Using the Name of Jesus

I feel the need to share a couple thoughts about … using the name of Jesus.

I realize that there is no other name given (other than Jesus) whereby we must be saved. I also believe there is no other name that catches or gets the attention of Heaven as fast as when we call upon or even just say the name … Jesus.

The name … Jesus … should always be spoken with purpose; not verbalized as those in the world use it, in vain. How often do we hear His name used as a swear word, or used as a point of expression to emphasize various emotions, usually bad ones.

Those of us who know Him personally often find ourselves just breathing that name as a word of praise and thanksgiving; if for no other reason than to express our love and appreciation for what He has done for us. The name Jesus may come from our lips like a soft whisper, as if carried from our hearts almost as silently as our breath.

I don't know about you, but when I hear of something good that God has done for a brother or sister in the Lord I say almost instinctively … "Praise God!" But when I hear about the opposite, like a death or accident, or if I hear of a bad diagnosis like cancer, the first thing I find myself doing is breathing the name … Jesus … as a prayer from my spirit.

There is no other name to speak at times like that. Say it as softly as your breath … Jesus. Whisper the name … Jesus. Go ahead; say it right now if you want too. It's okay.

The name Jesus by itself can be a prayer. It helps bring stability to your thoughts and peace to your soul. Oh, you can cry it out loudly to the Lord as well. No problem, that too is okay. That's what Peter did when he was sinking in the water; he cried out fearfully … "Lord save me!" And Jesus did.

Okay, as usual I got side tracked. I didn't intend to write what I did; it just came out of my heart I guess. But now I need to go on and cover this short discourse on … "Using the Name of Jesus."

That's what I do each morning after my wife and I pray. I ask God the Father to take the words spoken, the petitions and requests that we present to Him; that through His love, mercy and grace He will cause them to come to pass in all the lives of those we have prayed for. We even close prayer the same way Jesus taught His disciples; we ask God the Father … "in the name of Jesus."

That's normally how it's done, right? And there's nothing wrong with that. But the thought I want to share with you is what I felt in my heart as I was closing our prayer time each of the last two days as I spoke the words … "in the name of Jesus." I felt the gentle urging of the Holy Spirit as He spoke the same thing to my heart both days … "You don't always need to ask, in the name of Jesus." That got my attention the second day.

I hope I can get all this right. It may not matter anyway. I'm not trying to make some new doctrine, just … a thought to ponder.

We have been given the name of "Jesus" to use as a legal document. In an American Court of Law this document would be used the same as a "Power of Attorney." But we are not going to use it in a court of law. Instead we are going to use it in the "spirit world" where Satan is the ruler of darkness.

A legal "Power of Attorney" is an instrument of Law that gives a person full legal authority to make any and all decisions on behalf of another person. Usually it's a family member close to the person appointing them to operate as a guardian or trustee over their property, health and finances; in other words over their estate.

But you may say … "A Power of Attorney is only good while the person you represent is alive. Didn't Jesus die?"

Yes, He did; but haven't you read in Revelation 1:18 where Jesus said … "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." That tells me His Power of Attorney is still a legal instrument of Spiritual Law.

Jesus has given to believers … His "Power of Attorney" to conduct His business here on earth in His absence. We are to stand in the courtroom of the world and declare … "In the Name of Jesus" … speaking with the very same authority as if Jesus Himself was speaking.

We usually use that phrase at the close of a variety of prayers including healing, deliverance, salvation, finances, safety over our children, etc., etc. By doing so we are asking God the Father to grant these things in that name as if Jesus Himself was asking.

Another reason we have been given His Power of Attorney to operate "In His Name" is so we can stand up to the forces of evil in this world and do battle, spiritual warfare against Satan as he tries to destroy the lives of believers and their loved ones.

Jesus has given us the authority to speak to mountains of doubt and unbelief or anything else that Satan uses to attack the church with. Because of this authority, we can and should make declarations of faith using "the Name of Jesus," operating in His stead … meaning in His function or position, in His place against the various problems or road blocks that Satan puts in our way.

Please understand … I'm not making any new rules. I personally don't like rules, especially concerning God. He doesn't follow any rules. He is the rule. "God is." That's rule number one and that's all I need to know.

But concerning what He spoke to my heart … there are certain times like our morning prayer time; and yes, we are "praying," but we're not really spending any more time asking God for His care, etc., than we do just spending time "with" Him. That's what He wants. He wants us to acknowledge that He is "in the room" with us and allow His presence to fill our hearts and prepare us for the day; no matter what life brings.

