causes us to conceive all manner of wicked imaginations. It causes us to devise all kinds of shameful activity. And it causes us to deceitfully entice others to sin right along with us…because sin loves company.

Mankind is up against an expert on sin. Sin is in his nature. He has the ability to deceive. He has the power to torment. He has the strength to subdue. And he has the desire to achieve his ungodly objectives at our expense. Satan has the ability to…

Make a bad man think he is good.

Make a dishonest man think he is honest.

Make a corrupt man think he is virtuous.

Make a proud man think he is humble.

Make a greedy man think he is generous.

He can make your life become a “rat race”.

He can make your job become a “pain”.

He can make your home become a “death trap”.

He can turn your bright days into dark nights.

It’s the nature of sin to disrupt, to dismay, to demoralize and to destroy. And Satan is relentless in his pursuit.

There is the nature of sin.

Second, there is the universality of sin.

Sin is everywhere. It’s in every land because sinful man is everywhere. It’s in every age because man is born in sin and shaped in iniquity. You can’t escape it. Solomon went so far as to say, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

Did you catch that? Solomon said that even JUST men and women sin. One person said I know I’m a sinner, but what about people like Mother Theresa or Honest Abe? Yes…they too were sinners. You know what the Bible says: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). An unbeliever once said, ‘If that’s true, and you can’t beat him, why not join him? Why put up any fight at all?’ I was shocked to read that. Did he really want to ignore God?

You can’t live in this world and not be touched by sin. Wherever you turn, sin is… advertised with neon lights; promoted through media; encouraged by professionals; featured in magazines; highlighted in bold print; and practiced in broad daylight.

Universal sin has topped cities, ravaged kingdoms,

devastated nations,

corrupted governments,

bankrupted businesses,

shamed communities, and destroyed relationships.

And if that’s not close enough to make you uncomfortable, allow me to bring it closer to home.

Sin can… Defile YOUR lips;

Contaminate YOUR mind;

Corrupt YOUR virtues;

Ensnare YOUR character;

Ruin YOUR reputation;

and haunt YOUR memories in your old age!

There is the universality of sin.

But…there is hope for those who trust in God!

Because finally, there is the exception from sin.

Tell your neighbor, “Thank God for Jesus!” John declared, “In Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Jesus Christ was “…made perfect” and “became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” I didn’t say it. Paul said it in Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Christ was and is the only exception from sin.

While we hide our thieving hands behind our backs, there was and is no defilement in His hands.

While we are deceiving with our lips, there is no deceit on His lips.

While we are consumed by jealousy and envy, there is no jealousy in His bones.

While we are greedy and gluttonous, there is no greed in His Spirit.

While our desire to be holy is weak and fragile, there is no weakness in His Will.

Everything about Christ is perfect. He offers unspeakable joy.

He has unquestionable authority.

He has unmeasurable love.

He has unconquerable power. He has unblameable judgment.

He has unfathomable wisdom.

And He has undefinable glory!

Remember the sinner who said, “If you can’t beat Satan, why not join him?” As I continued to read he soon gave his life to Christ. When asked what made him change his mind? He said. “I found out Jesus will forgive the things that I have done just to have me in His family. Nobody ever loved me that much!”

That’s right. Christ loved us so much that He paid for every sin. All we need to do is confess our sins, believe in our hearts, and believe in Jesus Christ’s gift of redemption. The Holy Ghost will do the rest. You’ll find yourself walking a straighter path and living a cleaner life, because the “Christ” in you will remind you that you are no longer your own. You belong to HIM!

Solomon said, “That which is crooked cannot be made straight.” And Solomon was right. WE CAN”T STRAIGHTEN OURSELVES OUT, BUT GOD CAN! And God will!

He dispatched Himself in the form of the Son of Man, to point us to a path that leads us back to HIM!

The misdeeds of men are many. But the forgiveness of Christ is complete.

He is the Hope for every tomorrow,

the Way through every wilderness,

the Mold for every marriage,

the Pattern for every life,

the Audience for every prayer, and the text for every sermon!

Your misdeeds…your sins…your transgressions…they are all covered by the One whose glory is greater, whose power is stronger,

whose compassion is deeper,

whose mercy is fuller,

whose presence is closer,

whose burden is lighter, and whose coming is nearer…nearer than we think.

Repent of your sins and confess your faults to the One who is “the Resurrection and the life. He that believeth on Him, though he were dead, yet shall he live!” (John 11:25) That which is crooked CAN be made straight, but only through Jesus Christ!