Proverbs 8:2-3 Wisdom exalts those who embrace her!

V:2  “She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.”

"She [Wisdom] standeth on top of the high places"; In other words wisdom stands on the high places and will also exalt those who embrace her to a high place (Proverbs 4:7-9). Though wisdom is crying out in the streets her place is elevated and those who embrace her are also honored as they dwell with her on the high places. She is standing "By the way, in the places of the paths" - she is on the path beckoning travelers to choose the good way which we understand is the fear of the Lord.

V:3  “She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.”

She is at the place where choices are made, she is there beckoning, entreating. Wisdom, as we see here is not passive, she cries out to passers by. At the point of entry she is there to counsel to advise those who have a heart for her counsel, she has a message and she has an agenda, it is seen in Proverbs 8:5-8. Those who are wise are instructed by her, they make their choices by good counsel.

Proverbs 8:1 Are We Hearing Wisdom Crying Out to Us?

Proverbs 8:1 “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?”

In order to put this into perspective consider women of the Middle East, that go about in the streets crying out, they are announcing their wares which are for sale; in this case, however, Wisdom is crying out "look upon me and take what I have to offer". Wisdom and understanding are far from passive voices, they cry out; it is almost as if one has to intentionally drown out or ignore their voices (Proverbs 1:20-25).

In reality true wisdom is to seek for wisdom, understanding, discretion and knowledge and certainly any one who seeks for these will find them (Proverbs 2:3-6).  Also let’s add this thought, where is wisdom crying out? The answer is found in Proverbs 1:20-21 20  “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,” She is in the places where she is most needed to be heard, where there is commotion, where there is temptation, where there are the simple ones who are in need of her instruction... but alas, there are few that turn into her and benefit from what she is offering as we see in Proverbs 1:24-26.

A Good and Right Foundation for Eternity

The Lord has been speaking to me about foundations; how important it is to have not only a strong foundation but also a right foundation. I once had a vision of the night where the Lord took me to a very large amphitheater. While there I was on a platform looking out over a large mass of people, so many in fact that I could not see where it ended, it was a literal ocean of people.

While I was there, there was a lot of chatter (talking) going on and the Lord wanted to get everyone’s attention and so at this time there appeared in front of me a very dense and heavy chalk board like device; it was approximately four feet by four feet. And it stood before me on the podium. As I grasped it in my hands I said these words: “In eternity…” then I paused while I slid it off the edge of the podium and it fell slowly to the floor remaining in an upright position. When it came into contact with the floor the entire amphitheater shook like we were in a small earthquake and everyone settled in and fixed their eyes on this chalkboard…and so I continued: “In eternity we will be measure on what we have done with Jesus Christ...and how much of Gods will has been completed in our lives”.  As I said this it was obvious to me that everyone was being shown on this blackboard what Gods plan had been for their lives.

How does this vision of the night affect you? God brings each one of us into a place of worship; you are there because of the sovereign will of God. He uses the five fold ministry and the body of Christ to build within us a good and a right foundation. If the foundation is good and right then the house that is built will be good and right. 1 Peter 2:5 – “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” God has a plan for each and everyone of our lives and we are accountable to that plan, remain faithful in the place of His choosing and delight in it and God will fulfill His perfect will in you! And so my final exhortation is seek the Lord that the foundation would be good and right and that you will become that spiritual house He ordained you should be so when your day of measurement comes you will meet the exact measure...

Conflict III The Temptation of Christ

Conflict III - The Temptation of Christ

The Enemy’s Assault through Temptation

Here we see the enemy’s assault through temptation. The temptation of Christ exposes the enemy for who he really is, a worship hungry creature that seeks to trick, deceive and knock people off their course. The Lord allowed the enemy’s words to be recorded in the scriptures that they might be instructive; words paint a picture of what one really is (this is a key, learn to listen to what people are saying it always reveals who they are). We can read the account of the temptation of Christ very academically, totally confident in the outcome; however, in doing so we do not appreciate how powerful and convincing the Devil’s words and influence can be. Do not underestimate the power of this enemy of ours. He, of course, was no match for Christ but look what he did with Eve! The reason why Christ is so victorious against the enemy is found in John 14:30, where it says, “…for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” There are no sins or areas of disobedience in Him, no unrighteousness, no wickedness, and no evil confessions. Christ walked in loving obedience to His Father and was crucified body, soul and spirit (the three areas He was tempted in which we look at in depth later).

