1 Kings 15 Family Division

WEEK  13                                              1 Kings 15

MONDAY  Reflections

At times, following God means there will be division in the family. Jesus said, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.  From now on there will be five in one family, divided against each other, three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

 

When we look into 1 Kings 15:13, we see that Asa removed his own grandmother from being queen because she made an idol. Asa was determined to serve the Lord even if it meant he had to choose to depose his own grandmother. Jesus knew that the choice to follow him would cause this because others in the family would refuse.

 

It must have been a tough decision for Asa, but he chose God over his family. Throughout history, people have been forced to choose; some had to do like Asa, others have been put out of their families, and others lost their lives. Choosing God may have negative ramifications in this life, but the eternal rewards are worth it.

1Ki 15:1-34
(1)  Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.
(2)  Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
(3)  And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.
(4)  Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:
(5)  Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
(6)  And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
(7)  Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
(8)  And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.
(9)  And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.
(10)  And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
(11)  And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father.
(12)  And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
(13)  And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
(14)  But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.
(15)  And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels.
(16)  And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
(17)  And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
(18)  Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
(19)  There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
(20)  So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
(21)  And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
(22)  Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
(23)  The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.
(24)  And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.
(25)  And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
(26)  And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
(27)  And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.
(28)  Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.
(29)  And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:
(30)  Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
(31)  Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
(32)  And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
(33)  In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.
(34)  And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

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Jeremiah 49

WEEK  12                                           Jeremiah 49

SATURDAY  Reflections

Jeremiah continues to warn the nations around Judah that God is going to judge them as well. There is an interesting note in that for Ammon, Elam, and others, there is a promise of returned fortune. God is going to bring judgment, but it isn't the end. For me, this seems to be a reminder that not all judgments/bad times mean the end of everything. There are times when God does bring judgment, but not every time does it mean that there will be complete destruction. This perhaps can give us hope when things go bad for a time. This may mean that everything isn’t gone forever.

Jer 49:1-39
(1)  Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
(2)  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
(3)  Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
(4)  Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
(5)  Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.
(6)  And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.
(7)  Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
(8)  Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him.
(9)  If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.
(10)  But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.
(11)  Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
(12)  For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
(13)  For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
(14)  I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
(15)  For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.
(16)  Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
(17)  Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
(18)  As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.
(19)  Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?
(20)  Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
(21)  The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.
(22)  Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
(23)  Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
(24)  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
(25)  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
(26)  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
(27)  And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
(28)  Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
(29)  Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.
(30)  Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
(31)  Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.
(32)  And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.
(33)  And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
(34)  The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
(35)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
(36)  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
(37)  For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
(38)  And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
(39)  But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

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1 Kings 14 Death a reward?

WEEK  12                                              1 Kings 14

FRIDAY  Reflections

God had promised Jeroboam a dynasty like David's if he obeyed God (1 Kings 11:38). If you recall, God promised David an everlasting kingdom where there would be a king from David's line on the throne forever. The final fulfillment of this is found in Jesus. Jeroboam could have been part of this lineage. Jeroboam could have been remembered like David, but he didn't trust God. 

We saw in chapter 13 that Jeroboam was afraid of losing his kingdom when people went to Jerusalem to worship. Jeroboam's solution was to set up idols to represent God, much like Arron did at the foot of Mount Sinai. Jeroboam even gave an excuse to the people, it's inconvenient to go all the way to Jerusalem. However, this was all a lack of trust, and it opened the door for all kinds of idol worship in Israel. 

Jeroboam has moved outside of God's protection, and the prophecy against Jeroboam is that his entire family will be wiped out, and only his sick and dying son will be the only one of his children buried. What caught my attention is that the reason for this is that there is something good in the child. How can dying and being buried be a reward? If you consider the terrible ways people can be killed, especially in a rebellion, which is what was to take place, dying peacefully in your bed may be a reward. We see that what we may think of as a bad outcome may, in fact, be a good outcome. It is something to consider, but also remember that not all situations are the same; someone else’s loss may have nothing to do with this. 

