ECCLESIASTES LESSON 10


     We will begin in 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."

     God had given Solomon wisdom beyond all of his fellowmen. We find
that interpretation, as well as wisdom, is a gift from God. Joseph was
given the ability by God to interpret dreams. Daniel was gifted to
interpret dreams, as well. Moses' head shone so brightly when he came
down from the mountain after communicating with God, that he had to
cover his head so as not to blind the people. I believe God put the
first 5 books of the Bible in Moses' mind while he was on the
mountain. This great wisdom caused his head to shine. Most of Genesis
occurred long before Moses' lifetime. He had to receive it from
somewhere. The type of wisdom and understanding, spoken of here, would
cause the facial features to change. Look what happened to Stephen's
face. Acts 6:15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on
him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

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

     It appears, from this, the kings commandments had been given with
an oath to God. It is best to keep them, if you value your life.
Romans 13:1 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For
there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."
Romans 13:2 "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the
ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves
damnation." Romans 13:3 "For rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that
which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:" Romans 13:4
"For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that
which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he
is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that
doeth evil."

     Ecclesiastes 8:3 "Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not
in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him."

     The king is the ruler of the land. He is the authority God has
put in power. This is saying, do not try to get away from the rule of
the king. Do not shirk your duty.

     Ecclesiastes 8:4 "Where the word of a king [is, there is] power:
and who may say unto him, What doest thou?"

     This is explaining that there is no rule over the king, except
God. The king has the last say over his people. The word of the king
is the law of the land. No one can question the king. He, who
questioned the king, would be severely punished. The only time anyone
should disobey the rule of the land, is when it is direct opposition
to the law of God. The Egyptian midwives feared God, and did not kill
the boy babies. God saved their lives, because they were obedient to
Him.

     Ecclesiastes 8:5 "Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no
evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment."

     When you keep the commandments of the king, you will not be
punished. The wise man sees beyond the immediate happening, and knows
there is a God in heaven who will some day judge the whole earth,
including the king. Speaking of the wise man's heart is speaking of
the moral aspect of his life. Even though he does not like the
commandment of the king, the wise man will keep them, if they are not
opposed to God's law. I Peter 3:13 "And who [is] he that will harm
you, if ye be followers of that which is good?"  I Peter 3:14 "But and
if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy [are ye]: and be not
afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;"

     Ecclesiastes 8:6  "Because to every purpose there is time and
judgment, therefore the misery of man [is] great upon him."

     This is giving reasons why a person should obey the king in the
land. Everything, and everyone, has an appointed time. Generally
speaking an evil king will not be king very long. God sees the misery
of His people, like He did the children of Israel in Egypt. God will
not allow the misery to go on forever.

     Ecclesiastes 8:7 "For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who
can tell him when it shall be?"

     We do not know exactly when the end of our lives on earth will
be. We do not even know exactly when the coming of the Lord shall be
either.  I Thessalonians 5:1 "But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you."  I Thessalonians 5:2
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night."  I Thessalonians 5:3 "For when they shall say,
Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail
upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."

     Ecclesiastes 8:8 "[There is] no man that hath power over the
spirit to retain the spirit; neither [hath he] power in the day of
death: and [there is] no discharge in [that] war; neither shall
wickedness deliver those that are given to it."

     Spirit, in this sense, is speaking of the spirit of man, which is
actually his life. That is that breath of life within us. Jesus
dismissed His Spirit from His body, and told it to go to the Father,
when He said: Luke 23:46  "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice,
he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said
thus, he gave up the ghost." We do not have control over our spirit to
tell it such. Our spirit leaves our body at the command of God. We do
not know what hour, or day, we will die to this earth. At the time of
death of our physical body, there seems to be a separation of those
who belong to Jesus, and those who do not. We do know that Jesus went
into hell, and preached, and brought out the captives with Him. I
Peter 3:19 "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in
prison;" Ephesians 4:8 "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."

     Ecclesiastes 8:9 "All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto
every work that is done under the sun: [there is] a time wherein one
man ruleth over another to his own hurt."

     The master must consider the possibility of being hurt, when he
rules his people too harshly. In the days of slaves, they were very
valuable to their master, as long as they could work. If he caused
injury to them, they were of no value to him anymore. Solomon has
viewed the actions of those around him, and discovered it is much
better to take care of your servants. A contented servant will get
much more done for his master.

     Ecclesiastes 8:10 "And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come
and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the
city where they had so done: this [is] also vanity."

     Solomon is seeing the apparent injustices in this life. The
wicked, possibly, should not be buried, but treated like the animals
they were. We saw this happen in the case of wicked Jezebel. II Kings
9:10 "And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and
[there shall be] none to bury [her]. And he opened the door, and
fled." In this particular case, the wicked were given a place of
burial with the righteous. It, also, appears they had pretended to be
righteous, because they came and went from the place of the holy.

     Ecclesiastes 8:11 "Because sentence against an evil work is not
executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set
in them to do evil."

     Much judgement does not take place on the earth. Some, who appear
to be living the way God would have them to live, will find judgement
from God to be harsh. Matthew 7:22 "Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"  Matthew
7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity."  Those living sinful lives, who are not
punished immediately, cause others to go the way of sin, too. They
think it is easy to cover up their sins. You may get away with your
sin on this earth and no one know, but be sure, God knows.