Every Life Must be Tested

We see in Luke 4:1 that it was actually the Holy Spirit who arranged this meeting between Christ and the devil in order to prove out Christ’s victorious walk. Our victory too will be tested in like manner; it is necessary that we be tried and tested because nothing is really true until it has been tested. Bear in mind we might be tested in different ways, however, the temptations will always be relevant to our own experience. The enemy does not tempt us in an area where we have no needs, but rather in areas of weakness, needs or wants. You can be sure of this one thing; his attack will always be a temptation that is relevant to a need in our lives. As Matthew Henry, an English commentator on the Bible, states, in his comments on Luke 4:1 “…It is one of the wiles of satan to take advantage of our outward condition and those who are brought into straights have need to double their guard.”

Cry Out to God against Known Areas of Weakness

Everyone knows the areas that they struggle with. We should all watch and pray in those areas, because it is in those areas that we will be tempted. Deal, deal, deal with the weaknesses in your life. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God does not condemn man for being tempted provided man cries out against the temptation. The Godhead will preserve those who cry out as Christ did when He was tempted: “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared” (Heb 5:7). Those, however, who don’t deal with sin and temptation in their lives, are not preserved. The key to preservation in the hour of temptation is crying out to God against our weaknesses. God will be patient with man for a time and a season, but eventually we must all deal with sin if we are seeking to go on with God. Romans 12:1-2 instructs us to present our bodies a living sacrifice. If we learn to struggle and strive against these things, God will preserve us from the wiles of the devil and the enemy will come and find nothing in us. As the Lord prayed in Luke 11:4, “…lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” Again the secret to preservation is Hebrews 5:7.

Conflict II The Trial of Job

Well, as I mentioned I have decided to post excerpts from my book on the Armor of God (a free download on the sidebar to the right). Because we are living in the days when the anti-Christ is about to be revealed and engage the saints in unprecedented warfare (See Dan 7:21; Rev 13:7). In this book we try and expose the "Whiles of the Devil" as he moves with indignation against the saints; we seek to emphasize the necessity of being clothed with Gods Armor to be able to stand against this onslaught. Please read these blogs (and the book) prayerfully and with consideration of your own walk with the Lord. A certain portion of the church world does not believe the church will have to face sure battles but that is false hope, otherwise there would be no reason for the Armor of God at all!

Blessings, Rev Frank R. Anderson

Conflict II - The Assault Against Job

The Enemy’s Assault through Trials

When Satan engaged with God to attack Job, what was the enemy really after? Was he looking to rob Job of his wealth and earthly substance or was he after something more? Consider the position of this great man of God, whom the Lord said there was not another man like him in the earth. In Job 1:8 it says, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” Was the evil one’s scheme simply to remove Job’s blessing? Or was it to destroy Job’s testimony and make Job and God enemies? The answer is in the enemy’s own words in Job 1:11, “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” His scheme was to destroy Jobs testimony and turn him against God, to offend Job and to make him believe God was not just or fair. He wanted to see Job curse God. Satan knows what is in the heart of man and how to get him to react. Many times men and women sour when they suffer and tend to blame God when situations become difficult. It is a mature saint indeed that remembers all the good the Lord has done and does not doubt the character of God, even in the midst of suffering.

Job Never Curses God

It is worthy to observe that, when the trial began, Job was able to put forth a confession that was victorious. Job 1:21 states, “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.”  It was only after the trial dragged on that we can see what needs to be purged from Job; there is manifested all kinds of wrong confessions. The same can be true with us, unlike Job they are not always put into words but nonetheless wrong confessions can be there lurking beneath the surface. That being said, we must note that faithful Job never did curse God to His face; he did not become an enemy of God or do at all what the enemy said he would. The secret to maintaining a good confession is to know and understand the character of God with deep conviction, so that we do not turn on him and begin to accuse Him as soon as He begins to deal with something in us. Many times mankind turns on the Lord as soon as the going gets rough. Job 2:4 says, “And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.” In many cases this is true enough.

