Ecclesiastes 12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out and set in order many proverbs.
Yes my Friends, Sol was indeed wise, and did a marvellous job of compiling those pearls of wisdom in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and penning such beautiful poetry in Song of Solomon. The Book of Kings says; ‘He spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.’ (1Kings 4:32, 34) Sol was certainly a prolific writer, but he had more time and opportunity than most. And though in his wide search for the true meaning of life, he finally concludes; ‘Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity;’ because of his unique wisdom, he still taught the people knowledge, came up with worthwhile ideas and sayings, very useful for everyday living. He did a lot of thinking and pondering, arranging the proverbs and ideas in an orderly fashion that had never been done before. He put together a cohesive body of work outlining the duty of man, which has since become invaluable to all mankind, not only believers, for it’s hard to argue against most of his pronouncements, cause they’re simply everyday logic on everyday life. He taught what was upright and true, despite the note of cynicism and pessimism that ran through his writings. ‘The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.’ (Eccl.12:10) To him it was a very serious undertaking, not to be taken lightly; ‘For the words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.’ (vs.11) Say ‘Amen!’ to that my people, for the preacher just made the most definitive statement there; that all the words of wisdom contained therein, is like a collection that came from one source, one shepherd; our God. He is the origin of all the wise teachings. ‘And further, by these my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.’ (vs.12) Most of us would agree with that. ‘For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.’ (Eccl.1:18) Now don’t go using that as an excuse not to study. (smile) In other words, God hasn’t given us the answer(s) to every problem of life, and we can keep on searching and writing but we’ll never answer it all, just get tired and weary. However, there is a divine purpose to everything. ‘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 judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (vs.13-14) Hn,hn! Sol must have written this at a young age, before he began cavorting with all those pagan women and worshipping their gods. But my Friends, that’s all we’re asked to do; reverence God and obey His dictates. And yuh know people, it’s now been scientifically proven by a neuro-scientist, Andrew Newberg, at the U. of Penn that those who believe in God, those who meditate, delve into the spiritual realm, regardless of their belief system, their brains are changed in a strong, fundamental manner. Here’s an excerpt from an interview in the T.O. Star. ‘When you look at God in a positive way, it turns on the part of the brain, (the frontal lobe) that makes us feel more compassionate, more LOVING, more forgiving to ourselves and others. People with these positive feelings about God, have lower levels of depression and anxiety.’ On the other hand, ‘People who think of God as vengeful, exclusive, angry at people who don’t believe the way they do, that activates part of the brain involved in those negative emotions. It turns up the heart rate. You’re ready for anger, you’re ready for a fight. It turns on a whole stress cascade that actually damages the brain, makes it work less efficiently.’ Now I don’t want to make it sound like only belief in God has a positive effect on the brain. ‘Ultimately, it’s faith in a positive outcome. When people have an optimistic, positive look on the world, it’s one of the best ways to maintain a healthy brain and body.’ Amen! Science is finally catching up, but God’s people knew that thousands of years ago. And now that it’s also been scientifically proven, I hope many more people are going to turn to a spiritual consciousness, preferably involving the Most High God Jehovah. In light of all that Friends, please, let’s keep looking on the bright side. Life might not be the greatest at the moment, but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still firmly ensconced on His heavenly throne and thus in control, which means there is hope for a better tomorrow. Let’s believe that with all our hearts, minds and souls. Much LOVE!…for a healthy body and mind…ignore the enemy…focus on God…
Yes my Friends, Sol was indeed wise, and did a marvellous job of compiling those pearls of wisdom in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and penning such beautiful poetry in Song of Solomon. The Book of Kings says; ‘He spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.’ (1Kings 4:32, 34) Sol was certainly a prolific writer, but he had more time and opportunity than most. And though in his wide search for the true meaning of life, he finally concludes; ‘Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity;’ because of his unique wisdom, he still taught the people knowledge, came up with worthwhile ideas and sayings, very useful for everyday living. He did a lot of thinking and pondering, arranging the proverbs and ideas in an orderly fashion that had never been done before. He put together a cohesive body of work outlining the duty of man, which has since become invaluable to all mankind, not only believers, for it’s hard to argue against most of his pronouncements, cause they’re simply everyday logic on everyday life. He taught what was upright and true, despite the note of cynicism and pessimism that ran through his writings. ‘The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.’ (Eccl.12:10) To him it was a very serious undertaking, not to be taken lightly; ‘For the words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.’ (vs.11) Say ‘Amen!’ to that my people, for the preacher just made the most definitive statement there; that all the words of wisdom contained therein, is like a collection that came from one source, one shepherd; our God. He is the origin of all the wise teachings. ‘And further, by these my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.’ (vs.12) Most of us would agree with that. ‘For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.’ (Eccl.1:18) Now don’t go using that as an excuse not to study. (smile) In other words, God hasn’t given us the answer(s) to every problem of life, and we can keep on searching and writing but we’ll never answer it all, just get tired and weary. However, there is a divine purpose to everything. ‘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 judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (vs.13-14) Hn,hn! Sol must have written this at a young age, before he began cavorting with all those pagan women and worshipping their gods. But my Friends, that’s all we’re asked to do; reverence God and obey His dictates. And yuh know people, it’s now been scientifically proven by a neuro-scientist, Andrew Newberg, at the U. of Penn that those who believe in God, those who meditate, delve into the spiritual realm, regardless of their belief system, their brains are changed in a strong, fundamental manner. Here’s an excerpt from an interview in the T.O. Star. ‘When you look at God in a positive way, it turns on the part of the brain, (the frontal lobe) that makes us feel more compassionate, more LOVING, more forgiving to ourselves and others. People with these positive feelings about God, have lower levels of depression and anxiety.’ On the other hand, ‘People who think of God as vengeful, exclusive, angry at people who don’t believe the way they do, that activates part of the brain involved in those negative emotions. It turns up the heart rate. You’re ready for anger, you’re ready for a fight. It turns on a whole stress cascade that actually damages the brain, makes it work less efficiently.’ Now I don’t want to make it sound like only belief in God has a positive effect on the brain. ‘Ultimately, it’s faith in a positive outcome. When people have an optimistic, positive look on the world, it’s one of the best ways to maintain a healthy brain and body.’ Amen! Science is finally catching up, but God’s people knew that thousands of years ago. And now that it’s also been scientifically proven, I hope many more people are going to turn to a spiritual consciousness, preferably involving the Most High God Jehovah. In light of all that Friends, please, let’s keep looking on the bright side. Life might not be the greatest at the moment, but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still firmly ensconced on His heavenly throne and thus in control, which means there is hope for a better tomorrow. Let’s believe that with all our hearts, minds and souls. Much LOVE!…for a healthy body and mind…ignore the enemy…focus on God…
SCRIP-BITS 