.jpg)
Ecclesiastes: The Bible’s Strangest
Book - The Fed Is Trying to Thread a Needle With a Rope - Dangers of ATF
Tyranny - Restored Republic via a GCR – American Thinker - How to Remove
Graphene Oxide From Your Body - Terrorist Commander Eliminated By IDF & more.
Researched & Comments by Pastor
Gary Boyd
March 24th 2023
MAIL ONLINE: House approves Parents'
Bill of Rights after AOC calls it 'fascist' and Schumer calls it 'Orwellian to
the core' as it makes it easier for parents to ban books and out LGBTQ students
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the 'fascist' bill would target LGBT youth
and censor racial content - Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised the
bill would meet a 'dead end' in the Senate - Would require schools to inform
parents if school staff begin encouraging or promoting their child's gender
transition - By MORGAN PHILLIPS, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM - PUBLISHED:
12:27 EDT, 24 March 2023 | UPDATED: 14:40 EDT, 24 March 2023 - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11898875/House-approves-Parents-Bill-Rights-AOC-calls-fascist.html
Sarah Westall: Evidence emerging of
US Government & Sinaloa Cartel Partnership w/ Dave Hodges - Friday, March
24, 2023 13:37 - Dave Hodges, journalist and host of the Common Sense Show,
rejoins the program to discuss the state of the world. We analyze global
politics, the economic situation, and he brings to light more information about
the Sinaloa Cartel and the U.S. Governments partnership with the drug and human
trafficking organization. https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/03/sarah-westall-evidence-emerging-of-us-government-sinaloa-cartel-partnership-w-dave-hodges-3790539.html
Major Deep State Decodes Ep#522 (Video)
- Friday, March 24, 2023 12:29 - Things are building to a crescendo point and
it could get really insane soon! The
Intel in this latest decode is info we all need to know and share! - https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/03/major-deep-state-decodes-ep522-video-3790530.html
BORDERLAND BEAT: Four Ecuadorian Men
with 548 Kilos Cocaine Intercepted by Navy Off Coast of Chiapas - Friday, March
24, 2023 14:33 - By “El Huaso” for Borderland Beat - The Mexican Attorney
Generals’ office (FGR) has charged four Ecuadorian men with crimes against
health after attempting to traffic 548 kilos and 467 grams of cocaine into
Mexico, reveals a recent FGR press release. https://beforeitsnews.com/immigration/2023/03/four-ecuadorian-men-with-548-kilos-cocaine-intercepted-by-navy-off-coast-of-chiapas-2472690.html
CANADA FREE PRESS: DA Alvin Bragg’s
Planned Arrest of Donald Trump Originated From A Failed Plan To Replace Bungled
J6 Narrative - Bragg’s plans seem to have blown up in his face. The talk of
arresting Trump seems to have died down, with only the protest screams of the
alley cats of the Congress still heard in the background - By Judi McLeod ——Bio
and Archives--March 24, 2023 - https://canadafreepress.com/article/da-alvin-braggs-planned-arrest-of-donald-trump-originated-from-a-failed-plan-to-replace-bungled-j6-narrative
The Fed Is Trying to Thread a Needle
With a Rope: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap
- March 24 2023 - On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates again
despite the problems in the banking system. In this episode of the Friday Gold
Wrap, host Mike Maharrey talks about the Fed’s inflationary efforts to paper
over the problems in the financial system while still keeping up the pretense
of an inflation fight. He says it’s like trying to thread a needle with rope. https://schiffgold.com/friday-gold-wrap/the-fed-is-trying-to-thread-a-needle-with-a-rope-schiffgold-friday-gold-wrap-march-24/
BLP: Chip Roy Warns About the Dangers
of ATF Tyranny - By Jose Nino - Mar 24, 2023 - During a House Judiciary
Committee hearing held on March 23, 2023, Texas Congressman Chip Roy called
attention to how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’
(ATF’s) recent enactment of a controversial pistol brace regulation represents
a potential avenue for the establishment of bureaucratic tyranny. Roy noted
that “the crux” of gun owners’ beef with the ATF is the idea of “a bureaucrat
making unilateral decisions to try to turn millions of Americans into felons,
to advance a radical leftist agenda, which is clearly what is at play.” He
argued that the ATF has effectively embarked on doing “what Congress has not done.”
