Ecclesiastes Chapter 10

[Music] Shalom and welcome to via ofte Israel a Hebrew phrase which means you shall love Israel we hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher dr. Baruch shares his expose Ettore teaching from the Bible dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zahra Avraham Institute based in Israel although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the Institute dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English to find out more about our work in Israel please visit us on the web at love Israel you are G that's one word love Israel o RG now here's Baruch with today's lesson well we've been looking now for several weeks at the book of qohelet or Ecclesiastes and we're going to turn our attention to chapter 10 now in this tenth chapter we are going to find that there are a series of statements that King Solomon is making and we might look at these statements and think that they have very little in common with one another but what he's doing he is showing his thoughts his perception giving us wisdom sometimes that wisdom is mixed with with relevancy that is with things that speak truth into our life and other times it shows that he wavers back and forth between this this this thought process that's rooted in the world what he calls under the Sun and at other times that thought process that's rooted in divine revelation so at that said look with me to this first verse of Ecclesiastes chapter 10 now the verses this week are shorter there's 20 of them but they're very brief verses and we're going to see how they give us information we might even say wisdom revelation from God in calling us to live differently to have a renewed perspective for life in this world in regard to the fact that life in this world is terminal it is coming to an end so we want to sow seeds for the kingdom of God let's begin an exciting chapter chapter 10 the book of Ecclesiastes and verse 1 it reads here and flies of death now it doesn't say just simply dead flies but flies of death see there's a connection between death and flies when there is death flies show up now among the sages of old they see flies a type of a metaphor for demonic influence now notice what the scripture says so we can take it just literally according to what's called the shot the simple interpretation just dealing with the the content let me read the entire verse or the first half of the verse flies of death they will make odorous they will will stink up and they will cause the oil and this work Shimon can also be relating to an ointment or perfume of the rakia 0kf in modern Hebrew Hebrew it is a pharmacist it's one that mixes things for a portion or a medicine or in this case a perfume or an ointment so what it says here basically is that dead flies that are in this perfume that has been been produced by this this pharmacist or one who makes perfume it's going to cause it to stench it's going to be a stench coming from it now what do we learn from that well when we try to mix the things of of death into that which is supposed to be a pleasing pointment or perfume now he spoken earlier about this same type of appointment or oil and he has liken it and here again we need to be people who understand the of biblical interpretation when we see a theme set or established in the scripture especially in one book when it reappears we need to bring that same context what we learned about and Solomon not just in this book but also in the book of Proverbs and also in the book of Shira Shireen the book of Song of Songs he speaks about pointment and he likens it to a good name oil poured out a good name a good reputation is more precious he says so what he's telling us here is this when we try to build a life a life that manifests a right character if we mix it with the things of death it's going to give out a bad odor it's not going to give the desired result that we want and what's the message for us well here's the problem there are believers and they're trying to walk in truth well done they are trying to speak the Word of God and live out the will of God and all of that is exactly what we're called to do but here's the problem they mix with it things of death what's that sinfulness the thought process of this world they try to take these two things and put them together and what Solomon is trying to say is when we do that it is going to corrupt it's going to corrupt our life and the end result is not going to be a pleasing fragrance but it's going to be a stench that that bubbles up that is going to be manifested in a way that is not pleasing and notice how this verse continues on he talks in the word the next word is the word your car now that can be valuable or it can be precious or in this case it has to do with something that's that's more appointment we might say more powerful and what he's speaking here is and the last phrase and for our understanding I'm gonna translate that first sick loot Matt a little foolishness and what he's saying is this I mean you can have and the verse here is this it says wisdom and honor so a little bit of foolishness mix together with honor and wisdom well that little bit of foolishness is going to be more powerful it is going to be what is remember so a little bit of the wrong thing can destroy a lot of the good therefore we need to and here's the the application we need to be people that guard ourselves from all these unrighteous improper demonic and that which relates to death that is sin coming into our life because just a little bit can corrupt a lot of good things move now to to verse 2 we read here the heart of the wise one or a wise heart goes to his right now here we have to be careful because we know in some pagan mentality those who are right-handed or fine those who are left-handed they