     Ecclesiastes 8:12  "Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and
his [days] be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with
them that fear God, which fear before him:"

     It is really of no concern to us how God deals with the sinner.
The one thing we must do, is live the very best we can ourselves. God
is not willing that even one should perish. Perhaps, He is waiting,
giving ample time for Him to repent. Our concern is not his sins, or
how God deals with him. Our concern is our own sins. If we live right,
God will bless us. Psalms 37:18 "The LORD knoweth the days of the
upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever."  Those who live for
God will inherit eternal life. Matthew 25:34 "Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"

     Ecclesiastes 8:13 "But it shall not be well with the wicked,
neither shall he prolong [his] days, [which are] as a shadow; because
he feareth not before God."

     Solomon knew that God had not promised long life to the wicked.
It troubled Solomon that he saw seeming contradictions to this. In
verse 13 above, Solomon is stating, that many times the wicked's life
was shortened. He believed this to be the correct solution to evil.
Isaiah 57:21 "[There is] no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Those
who live for God have hope of the resurrection. Those who do not have
a fearful awaiting of the judgement, and then the lake of fire.
Matthew 13:49 "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels
shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just," Matthew
13:50 "And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth."

     Ecclesiastes 8:14 "There is a vanity which is done upon the
earth; that there be just [men], unto whom it happeneth according to
the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked [men], to whom it
happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this
also [is] vanity."

     The key to this is "upon the earth". Jesus said it best when he
said in Matthew 13:30 "Let both grow together until the harvest: and
in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together
first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the
wheat into my barn." On this earth, the wicked and the righteous live
together side by side. It appears, sometimes, that the evil growth
{tares} is as great, or greater, than the righteous {wheat}. The
separation comes at judgement. To the natural eye, this seems unfair.

     Ecclesiastes 8:15 "Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no
better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be
merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his
life, which God giveth him under the sun."

     Under the sun, this might be true, if there was no eternal life.
Solomon is saying, to enjoy life to the fullest on this earth. He is
saying, be thankful for the blessings of this life and enjoy laughter,
food, and drink. This is the reward for the labor of this life. This
certainly is true in the physical realm. Notice, the recognition that
God gave it to him. I Timothy 4:4 "For every creature of God [is]
good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:"
I Timothy 6:17 "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be
not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God,
who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;"

     Ecclesiastes 8:16  "When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and
to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also [there is
that] neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)"

     We must notice, again, that Solomon is looking at the happenings
of this earth. He is applying his wisdom, so that he might understand
the earthly life. All of this is Solomon trying to find out what this
life is all about. Many women will say, that housework is like the
last phrase here. It seems it never ends. They clean house and cook on
Monday, and then, it is to do all over again on Tuesday. It is not
uncommon for thinking man to try to understand life and where it
leads.  Solomon says, you would get no sleep at all, if you waited,
until you understood life, to sleep. The questions go on.

     Ecclesiastes 8:17 "Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man
cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a
man labour to seek [it] out, yet he shall not find [it]; yea farther;
though a wise [man] think to know [it], yet shall he not be able to
find [it]."

     The intelligence of the most intelligent man that ever lived is
as nothing compared with God's intelligence. It is impossible to
understand everything about God. The intelligence of man does not get
him to heaven. God wants us to accept Him on simple faith. There are
secrets of God that will not be known, until we get to heaven. The
little understanding that we have, and the little more understanding
that Solomon had, are gifts from God. Even at that, mortal man cannot
know the depth of God. Romans 11:33 "O the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God!  how unsearchable [are] his
judgments, and his ways past finding out!"  Solomon, like us, will
have to wait until he gets to heaven to know more.

























                       Ecclesiastes 10 Questions


1.  God had given ___________ wisdom above his fellows.
2.  ____________, as well as wisdom, is a gift from God.
3.  _________ head shone, when he came down from the mountain after
    communicating with God.
4.  Where does the author believe Moses got the first 5 books of the
    Bible?
5.  Most of Genesis happened when?
6.  Quote Acts chapter 6 verse 15.
7.  Let every soul be subject unto the _________ _______.
8.  The powers that be are __________ of God.
9.  Quote Romans chapter 13 verse 3.
10. What is verse 3 saying?
11. There is no rule over the king, except _______.
12. The ______ of the _______ is the law of the land.
13. When is the only time a person should disobey the rule of the
    land?
14. Who were very good examples of the correct time to disobey the
    king?
15. What does the wise man look ahead and see, when he is under the
    king?
16. Why will an evil king not be king very long?
17. Quote 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 1, 2, and 3.
18. What is spirit, in verse 8, speaking of?
19. Quote Luke chapter 23 verse 46.
20. Our spirit leaves our body at the command of ______.
21. Where did Jesus go, and preach, and bring its captives out with
    Him?
22. Quote Ephesians chapter 4 verse 8.
23. The master must remember what when he is ruling others?
24. In verse 10, Solomon is seeing the apparent ___________ in this
    life.
25. What happened to wicked Jezebel?
26. Quote Matthew chapter 7 verses 22 and 23.
27. Whose business is it of how God deals with the sinners?
28. Quote Palms chapter 37 verse 18.
29. What happens to the blessed of the Father?
30. What hope do the believers have, that the sinners do not have?
31. What happens to the wicked, at the end?
32. What is the key to verse 14?
33. Who are the "wheat"?
34. Who are the "tares"?
35. In verse 15, what did Solomon recommend?
36. What makes the food we eat clean?
37. What charge are the rich given in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 17.
38. How do women feel about housework, that fits this lesson?
39. ____________ does not get us to heaven.
40. God wants our simple __________.