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/chip-roy-warns-about-the-dangers-of-atf-tyranny/
Judy Byington: The World Has Just
Entered a Black Swan Event -Restored Republic via a GCR: Update as of Fri. 24
March 2023 (Video) - Friday, March 24, 2023 9:22 - THE WORLD HAS JUST ENTERED A
BLACK SWAN EVENT WHERE BANKS WERE DEFAULTING ACROSS THE GLOBE - As of Thurs. 23
March the Deep State Cabal’s major Central Bank Credit Suisse, was in default,
plus the FDIC has withdrawn their bid to buy Silicon Valley Bank – both of
which has created a domino effect that was bound to take out big banks across
the world…. https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/03/judy-byington-the-world-has-just-entered-a-black-swan-event-restored-republic-via-a-gcr-update-as-of-fri-24-march-2023-video-3790520.html
Mother Accuses Government Of
Murdering 3-Year-Old Girl: 'Son of a B*tches Forced Us To Get Vaccinated'
(Video) - Friday, March 24, 2023 9:10 - This little girl’s story deserves to be
told.. A three-year-old healthy little girl, Ambar Maite Catán, died after
being forced by the Argentinian government to be “vaccinated.” Ambar’s
distraught mother, Miryam, recounted the heartbreaking story of her daughter’s
senseless death in a television interview. The mother not only holds the
government responsible for “killing” her child but vowed to fight the
government to protect other children from receiving the dangerous and deadly
experimental Covid injections…. https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/03/mother-accuses-government-of-murdering-3-year-old-girl-son-of-a-btches-forced-us-to-get-vaccinated-video-3790517.html
How to remove graphene oxide from
your body put there by covid vaccines -
Friday, March 24, 2023 2:08 - Some will argue that administering mRNA
COVID shots to as many people as possible was Big Pharma’s primary, profit-driven
motive during the pandemic – as well as the motive of global political elites
that Pharma funds to the gills. But as
we know by now, these shots are not without risk and have harmed, disabled, and
killed innocent people. Remember the
COVID shot recall in Japan, which was instigated after it was found certain
batches were contaminated with bits of stainless steel? Or how about the concerning revelation that
COVID shots contain graphene oxide – a harmful compound that some doctors
believe can actually be shed from those that received the shot to those that
did not, and therefore poses a health risk to both groups? https://beforeitsnews.com/health/2023/03/how-to-remove-graphene-oxide-from-your-body-3049767.html
MICHELLE MOORE SHOW: When Will We
Realize We Have To Stand Up & Say "ENOUGH!?!" Border Slaves,
Children Being Taken To Slaughter Houses, This Is The Nightmare! (VIDEO) - Thursday,
March 23, 2023 22:14 - Founder of Women Fighting For America, Christie
Hutcherson, joins Warren Armour and Michelle Moore to share her first-hand
experiences of fighting trafficking, the kinds of trafficking taking place in
America and around the world, and the cold hard truth about who’s doing the
enabling of the human trafficking in our country. https://beforeitsnews.com/resources/2023/03/when-will-we-realize-we-have-to-stand-up-say-enough-border-slaves-children-being-taken-to-slaughter-houses-this-is-the-nightmare-video-2432376.html
An adult in charge of a college in
Texas - Friday, March 24, 2023 9:57 - For some time, I’ve asked the
question: Where are the adults in
college administration? Why are brats
running our universities? Cancelling
speakers they disagree with? Graduating
with meaningless degrees that won’t translate into a decent career? A mess, to say the least. https://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2023/03/an-adult-in-charge-of-a-college-in-texas-3658347.html
ZERO HEDGE: Biden's Collapsing Sgt.