always in the medieval times they thought that a left-handed person was was not good and they tried to force him to be right-handed too to leave that well that's not what we're talking about we need to see it from a biblical background not a cultural tendency or tradition that is rooted in falsehood now we have in English for example those who are more conservative we place them on the right and those who are more liberal we place on the left now for some being on the left is where they want to be and for others being on the right but it's just to show two extremes two differences in the Bible we find that right is preferred and left is not preferred let me say it a different way right is related to the will of God and the left side is related to that which is in conflict with the will of God so it doesn't mean if you're right-handed or left-handed or the right side of a building or left side of the building one's better you want to be over there that's not what we're talking about it's using the biblical terminology that thoughts process so right the will of God left contrary to the will of God so he says here look at verse 2 the wise heart or the heart of the wise one is to the right meaning the wise heart is in accordance with the will of God but the foolish heart that is the heart that is against God's will that's going to manifest foolishness that which lacks understanding it is going to be to his left so once again he's simply trying to say wisdom is the will of God that we exercise that and not foolishness and what's foolishness well foolishness is going against what you know to be true and here's the important thing when we look for example to the book of Romans the Apostle Paul states that that God has clearly revealed himself that he is through creation creation demands a creator that is God the Creator God and because it's undeniable now because of creation there is a creator there is God we should seek Him we should want to serve Him and one who denies that and lives of life difference to that well what does Psalm 14 say it says The Fool has said in his heart there is no God his heart knows that there is but as foolish is that he's going to speak that which he knows not to be the case so that's the proper way to understand what this verse is speaking about look now if you would to verse verse three says and also to when the foolish one goes in the way goes in that way it says his heart lacks so when a foolish one goes in the way of his heart it's going to bring about lacking and it says and it will say that he it will say to all that he is foolish so when we go in the way of our own foolishness it's going to manifest ourselves as foolish see it's going to to show reveal that we are living in rebellion against God there's no way that that that we can deny that if you're foolish and living in that way it's another way of thinking of what Messiah taught and that was a that is good produces good fruit a tree that is not produces bad fruit that's what he's trying to say here is simply that our actions the way that we go is going to reveal a great deal about who we are and what we believe now look at verse four if the spirit of and the word here is most she'll the word mem shala is government the one who is the head of a government or rules the government is called the Michelle and in verse four it says if the spirit and in this case most scholars understand that it's speaking about spirit in the sense of anger he raises up his spirit he's against so it says if the ruler is anger his anger goes up his spirit rises against you notice what it says from your place most Bible says do not believe and what it is revealing to us is this when we are in an uncomfortable position that even the ruler is is raised up against us don't flee don't leave you to deal with your problems an escape is not a proper action leaving escaping fleeing from your problems is a way of assuring defeat what should you do well notice the next phrase for maar pay now this word maar pay is used elsewhere for example in the book of Milwaukee it's used as the term healing now some will translate it as pleasantness for that which is calm or comforting something along those lines in various translations in English but the word is healing and it reminds us don't leave the situation he'll the situation bring healing why because healing will will put to rest and that's what that word literally means it will put to rest meaning deal with great sense so since can be dealt with don't avoid them don't leave them but you have to deal with them you have to heal where the sin has caused a breach a hardship some type of penalty sin has to be dealt with that's what Solomon saying in this verse verse 5 there is an evil Solomon is so speaking that I have seen under the Sun now when he says evil here remember it's something that is good to go against God's border and I think it's very significant that if you look at this section we're going to see three different words for rulers we have the word that I spoke enough Michelle we're gonna have the word shall eat and we're gonna have the word Malik three different Hebrew words that speak to one who is in charge and that government leader he is supposed to be someone who is embracing the will of God now here's a problem that we frequently have people misunderstand the book of Romans chapter 13 they'll turn there and see it is God's will that you obeyed the government and that's that and every government that's in place it is God who put them there that's not at all with that passage says you check it up sometime he's speaking about one type of government and that is a government that has the sort for good who punishes evildoers and rewards those who do what's proper who does good meaning the will of God but when a government