Tuesday 12 November 2013

Read Ecclesiastes 9:13-18. 2 Corinthians 5:7

The question was asked yesterday about how we should live given that life can be totally unpredictable. In Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 Solomon tells us that living by wisdom is better than living by folly. Soon Solomon will describe how not to live (ie with folly) but for now looks at the positives of wisdom as opposed to the negatives of folly.

To illustrate the benefits of wisdom Solomon tells the parable of a small city that was surrounded by a great army. Within that city was a poor but wise man. He was able to save the city. Even though no one remembered that man, Solomon concludes that ‘wisdom is better than strength.’

He goes onto say that the quiet words of the wise are  to be listened to more than the shouts of fools. Fools often shout louder to make sure they are heard. The wise man, being content in God, is able to speak quietly and rationally. I’ve sat through many a committee meeting and session meeting where the group vote was swayed by loud shouting and angry outburst, threats and put downs. The wise man has no need of any of these because he is content with God.

Solomon concludes again saying that wisdom is better than weapons of war. No one wins when two nations, two families or two individuals go to war. It’s a lose-lose situation. Wisdom brings a win-win scenario.

But interestingly, Solomon then adds that one sinner destroys much good. We see this clearly in Adam’s sin (Gen 3) , in the sin of 10 of the 12 spies that went to spy out the Promised Land, in Achan’s sin and even in David’s sin (1 Sam 24) that caused much family heart ache and in Absalom's sin that plunged the nation into civil war (2 Sam 15).

Given the unpredictability of life and the destructive and corrosive power of sin how should the believer live? 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that we live by faith and not by sight. What that means in every day life is that we live by faith in the Son of God and act/think and react in accord with the Word of God and not according to what we see before us. When we live by faith we live in obedience to the Word of God despite the situation before us. We live by the promises of God and not by luck or chance or even by our own understanding. By faith we put into practice the Word of God in every and any situation we find ourselves in.

John Huss in the 1400s illustrated this beautifully. Having been falsely tried as a heretic he was given many opportunities to recant and renounce his earlier teachings. Many important officials implored him to simply recant (if only in words) just to save his life. But by faith, not by sight, he refused to recant of his Scriptural beliefs and writings. He implored the church men to show him Scripturally where he had erred but they could not and would not. In faith, he surrendered his body to the flames and went home to be in glory with the Lord.

Real wisdom is a faith-filled, faith-lived life, despite the circumstances of life.

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

There are, no doubt, many people in broken lives and relationships within your very congregation. Pray that God would grant His wisdom to these people so that they can persevere,

ª endure and glorify Christ. Pray for reconciliation and healing where it is needed.

ª Pray that God would bring the light of salvation to many through the testimony of your church. Pray that each person would see themselves as a missionary in their own particular environment and family.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Describe a situation in which you witnessed the unpredictability of life. What happened? How did you react? Looking back, would you change anything about your reaction to the situation?

2. When life does throw a curve ball at us, what should we do?