Be Careful About the Opinions You Form When Suffering

As we stated at the beginning, the enemy is in the business of changing what people believe. He knows the power of a belief system and he knows how what we believe governs every detail of our lives. The enemy works evil to get us to form a belief in something that is not even true and the vehicle he is using here is pain and suffering. Men and women do this everyday, formulating opinions about God in their trials that are not true because they are suffering and cannot understand. The enemy will seek permission from God Almighty to take us through great trials in order to get our testimony to sour. Keep in mind that all of the enemy’s tactics deal in the realm of beliefs. He knows full well the reality of God and His plan. In fact, he might even believe more than many of God’s people! Of course, Satan is not born-again and his belief does not do him any good, none-the-less he believes “even the devils believe, and tremble…” (James 2:19)

The devils know what you stand on is true; their diabolical plan is to undermine the integrity of God in one’s heart and shake your confidence in Him in order to produce fear and doubt. They want us to believe what the children of Israel believed in the wilderness, “God has brought us out here to die…” (Num 21:5). They want us to believe He has forsaken me… He is no longer here… He no longer cares…

The enemy was after one thing in the trial of Job. He was not interested in Job’s children, his cattle, his wealth, or his influence; these are all sideline issues! The enemy does not need camels and cows! He was after Job’s relationship with God; he was after his confession, his testimony and the promises of God. Please listen. The fact that God has allowed something to be removed from us is not the tragedy; the tragedy is when the enemy can steal one’s relationship with Christ and one’s testimony. Job 1:7 states that “…he will curse thee to thy face.” This is what the enemy is after. He wants our love for the Lord and our testimony to sour.

Things come and things go, as Paul said Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. (12) I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (13) I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”. The things around us, wealth and possessions are less important. What is important in our trial is what we bring to it, such as our confession and opinions formed about our God. It is absolutely critical that we maintain a good confession and watch out for attitudes that do not please Him. You will recall that the scriptures say that we are chosen in the furnace of affliction. What this tells me is that God brings the fire to see what our confession will be in it and then He directs our lives accordingly. Please remember that there is grace in the fire if we will humbly cry out to Him because He wants our confession to be good.

The Devastation of an Evil Confession

Let’s consider the children of Israel for a moment. It was not the giants that kept them from entering into the land; it was their own confession of God. Those who maintained a good confession (Joshua and Caleb) survived. “As you have spoken in mine ears so will I be unto you” (Num 14). Be mindful of one thing; Satan cannot get access to us unless God first allows it. Therefore, the opinions we formulate in our trial (good or bad) are our opinions of God, who has allowed it. When Job said, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21), he crushed the enemy. By that testimony he contradicted the evil one, who said Job “will curse you to your face” (Job 1:7).

Conflict I Eve in the Garden

Well, I have wearied of editing and posting from my commentary on Ecclesiastes so I have decided to post excerpts from my book on the Armor of God (a free download on this blog). We are living in the days when the anti-Christ is about to be revealed and engage the saints in unprecedented warfare (Please see Dan 7:21; Rev 13:7). In this book we try and expose the "Whiles of the Devil" as he moves with indignation against the saints; we seek to emphasize the necessity of being clothed with Gods Armor. Please read prayerfully and with consideration of your own walk with the Lord.

Blessings, Rev Frank R. Anderson

As we already stated previously, the enemy is a believer. He believes in the power of God and the promises of God; that is why he works so hard to discredit them. I fear that the enemy at times believes more in the promises of God than do some of the saints! His work is to discredit those promises and to attack the character of God, which he successfully did in the Garden.

In Genesis 3:1-3, it says, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Up to this point we can give Eve a passing grade in doctrine. She expressed the commandment as it was given to her; you can eat of any of the trees except for the tree in the center because that is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the original translation it says, “The day you eat of it before the sun goes down ye shall surely die.” Now, when God said “ye shall surely die,” He obviously meant spiritually since they did not physically die. This is indeed the very reason Christ had to come and die for our sins, to be born again of His Spirit because death passed upon all men through Adam and Eve’s disobedience (Rom 5:12). Bear in mind that when God created Adam and Eve they were created to live forever, they were not created to die.