doesn't behave that way when a government rewards evil and punishes good we need to speak against it now that doesn't mean that we become lawbreakers but we can speak and we need to always behave in obedience to the Word of God I think for example about Peter and the other disciples when they were were commanded not any longer to preach in the name of Yeshua that's the government saying that what did Peter do well Peter he says whether it's right or wrong for me to disobey you you decide but we cannot help but to obey God let me give another example Daniel when when Daniel was told a law went into effect you can only pray to the God of the Babylonian king that's it the image that he set up did Daniel did he follow that did he obey that no he did not now was he rebellious in society not usually but in this one regard he continued to pray as before towards Jerusalem to the God of Israel so what we have here is a situation look at our text verse verse five there is evil that I have seen under the the Sun when the word is Chicago the word Chicago is something that is unintentional something that is done in a wrong thought and this is important because it's saying here that this goes out from before the shall eat before the ruler so we have a ruler that does things in the improper intent a sugar guy is used in the Torah for often times is called an unintentional sin it's doing something perhaps unintentionally but it's against God's will and there's consequences and he's saying here Solomon saying this is a great evil that he's seen when you have the leadership doing that which is unintentionally but nevertheless against the will of God he says what happens look at verse 6 the foolish one is given to the high places to many high places while the rich one and that's how it's usually translated but here the word Asheer assuring in the plural it's speaking about those who have resources those that can do something they're not put in positions of leadership they're not allowed to use their resources for the benefit of others rather we have here the ones who are resourceful they dwell in the low places so you have the wrong order you have those who are not able to do anything the poor ones notice what it says or the foolish one he's in the high places but the one who are able to help they are down below in the low places verse 7 I have seen servants or slaves however you translate that word of a team upon horses this is a place of of prominence a place of of what we could say honored while the serene those are the government leaders like the cabinet officials the highest leaders in the government next to the king they walk as servants upon the earth so what do we have here what he's speaking about this this great evil that he's seen under the heavens is things are out of order they're not to what should be and whenever there is a disorder when things do not reflect that which is proper what's going to be the outcome loss what's going to be the the experience that people are having experiences which are improper that do not reflect the standards the principles the commandments of God now let's move on to verse 7 or verse 8 actually one digs a GU mots Komatsu is a pit we might say a large hole and in it he falls now notice the second thing and one who Bruton poets burst forth or smashes through a gate he is going to be bitten by snake now he's using words of wisdom he's using kind of a proverb Yule format let's go back and look at this verse again first a one who digs a hole now you ought not just dig a hole for the sake of digging a hole you dig a hole you leave something undone and that's the image here a person digs a hole well you dig a hole for a purpose you fill it up with a tree but that's not what the scripture says it says he digs a hole he leaves something undone and when we don't complete what we started when we don't fulfill the purpose of the beginning part of the action if we don't see it through it's gonna have an adverse effect upon us we'll dig that hole and we're gonna fall into it and then the same way one who breaches we might say breaches the gate now this is someone who's going the gate is a way of stopping it shows a boundary don't pass through so he breaches the gate and when we go to and here again you have to know a little bit about Judaism the word Gator is a very important word in Hebrew it means fence but it's also a place that that shows where safety is now in Judaism they have a tradition of building getters for the for the commandments so if the commandment says let's just say don't go 10 feet and because if you go 10 feet you'll get into danger the the way the rabbi says say don't go five feet we'll have a five foot buffer zone so the word good air has to do with with a border a place that you should not pass over well here we have someone and it uses not just a word for crossing over but bursting for word and it says the one who does that the one who breaches the gate he will be bitten by a snake now here again what is the same when we and thus think 'no hush there's several different words for snake this is a word that is used in the Old Testament especially in the book of Genesis in the garden for that serpent of old the principle is this when we burst forward into things that we ought not be we ought not be doing them we ought not to be in these places when we do so what's the outcome when it says we're gonna get bit by stink it means that we're going to find ourselves in satanic satanic activity it is like and I use this expression a lot it is like inviting the enemy into your ranks it is putting yourself under demonic influence now a believer cannot be demonically possessed a demon cannot enter into us but he can afflict us he can torment us he can cause adversity in our life and that's why we