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 Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 8:25 pm
Understanding Evil in Our World | Ecclesiastes 4 | Gary HamrickHave you ever looked at all the evil, injustice, and oppression in the world and wondered where God was in all of that? Solomon did. And many people do today too. It causes some to question the existence of God, or the goodness of God, or the meaning of life. But Pastor Gary offers a perspective that will bring hope and comfort to all who have been impacted by the injustice and wickedness of our world.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 7:25 pm
wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance
I had to pause the video at 11:40 because I have no peace with the lens by which he views/describes Solomon and must sound the alarm (e.g. @2:11 as, “be sad for the people like Solomon who are trying to navigate life without God”); that is an unsound statement to make, even a slanderous description. Solomon is not without God even from the very beginning of the Book of Ecclesiastes and all the way to the end; by his own admittance, he's using his God-given wisdom to assess all things done on earth, in the realm under the sun / under the heavens. He's not without God / without His Wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 1:12-13 New International Version
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 New International Version
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Psalm 14:1 New International Version
For the director of music. Of David.
1 The fool[a] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
Footnotes
a. Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.
Solomon is no fool. And he's not without God.
Knowing the above (I kept listening to the video; and I think he's trying to back track, but just ends up lifting up another false allegation against Solomon, @14:49-15:09), there's also no indication that Solomon questioned God as good either. Solomon was wondering/digging into/wanting to explore and discover what was a good / worthwhile pursuit for humans to do on earth during their mortal lives.
Ecclesiastes 2:3 New International Version
3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
I think this is important to point out because we shouldn't accept this behavior, especially from a teacher; it's not a little thing to sully someone's name for something they didn't do, mischaracterizing their intentions and what they actually said:
James 3:1 New International Version
3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Leviticus 19:16 New International Version
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.
And if his perception about Solomon is twisted, he's outright lying about Solomon (what he said, and his clearly stated intentions), not being a trustworthy witness about Solomon, missing the point, then someone who listens to this pastor and who is not soundly studied in the matter themselves can be easily led astray.
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(Kept listening) around 26:38... false allegation...
Solomon never lost sight of God for saying that. When Solomon says “they have no comforter”, again, Solomon is talking about the realm under the sun / no earthly comfort / no earthly help to save them from the oppressor, from an earthly perspective. He knows God will judge (as Solomon concluded saying in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Just as the prophets and other wisdom books in the Bible warn / promise...
Zephaniah 3:5 New International Version
5 The Lord within her is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,
yet the unrighteous know no shame.
Proverbs 11:31 New International Version
31 If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
I could pick up on—by how he described certain events and ways of relating on earth—that his discernment cannot be trusted (like equating adultery to slavery. God actually likens Himself to a Slave Master and we His slaves of righteousness, no longer slaves to sin, nor slaves to the world, but slaves to Him; we belong to Him, rightfully redeemed, bought with a price, by Him who takes care of us—and takes care of us well—not overly harsh [as the Commands concerning slavery in His Law govern about, even to have empathy on those who are your slaves, who work for you, whether forever or for a time; the "labor force" in your company, on your property, in your estate] knowing how harshly you yourself were treated / overworked in Egypt, do not do the same in your treatment of your slaves/workers. Whether they're temporary or for life, under your care, you supply them with all their needs—food, water, clothing, shelter, even a spouse if they should choose to have one and didn't already come in with one; there's no laborsome commute that takes up hours out of their mortal lives everyday [that is actually oppressive, just as oppressive as making the worker provide all their own needs for themselves when you as the slave master are suppose to provide those; it's your estate they work on]; they work on your land with you, taking care of your animals, your crops, and even household tasks; things you yourself would do if you had the time/energy, but don't have enough hands [you're one person] for how big and expansive your estate is or has grown.
But YHWH never takes up the adulterer label, saying “I'm an adulterer [someone who doesn't stay loyal to their covenant partner nor to his own covenant]” nor “you're my adulteress” as a good thing the way He compares Himself to a slave master and we His good slaves. I would not categorize them (adultery and slavery) with the same brush. Fine distinctions, but it's there, it's the truth, and important to distinguish between if we're going to understand all the concepts in Scripture, and the full character / nature of God. And if this pastor / shepherd cannot sharply discern the difference between these subtle distinctions (but blurs the fine lines), he will lead you wrong; thus, you cannot trust him to lead you right.
Proverbs 12:22 New International Version
22 The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
Proverbs 13:17 New International Version
17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
but a trustworthy envoy brings healing.
Proverbs 12:17 New International Version
17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.
Deuteronomy 19:18-19 New International Version
18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you.
Be careful. You can't trust him to guard you in sound doctrine, in sound spiritual health; he will destroy your soundness/integrity/complete understanding.
editing after the fact... of course he did...
Straight up lied about God too by the end. Evil (in the sense of calamitous disasters sent in response to man's moral evil): not all disasters are rebelliously stirred up by Satan, by God's own admittance; He sent it (I'll quote NIV and KJV together so you see it):
1 Kings 14:9-11 New International Version
9 You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me.
10 “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.[a] I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. 11 Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’
Footnotes
a. 1 Kings 14:10 Or Israel—every ruler or leader
1 Kings 14:9-11 King James Version
9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the Lord hath spoken it.
Isaiah 45:7 King James Version
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
Isaiah 45:7 New International Version
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
I think I see the problem: this pastor seems to be more familiarized with popular sayings and interpretations about the Bible than he is familiar with the actual text from the Bible that he is reading. Because although it is true that some are too focused on earthly matters (and he chose a very popular way to express it, sayings that get passed on in the culture / church culture, "more obsessed with the 'horizontal' " / "always fixated on the horizontal" as opposed to vertically focused, [@3:18-3:27], common terminology amongst Christians to refer to the cross and how it symbolizes fellowship with God [vertical] and man/creation [horizontal / earthly focused]), still he somehow managed to totally butcher Ecclesiastes and Solomon's clearly stated intentions (amongst the other things I brought up that were concerning).
Jesus warned about this leaven / yeast (teaching) from the teachers of the Law that denied the text, again, be careful:
Matthew 16:11-12 New International Version
11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 15:1-9 New International Version
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]”
Footnotes
a. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
b. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
c. Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
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