He wants to have our attention, and for us to listen to what He is saying more than what we are saying. Listen for Him, don't do all the talking; maybe He's speaking about us being His friend for the day. No, we aren't buddies … He is still God. But He wants to be the closest friend you will ever have.

I guess what I'm trying to say, what I believe the Lord was speaking to me, is that it's during these close relational moments with Him, even in what you would usually call a devotional time of prayer; and because you are already talking and sharing one on one with Jesus, who is there with you … you don't need to end that time by always using the phrase … "In the Name of Jesus."

Let me say it this way. Right after your two way conversation with Jesus, would you say to Him … "Jesus, in the name of Jesus we receive these blessings from you today."

There will be times (because of your close relationship) that you can just humbly say, "Thanks Lord," and mean it.

I also think (the closing) may depend on what kind of conversation you are having with the Lord. There are times when it may be only praise and thanksgiving. At other times it may be just worship. Or you may be confronted with a storm in your life that is sinking your boat and all you have time for is … "Jesus save me."

I don't believe God is as concerned with rules as much as He is with sharing His life with you. Many times rules are used to try and put God into a box. "There, now we know what He is going to do." No … not even close.

I like what Graham Cook says. "We have no idea what God is going to do next. But we always know what He is going to be like."

He wants a relationship with you; a close relationship where you both get to know each other. He already knows what you are like … and He still loves you. That should tell you something about Him.

Realize that God the Father and Jesus His Son in the form of the Holy Spirit is with you at all times. So share your personal life with Him, talk with Him; maybe even ask Him a question or two. Who knows, He might even give you some of the answers you are looking for.

Be aware of the presence of God in your life. He knows you … get to know Him.

I think you will like Him.


Comments welcome.

Generational Curses

There has been a lot of talk lately and even books written about the need to cleanse ourselves from things in our past that still affect us. Some people in the Christian community call these things bondages, and believe they have been handed down from parent to child for several generations … hence the name generational curses. I'm speaking about Christians, not just the average everyday adult who was raised in the normally dysfunctional environment of the average home.

I realize we all have what I call baggage that we carry along with us as adults. It can stem from abusive parents, fighting in the home, divorce; some even have things such as rape or incest that have shattered young lives, creating sick memories some people will never get rid of no matter what they do. They just move on and live with it.

So, that being the case, the books and all the teaching came along with good intentions. But … as a believer in Christ, I don't believe we should drag up all the old hurts, past mistakes and sins that were committed before we became Christians. How will it help your relationship if you dredge up things you did before you married your husband or wife? There are some things that only your Saviour should know about. Besides … He already knows and He loves you anyway.

If it's under the Blood of Jesus, He has already cleansed and washed away all your past sins, mistakes and failures … why try to drag them back up? It won't do you any good because they're not there anymore … unless you want to keep them there.

Another item that some people in the church identify as a problem is called "soul ties" which generally have to do with past love affairs or some type of sexual relationship that wasn't right and subconsciously keeps coming back to haunt you. I don't know if soul ties are even real. It sounds to me more like the devil bringing condemnation to your soul for the purpose of maintaining your ties to him.

Psychologists teach that one of the reasons for waiting till marriage to have sexual relations with the opposite sex is that every time you have sex, subconsciously your mind goes back to your very first sexual partner. I believe that's why God said being sexually intimate makes you one flesh with that person; and guess what, three in a marriage will not work. You will still be tied to that other person in your psychic unless Jesus sets you free from your past.

Okay … now I want to look at what the Word of God has to say about generational curses and where this term came from. The only thing we are cursed with that can be passed on and is passed on from generation to generation is not really iniquity or sin. It is Adam's sin nature that has been passed on to each new generation. That is a spiritual law decreed by God.

The phrase "generational curse" is a misunderstood thought from the Old Testament that says … the sins of the fathers can be passed on to the children.

The thought comes from one of the Ten Commandments: Exodus 20:5 … "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, (idols) nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me …"

"Visiting the iniquity" doesn't mean passing on the sin from father to son. Visiting the iniquity or sin of the fathers upon the children is implied only … if the children walk in the steps of their fathers. Why? Because no man can be condemned by God for a crime of which he was never guilty … see Ezekiel 18 below.

The sin of idolatry is the iniquity or sin spoken of in this verse and by visiting the sins of idolatry refers principally to national judgments of God. By God withdrawing His protection, the idolatrous Israelites were delivered into the hands of their enemies … to the third and fourth generations successively. This was the generational curse God brought upon or visited to the fourth generation.