need to walk in obedience because obedience is a way of pushing those influences ungodly unrighteous demonic and influences out of our life verse eight must see a benign one who moves stones it will be they will be a hurt literally he will suffer from them the word here is it says it's in the verb form he is going to be sad from them and most of the commentators and translations see this as a word of pain you know when you're sad you feel pain not necessarily physical but emotional pain so if we move things and here again you just don't move stones you move them for a reason and if you just move them with no purpose it is gonna have an adverse effect you know God put the stones there for a reason so unless you have clear insight on what you want to do with those stones it is going to bring about adverse effects likewise it says boquete seen the one who splits the stones it is going to be a danger to to them just doing something for the sake of doing it it's not going to have any outcome that's that's positive if you split would you want to build something with it so it's concrete telling us to follow through to fulfill what you begin the first part of the process is not enough it's always on the conclusion always bring things to their final state verse verse 10 and if the iron that's probably referring to an axe but it's simply the word barzell for iron if dull is the iron it says and it's its Ponemah its faces its edges would probably a better way to translate it our are not sharp well it's gonna make it hard to do it so it says you got bear the power you're gonna have to increase the power in order to get the job done and it says but there is an advantage for the wise one or the one who is is what's word I've been talented we might say there's an advantage for the talented one wisdom so if he and the word talented could be simply equipped properly for the job so the one who's equipped properly for the job there is an advantage and what is that wisdom now wisdom is used here to support what we've been talking about wisdom is never something that is halfway wisdom is being able to take understanding knowledge intelligence and put it into a situation so that the desire the proper outcome God's will is manifested so the one who is competent that word here that I translated talented one it's the same word that we get the Hebrew word kosher from Orca share that which is appropriate meaning the dietary laws that aspect of kosher so that which is appropriate there's an advantage for the one who's going to bring about that which is appropriate there is advantage to wisdom so if he has the talent he wants to use wisdom to bring about the in conclusion the right conclusion to the manner matter verse 11 and if the snake bites without the charmer so here we have a situation that the snake has bitten someone and the snake charmer well he hasn't come about what does it say in regard to that what says there is no advantage for the one who is the the owner of the charmer now what's he talking about here well after the fact I mean you don't bring the the charmer of the of the snake on to a situation after the damage has been done you do it beforehand so it's talking about if we want to have the proper results there's a proper order to it see wisdom is bringing the charmer beforehand not after the fact so all these things are trying to teach us ways that we can carry out and here's the key that we can carry out the will of God verse LLL 12th words of a wise mouth is 10 which is favor so a wise mouth is going to speak words of favor and this means into two ways it is going to speak favor in a situation maybe even upon a person now this word pen can also be translated as grace but it's not the same meaning that yes it another word for for grace in Hebrew this word has to do with something hen brain favor upon a person or bringing it out of a situation so wisdom when it's rightly spoken it is going to have a desirable outcome it's going to bring favor and what is favor synonymous with well if you do a good study of that word favor is bringing about blessing those blessings that are beyond even the the expected result let me give an example of what I'm speaking about favor if you have let's say a hundred dollars today in Israel a hundred dollars would be worth about three hundred and fifty shekels but favor is when you have that hundred dollars and you change it over and you don't get that which is expected but you get more than that so it has to do with an extend it or an abundant blessing more than what you expect that's what wisdom is able to do it gives a expected outcome even more so and this is what speaking about when Messiah talked about if someone you know forces you to go one mile go to it's going that favor such behavior will will produce favor with that person doing not just what the minimum not just doing the the what is deserved but doing more so that is a means a favor don't do the minimum do the maximum in situations it is a catalyst for God's favor to come into your life so look again at verse twelve words of a wise mouth is favor but a language of the fools or the lips of a fool it will devour him so a foolish person speaks not favor he speaks selfishness he speaks what he thinks in his best interests what he wants to accomplish from it and foolishness is never about the will of God and when we are speaking words not related to the purposes of God what's going to be outcome it is going to have an adverse effect upon us instead of receiving more than we expect it is going to devour up our very being so favor produces abundance favor is a key outcome of God's presence in a situation but foolishness when I put me first not relying upon the Word of God ie wisdom but upon my own intellect how I see things well it's going to have a