The Enemy Wants to Convince Eve of Something False

Now the serpent, which is a master at trickery and deception, began to sneer at what God said and make Eve ashamed that she believed what her husband and her God said. Genesis 3:4 says, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” Today, the conversation would sound something like this: “You’ve got to be kidding me, that is utter nonsense; you don’t really believe you will actually die do you?” Now, the enemy knew full well that what God said was true but he was using his tools (his words) to deceive her. Why? It is because he wanted to convince her of something he himself knew was false and thereby slay her. By his deceptive words he convinced her to believe something false because, once she believed it, he knew she was going to act on that belief, separating her from her husband and God (sin separates us from God). He also knew that by convincing Eve he was going to affect the entire human race by her disobedience, giving him an advantage throughout the history of man. He wanted to get her to believe something that is not true; he wanted to convince her that what the Lord (and her husband) said she could not have was because they were unfair and controlling. In Genesis 3:5 the serpent said to Eve, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” These words were smooth as oil I am sure, but what a slanderous accusation against the nature and character of God. Oh, how many he has slain with variations of this same lie throughout the generations!

The Problem was That Eve Believed the Lie

Now, the enemy coming and undermining the character of God is not really the problem, as heinous as this is. The problem is that Eve believed it. Why did Eve believe it? When the enemy pointed out the “merits” of this tree, Eve turned and she looked. This is the problem; she began to believe the lie. Genesis 3:6 says, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Prior to this encounter this was a hated tree. They probably never even looked at it because God, who had always been good to them, told them it would be certain death to do so and so they dismissed it from their minds. Then the enemy came to her and said something like this: “Let me tell you what the problem is here; God is holding you back, all He wants to do is control your life and keep you back.” With that, evil thoughts entered into Eve’s heart and she began to see things in a “new light.”  Let me put this caution in here for the ladies: when you begin to feel your husband and the church are holding you back, you need to examine your heart and take careful note of who is talking to you and what they are saying. These are the warning signs that something is wrong.

Evil Thoughts Entered Her Heart When She Believed a Lie

The lies the enemy told Eve corrupted her. Evil thoughts of self-interest entered into her and even worse, she believed them. Always choose the fear of the Lord over personal gratification to avoid this snare. It was Eve’s self-interest that got her in trouble here. The enemy did not tell her what he knew to be true, that God was holding her back from things that would harm her and the generations that would follow. Instead he imparted to her a doubt about God’s character and she questioned if God had her best interest at heart. The enemy also implanted a desire for the forbidden fruit. Once he accomplished this task he knew that she would do the rest, disobeying the commandment of the Lord and bringing God’s judgment on that disobedience.

In Genesis 3:7-8 it then states, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.  (8) And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” What a sad day when the Lord came down into the garden to walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day as He had done so many times before, only to find them hiding from the one who lovingly created them with His own hands and breathed the breath of life in them and put them in the beautiful garden.

And so, what we learn through this example is what the enemy is really after in our lives, an evil confession of the Lord and a belief in something about God that is false. That is his primary objective! However, brokenness and humility before God will absolutely save you. Those who think that they are something, that they deserve a certain treatment, or that their own happiness is all that matters in life are putty in the enemy’s hand. The rash and passionate are easily persuaded by the enemy, but a man or woman who has come to the realization that everything God has given them has been by His benevolent hand are preserved.

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... Looking back what will we see?

27 “Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:”

Solomon is about to tell us his observation and he is letting us know they were the result of a methodical search he made, counting one by one. Unfortunately no matter how thorough his observations are he is still analyzing them through the eyes of a backslidden man and so his conclusions many times will be wrong. For instance, this verse is connected with the next verse; they are part of the same statement. He is going to conclude that he could only find very few men and no women who were virtuous and yet we know that is not true because his first love was the Shulamite and she was the virtuous woman.

28 “Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.”

V:27-28 are one verse, unfortunately when verses where added (The first Bible in English to use both chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible published in 1560.) they divided them into two making it difficult to expound them separately.  Solomon, no doubt, is speaking from his own experience, marrying one thousand "strange women" (1 Kings 11:1). However, we know the rarity of a virtuous woman, her price is far above rubies (Proverbs 31:10), therefore, she is rare indeed. This statement, however, can hardly be true for Solomon because at one point he had found a virtuous woman; at one point Solomon had courted such a woman as we read in Songs 6:8-9 but now he has become a disillusioned man forced to live with the wrong choices he has made. He now has a thousand wives and none of them are upright.

