Thursday, February 9, 2017

I am going to go from the book of Jonah to the book of Ecclesiastes.  Jonah ran from God for fear of success in getting the people of Nineveh to follow God.  Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes turned from God because God had blessed him so much he felt he could do anything he wanted to at times.  Matthew Henry says that people waited around to hear his wisdom.  Solomon was one of the richest and wisest men who ever lived.  His wisdom came from divine revelation and his riches as a blessing from God, but he often forgot that in his life.  We today need to look to God for wisdom, and acknowledge Him when blessings come our way.  Solomon seemed to often think he could find happiness through the things of this world, but as his life began to pass away, he realized how wrong he was.  This is not a call for us to give up hope, but for us to realize that what we do for God is what really counts.  If we look to our own wisdom, then we have every reason to despair, but if we look to God for wisdom, we will realize that material things are not what make us happy.  There are those today who feel that knowledge is the answer to the problems of the world, and that if they learn more about the world and how it works, they will find happiness in this world.  They can never find enough truth, though, because they don't look to the author of truth, God, in faith.  Some people look to material wealth for happiness, but again, they never gain enough wealth to be satisfied.  Drug addicts did mot start out to be addicts, but to find happiness, or at least momentary escape from the pressures of this world.  Solomon shares with us his conclusions as we look at the book of Ecclesiastes.  We as followers of Christ need to acknowledge that what Solomon said then is still true today.

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