Schultz Defense: New Evidence Shows The President Played Direct Role In Addressing
Hunter's Business Deals - BY TYLER DURDEN - THURSDAY, MAR 23, 2023 - 04:40 PM -
Authored by Jonathan Turley - For years, President Joe Biden has maintained a
Sgt. Schultz defense to allegations that his family has profiteered on
influence peddling with foreign countries and companies. Despite mounting
evidence to the contrary, Biden maintains that he “knows nothing, nothing”
about Hunter Biden’s business deals. He recently doubled down on this defense
by even denying that family members received money from foreign sources. He
repeated his denial even after the release of financial transfer reports from
his own administration showing millions transferred from China. Now, emails
have emerged that show that Biden personally helped draft responses to the
controversial deals in 2015 when he was Vice President. It also appears that Biden
officials like former Biden Communications Director Kate Bedingfield knew of
his role as the President continued to deny any involvement. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bidens-collapsing-sgt-schultz-defense-new-evidence-shows-president-played-direct-role
ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS: GOP senators urge EU to designate IRGC as
terror group - Letter to EU calls for sanctions against Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps for selling drones to Russia and 'sowing terror in the West.' -
Israel National News - Mar 23, 2023, 9:04 PM - Twelve Republican senators
called on the European Union to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) as a terrorist entity on Wednesday, warning in a letter to EU foreign
affairs chief Josep Borrell of the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ continued support
for “Russian war crimes in Ukraine” and the Iranian government’s “goal of
sowing terror in the West.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/369153
WORLD ISRAEL NEWS: Israeli forces
surround terrorist commander’s hideout, eliminate him in shootout - March 23,
2023 - Commander of the Tulkarem Brigade Amir Abu Khadijah had carried out
several shooting attacks against soldiers and Jewish villages. - By Batya
Jerenberg - World Israel News - Israeli security forces eliminated early
Thursday morning a terrorist known in the Palestinian Authority as the
“Commander of the Tulkarem Brigade” after he opened fire on them. https://worldisraelnews.com/special-forces-eliminate-terrorist-commander-in-samaria/
The Morning Briefing: Enough With the
Pervert Adults in Public Schools, Already - BY STEPHEN KRUISER 5:48 AM ON MARCH
24, 2023 - https://pjmedia.com/columns/stephen-kruiser/2023/03/24/the-morning-briefing-enough-with-the-pervert-adults-in-public-schools-already-n1680910
French protests said to be ‘out of
control’ - Police clashed with protesters as over a million demonstrated
against President Macron’s pension reform – march 23rd 2023 - French
authorities struggled on Thursday to suppress nationwide protests against
President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. Over a million demonstrators took
to the streets across the country in what some security sources described as an
“insurrection” against the government in Paris. (Comment: The jig is up on the
waanabee Antichrist in training Macron. He just keeps shooting himself in the
foot. Rumors has it he has fled the country. There is no proof though that is
true, but he does have a safe haven close by in a friendly country.) https://www.rt.com/news/573491-france-protest-out-of-control/
Ecclesiastes: The Bible’s Strangest
Book
By Dennis Pollock & David R.
Reagan
Published on: December 3, 2021
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
March 24th 2023
Why is Ecclesiastes so negative?
In my opinion, Ecclesiastes has to be
the strangest book in the Bible. It begins with an evaluation of life with
which no Christian today would ever agree: that life is vain and purposeless.
Solomon begins his strange thesis about life on earth with the words: “Vanity
of vanities, all is vanity.” In using the word vanity, Solomon is not talking
about ego. He is declaring that life is vain — all life, all our lives, all our
activities, and all that happens “under the sun” (one of his favorite
expressions) is in vain and without any real purpose.
This is hardly a Christian worldview.
We who are in Christ see life as incredibly significant and purposeful. We must
wonder, “How is it that Solomon could be so gloomy?” The general tenor of the
book of Ecclesiastes seems more philosophical than theological, and it is a
pretty gloomy philosophy at that.
We must understand that during the
days of the Old Testament, there was no widespread revelation of eternal life.
In fact, the Old Testament says very, very little about the afterlife — so
little that there was a major theological group existing in Jesus’ day who
firmly insisted that there was no afterlife. Once you died, that was it, so if
God was pleased with you, you could be sure you would be blessed in this life —
since there were no blessings and indeed no life at all after death. This group
was known as the Sadducees. Their main argument for believing as they did was
by reason of omission — you just couldn’t find plain, clear references to
Heaven or any life after death in the writings of Moses (Genesis through
Deuteronomy).