At one point his Shulamite was to him his one and only true love but now he has multiplied wives and none of them (not one of the thousand) were good. This illustrates to us how we must preserve propriety if we are to maintain our situation. Solomon had a good situation but he lost it trough intemperate living and foolish choices. That which he once had he lost because he strayed in his desires and as a result lost a very good situation (one love who was rare). We have the one of a thousand, the one out of a million as long as we preserve our walk with Him but if one begins to toy with other idols then they lose their situation with Him and they too become disillusioned and backslidden. Preserve your relationship with Jesus; be careful about what you let into your heart and life because the wrong time to realize you have lost something is after you lost it. Examine your walk daily in order to ensure you are preserving your relationship with Him.

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... Jesus as our guide...

26 “And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.”

This is, of course, being spoken experientially from Solomon whose heart we are told was led astray by his wives (1Kings 11:4 “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.”). He says of this seductress: "...whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands..." This word snares means "lying in wait to catch men"; in other words she is a huntress (See Proverbs 6:26). We would emphasize this verse with all caution; this woman is the subject of Proverbs 7 (See Proverbs 7:6-27). Solomon had fallen, no doubt, into this snare many many times. He found it bitter personally! But the caveat is this: "...whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her..." There are weights and measures with God; those who please the Lord are directed by the Lord and escape her snares and nets whilst those abhorred by Him are not preserved (Proverbs 22:14 “The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.”)! How does one please the Lord? Christ said: “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”  (John 8:29). By walking in humility, the fear of the Lord and keeping His commandments we bring pleasure to the Lord. Proverbs 7:1-5 begins with the good advice on how to please the Lord and how to avoid this woman.  “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.  Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.  Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:  That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.”

It is important to distinguish the difference between being loved by the Lord and bringing Him pleasure. One can have a child that they love dearly but if the parent strongly disagrees with his or her choices then there is no pleasure in them. It is the same with the Lord He may love us but is He taking pleasure in us, it is not the same thing. At the end of this book Solomon wisely summarized the whole duty of man and gave to us the key to pleasing the Lord (Eccl 12:13)

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... No mixture!

25 “I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:”

Solomon illustrates for us time and time again the mixture that was in him; this is not the pathway to righteousness peace and joy but rather to confusion and misery. The quest one should be on is not one the mixture of Ecclesiastes 1:17 “And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.” Or of Ecclesiastes 2:12 “And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.” Our quest should be to have the mixture removed from our lives and to have singleness of vision; David illustrates this for us in Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” Whilst Solomon sought for, and pursued, many things his father David was seeking for one thing only!

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... The deep things of God

24 “That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?”

That which is afar off (in the future) and deep (profound), who can know it? Man, without help, cannot discern the future nor discover the profound, deep and hidden treasures known only to God. However, that being said we do have a way of seeing deep things and knowing these things that are far off if we draw near to God in the person of the Holy Spirit. Consider the words of 1 Corinthians 2:9-11. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” If we draw near to Him with a true heart He will draw near to us (See James 4:8) and it is those who are close to Him that He reveals the hidden deep things of God

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont...gifts versus character!

23 “All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me”.

All of Solomon's observations he made by his gift of wisdom. Because of the anointing that was upon him he could see and observe with the ability to form what he saw into a statement that was instructive. This is seen more so in the book of Proverbs than in Ecclesiastes; by now he has corrupted his gift by a reckless and licentious lifestyle (See V:25). There should have been two tracks running in the life of Solomon; the gift and the character to sustain the gift and to prevent a crash. Because these two tracks were not in their proper order in his life his gift was corrupted. This is very instructive for us as well; over the years I have observed it is not to the talented or the gifted to take the prize but it is to the man or woman of character.

1) The Gift - first of all we have the gift itself; a gift is something given from the hand of God to a man or a woman that makes their way in this life (Proverbs 18:16 “A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men”.)

2) Good Character - this is what is needed to ensure proper behavior in the execution of the gift. God is very much about behavior and how we conduct ourselves. Character preserves the anointing.

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... Do not listen too closely to what is being said about you!