very negative influence upon me verse 13 it says and the beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness if that's the case if he begins the words of your mouth is foolishness it says the end of his mouth is going to be evil madness now this word madness has to do with just I mean we could think of it as someone who's just going wild someone who is not controllable let me give an example of what I'm speaking about one of my my favorite accounts in the Gospel story is about about the man called Legion this one who had many many unclean demons within him and what do we know about him well we know something that he was uncontrollable they would they could not put him in Chains he would just break them off so what happens when we behave foolishly when we violate the will of God when we do things based upon our own evil desires it is going to produce an uncontrollable behavior we are going to find that that person is going to be out of control and does that happen with people they get involved in drugs they get involved in some type of wrong lifestyle and that wrong behavior begins to take over their life and when I say madness it is a wild uncontrollable behavior that will bring demise into other aspects of their life and it takes more and more of their thoughts of their resources of their time everything and that's the warning of this this passage and it's evil because it's all opposed to the things of God verse 14 the foolish one he will multiply his words and by the way we see the word foolish well sometimes it's a word Casteel and that's the normal type of word for foolish but here it's a word and we look at it and it's very important it is a word Samak cough lammott now you may know the word if you come from a Jewish background the word settle sekolah seemed as wisdom it's the same root but Seco is usually seen as common sense but but when we do what we think is common what is obvious to our natural impulses are natural thoughts what seems right to our own eyes it's foolishness to God and that's why that word appears more often than not in this passage so the foolish one he's going to multiply his own words but the man does not know what will be so he's relying upon himself but he doesn't know what's going to be so who does know what's gonna be goddess and that's why she we should rely upon his word keep reading it says and what will be after him who will tell him well you know who will God will God will reveal to you what you're in is going to be it's called promises when I walk in obedience to the truth of God God is hardly spoken to me what I'm going to have in the future I'm going to become a recipient of his promises his blessings so who's able to tell me what the end of my life what the end of me is going to be God can through his word and when you apply it to your life you're gonna know what your future is it is going to be abundancy in the kingdom of God so God will tell us that verse 15 but the toil of the foolish ones and goes back to that word Casteel one who does something what she knows it's not the right thing to do there's a rebellious quality to this word for foolishness Casteel so the toil of the foolish one will exalt him now let me tell you something when you are serving God it is invigorating when you are doing what you know God wants you to do what he's put you upon this world to do you will find yourself being given the unction I like that expression the unction of the Holy Spirit you will have an anointing but when you behave in foolishness it is going to exhaust you and that's why people who say oh I'm just always so tired it's just hard for me to just get around to doing things it's a form of depression let me tell you when and this may be offensive to some my purpose is not to offend but to encourage when you are serving God and excitement there is an enthusiasm there is an anointing and empowering to let you do what more than one would be able to expect that you would do because you're being supernaturally empowered so the one who's foolish his toil we wears him out but it says and he does not know look at the in the verse 15 and he does not know to walk to the city now city is home at the end of the work he goes home what happens is that when we work foolishness what's it gonna do it is going to bring about confusion in your life I mean going home knowing the way home that's pretty obvious you finish work you go home every day but the one who does not he's confused it brings about a lacking of what that which he should know he doesn't know there's a blindness there is a concealing that happens from behaving in a foolish manner verse 16 woe to you O land that your king is in the our meaning a young person that word has to do with inexperience one who does not know what to do and the cabinet your cabinet officials it's a word sorry your cabin officials in the morning they eat you might say you know what that's right you I get up in the morning and I eat first thing I do but but here real I realize in the biblical culture what do you do first you pray there is a tradition in fact it's not a tradition but according to according to halakha Jewish law before you eat you pray you only eat after you're done with the SHA Herot service not before so the purposes these people they they live to eat rather than they pray to live in a way that they should so it's it's whoa to that land who has leaders like this but look at verse 17 but you are going to be happy o land who your king is a been whoring now and six days is going to be the Passover Seder and in that Haggadah it speaks about that phrase been hoary been hoary is a free person but it just doesn't mean free as we think well they're slaves people and bondage and those who are not slaves been whoring is a unique term it speaks about a Liberty