These national judgments, that continued from generation to generation, appear to be what are meant by the words in the text, "Visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children," etc.

This curse didn't just happen; it says God made it happen. If you believe this curse is still true today, then you are saying God is still actively judging us under the Law. That cannot be true. God no longer judges under the Law since Jesus fulfilled all the Law, and became a curse for us.

Besides that … an innocent person will never be treated as if he were a transgressor, by a just and Holy God.

Some six to eight hundred years after the Law was given, Ezekiel declares how God is now going to handle these so called generational curses.

Ezekiel 18:1-3 … "The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying …
What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel."

God is saying in verse 3 … He would no longer visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. (My translation)

Eze. 18:19 … "Yet say ye, Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live."

Eze. 18:20 … "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son."

The son shall not be punished for the sins of the father, nor shall the father be punished for the sins of the son. Each soul, whether parent or offspring, will only be judged by God for their own personal sin. If repentance of a sin … stops judgment for that sin, and it does; how can that sin or the curse of that sin still be passed on?

Concerning generational curses and soul ties of which I am not an expert; (I know nothing about them personally) but from what is in the Word, I therefore conclude … that Satan is the accuser of the brethren; that he is the one who keeps bringing up your past sins, failures, etc., not God.

Jesus has done all that needs to be done. His work was complete; you can't add anything to it. We don't cleanse our own souls, Jesus does. Jesus set you free from the curse of the Law.

The Apostle Paul states in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 … "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Don't allow anyone to tell you something else must be done; that you need to be delivered from the past ties or have your soul cleansed. Jesus has already done all that for you with His Cleansing Stream; His blood that ran down the cross. If you are in Christ Jesus, you have already been washed by the water of the Word and all things have become new. Believe it and act like it.

I would be doing the Word of God injustice, if I were to conclude … that Christ's death on the cross was not sufficient; that God the Father sent Jesus to only go part of the way; that Jesus didn't pay the full price for sin; that just a little more cleansing or deliverance is required; that we must somehow add to what Jesus has done to be completely set free.

Well, I say … if Jesus didn't do enough, then it won't get done.



Comments welcome.

The Book of Ecclesiastes … Part III

Solomon's trial of life continues with …

Chapter 6 …

Solomon gives the example of a man, who possesses the vanity of riches and makes no use of them; who has not the time or energy to enjoy them.

Ecc. 6:1-2 … "THERE IS an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavily upon men: A man to whom God has given riches, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he might desire, yet God does not give him the power or capacity to enjoy them things which are gifts from God, but a stranger in whom he has no interest succeeds him and consumes and enjoys them. This is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility); it is a sore affliction!"

Many times people work their whole lives to store up God's material blessings for the future and yet never get to enjoy it. Your time runs out and what you leave behind … someone else gets to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

Ecc. 6:12 … "For who limited to human wisdom knows what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a shadow going through the motions but accomplishing nothing? For who can tell a man what will happen to his work, his treasure, his plans under the sun after he is gone?"

Those things which we deem good are often evil; those which we think are evil often are good. While man lives, he wishes to know what is before him, what his future is. When he is about to die, he wishes to know what will be after him. Because He is merciful … God will reveal neither.

Chapter 6 could be summed up with Solomon's words this way …

"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun … all the labor of man is for his self-preservation and enjoyment, and yet his desire is not satisfied. For who can tell a man what will happen to his work, his treasure, his plans under the sun after he is gone?"

Chapter 7 …

Ecc. 7:1 … "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."

Why is the day of your death better than your birth? In Solomon's mind, birth is the start of a life of fruitless toil, labor and despair. The toil and labor is all over at death and you go to be with God. By only seeing this life as full of vanity, vexation and misery, to Solomon it is more desirable for a man to go out of it, than to come into it.

Ecc. 7:20 … "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

This statement from Solomon may have been one of self reflection concerning his own life; but to me it sounds a lot like Paul's statement in Romans … "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Solomon said to himself … "I will be wise; but it was far from me." These rules I have laid down for my own conduct, and sought after more wisdom; but have fallen far short of what I wished to be.

To strive after wisdom through the knowledge of things is labor in vain. He said he found two things … with respect to women, judged by his experience in the world; he has found none good; among men … one in a thousand.