21 “Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:”

Be careful about being over affected by what people say about you; people bless and curse indiscriminately. If you hear, by accident, something someone said about you then let it roll off you. Bear in mind you probably said (or thought) at one time or another troubling things about others (See next verse as well Ecclesiastes 7:22). Whilst the scriptures do talk quite a bit about a good name and even of being well spoken of by others the truth of the matter is that some will have very negative feelings about you (Cain hated Abel because Abel’s works were righteous and Cain’s were evil, this is the natural animosity that exists between the righteous and the wicked). You must not let these opinions and words spoken against you have to much affect on you.

22 “For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.”

Building upon the last verse (V:21) Solomon is saying, "Be realistic, have you yourself only spoken positive things about others?” If you have said things without much forethought then is it not reasonable to expect others to do the same. And so do not take their words to heart. That being said we are told in the scriptures to let our conversation be chaste; let it be pure and without sin and hypocrisy. The words of our mouth are so important with it we praise and bless the Godhead let us not use it to tear down His creation.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont.... There is no justification for pride!

20 “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

This verse, as is understood from other translations, is saying there is not a man upon the earth who never sins; that we are all subject to the fallen nature is the real meaning of this verse. There are several verses in the bible which state as a matter of fact the failing nature of man (This verse being one of them along with: Ezekiel 22:30; Psalm 14:1-3). It is curious, therefore, in spite of his true sinful condition that man by nature is so proud so arrogant? We look at times academically with full disdain at king Nebuchadnezzar as he audaciously declares "…Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Dan 4:30) and yet every day through out the world mankind is full of himself reeling as if drunk, intoxicated with self love and self exaltation. However, to whom does God show His favor, to whom does God look, is not to the man or woman who soberly confesses their need for the Great Sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ; the man or woman who knows without that sacrifice they are doomed because of their sin. Oh, the great need for humility of character and brokenness if we desire His favor and blessing (See Isaiah 66:2)

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... The wise are strong through wisdom!

19 “Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.”

The key phrase here is "Wisdom strengthens..." What an important virtue to possess. Wisdom strengthens the wise making them stronger than the mighty. Solomon knew the merits of wisdom; he knew it is more powerful than physical strength. We have examples in the word of God where this is so Ecclesiastes 8:1 “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.” Also, in Ecclesiastes 9:15-16 “Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.   Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” So the question is this, where does wisdom come from and how do we obtain it? We have the answers to these questions in Proverbs and Job. Proverbs tells us that wisdom comes from the mouth of the Lord (Proverbs 2:6). And to whom does God give wisdom? To him that is good in His sight (Ecclesiasts 2:26). Job tells us that we obtain it by walking in the fear of the Lord Job 28:28 “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Now that we comprehend this merits of this virtue let us take the heed of Wisdom herself as she tells us to cry out for her as if we were seeking for hidden treasure (Proverbs 1:20-23; Proverbs 8).

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... The Wicked Will Have Darkness But Those Who Fear The Lord Will Come Forth From Them All

17 "Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?"

The wicked will have their day of judgment; they will laugh and play in this world but they will pay for it in the world to come. It says in Proverbs 31:31 concerning the virteous woman "Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates." the same is true of the wicked only replace the word "praise" with the word "judge". In the succeeding verse we will see why Solomon is saying V:16-18

18 "It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all."

The wise will take hold of this but the foolish will not be able to grasp it that he that fears the Lord comes forth from them all. This illustrates what we have discovered in the book of Proverbs (See introduction on Proverbs for specifics) that Gods blessing is upon those who fear the Lord and that hand of blessing brings one to the front. Life for the wicked is tangled and complicated fraught with problems and dilemma's for which there seems to be no solution.  Obviously one who "chooses" the fear of the Lord has chosen wisely. The fear of the Lord is a path that one seeks that one puts themselves on but it is also one of the Seven Spirits of the Lord that God can place on an individual or a group of people or even a nation (Isaiah 11:2). This individual, corporate assembly, city, state or nation that chooses the fear of the Lord will eventually emerge from them all.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... Learning to not be overwhelmed by less than ideal circumstances

16 “Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?”

