Ecclesiastes 10 (3)
Notes
Transcript
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Scripture Memory
Scripture Memory
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Ecclesiastes 10
Ecclesiastes 10
Turn to and read Ecclesiastes 10:1-15. Pray.
Let’s pick up our study in vs. 7:
I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
This verse goes along with verses 5 and 6, which we ended with last week.
Dr. David Sorenson explains:
“Solomon had witnessed those in authority promote fools over those who were otherwise in places of respect. To Solomon, this was a travesty.”
I can sum it up in this way:
Foolishness is promoted.
Foolishness is promoted.
We see this happening in our country. (And it has been happening some time.) It just seems to be so much more “obvious” now than it used to be.
For three things the earth is disquieted, And for four which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he reigneth; And a fool when he is filled with meat;
For an odious woman when she is married; And an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There, in vs. 22, Solomon mentions a “fool.” That word means:
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 30:21–23
one who lacks spiritual perception and sensitivity
How do we see this happening in our country? Proverbs 14:34 explains.
Righteousness exalteth a nation: But sin is a reproach to any people.
There is nothing so foolish as sin and there is nothing so wise as righteousness.
There is nothing so foolish as sin and there is nothing so wise as righteousness.
While we have seen the promotion of sin/foolishness in our country in the past, I firmly believe that it is going to get exponentially worse in the years to come under the leadership of President Elect Joe Biden.
May I give you an example?
The Equality Act
The Equality Act
In 2019, the House passed the Equality Act in a 236-173 vote, largely along party lines, with eight Republicans voting in favor. However, the legislation was never given a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate. President-elect Joe Biden has said it is his goal to pass the Equality Act within his first 100 days in office.
A spokesperson for the American Family Association said,
“What the Left has been trying to do, and they're going to continue to try to do with the Equality Act and other legislation is ... punish people who have sincerely held religious beliefs.”
https://onenewsnow.com/politics-govt/2021/01/12/equality-act-would-stomp-religious-conservatives
Even a “gay conservative” wrote that the Equality act would “...crush religious freedom and radically reshape American society.”
What can we do?
We must pray!
We must pray!
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Do we believe this verse? Do we believe that it is truth? Then we must act upon it!
We must be a Daniel!
We must be a Daniel!
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
We must determine, like Daniel and the three Hebrew children, that we are going to stand upon the truth of God’s Word no matter what may come whether it be the fiery furnace or the den of lions!
We must be involved!
We must be involved!
One Christian conservative recently said - and I have heard this on numerous occassions recently:
"God has us here, so we are first and foremost Christians in this land. How is it that we use our influence to shape this nation? One way to do that is in the primary elections at the local level, the state level, and federal level. So, people must get engaged in the primary.”
https://onenewsnow.com/politics-govt/2021/01/12/political-involvement-is-in-the-peoples-best-interest
What political office are you going to run for in two years?
May I suggest that there would be nothing wrong for us, as a church, to pray that God would call individuals from our midst to run for political office? There are plenty of Biblical examples of believers who held political office: Joseph, Queen Esther, King Josiah, Daniel. Who here will follow the God-honoring legacies left by these and other?
Moving on…Turn to and read Ecclesiastes 10:8-11.
For a moment, taking these verses as a whole, I like what one individual wrote because it sums it up nicely:
Though wisdom has advantages, that gain can be lost when wisdom is not applied or is applied too late.
Biblical wisdom does have advantages. Just look at Proverbs 2:6—9 and Proverbs 3:13-18.
But wisdom must be applied!
One Bible teacher aptly said:
It is the height of human folly to ignore the Bible and then to hope for wisdom.
I believe that is exactly what most people in our country are doing today. They are completely ignoring the truth of God’s Word but still “hoping” for the best. It just isn’t going to happen. There must be a return to Biblical wisdom, to Biblical truth!
Now, breaking these verses down just a little bit...
He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
I think that this verse explains what happens when verses 5-7 are set in motion. When foolishness is promoted over wisdom, what are the results?
Turn to and read Proverbs 1:10-19.
Notice again what Solomon writes in vs. 18:
And they lay wait for their own blood; They lurk privily for their own lives.
While fools and foolishness make big promises and “offer the moon,” they only end up slitting their own throats.
The United States of America, in promoting sin and foolishness, has dug its own grave. It is only a matter of time before she falls into it!
What can we do?
I believe that we find that answer in Exodus 32. Turn to and read Exodus 32:25-28.
Notice Moses’ challenge in vs. 26:
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
While the United States of America continues to dig her own grave, we must choose to stand on the side of truth and righteousness.
Like Joshua, we must say...
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Now, to wrap up our passage of Scripture this evening:
He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.
Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
Solomon here strings together four proverbs which set forth the potential dangers and inconveniences inherent in these daily task - digging a pit, tearing down a wall, quarrying stones, splitting logs - each one poses risks; risks, though that can be averted by applying wisdom.
We have a wood fireplace in our new home. I have enjoyed being able to build a fire on cold evenings. To have these fires, though, requires wood. Using a chainsaw and log splitters can be difficult and dangerous if you don’t plan accordingly.
Before I use my chainsaw, I use a small file to sharpens the cutting blades on the chain. In this way, I make my job a whole lot easier.
Also, when using the log splitter to split wood, you need to remember to stand with your feet apart. Why? in case you miss, the splitter has room to go between your legs and not in your legs!
By application, each one of us faces countless decisions each day. Every day we are required to act. We must be careful about the decisions and actions that we take each day. Each decision we make; every action we take has the potential to do great good but they also have the potential to do great evil. What makes the difference? Wisdom.
Yet, as we have seen, wisdom, when it is not applied, is of no greater value than folly!
So, while we can say, with Solomon...
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
It is only true when we have applied that wisdom in our daily lives!
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Prayer Requests