Ecclesiastes 11-12

Ecclesiastes 11-12

Chapter 11: We Know Not the Works of God

                “As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5)

I find it interesting how fast people can denounce God and say He does not exist! Some people believe that we know everything and that God never has, and never will exist. We as humans do understand a lot about the world, but there is so much that we are still learning… the reason? Because God knows all, not us.

Because life has no guarantees, we should seize available opportunities and not play it safe. Even though life is uncertain, it doesn't mean that you should let it pass you by. Don't wait for conditions that many never exist. We should enjoy everyday but remember that the afterlife is eternal.

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” (Ecclesiastes 11:9)

I find it very interesting how we are supposed to follow our heart and do what we want… after all we get one life on earth to live, right? So we need to make it the best one we can! But God warns us that we are still to be held accountable for what we do, so YES we do have agency and we are encouraged to explore the world and learn, but we must know that our desires and our passions are within the bounds… the LORD sets!

Chapter 12: After Death and the Plan

                “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

                Everyone will return to God as a spirit and the body will be turned into dust. Until of course the resurrection.

                “And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether is be good or whether or be evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12-14)

Solomon concludes the book by giving his antidotes for the two main ailments that he talked about. People who lack purpose and direction in life should fear God and keep his commandments first. The people who think that life is unfair should remember that God will go back and look and everyone's lives and make his judgment.

It is interesting that it says there is not end to many books… this means that the Bible is NOT the ONLY word of God! The Book of Mormon, if read diligently and prayed about earnestly can be manifest as truly Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Psalms 47-48

Psalms 47-48

Chapter 47: Sing with Intelligence

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

                “O CLAP your hands… shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Psalms 47:1)

                I hope that no one takes offense to this post, because my thoughts are only those of trying to understand why certain people or groups praise God the way they do.

                This first verse in this Psalm clearly says to clap your hands and shout unto God. I am sure that this is where some of the Bible and Evangelical churches get the idea to have loud music and to scream while throwing their hands in the air clapping ‘praising’ Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, I am not insulting these people. I am a firm believer that everyone has freedom of religion and freedom to worship the Almighty in any way they wish. In fact, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” (Articles of Faith #11) I just don’t understand why these groups do this, and for this purpose I am bringing this Psalm to the spotlight, to break it down and understand.

                Should we rejoice and triumph in the Lord? Absolutely! But this very same Psalm tells us that we should “…sing ye praises with understanding.” (Psalms 47:7), this is where my constructive critism begins…

                I honestly do not believe that most of the praises are done with understanding. I do believe that most praises to the Lord are actually made with mis-understanding and ignorance. I am not however attacking the churches that praise God in this manner, because I do believe you can shout with joy toward the heavens, and God will listen! However, as respect for the Lord, I don’t believe shouting and screaming his name is appropriate.

                Joshua mentions that we “…shall not shout…” (Joshua 6:10) and Isaiah speaks of the screaming man in the streets; “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.” (Isaiah 42:2) Elijah even mocked the prophets and priests that worshiped Baal, because they were also screaming to a ‘god’ without much understanding; “…Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awakend.” (1 Kings 18:27)

                Elijah knew that they were worshiping a false god and that he knew they were making fools of themselves. In the very next chapter of Kings, we learn why Elijah was mocking these people. Elijah was commanded by the Lord to go upon a mountain and wait for the Lords instruction. Elijah himself was probably a little shocked that “… the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord: but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And aftet the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)

                Elijah was waiting for the Lord to give him instruction, and he too was probably shocked that the strong winds, earthquake and fire were not actually the voice or the instruction from the Lord. Instead the instruction the Lord was going to give him was from a “still small voice”. So what does this tell us? The Lord does not make huge spectacles to answer our prayers nor will he speak with thunder from the heavens… the Lord will use his spirit to speak with a “still small voice”.

                I sincerely believe that the ‘spirit’ people feel from loud music and screaming is adrenaline. Let’s be clear, that the Lord CAN speak to us in any way He wishes. But He does not need to yell at us, and He is most definitely not deaf. He can hear us! I think that when we scream and yell we lose the reverence that the Lord demands. After all, would we scream at our earthly parents? No. So why scream at our Heavenly parents?

                When we sing and shout praises, we must make sure that we understand completely what we are saying. We must sing with intelligence, reverence and joy towards our God, and our Heavenly Father. Either way, He will listen. But I get a feeling that He enjoys a nice, calm, light hearted conversation of intellectual value. Speak with the Lord, prayer is our TWO-WAY communication with Him. We speak, He listens, He responds and WE act!