Chapter 8 …

He asks this question … "Who is a wise man?" Then he advises men who desire to live quietly and comfortably, to honor and obey the powers that be that rules over them and not be anxious or worry about things to come since there is a set time for everything, and the future things cannot be known anyway.

After speaking of the futility that goes on upon the earth, such as … "righteous men fare as though they were wicked, and wicked men fare as though they were righteous" … he says that this also is vanity or emptiness. In other words … what does it matter if life isn't fair?

Solomon ends the chapter saying that he … "recommends enjoyment and pleasure, because a man without God has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be joyful. Although I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the business activity and the painful effort that takes place upon the earth, and though I saw all the work of God that is done under the sun, yet I fell short, because even though a wise man thinks and claims he knows all of God's work, he will not be able to find it out."

Chapter 9 …

Solomon is now ready to start his summation of … "the trial of life."

Ecc. 9:1 … "For all this (what I have just written) I considered in my heart to declare … that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God … and no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them."

I believe Solomon is saying … we are not to judge man's love or God's love by whether good things or bad things come to us.

Solomon continues speaking truth as he has seen it …

Ecc. 9:2-3 … "All things come alike to all … there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the clean, and to the unclean … to the good and to the sinner. This is an evil under the sun … there is one event unto all: yea they live, and after that they go to the dead." One event does come alike to all … death.

Ecc. 9:11 states … "time and chance happens to them all." Chance? Many times it seems as though God just stands back and lets things come our way as though it is by chance, when in reality … nothing happens by chance.

Chapter 10 …

Solomon shares some observations on wisdom and folly … Be careful if you dig a pit, a trap for others, you might fall into it. Watch what you say … a fool speaks many words. The folly of the fool has consequences. A wise man keeps his ax sharp; if not it will take more strength.

Chapter 11 …

Basically, this whole chapter is right on target. Solomon wisely says … You cannot out give God. Give and it will come back to you. If a man lives many years, rejoice in them all. Remove sorrow from your heart and put away evil from your flesh.

Chapter 12 …

Ecc. 12:1 … "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth …" To sum up the whole thing … God must be remembered … before weakness and old age overtake you.

Ecc. 12:13-14 … "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

The conclusion of Solomon's trial of life is this …

"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

Finally … the chief subject of this book is the foolishness of man's efforts in seeking happiness in his life. All of this life's experience is in contrast with true wisdom, which is … submission and obedience to God.

Remember this book gives us only … the experience and reasoning of this wise man on all that happens under the sun … even though it looks as if he has lost his faith.

There is nothing in this book concerning grace and redemption or a covenant relationship with God … only the experience of this present life.

Man's conscience also has its part in this matter and Solomon's final conclusion in the end has only one rule of life to follow … fear God who disposes of our life, who judges every action of our life … all the days of our life.

And so it is today … it is this world that is brought into question … not God.



Comments welcome.

The Book of Ecclesiastes … Part II

Solomon's trial of life continues with …

Chapter 3 …

The general design here is to confirm what Solomon observed before in the previous two chapters , the vanity and inconstancy of all things; the frailty of man; his fruitless toil and labor in all his works; that it is best to be content with present things, and be thankful for them; and that all man has comes from the hand of God.

Solomon’s way of stating it is that there is a season, an appropriate time which God appoints for its being done. Ecc. 3:1-8 "… a time for every purpose under heaven."

He asks this question in Ecc. 3:9 … "What profit remains for the worker from his toil?"

He answers that the works of man, if done according to God’s appointment, are a part of Divine Providence; and by reason of its extent and duration is incomprehensible to us. Some works of God no man can fully understand, because he cannot search them out … "from the beginning to the end" … Ecc. 3:11.

Ecc. 3:12-13 … Man is to work and enjoy the good from his labor in his lifetime, which he can only do as God allows. The good received from his labor is … a gift of God.

God’s work … of which man and his labor would be considered a part … is perfect and is so ordered to teach man to revere and fear Him … Ecc. 3:14.

Ecc. 3:17-19 … God is the same in all His works, the purpose being … that man should fear Him. Man knows that God will judge the righteous and the wicked; but as far as man knows, he dies as the beast dies … "one thing befalls them both. As the one dies, so dies the other" … and then who can really know in this life what becomes of him afterwards?

Ecc. 3:20-22 … "All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth?
So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion. For who shall bring him back to see what will happen after he is gone?"

There is no revelation given in his writings of eternity to come; the only conclusion Solomon comes to is from his experiences of what takes place now in this world … "under the sun." It's the knowledge of God that teaches there is a judgment; but to man all is darkness beyond this present life.