see root is a synonym in Hebrew for this and it has to do with one being set free one who is not in bondage one who is free but here's the key to do God's will not a freedom that's the opposite of bondage but a Liberty that comes with the expectation to serve God so when it says here happy is a land that your king is a Ben Vereen is someone who is serving God and whose cabinet officials they in the time in the proper time they eat meaning eating and this context is someone who is eating for for what for sustenance and they put themselves in the proper proper order they eat not for themselves they eat in order to carry out God's will so they do so in the proper time for in power they eat for power to serve and not for what drunkenness verse 18 says in slothfulness perhaps it's a word word sleuth is laziness epsilon is a lazy person and that's the root of this word so in laziness the roof will will begin to to sag will begin to fall likewise if your hands are low meaning and the image is this now if your hands are in place you're ready to do something when your hands are down to the side you're not doing something so hands down to the side implies idleness so what happens well idle hands what are they going to do they're gonna produce a house that's going to leak so it's speaking here that a person who is look at these two things a person who is lazy a person who has idle hands the house their home and the home is his family is going to reflect that they are going to what not be lifted up but brought down they are not going to be a vessel which can receive but they're gonna leak so all these things are trying to tell us words of wisdom to apply to our life verse now verse 19 this scope will seem lekin so for laughter and that's what the word is I realize I check out other English translation but the word air is this hope which is for laughter Oh seemed lesson now let him this is bread some will translate it as a banquet or a party just bread and bread is synonymous with life and we'll see this and wine will make lad life so life is being put forth here in two different ways and what it says is this the one who makes life that is makes bread but the image is make life and and if he's doing that he'll have joy he'll have some some good times and wine well we we eat bread every day but wine in this culture this concept is infrequent so daily if we find laughs there's going to be those special times though unique times of life that it's going to even be glad so it's a it's the word let's hope laughs and their word gladness which is a higher form of being happy then look at the next word it says they are kesef ya na @ Huckle now it's very important kesef is money and most Bibles translate the word Yan a as and money answers everything well that may be some people thought but that word Yan a can mean answer or can mean a flicked so this word for for answer can be a response money you know brings response in that word can also mean affliction of everything or money and I'm not sure really the implications of this verse or money can be used for a multiplicity of things for anything so you can struggle with that and ponder over it and prayerfully seek the right interpretation from the Holy Spirit well let's get to the last bit of our our text look now if you would to verse 20 our last verse also in your thoughts do not curse the king secondly it says and in your bedchambers where you sleep a private place do not curse the wealthy here again the word wealthy people that have resources authority means says don't curse people and the the message is this don't have thoughts inwardly and words that you say in secret why those thoughts that you hold on to they're going to be manifested so we want to make sure that we don't have thoughts of cursing anyone but rather that we think good what does the scripture says Messiah says don't return evil with evil but return good for evil don't have thoughts of cursing but have thoughts a blessing someone because if we have those adverse feelings for people and we hold on to them it is going to what affect us it eventually is gonna manifest itself and why do I say that well look at that entire verse it says and also your thoughts in your thoughts do not curse the King and in your bedchamber do not curse the the means people of means for a bird of the heavens he will go with that voice and a weighing a thing we might say like a bird a bow hawk and the feem will will say it will declare the word so what he's saying here is this the things that we think we say in private that no one knows well they're going to come out so we want to make sure that we brain here's the message that I'll close with that we want to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah Yeshua not to have negative thoughts thoughts of cursing but we want to be like God who is a blessed God God can handle vengeance we can't God knows how to mediate those blessings and those curses not us we want to be people that walk in a blessed way and in doing so if those people aren't worthy of it if those people are not going to be moved and changed by the blessings that we place upon them then it's like heaping coals upon their foreheads God will deal with that not us well we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of love Israel org again to find out more about us please visit our website love Israel not bow RG there you will find articles in numerous other lectures by Beru these teachings are in video form may download them or watch them in streaming video until next week may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua that is Jesus as you walk with Him Shalom from Israel

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Length: 48min 41sec (2921 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 25 2018