Neither “make thyself”, in this verse the author is not talking about sincere God produced righteousness or wisdom; this is a self appointed righteousness and wisdom, something the individual perceives of themselves. This would be a bit Pharisaic; over righteous, over wise. Let us define these two conditions:

• Over righteous - we can define this as someone "On their high horse", someone very condemning. One who must have everything, even the smallest things exactly right; they will tend to criticize someone who is not perfect. This person cannot overlook certain imperfections or flaws and make allowances for things out of someone’s control. They must take a stand for everything. Usually, people separate from this type of person because they are very difficult to be around.

• Over wise - This is your typical "know it all"; in every situation they feel compelled to portray themselves as an expert. In actuality it reveals certain inferiority; they are insecure and therefore require others to have a high opinion of them.

Solomon is actually giving good advice here because a balanced believer has the ability to cope with situations that are less than ideal without being upset and they embrace in humility the knowledge that others might know more than them. God wants us to be people who can handle the less than ideal situations we find ourselves in without being overwhelmed, also, He wants us to be humble and realize there is always someone who knows more than we do.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... What is our overall view of life?

15 “All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.”

Glass Half Full or Half Empty??

Solomon, although he was given wisdom, did not always draw the right conclusions to what he was seeing. He had the gift of wisdom and with that gift he could draw back the curtain of life and understand how things worked; many times though, he interpreted what he was seeing in strictly a negative light and so his conclusions can, at times, be wrong. Consider the premise he is building this statement on in this verse? “…the days of my vanity…” this is horrible foundation to build a statement upon; in other words he is saying “This is what I have seen all the days of my vain life…”. Also, he says: “The just perish and the wicked live long”; this negative statement actually draws attention to nothing significant because long life, while it is a good thing, is not the real measure of life. How one lives that life is surely the measure.  

Here is an example where he failed to realize that it is better to live a short but righteous life than to live a long time in unrighteousness. Even though he was able to observe things through his gift of wisdom he interpreted it with a depressed heart, therefore, he drew the wrong conclusions. His gift was corrupted through a life of vice. Solomon became depressed because in wisdom he knew how to live but knowing how to live does not give one the power to live that life, he was depressed because daily he was confronted with how out of order his life was. To know what is right and yet not have the power to live it destroyed his testimony. We too must be careful about the conclusions we draw on life, if our premise of life is negative then it is likely we will only see each event in our lives negatively. Negativity affects our every day life and is rooted in self pity; let’s find the grace for a good confession.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... Our end is based on how we live today!

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.”

In another translation the last part of this verse reads this way: (ASV) "...to the end that man should not find out anything that shall be after him." In other words that man should not be able to figure out the future. God does not want mankind to try and figure out his future in order to control his own destiny nor does He want them to place their joy on future circumstances. What is being said is that God is the one who controls everyone’s destiny; God controls prosperity and adversity and there are very few formulas that guarantee a good outcome. There is, however, a method whereby one can actually control their destiny. The best way to control ones own destiny is to walk in Gods commands, keep His statutes and judgments. This will produce Gods blessing and assure us a good end. What we are pointing out is that peace and joy (the real treasures of prosperity) are products of righteous living and not prosperity in itself; one who understands cause and effect knows that how one lives will effect their outcome in the end.

One truth to be made in this statement, and other places in the word of God, is that there is a book that has been written of our end since before the foundation of the world. Just as Christ said "I come in the volume of the book it is written of me..." (Psalm 40:7-8) He also said "...I delight to do thy will..." And so we conclude this, the assurance that our book ends well comes from how we live our lives day to day. Real prosperity, peace and joy come from delighting in Gods plan for our lives. Returning to Solomon for a moment we know thus far about him from this commentary that he was a very controlling person; he was not comfortable with things out of control and yet much in life was out of his control. It was out of control because he forsook the commandments of the Lord. He lost the ability to walk in the ways of the Lord and as such did not complete his mission on this earth and so his end was not blessed and he had very little (if any) eternal fruit. The question we want to ask ourselves is this…what shall be after us (fruits)? It will be dependent upon how we walked and how much of Gods plan is fulfilled in our lives.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... He knoweth the way that I take and when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold.

13 “Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?”

