Seeking and Searching

12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. 16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.  Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

Solomon, the wisest king, who ever lived (I Kings 3:12) searched for wisdom. He searched everywhere. “His giving himself to the study of natural history, philosophy, poetry, etc., are sufficient proofs of it. He had not intuitive knowledge from God; but he had a capacity to obtain every kind of knowledge useful to man.” –Adam Clarke

In all the studying and searching he came to the conclusion, “all is vanity (emptiness) and vexation (a feeding upon, that is, grasping after) of spirit.” All the studying and searching of subjects was useless and without a purpose.

He knew he had more wisdom than all those before him but still felt an emptiness. The more wisdom he had the more grief he felt. When one increases knowledge the sorrow also increases. What a peculiar thing to say.

Pondering this verse I see it as; the more wisdom we get the more grief because our eyes are open to the happenings (in all realms i.e. Christian, world and politics) in the world. The more God reveals to us (knowledge & wisdom) we are grieved because we can understand more clearly what is taking place in the world around us.  As one reads the prophecy to come it saddens the heart. When we speak to others about it, most will not listen.

It is up to us to continue to be witnesses and testimonies in this dark world realizing this world is not our home.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

The Words of the Preacher

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. Ecclesiastes 1:1-7

I enjoy reading and studying the book of Ecclesiastes. For the next few weeks I will do lessons/devotionals/my thoughts  on Ecclesiastes. I once heard David Jeremiah say, “Ecclesiastes is a book about everything under the sun without God.” This statement is very true but we can learn much from the “the preacher”, “the son of David”.

Background info:

Writer: Probably Solomon, King David’s son

Time: Around 935 B.C. (late in Solomon’s life)

Place: Jerusalem

Known facts about Solomon:

Richest man at that time I Kings 10:23

Wisest man I Kings 3:13,4:29-30

Most influential king in Israel’s history I Kings 4:29,34: I Kings 10:1,24, I Chronicles 29:25

Had many wives I King 11:3

Reigned for 40 years I Kings 11:42

The book of Ecclesiastes lets us know right away who wrote this book. It was none other than the son of David, who also was the king in Jerusalem, King Solomon. This was written in the later part of Solomon’s life, after he had lived life to “the fullest”. He learned many things by how he lived as well as what he had obtained. Each thing he did made him realize “all is vanity.”

The first few verses of this chapter basically say life goes on. Each generation follows the next. The sun rises and sets each and every day. The wind goes south then turns and goes north. The rivers run into the sea but the sea never gets full. Life continues from one generation to the next, it is the cycle of life.

Verse three says, “What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?” In other words, “What do you get from working so hard?”

Join me on this journey of exploring Ecclesiastes.

 Have a blessed day, 

Donna

Overgrown gate

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Mark 4:19


Another gate that is around our heart is a gate that is hidden behind overgrown foliage. Sometimes the weeds are so high or dense that you can barely see the gate. Is the gate of your heart hidden with overgrown things? Are the cares of the world crowding out the blessings of God?

Even the wisest man in the world, Solomon, let the cares and lusts of this world crowd out the Lord of his life. In the beginning of Solomon’s reign he asked God for wisdom to rule the people and make the right decisions. (I Kings 3:9-12) By the end of his life (I Kings 11:4-6) Solomon had allowed the weeds of the world to cover the gate of his heart. He no longer put God first in his life. The more I read about Solomon I wonder if God had any place in his later life. I am very doubtful that He did.

Sampson, a judge in the early days of Israel, was more concerned with how he could satisfy himself in the pleasures of the world. God blessed him with “superpowers” but he sought after what the world had to offer. Sampson lived for the “moment” never giving a thought to God. Sampson lived his life for himself, he was number one. As a result of his lifestyle he lost his eyesight and eventually his life.

In my own life, I know it does not take much for the weeds to cover my heart gate. I need to be constantly taking account of how I spend my time. I get busy with one thing or another and before I know it I have not spent a minute with the Lord.

What about you? Do you let the cares and worries of this life overtake your heart? Take a few minutes to clean the heart gate of excessive foliage and weeds.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1Peter 5:7
Have a blessed day,
Donna