In reality … we must agree with Solomon; our belief in a "resurrection, eternity and Heaven" is unproven. We really don't know … we just believe it by faith.

Chapter 4 …

Solomon expresses the sorrow caused by the injustice of a sinful world and the wrongs which make up the history of man; which to one like him who has a sense of natural justice creates the desire to put an end to it. Both labor and laziness bring their own type of distress and vanity (emptiness) to man.

Ecc. 4:8 … "Here is one alone--no one with him; he neither has child nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labor, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, neither does he ask, For whom do I labor and deprive myself of good? This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility); yes, it is a painful effort and an unhappy business."

Here greed and desire for wealth are characterized by Solomon in this example of one man, who is the center of his own existence, who has neither a wife nor child. He is alone and yet is as intent on getting money as if he had a large family to provide for. He even refuses to give to himself the comforts of wealth that have come from his own labor. This is not only foolishness, vanity (emptiness) but also is a good example of the "sore travail" he spoke about in Chapter 1.

This man never once asks himself this question … Who am I toiling for? But for a man that has no wife or children to leave it to, he is gaining wealth, yet laboring for what, especially when he deprives himself of the comfort of what he has worked for. Instead of enjoying what he has earned, he withholds it from himself, living in want in the midst of plenty.

Solomon has just spoken of the man who was alone in his labor. Now he gives some reasons for why God said … "It is not good for man to be alone." Of course God was speaking of Adam; so He made Eve.

Ecc. 4:9-11 … "Two are better than one … for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?"

Next Solomon offers a small glimpse into a little of his God given wisdom …

Ecc. 4:12 … "And though a man might prevail against him who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken."

Many times Satan chooses to attack a single believer when alone. So when saints stand their ground against the enemy, and hold to the truth; two are better than one, three is better still … a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

A house divided against itself cannot stand; but together they are able to stand against an enemy and conquer him.

This doctrine is taught in the fable of the bundle of sticks the old man gave to his sons to break. While fastened together, it could not be done; but when taken out one at a time, were easily snapped into; teaching unity among the sons as their greatest security against their common enemy.

The same meaning is given by this threefold cord; while it remains twisted together, it is not easily broken; but if the threads are untwisted and unloosed, they are soon broken.

This is true of the united love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the threefold cord by which the saints are held) of which it is said, that it not only is not quickly broken, but that it … cannot be broken. Some also apply this same example to faith, hope and love which abide forever.

Solomon now proceeds to another vanity, that of honor and power.

Ecc. 4:13 … "Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive counsel." Could Solomon have been speaking of himself?

Chapter 5 …

Solomon now turns to reverence in worship, rules to be observed in the house of God. We should be more ready to hear than to speak; praying to God should be expressed in a few words rather than a fool's many words. Vows to God, when made should be kept.

Solomon closes this chapter by saying … "Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is for one to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun all the days which God gives him … for this is his allotted part. Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, and the power to enjoy them and to accept his appointed lot and to rejoice in his toil … this is the gift of God to him."

Two things we do not have any power over … the number of days God gives us and our appointed lot in life.

To be continued …

The Book of Ecclesiastes ... Part I

I've heard it said that the Book of Ecclesiastes was written when Solomon's moral standard had lapsed to a lower level; some even suggesting he had fallen away from the Lord completely. In other words … he was lost.

I'm not too sure of that. I think he's gotten a bad rap. Yes, he admits to sin because of the choices he made. Women, pleasure, food, wealth and anything else a king could desire was his. But as he found out, even this lifestyle didn't satisfy the spirit of man. Something was missing. As he suggests later … only God can satisfy … which leads me to believe that he came back to the Lord and repented.

Why do I love Ecclesiastes? I think it's because Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived … tells it like it is. Hopefully after reading what I consider some of the most meaningful parts of it, you will too, if you don't already.

This Book is the written experience of Solomon after he places all things in life on trial, using this question as a basis … "What does man have left after all of his labor in which he toils under the sun?"

Great question. This limited discourse will only speak to very few verses, but touching part of each of the twelve chapters.

The effect of this trial was the discovery that all is vanity (emptiness) and vexation (the feeding upon) of the spirit; that every effort to be happy ends in nothing. The greater the capacity for enjoyment, the deeper and wider is the experience of disappointment in life.

Pleasure does not satisfy and even righteousness cannot secure happiness in this world. Even the workings of God in such an evil and sinful world as Solomon observes … is not done to secure for man a lasting happiness that comes from the limited stability of things on earth; although as a general rule God protects those who walk with Him.

