Ecclesiastes

So tonight I will try to convince you that you are the chosen.

The most controversial verse in Ecclesiastes, the most disputed, is the 11th verse of the third chapter.

And God has put eternity into the mind of man.

Yet so that man cannot find out what God has done from beginning to the end.

He can't believe that this is not what it appears to be.

But I'll show it to you on Monday.

But here that most disputed verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, the eleventh verse of the third chapter.

And God has put eternity into the mind of man, yet so that man cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

One of the most perplexing questions that people ask is, why is there pain in the world? And why does a good God allow pain? You know, it's not a new question.

Thousands of years ago, Solomon asked this question in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament.

In Ecclesiastes chapter two, verses 22 and 23, he says this.

So what do people get for all their hard work and their struggles here on earth? Their entire life is filled with pain and their work is unbearable.

And even at night, their minds don't rest.

They have chosen their own paths.

And about the same concept Solomon said in Kohelet.

Young man, rejoice in your youth.

The verse continues, and know that for all these things, you'll be brought to account.

God will bring you to account.

That is to say, he's interpreting Solomon in particular in Kohelet, That is to say, know that you have in your hand the power to act, and later you're going to have to accept the judgment as a result.

Now, going back to Rabbi Akiva, and to that single statement in the Mishnah that talks about this core philosophical idea, We understand that just because we have freedom of action doesn't mean that God is unaware.

So this is the question that he has to now reconcile, which is, what does it mean when we say, everything is foreseen, as it's often translated? And how does that relate to the second half of that Mishnah, which says, and free will is given.

This is where we take the news of the day and then we bring it to the Bible so we can walk away with perspective and peace.

New headlines every day, but Ecclesiastes says it's not the new under the sun.

So thanks for being here to get the true story.

And at the end of the show today, we'll know why I'm wearing a suit and jacket right now.

We want to say, okay, God, I'm going to trust you.

And then next thing you know, you got a six pack, you know, but it may not look like that, but trusting him anyway, because gosh, what if it just came with a piece about food and about your body? Oh my gosh, just that alone, right? Like if we just got the piece, even if we didn't lose a pound, if we just got the piece, that'd be worth it all, right? Because we're trying to lose pounds out here because we ain't got a piece for most of us, right? Ecclesiastes 4.6 says, better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

So this means that striving extra hard out of trying to prove yourself or out of envy okay, out of control is literally gonna get you nowhere.

Like you are out there just chasing the wind.

Jess and I were talking about this on last week because this Bible verse came across in a study that I was doing.

And we were talking about like, our future and just how, you know, excessive the world can be and how, gosh, excessive in all ways, right? Including weight loss and health, right? But this was, we were talking about something different.

And I mentioned this verse in Ecclesiastes and I was like, babe, for the first time after reading this verse, I was like imagining myself out here, out, we were sitting outside and I'm like, I was imagining myself out here, like truly just running around, like chasing some wind.

And like I would just be running back and forth in the same area, you know, for the rest of my life.

But then it's like, This Sunday, I was like, okay, well, we're starting back small group.

It sounds like we're doing a book study on Ecclesiastes.

We don't need any new materials.

Are you good? Do you have any questions or anything else you're wanting to do? And then we're kind of just like bouncing back and forth ideas like that.

He says, like, basically enjoy your time here on earth.

Like later on in Ecclesiastes, he talks about like enjoying your time on earth.

And like being on earth is a gift from God.

So am I

Cause he bought himself all these things and he had everything.

But

that's what Ecclesiastes is, is he's literally saying all of that is meaningless.

That's literally what he says.

They would have a shared workload.

In the Old Testament, in Ecclesiastes chapter 4, this is what it says.

Two are better than one.

Every married man in this room says amen, okay? Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil.

This is where we take the news of the day and then we bring it to the Bible so we can walk away with perspective and peace.

New headlines every day, but Ecclesiastes says there's nothing new under the sun.

So thanks for being here to get the true story.

And at the end of the show today, we'll know why I'm wearing a suit and jacket right now.