OUTREACH SITE: Syria Approaches Tipping Point
NEWS: Likud slowly falling in the polls. The Thursday Reshet Bet Radio elections poll predicts Kadima, Am Shalem, and Power to Israel will not make it into the Knesset. Other poll results: Likud-Beyteinu -34, Labor-16, The Jewish Home-15, Shas-13, The Movement-11, Yesh Atid-9, UTJ-6, Meretz-5, Hadash-4, Raam-Taal-4, Balad-3.
ECCLESIASTES: Introduction
I have just learned that the Book of Ecclesiastes is appointed to be read during the Feast of Tabernacles, so I am little late with this. It is a lesson that after actual experience with life the first time around, the main harvest of Tabernacles will come to repentance and be brought into the family of God.
It takes its Hebrew name from the main speaker, Qoheleth, (also Koheleth), a word related to the root which means “to assemble”. The idea behind the name was probably that the Teacher caused a group of students to assemble and hear his words; the Greek title is an attempt to translate this, and the English is taken directly from the Greek. Qoheleth introduces himself as “son of David, king in Jerusalem,” implying that he is Solomon.
It is in the form of an autobiography, at times expressed in aphorisms and maxims, telling of his investigation of the meaning of life and the best way of life. The work emphatically proclaims all the actions of man to be inherently hevel, a word meaning “vain”, “futile”, “empty”, “meaningless”, “temporary”, “transitory”, “fleeting,” or “mere breath,” depending on translation, as the lives of both wise and foolish men end in death.
While Qoheleth clearly endorses wisdom as a means for a well-lived earthly life, he is unable to ascribe eternal meaning to it. In light of this perceived senselessness, he suggests that one should enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in one’s work, which are gifts from the hand of God.
The teacher comes to this final conclusion: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (12:13). Wikipedia
The Book is also absolutely applicable to the COG today, as they head into the great tribulation to learn that what they think is right; is incomparable to what God commands as being right.
Solomon was born to be king and grew up in his father’s shadow personally taught by a man after God’s own heart, his own father, how to be a king.
When Solomon became king he asked God for wisdom as Solomon had been taught by his father and God respected that choice and also gave Solomon many other blessings. But Solomon had one big hol;e in his education, he had not grown up in adversity, fleeing for his life as his father David had, of being imprisoned like Joseph, or working as a slave in Egypt; instead Solomon was born with the proverbial silver spoon.
Solomon had not learned to persevere through trials,
As the years passed Solomon became infatuated with his own wisdom and slowly began to forget the commandments of God which are true wisdom. He began to make decisions based on what he thought looked right to him, and even the super-wise Solomon was NOT as wise as God and God’s commandments.
Solomon chose to maintain peace by marrying the daughters of neighboring kings which this God had forbidden. Solomon also chose to multiply wives to himself, which God had forbidden kings to do.
Now consider: If a wife with her needs both physical and emotional, saw her husband maybe once every three years for a day; What kind of marriage and relationship would that be? Obviously the ladies would become lonely and would say: I will go back to my home, my family and my gods; and they enticed Solomon to build houses for their gods to keep them, and to keep the peace with the surrounding nations.
As Solomon grew older, he allowed his wives to turn his heart away from the true wisdom of God and towards what he thought was right in his own eyes.
This is exactly what has happened in the WCG daughter corporate churches today. They have forgotten that all true wisdom is contained in every word of God, and they have turned to doing what seems right in their own eyes; even to the point of making their own idols out of men, traditions and corporate organizations.
Now God rent the ten tribes away from Solomon’s descendants in punishment. Indeed the WHOLE kingdom was taken from Solomon, since the two tribes and the Levites were to remain for Danid’s sake and not for Solomon’s
At this time the various COG Groups have done the very same things as Solomon, in turning away from God to do as they think right, above what God says is right.
We too have a kingship as our birthright; and that kingship and priesthood, many of us have despised and have sold for a bowl of stew [worldly pleasure] like Esau! We make of no effect the commandments of God, to seek our own pleasures and remain in our own traditions, or to avoid the difficultiesSatan places on living as God has commanded.
We pollute Sabbath and High Days for our own pleasures. We reject to keep God’s commanded seven day Feast of ULB, and his New Moons, just because we prefer our traditions to the commandments of Almighty God. Then we seek out the worldly pleasures and our own ways with enthusiasm!
And then we DARE to label ourselves as godly!
Because we will not obey our God and be zealous for his ways; because we have fallen away from God and into an attitude of laxity and lukewarmness for God’s ways, while being HOT for our own ways. We are being rejected by Jesus Christ, Rev 3:16; and our kingdoms and priesthoods are being taken from us; just like Esau list his birthright and Solomon his kingdom.
Yet there is a place of repentance in the great tribulation. We shall have to prove our repentance by turning to God and being zealously faithful under severe trials and persecution; and very many will have to prove their repentance by giving up their physical lives.
Even then they shall have a lessor reward, for the faithful pillars will be given authority of the highest in the kingdom while the Laodiceans will be at their feet to govern under the pillars; and only if they repent, learn their lessons and give their lives in true zeal for God’s commandments.
As Solomon began to rely on his own wisdom; he tried out and engaged in all manner of sin; and with the wisdom given him he began to understand the truth and ultimately came to repentance before God.
The story of Solomon’s journey to repentance is one of the most misunderstood and most despised Books of the Bible.
The Book of Ecclesiastes was written by a man of great wisdom, who had been cut off from God by his own pride, and had set out to find his own way, instead of diligently keeping God’s commandments as he had been taught by his father.
And in his experiences of his own ways, Solomon learns how little meaning the ways of man have in comparison to eternity, and God’s commandments; and he comes to a place of repentance.
Brethren, we shall shortly be forced to understand and know, that our own ways are not acceptable to God, nor are they of any value whatsoever in the context of eternity.
In the tribulation we shall learn the hard way that the pleasures of this world and our traditions that separate us from God, and the ways of man that are not consistent with God’s commandments; will be revealed to us us to be only empty vanity and a vexation of spirit.
In very short order, those who will not repent and learn this lesson now; will be forced to learn it in great tribulation.
The commandments are the ONLY way to eternal life. We MUST repent of breaking those commandments or compromising with even the very least commandment, and we MUST then commit to keeping all of God’s commandments forever [which is what baptism is]; and then the sacrifice of Christ will be applied to us, reconciling us to the Father and bringing the birthright of eternal life, as kings and priests over the earth.
Only if we learn the lesson that Solomon learned, will we be fit to be a part of the Bride of Christ.
ECC 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
HGC
December 27th, 2012 at 21:04