Chapter 48: God Never Changes

A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah.

                “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God… Beautiful for situation, the joy of the wole earth, is mount Zion…” (Psalms 48:1-2)

                Great is the Lord and great is the city of Zion. They are the joy of the whole earth, and shall be established forever.

                We are also reminded that God never changes and is there for us always, and forever. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psalms 48:14)

                God NEVER CHANGES, He is the “…same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

2 Kings 23-25

2 Kings 23-25

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 23: The Book of the Covenant

                The King sent for all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem to come unto him. The King then went up into the house of the Lord and read out to them all the words of the Book of the Covenant. Then the King stood by a pillar and made a covenant there with all the elders to God that they would follow the words of the book and do good in the eyes of the Lord.

                So the King commanded everyone to take anything that belonged to the worship of Baal and burn it in a field.  In the eighteenth year of King Josiah a Passover was held to the Lord in Jerusalem.

                The King of Egypt decides to go up against the Assyrian Empire, but King Josiah went up against him and his servants carried him dead from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. The people then took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father's stead. Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he began to reign and he reigned for 3 months in Jerusalem and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

                The King of Egypt; Pharaoh-nechoh put king Jehoahaz in band at Riblah in the land of Hamath that he might not reign in Jerusalem. Instead the king of Egypt put Eliakim the other son of Josiah king and renamed him; "Jehoiakim" and took Jeoahaz to Egypt where he would later die. Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began to reign and he reigned for 11 years in Jerusalem and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Chapter 24: Jerusalem Taken by Nebuchadnezzar

                Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon comes up and makes Jehoaikim his servant for three years. But Jehoaikim rebels against him. Jehoaikim gets some help from the Chaldees, Syrians, Moabites and the children of Ammon. Jehoaikim dies and his son Jehoiachin reigns in his stead. Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he began to reign and he reigned in Jerusalem for 3 months and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

                The King of Babylon comes and besieges the land and takes Jehoiachin and his household and also carried away all the treasures of the house of the Lord, including vessels of Gold that King Solomon had made in the Temple. The king of Babylon also took over 10,000 captive and brought them back to Babylon, he then appointed Mattaniah his father's brother, whose name was changed to Zedekiah to reign in his stead.

                Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign and he reigned in Jerusalem for 11 years and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Chapter 25: The Fall of Jerusalem

                In the ninth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon he came to Jerusalem and pitched against it and build forts all around the city. Because of the surrounding armies, the city of Jerusalem started to go hungry for the lack of bread.

                Here is where things really get interesting, and where the Book of Mormon can help us understand more of the story from the Bible....

                "And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. And the army of the Chaldees took him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon." (2 Kings 2:25)

                According to this story all of the sons of Zedekiah were killed, however in the Book of Mormon it talks about how one of his sons... named Mulek fled and came to the Americas!

See Helaman 6:10 and 8:21.

"...the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land of the north..." (Helaman 6:10)

"And will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem?" (Helaman 8:21)

                This is something that is very interesting and really helps us to understand the purpose of both the Bible (New and Old Testaments) and the Book of Mormon. The Bible is the word of God, but with the Book of Mormon we realize that God has more to say than just what is written in the Bible and had spoken with people of the Old world (middle east) and the New world (the Americas).

                Nebuchadnezzar with the help of his captain Nebuzar-adan burnt down the house of the Lord and the houses of Jerusalem. The remnants of the people flee to Egypt. Jechoiachin is released from prison and is favored by the new king; Evil-merodach the king of Babylon.

2 Kings 5-6

2 Kings 5-6

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 5: Naaman Washes in the Jordan River

                Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria and was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master. Through the Lord he had given him victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of courage, but he was also a leper.

                Naaman is sent to see the king of Israel to be cured of his disease and the king of Israel says; "...Am I god, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of leprosy?" (2 Kings 5:7). So Elisha hears about how the king reacted and tells Naaman to go to wash in the river Jordan seven times and then Naaman shall be clean. However, Naaman was outraged, of bathing in the Jordan River (because of its filthiness) and huffed off in a rage. But his servants told him that if a prophet of God had told him something, he better do it. So Naaman did as Elisha had told him and he became clean again.

                Naaman goes to Elisha to thank him and tells him that he knows now that Elisha is a prophet of God. Naaman offers him a "blessing" or essentially cash for his help. Elisha responds; "...I will receive none...." (2 Kings 2:16) and he refused to take the money. One thing that we can learn here is that the things of God cannot be purchased. The LDS Church (or as more commonly known to the world as "mormons") do not have a paid clergy. Everyone that works in the local church are all volunteer. The tithing in the church is used to pay for buildings, supplies etc... but not to pay someone's salary. This is important. We can also learn that people are not use the power to heal to make money.