1Ki 14:1-31
(1)  At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
(2)  And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
(3)  And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
(4)  And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
(5)  And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
(6)  And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
(7)  Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
(8)  And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
(9)  But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
(10)  Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
(11)  Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.
(12)  Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
(13)  And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
(14)  Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
(15)  For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
(16)  And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
(17)  And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
(18)  And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
(19)  And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
(20)  And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
(21)  And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
(22)  And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
(23)  For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
(24)  And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
(25)  And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
(26)  And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
(27)  And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.
(28)  And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
(29)  Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
(30)  And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
(31)  And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

Matthew 12

WEEK   12                                            Matthew 12

THURSDAY  Reflections

 

In the middle of this chapter, there is an easy to miss section in verse 14 and the beginning of verse 15: “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence...”

 

Jesus left town rather than take his chances with the Pharisees. Some might think this was cowardly, but the truth was it wasn’t Jesus' time to die. If Jesus stayed there, there would have been a confrontation and it would have been the Pharisees who would have lost. This wasn’t God’s plan.

 

I bring this out because we will see this kind of action again in the life of Paul. Sometimes he stands and faces the danger and other times he leaves. There rarely seems to be a reason, except this assumption, it wasn’t God’s will. If a confrontation isn’t God’s plan, then we need to do what Jesus and Paul did and LEAVE. Who cares if we could have won or if we were right? Jesus could have challenged them, but it wasn’t the time for him to die nor was it his job to bring judgment (John 3:17).

 

The lesson to learn when confronting problem people is to ask is: “Does God want me here?” “Does this fulfill his will?” If it doesn’t then walk away. I have to believe there are times when the most spiritual thing we can do is to leave town.

 

Side note:  There is a time for confrontation. Jesus did cleanse the temple. However, Jesus’ cleansing of the temple isn't an excuse to justify running in as they say "with guns blazing."

Mat 12:1-50
(1)  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
(2)  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
(3)  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
(4)  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
(5)  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
(6)  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
(7)  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
(8)  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
(9)  And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
(10)  And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
(11)  And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
(12)  How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
(13)  Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
(14)  Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
(15)  But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
(16)  And charged them that they should not make him known:
(17)  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
(18)  Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
(19)  He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
(20)  A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
(21)  And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
(22)  Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
(23)  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
(24)  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
(25)  And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
(26)  And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
(27)  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
(28)  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
(29)  Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
(30)  He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
(31)  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
(32)  And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
(33)  Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
(34)  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
(35)  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
(36)  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
(37)  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
(38)  Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
(39)  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
(40)  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
(41)  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
(42)  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
(43)  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
(44)  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
(45)  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
(46)  While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
(47)  Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
(48)  But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
(49)  And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
(50)  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

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Ecclesiastes 9

WEEK 12                                      Ecclesiastes 9

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

The last verse of this chapter carries a lot of truth. "Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good." (18 NIV). I talked before from the perspective of life under the sun; wisdom still has great advantages. However, it is the second part that catches my attention, that a sinner destroys much good. From Adam to our time, one person's wrong actions can do great evil. The lone assassin who brings down a great leader. The lazy worker doesn't weld the crash bar on the back of the semi-trailer, which causes it to fall off and lead to an accident. The parent or teacher who crushes the aspirations of the next Mozart or Tolkien. It seems like it’s a hopeless fight.

 

 Ecclesiastes also doesn't fully recognize the good one person can do in the world, nor the one action one person makes that changes everything. The one guard who takes the bullet. The inspector who catches the flaw and gets it fixed. The parent or teacher who says just the right thing changes a child from hopelessness and failure to hope and success. I don't want to forget that, and I don't want you to either.

 

Ecc 9:1-18
(1)  For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
(2)  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
(3)  This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
(4)  For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
(5)  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
(6)  Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
(7)  Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
(8)  Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
(9)  Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
(10)  Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
(11)  I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
(12)  For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
(13)  This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
(14)  There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
(15)  Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
(16)  Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
(17)  The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
(18)  Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

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