Keep the Kings commandments and honor your vows!

Ecclesiastes 8:2 “I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.”

This is wise counsel from king Solomon; “keep the kings commandments”, in other words, obey his laws. Whist this is certainly true in the natural (because if you abide by the laws of the land you will stay out of prison) it is doubly true in the spiritual. Many of us are familiar with the breakdown of Deuteronomy 28; the first half regards the blessing of keeping His commandments while the second half are the curses that ensue when one breaks them. When we obey His commands there is a blessing (Deut 28:1-15) but when we disobey there are curses (Deut 28:15-68). Mankind does not see things quite so cut and dry; they always want to find the loopholes and the mitigating circumstances. I believe that God does consider one’s circumstances, to a point; however, one must be very careful of carrying this too far and using it as an occasion to not comply with His Word because in the end we will indeed be measured by His commandments.

When making an oath [vow] before God one is accountable to those words do not take them lightly because the angels of God require it Ecc 5:4-6. “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.  (5)  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.  (6)  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” God does take note when one does not keep their vows. We live in a society where oaths and promises are practically meaningless and yet the Lord takes oaths and vows very seriously. One of the titles of the Lord, which describes His character, is "Faithful and True". In other words what He says He will do! Num 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?". God wants His people to be like this as well! 

Ecclesiastes 8:1 wisdom can set the captive free!

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.”

"Who is as the wise man? Who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? One who has the spirit of wisdom knows how to interpret a thing. The Spirit of Wisdom teaches one to know the interpretation of a thing; this was the anointing upon king Solomon. This anointing opens shut doors (prisons); bondages whose origins are hidden and unknown are revealed by wisdom. Also, the end of the choices one makes is understood by wisdom and also what is the right thing to do in a given situation, these come from wisdom. Wisdom can help shave off years of groping in darkness for answers. One can be bound in some area of their life and never know why but one with this anointing of wisdom can give a single word and open the eyes of those who will hear by giving the cause of the trouble. This may either deliver them immediately or set them on a path of prayer and seeking that will bring the ultimate deliverance.

"...a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed." Once one has received wise counsel through this gift the response many times is one of joy because of the release wisdom brings (for those who have an ear to discern it). A good example of this gift in operation would be when Jesus spoke to the woman at the well. She felt she could be fulfilled in relationships but it always eluded her (evidenced by her continual seeking it with another relationship). However, once the Master interpreted her life by the word of wisdom (that her real need was for the living water and not relationships) she was filled with joy and elation and went about telling her friends.

Many times I remember being in anxiety and frustration only to have word of wisdom from the Lord either by a brother or sister or even a word to my own heart. And O’ the joy and release that word brought as it set my mind to understand wisdom from Gods vantage point, what release and what freedom wisdom can be…from perplexity to peace with one word of wisdom!

If You Love Me Then Keep My Commandments...

Jesus was pressed; "What is the greatest commandment?" He responded in Matt 22:36-40 that it is the following: "Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself". Then he added, "Upon these hang all the law and the prophets"  Do we appreciate what our Lord is saying here?  He is saying we, New Testament believers, are still under the constraints of the law. Wait a minute, I thought the law had passed away? I thought we were no longer under the law but we are under grace?  This is a common misconception because some fail to appreciate it was only the ceremony of the Law that passed away not the morality (the 10 commandments were never repealed). Jesus Himself said I have not come to destroy the law but rather to fulfill it! (See Matt 5:17-19).

Then we can follow that statement up with John 14:15 - "If you love Me then keep my commandments" and we understand that in our worship and service to Him He knows we love Him when we keep His commandments and He further declares in John 14:24 – "He that loveth me not keepeth not my commandments..." Also, to further emphasize the point we have John 15:9-10 – in order to abide in his love we must walk in His commandments; those who break His commandments are not abiding in His love. It has been a common practice for many who are not really familiar with the true gospel message to dismiss the morality of Gods law but in reality God is impressed with those who cry out for His commandments to be worked out in their hearts. 

I recently had the priveledge of teaching the book of Romans where it makes it clear that no man shall be justified by the works of the law and so, yes, clearly our salvation is not at all based on our ability to keep His law. This fact does not mean the law never becomes important to us; as we have established if we love Him we will keep His law so there is not a conflicting message here. The message is briefly summarized this way:  We are never justified (born again, saved) by our ability to keep the law but rather we are justified by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ!  That being said, in order to abide in His love we must keep His commandments otherwise the relationship will wither away and die (John 15:9-10)

Hosea 4 - God had a controversy with Israel; what was it?

Hosea 4:1 No mercy towards each other and no truth as they rejected the knowledge of God. Hosea 4:2 It was that His people were breaking His commandments through swearing, lying, killing, stealing, adultery and violence. In Hosea 4:6 he mde it clear they were not remembering His law "...seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God". They were breaking His commandments in two ways: First of all, In their offending Him through lawless living and idolatry; secondly, they were offending Him in their treatment of each other, no mercy! Many times people use the law to be critical and judge others but in reality the two aspects of the Law from Gods perspective are that it deals with our relationship with God and our relationship with each other. Embracing Mercy and Truth! God is equally offended when either part is omitted, truth or mercy. Some might say, well, I don't really love my brother but at least I am keeping Gods commands but that does not work because loving your brother is part of keeping His commands, remember mercy and truth.

How does God view the breaking of His commandments?

How did God view this situation in Hosea? Their breaking of His laws and mistreatment of each other was to him as the unfaithful bride of Hosea who had treacherously departed from him; it broke Gods heart. You see here is where we must be careful about the true interpretation of the book of Hosea; it is not so much about how low God will reach to save the backslider, It is more about how God viewed Israel’s backsliding, how it greived Him the same way Hosea's wife greived Hosea. God wants a bride who is faithful to keep His commandments and to walk in His ways.

Let me finish this piece with the new covenant; the covenant God desired (as opposed to the old one that no one had the power to keep with its ceremoies and external laws). The New Covenant is neatly sumarized for us in Jer 31:31-33 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:  (32)  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:  (33)  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." This is the new covenant; the law (Truth and Mercy), which was written on tables of stone now are written on the tables of our hearts. Gods desire for us is that we would do by nature those things which delight the heart of God. I think one of the greatest life testimonies in the whole of the Word of God came from the Savior Himself when He testified "I do only those things which please My Father". May God bring each and every one us to this.