Early Sadducee
Solomon seemed to be of this
persuasion long before the Sadducees appeared on the scene. He had a great life
for the present. He was the king of Israel and the wealthiest and wisest man on
earth. He had all his heart could want in possessions, wives, concubines,
entertainers, gold, silver, and just about anything and everything a man of his
times could ever desire. He was a royal, and he lived royally.
But as Solomon aged, something began
to bother him. The reality of his own eventual death became more and more
depressing to him. Sure, he had it all for now. And he would probably enjoy
these blessings for a while. But sooner or later, he would do as all the rest
of the world did. He would age, he would weaken, and he would finally die and
leave everything. Every bit of his gold and silver, all his wives, all his
servants, all his fancy robes and crowns, everything he possessed, all he had
accomplished, and all which gave him such pride and satisfaction would remain,
but he would be gone.
Throughout the twelve chapters of the
little book of Ecclesiastes, the gloomy king complains again and again about
this inevitable and irresistible conclusion to human life. Let’s consider a few
of his ramblings on this subject. In chapter one, we read (Ecclesiastes 1:3-4,
NKJV):
“What profit has a man from all his
labor in which he toils under the sun. One generation passes away, and another
generation comes.”
Solomon was a hard worker. Throughout
his life, he was constantly building, creating, and improving Jerusalem. He
took much pride in his accomplishments, but it just didn’t sit well with him
that one day he would die, and all his labor, all his efforts, and all his
accomplishments would fall into the hands of others. He uses a phrase here that
we will see repeated throughout the book. That phrase is: “What profit…?” He
might have said, “What good does it do?” Regardless of how skilled we are and
how hard we work, and all that we manage to accumulate, it will all at some
point be unceremoniously ripped from our cold, dead hands. So what is the
point?
No Remembrance
Later in the first chapter, Solomon
laments the fact that the day will probably come when he will be entirely
forgotten and receive no credit by future generations for all he has done. He
states: “There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any
remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after”
(Ecclesiastes 1:11). Not only will he die and have to leave everything behind,
but in future generations, everything he has done, all his labors and triumphs
and sorrows and memories will be forgotten. What’s the use?
In the second chapter, Solomon
carries this theme further still. He writes (Ecclesiastes 2:14-16):
“The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived that the same event
happens to them all. So I said in my heart, ‘As it happens to the fool, It also
happens to me, and why was I then more wise?’ Then I said in my heart, ‘This
also is vanity.’ For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool
forever, since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how
does a wise man die? As the fool!”
Solomon feels it would be acceptable
if only fools and wicked people died while the wise and righteous people live
on. But to his consternation, it doesn’t happen this way. Wise men die as well
as fools; godly people die right along with the wicked. And to make matters
worse, wise men are forgotten just about as quickly as the fools! No matter how
much you accomplish, no matter how many people you help, no matter how high you
may rise in this life, you will die right alongside the village idiot, and both
of you will eventually be forgotten. It just isn’t fair!
What Solomon was saying and seeing
was not something particularly novel or brilliant. Everybody knew that death
was both real and inevitable, from the peasant farmer to the highly educated
scholar. But Solomon felt it far more keenly than most. Perhaps this was partly
because he had so much to lose.
But another reason was simply the
very nature of the man. Solomon was by temperament a philosopher. He didn’t
just observe life; he thought about it, analyzed it, pondered its meaning, and
desperately tried to make sense of it all. But he could never get around the
immoveable, impenetrable, distasteful reality of death — particularly the
thought of his own death.
Dead Like a Dog
As the gloomy king observed life and
death, he came to a miserable conclusion: the deaths of men and women aren’t
all that different from the deaths of animals, which made him wonder if we are
all that superior to the beasts. He wrote (Ecclesiastes 3:18-20):
“I said in my heart, ‘Concerning the
condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they
themselves are like animals.’ For what happens to the sons of men also happens
to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely,
they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.'”
Who is wiser: a dead man or a dead
dog? Who is happier: a dead lady or a dead mouse? As Solomon pondered these
questions — questions which few men and women ever paused to consider — he came
to some unhappy conclusions. Although men and women may be smarter and cleverer
and accomplish far more than the animals, we all die the same way. We all
appear to go into a state of eternal unconsciousness where we see nothing, do
nothing, say nothing, enjoy nothing, and are, in effect, non-existent.
