OceanSide church of Christ
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Ecclesiastes 7:13 – Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
Thought: Man often wants to “correct” the things of God. Whether in ignorance or in rebellion, man often believes that he knows better than God. Such is not the case. God is in control. Man is not. Man does not have the ability to change the will of God. God alone is sovereign. “Who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?” Sadly, and in vain, man will continue to try, but he cannot thwart the plans of the Almighty.
Isaiah 46:10
Commentary:
A. Consider:
1. Strong (7200): to see
2. BDB: to see, look at, perceive, inspect, have vision, learn about, observe, watch, give attention to, discern, distinguish
B. Solomon exhorts his readers to pay very close attention to and learn about “the work of God.”
C. He challenges his readers with the question: “…for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?”
1. After man sinned in the Garden of Eden, God set His plan in motion to redeem fallen man (Gen. 3:15).
2. It would take 4,000 years for that plan to come to pass.
3. That plan had a lot of crooks and turns in it as God wove His plan into the history of man.
a. The women used in the plan:
1) Tamar (Gen. 38, the mother of Pharez) posed as a harlot to Jacob
2) Rahab (Matt. 1:5, the mother of Boaz) a harlot of the city of Jericho
3) Ruth (Ruth 4:17, the mother of Obed) a Moabitess
4) Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:24; Matt. 1:6, the mother of Solomon) had an affair with David
5) Mary (Matt. 1:16; Luke 2:6, 21, the mother of Jesus)
NOTE: If we had been writing the story of Jesus’ life, would we have used these women
to bring Christ into the world?
b. God only allowed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be strangers in the land of Canaan. It
was not until after Israel’s stay in Egypt for a period of 430 years that Canaan actually
became their homeland.
c. God allowed a monarchy to be established in Israel.
1) That kingdom was united under three kings, then it divided.
2) The northern and the southern kingdom both had 19 kings.
3) There were wars, scandals, and conspiracies of all sorts during the Divided Kingdom.
4) Both kingdoms were carried away into captivity.
5) Only the Southern Kingdom was restored so the Messiah could be born.
d. The Messiah came.
1) He was God in the flesh.
2) He had to be rejected, arrested, tried, and put to death in order to redeem man.
3) He was raised the third day.
4) Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus returned to heaven.
5) Twelve men were left on the earth with the mission to take the gospel to the world.
(NOTE: Paul would be added later as an apostle of Christ).
e. God is sovereign over all. Regardless of the turns and twists, God’s will will be brought
to pass. Man cannot destroy the designs of God.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 – In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
Thought: Every human being needs to live in the present. If the present involves prosperity, be joyful. If the present brings adversity learn adversity’s lessons. Good days and bad days come and go. They are intermingled in our lives. One comes then goes. We deal with the day at hand because we are not able to see beyond today. What is after today? We cannot know. Enjoy your day!
Job 2:10
Commentary:
A. Again, we find Solomon to be a very practical individual.
B. He knows that there will be good days in our lives and there will be bad days in our lives.
1. He notes: “God also hath set the one over against the other.”
2. Barnes: “Good and prosperous days are in God’s design special times of comfort and rejoicing: the days of affliction and trouble, are in God’s design the proper seasons of recollection and serious consideration. The Providence of God hath so contrived it, that our good and evil days should be intermingled each with the other. This mixture of good and evil days is by the Divine Providence so proportioned, that it sufficiently justifies the dealings of God toward the sons of men, and obviates all their discontent and complaints against Him” (e-sword).
3. The example of Job
a. Job 1:21-22
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
b. Job 2:9-10
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
4. LESSON: God is actively involved in our lives.
C. The “key” to a good life is how we handle the days we are given.
1. “In the day of prosperity be joyful.”
a. This is usually very easy to do.
b. In those times, we often think that life cannot get much better than this.
2. “…but in the day of adversity consider…”
a. Consider
1) Strong (7200): to see
2) BDB: to see, to look at, perceive, consider, learn about, find out, give attention to,
discern, distinguish
b. In adversity, there are things for us to look at, consider, pay attention to, and learn from.
1) Dependence on God
2) Experience
3) How to be comforted
4) Humility
5) Endurance
6) Maturity
D. “…to the end that man should find nothing after him.”
1. Man only really has today to live.
a. Yesterday is gone.
b. Tomorrow is not promised.
2. We may think we can peer into the future, but we cannot.
3. Thus, each one of us needs to use today to the fullest.
a. Rejoice if today is prosperous.
b. Consider if today involves adversity.