Purest Gold Nugget

"Consider the work of God..."  God is not sitting on the throne, dormant tapping His finger and just watching His creation play out all that has been written since the foundation of the world. No, He is the consummate Administrator. He is directing the entire universe as it stretches out before Him. We see a rare glimpse of Him in this role in 2 Chronicles 18:18-21 directing the rise and fall of king Ahab; this is an amazing scene and gives revelation into the workings of God behind the scenes. It is interesting that Solomon says it this way, "…who can straighten what God has bent"; you would think the illustration would be who can make crooked what God has straightened. But God does make paths crooked; He is directing that unforeseen event or the trial that becomes very inconvenient. One experiences a dealing that takes them on a course other than the one they are comfortable with. The Lord said to Peter when you are older someone will lead you in a direction you would not choose yourself (See John 21:18). These crooked paths are the methods God uses to try one's faith, these are the dealings that make or break us. Should you find yourself in such a circumstance then look to Him to bring you out; use the confession of Job 23:10 “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

I also want you to consider there is another truth here; those the Lord abhors, those who do not please Him, He at times turns them out of the way and when He makes their paths crooked no man can straighten it. This frightful process belongs to those who do not please the Lord, who do not keep their spiritual garments white through the blood of Jesus and who do not guard their hearts with all diligence, those who do not keep His statutes and judgments (Just like Ahab in II Chronicles 18). He turns them out of the way and there is no turning them back. I have seen God draws a line in the sand and when one steps across that line then there is no return; God makes their path crooked as He turns them out of the way and no one can straighten that path again. They become the abhorred of the Lord (See Deuteronomy 32:15-20; Proverbs 22:14). Therefore, we must obey the mandate of Ecclesiastes 9:8 “Let thy garments be always white…”        

Ecclessiastes Capter Seven cont... Cry out for wisdom, it gives life!

11 “Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.”

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and it will keep one from making shipwreck with their new found wealth (Their inheritance). It has been discovered that many who come into money quickly and gain overnight wealth will in a very short time come to ruin. It is because they lack wisdom and the fear of the Lord and as a result they make intemperate, unwise choices. Consider the Prodigal son himself; here was a man who in one instant comes into great wealth but because he lacked both experience and the fear of the Lord he ended up wasting his precious inheritance on pleasure and riotous living; in effect he was ruined because he lacked wisdom. We want to cry out to God first of all for an inheritance and secondly for wisdom in how to preserve and increase that inheritance. We should also pray that God does not give it to us until we are mature enough to preserve it!

12 “For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.”

Wisdom is a defense, a protection from those choices that ensnare men and gobbles up their resources. This verse says that wisdom gives life! That is a powerful campaign for possessing wisdom, it can bring life! Ecclesiastes 9:15 – wisdom had the power to deliver the city from it’s enemies; those with wisdom behave themselves wisely (and counsel others to do the same) and are delivered from evil. Money too is a defense; those with money can hire powerful advocates and armies of men. But the real emphasis of this verse is: "...but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it". Wisdom gives life to those who have it. Wisdom is the ability to make the right choices, choices that preserve us and bring us out of harms way, to avoid costly foolish decisions that release enemies against us or ensnare in some sin. Wisdom is the principal thing.

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... Say not: "...the former days were better than these""

10  “Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.”

 








This is a very good point; Christians are to be forward bound people not retro bound people. Lamenting about the former days gone by is not wise; it underestimates what God can do now. The first sanctuary God had commissioned was Moses Tabernacle but that was not His final plan; he was ultimately leading the nation to worship Him in Jerusalem in Solomons temple (with other dwelling place in between). We must move with God as He ushers in different moves; we must "stay with the program", God's program. I have heard some say: "Oh the way God used to move in the services before and oh I wish it was like that again." There is nothing wrong with loving the way God moved before but if one is not careful they may become an old wine skin incapable of flowing in the new move (Matt 9:16-17). The story has been told before of a woman who prayed earnestly for God to move again as He did in former years. When the Spirit of God moved again, it was different, this time He brought the Baptism in the Holy Spirit evidenced by the speaking in other tongues. This dear lady, who prayed earnestly for a fresh move of God, decided she did not like it and rejected the new move because it was not the way "God did it in former years" and she missed a mighty move of God. Oh beloved, let us love whatever God is doing, let us embrace His move even if it is not like he moved before. God always does things new and different; we do not want to be old wine skins. Keep your eyes looking forward to what God is going to do; do not become an old wineskin incapable of containing what God is doing today.