It was not a pleasant thought,
especially for the philosophically-minded king who had so much to lose at
life’s end and had so much time to think about it while he still lived. And as
he wrote this little book we call Ecclesiastes, these kinds of melancholy
thoughts and meditations were freely distributed throughout his essay.
A Severe Evil
As we move through the book, we find
more of the same. (Ecclesiastes 5:15-16):
“As he came from his mother’s womb,
naked shall he return…. And he shall take nothing from his labor…. And this
also is a severe evil — Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.”
This idea of dying and being unable
to take even the smallest possession or accomplishment with you seems to
Solomon a great tragedy. He does not call it evil; he declares it is a “severe
evil.” It is strange that what billions of men and women have accepted without
much thought (the idea of our eventual death) throughout earth’s history is, to
Solomon, a huge problem. This is not some small thing; this is a big, big deal!
And of course, he is right if you
subtract God and Christ, and the promise of eternal life through Christ, from
life’s equation. Without the hope Jesus gives, life becomes a cruel joke, a
terrible Shakespearian tragedy foisted upon billions of people who live out
their lives, and work and sweat, and attempt great things, as though life has
some purpose, which in fact it surely does not — if there is nothing beyond the
grave.
If the soil and the worms and a
permanent state of extinction and non-existence are the destiny awaiting every
one of us, what does it matter whether we live nobly or poorly, whether we
achieve much good or no good at all, whether we try with all our might to “make
our lives count” or live selfishly and foolishly all our days? Eventually, even
our earth itself will cease to be, and all the struggles and accomplishments
and the collective memories of billions of people and families and nations will
be erased with a permanent, cosmic deletion. No one will be left to know or
care or remember anything any one of us ever did or said or wrote or achieved.
Solomon concluded that in light of
all of this, the only thing we can do is to try to enjoy our vain lives while
we still live: “So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better
under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry….” (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
Paul recalled this statement as he
wrote in his epistle to the Corinthians about the resurrection from the dead.
He made the point that apart from a hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ,
“If the dead do not rise, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!'” (1
Corinthians 15:32).
Vivid Contrast
We may be tempted to wonder why God
would include this pessimistic, melancholy little book in the Holy Scriptures,
particularly since its tone entirely contradicts the writings of the Apostles
and the teachings of our Lord Jesus. Does God really want His children going
around spouting, “It’s all vanity. Life has no purpose. We might as well eat
and drink it up, for we’ll all soon be dead!”
I am convinced that God wanted to
give us a vivid picture of what life would be like apart from the hope that
springs through the Cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Solomon had no such
hope. In his mind, the grave was a place of total cessation: all joy and work
and consciousness end when we take our last breath. Solomon wrote: “Whatever
your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or
knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
This is the polar opposite of the
theology espoused by the Apostle Paul, who wrote: “But if I live on in the
flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot
tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be
with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:22, 23).
What a contrast! Solomon sees death
as the ultimate enemy; Paul sees it as a doorway to a greater life with His
Savior, Jesus Christ. Solomon sees it as loss; Paul sees it as gain. This sure
and joyous expectation of a life after this life in the presence of Jesus is
known biblically as our “Blessed Hope” (Titus 2:13).
But this idea of hope is more than
wishful thinking. It is a glorious looking forward to a wonderful future that
Jesus has promised us. And with this hope, we can endure all things, counting
them, as Paul did, a “light affliction, which works for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory.”
Afterthoughts by Dr. Reagan
I’m sure many of you must be thinking
at this point, “How could one of the wisest men who ever lived end up with such
a pessimistic, unbiblical view of life?”
Not only was Solomon gifted with
great wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-14 and 4:29), he was also a man who believed in God
and who greatly honored his Creator when he dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem.
On that occasion, he offered a sacrifice to the Lord of 22,000 oxen and 120,000
sheep (1 Kings 8:63). He also led the priests and the people in a magnificent
prayer that began with these words: “O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God
like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing
lovingkindness to Your servants.…”
Solomon is also the one who wrote the
following words, recorded in Psalm 72:18-19, NASB:
“Blessed be the LORD God, the God of
Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and
may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”
Why the Depression?