There is no allusion to the truth that we are dead in sins and offences. We are. The result in the mind of Solomon from the experiences which he has gone through is the picture he sets before us. As to the things around us, there is nothing better than to enjoy the things which God has given us; and finally in the end he says … "the fear of God is the whole duty of man" … and that should be what rules his walk on earth, not the gratifying of his own will.

In Solomon's Proverbs we have practical moral guidance as we walk through life in this world. In contrast, Ecclesiastes gives the result of all of man's efforts trying to find happiness.

The moral of this book is to show it is … "this world under the sun" that is brought into question … not God.

Chapter 1 …

Ecclesiastes begins with … "The words of the Preacher, the son of David and king in Jerusalem."

The preacher's sermon … the whole book is one continued discourse consisting of things of the greatest importance, words which Solomon sought out according to verse 10 of Chapter 12 … "The Preacher (Solomon) sought acceptable words, even to write down rightly words of truth or correct sentiment."

Solomon, a penitent soul that was lost after a thousand vanities of sin is now made to seek God's grace and forgiveness; for it is only the penitent soul that God will accept, along with the heart that is broken. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak;" therefore we have in this book the words from the heart of a penitent Solomon that were published by him.

And so the trial begins …

Ecc. 1:3 … "What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?"

Again, this question is the basis for this book … a general proof of the vanity or emptiness of all things, since there is no lasting profit to a man for all his labor. All things a man enjoys he gets by labor; he gets his bread by the sweat of his brow, which is a part of the curse for sin; wealth and riches come through God's blessing by labor; and all knowledge of natural things are acquired through much labor and weariness of the flesh.

These are some of the things a man labors for "under the sun," meaning a measure of time … when the sun rises man goes to his labor, and when it sets his labor is done.

Ecc. 1:9 … sums up verses 4 thru 12, "… there is nothing new under the sun."

Ecc. 1:13-14 … "And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail (business) hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised (submit, deal hardly) therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity (emptiness) and vexation (grasping after, the feeding upon) of (man's) spirit."

I like the way the last half of verse 13 in the Amplified reads … "It is a miserable business which God has given to the sons of man with which to busy themselves."

Solomon is saying that God has given to all men the employment or business of humbly searching out for themselves all the works of God and man on this earth; after which you should agree that it is unsatisfactory and empty; that man is grasping after things to satisfy his spirit … but instead it only feeds upon or takes away from his spirit. Therefore everything is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Ecc. 1:17-18 … "And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow."

Solomon's position allowed him to do whatever he wanted "under the sun," and by doing so, along with his observation of the natural and moral evils in the world; the knowledge of such things just increased the sorrow within his own spirit and soul.

Chapter 2 …

Solomon, having made a trial of natural wisdom and knowledge and finding it to be all vanity, proceeds to the trial of pleasure.

Ecc. 2:1-11 …

"I said in my mind, Come now, I will … test you with pleasure …
I searched in my mind how to cheer my body with wine …
I made great works; I built myself houses, I planted vineyards.
I had great possessions …
I also gathered for myself silver and gold …
I got for myself … concubines very many.
So I became great and increased more … my wisdom remained with me …
And whatever my eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any pleasure …
Then I looked on all that my hands had done and the labor I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was vanity (emptiness) … and there was no profit under the sun."

Ecc. 2:12 … "So I turned to consider wisdom and folly …"

Ecc. 2:13-14 … "Then I saw that even wisdom that brings sorrow is better than the pleasures of folly as far as light is better than darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I perceived that in the end one event happens to them both."

The difference between wisdom and folly is as great as that between light and darkness. But the same event (death) happens to all men, and much reflection and thought only makes us question life. The heart becomes weary of the knowledge searched for; after all … one dies like another. So what profit has it been to him? There is a time for all things, and man must do each in its season, and enjoy that which God gives to us on our way through life.

Ecc. 2:15 … "Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me …"

Ecc. 2:20 … "So I turned around and gave my heart up to despair (hopelessness) over all the labor of my efforts under the sun."

He ended this part of the trial concerning wisdom and pleasure and concluded …

Ecc. 2:24 … "There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and make himself enjoy good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God."

Man should be content with the good that all his labor brings him, being thankful for them and looking upon them as blessings flowing to him from the love and goodness of God. Solomon saw and perceived by experience that good is not from man's labor … but comes only from the hand of God.

To be continued …