So, why all his despair in the book
of Ecclesiastes? Well, as Dennis Pollock so well points out in his article,
Solomon did not have a clear conviction of life after death. And so, as he
approached death, he began to wallow in self-pity over the seeming
meaninglessness of life. He was wrestling with the idea that “we are here today
and gone tomorrow,” soon to be forgotten like a dead dog.
But there is more to it than that.
Despite his wisdom and his spirituality, there came a point in Solomon’s life
when he got his eyes off God and strayed significantly from the center of God’s
will for his life. There were problems from the beginning. He was hardly
coronated as king when he decided to engage in a political marriage with one of
the daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh (1 Kings 3:1). This act constituted a
severe violation of God’s command against marriages with non-Hebrew women
(Deuteronomy 7:3-4). He also burned incense on high places that were dedicated
to false gods (1 Kings 3:3).
The Descent into Apostasy
The turning point in Solomon’s life
occurred in the year that he received 666 talents of gold (1 Kings 10:14). From
that point on, almost to the end of his life, he was obsessed with money,
horses and women (1 Kings 11:1-8 and 2 Chronicles 1:14-15).
In the process, he became deeply
involved in idolatry, paying tribute to Ashtoreth (the goddess of the
Sidonians), Milcom (the god of the Ammonites), Chemosh (the god of Moab) and
Molech (the god of Ammon). As the Scriptures put it, “his heart turned away
from the Lord, the God of Israel” (1 Kings 11:9).
Looking back at this turning point in
Solomon’s life, is it any wonder that the number, 666, came to symbolize
apostasy? Undoubtedly, it is the reason the number is used in Revelation
13:16-17 to signify the coded name of the Antichrist.
I believe Solomon wrote the book of
Ecclesiastes while he was caught up in his spiritual apostasy, and it is,
therefore, an expression of the emptiness of a life being lived in rebellion
against God.
The Revival
But the good news is that Solomon
must have repented before his death and was reconciled in his relationship with
God. This is reflected in the final chapter of Ecclesiastes, which begins with
his admonition to young people: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your
youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I
have no delight in them'” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). It’s pretty obvious that he is
speaking of his own experience.
Further, in verse 5, he refers to the
dead going to their “eternal home.” He declares that the body will return to
dust, but “the spirit will return to God who gave it” (verse 7). He even refers
to judgment after death (verse 14), and judgment by God certainly gives meaning
to how we live here and now.
This last chapter of Ecclesiastes
clearly indicates that Solomon got his eyes back on God, either by special
revelation about the reality of life after death, or else through the Holy
Spirit directing him to relevant passages in the portions of God’s Word that
existed at that time.
Resurrection Scriptures
One of those passages is contained in
what scholars consider to be the oldest book of the Bible — the book of Job. In
Job 19:25-27, the author affirms that a day will come when he will be
resurrected and stand before his Redeemer here on earth.
Resurrection to eternal life for
believers can also be found in the writing of Solomon’s father, David. In Psalm
16:10, David says he is confident that his soul will not be abandoned in Sheol
(the holding place of the spirits of the dead). And in the next psalm, David
declares that he will one day “behold the Lord’s face” when he awakens from the
dead (Psalm 17:15).
In Psalm 133:3, David speaks of “life
forever.” And in his most famous psalm, David proclaims that believers “will
dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6).
The sons of Korah, a priestly choral
group from the time of David, affirmed the resurrection of the soul in Psalm
49:15, where they wrote: “God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for
He will receive me.” The prophet Asaph, also a contemporary of David, wrote in
Psalm 73:24 that a day will come when believers will be “received to glory.”
In the Hebrew Scriptures, there are
many other references to resurrection and eternal life for believers, but the
ones cited above should have been available to King Solomon.
Conclusion
As he read these passages from his
father and his contemporaries, King Solomon must have begun to understand that
life really does have meaning, and so does the way we live it. This resulted in
his ending his maudlin book in chapter 12 with these glorious words of triumph:
“The conclusion, when all has been
heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every
person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden,
whether it is good or evil” (verses 13-14).
His declaration that all of us will
face judgment before God for the way we live gives meaning to life. So, as
Solomon faced death, he must have ceased his repetitious muttering of “vanity,
vanity, vanity!” Instead, his heart must have been filled with rejoicing that
he would see his God.
No comments:
Post a Comment