                A servant to Elisha, Gehazi however believed that Elisha deserved something. So Gehazi catches up to Naaman as he is leaving and Naaman turns around and stops his chariot and asks him if everything is well and right there Gehazi basically asks Naaman for money and Naaman gives him 2 talents of silver and a change of clothes. Well when Gehazi comes back, he hides the money from Elisha (because he knew it was wrong) and later is asked by Elisha where he went. Gehazi responds that he hadn't been anywhere. So Elisha asks him if his heart was with him, and if it was time to recieve all of those worldly things, because with them will come the wrath and curse of God. Elisha tells him that he shall recieve the leprosy that Naaman had, and Gehazi left Elisha's presence as white as snow... having contracted Leprosy.

                We can learn a lot from this story... greed will get us no where. Is it wrong to have money? No. Naaman had a lot of it... he was super rich, famous, and powerful. But he wasn't cursed, he was cured. But it is when we gain our money through unlawful or un-ethical ways that we are bad. God does not like greed and we will be punished if we live a life of greed.  

Chapter 6: Floating Axe

                The sons of the prophets tell Elisha that the place where they currently reside is getting a little cramped and that they want to build a new place. So they ask Elisha if it is ok to build a new place. He agrees and they go down near the rive to chop down some trees. As they were cutting trees, one man lost the iron axe head from his axe and it fell into the river.So the man freaks out a little, because the axe wasn't even his, he had borrowed it from someone else. So Elisha asks him where it feel and he cut off a stick and threw it into the water near where it had fallen, and by a miracle Elisha causes the axe head of IRON (so very heavy and dense) to float to the top of the water. How he got something so heavy and dense to float is a mystery! The man then reached out and grabbed the axe from the water.

                During this same time the King of Syria was making war with Israel and he consulted with his servants, and Elisha helped the king of Israel. The King of Syria was upset that Israel seemed to know there plans a head of time and was convinced that there was a traitor among him. Until his servants pointed out that Elisha a prophet of God was helping them.

                The Syrians however had Elisha and his servant, among other people surrounded in a city. Elisha's servant was naturally afraid and feared death. But Elisha tells those around him; "... Feat not: for they that be with us are more than they be with them." (2 Kings 6:16). Elisha prayed to God that they eyes of his servant would be opened to see a mountain full of horses, and chariots of fire (obviously spiritual help), Elisha then asked for the Syrians to be made blind and it was so.

                When they arrive at the city blind (my guess is not physically blind, but blind in the way that they are not seeing things as they are), because Elisha tells them that they need to go to Samaria to find the man they are looking for, they don't even recognize Elisha!

                So they Syrians travel to Samaria and besiege the city. In these times a siege would take place by the Syrian army blocking out all business and trade from the city until the people were starved to death or starved into compliance with their new leader. This was a easy way for an army to take over an entire city, by controling the commerce, money etc. The siege was successful, because within a short time a donkey's head or a Dove's droppings were worth so much that only the wealthy could afford them. That is how desperate people were for food! Some dove droppings towards the end of the seige cost an average worker more than one month salary. Imagine today someone paying $1,000 - $2,000 for some Dove droppings to eat!?!?

                The chapter however gets worse...  The king of Israel was passing by the city wall one day, when he heard a woman's cry for help. So the king asked her what was wrong, and the woman told him; "...This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son." (2 Kings 6:28-29). This shows us how horrible the famine was, that mothers were willing to eat their own children to fight away the pangs of hunger!

                The king was super upset over what had happened and wanted to get revenge on Elisha and God. What can we learn from this? Well if we remember back to our reading, we learn that in Deuteronomy 28, God warned Israel about what would happen if they disobeyed God.

                "And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shal eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of they sons and of they daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given theem in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thin enemies shall distress thee:" (Deuteronomy 28:52-53). So God had warned them about this! But they did not listen and now they are having to live with the consequences of their own actions.

2 Samuel 23-24

2 Samuel 23-24

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 23: Rulers Must be Just

                David speaks (some of) his last words;

                "...He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." (2 Samuel 23:3). This is something really important, especially in today's political scene. Rulers must always fear God, if they do this they will be successful! If not, they will be responsible for their actions.

                The rest of the chapter speaks of how David was not a great ruler, but God will bless them for their everlasting covenant. He also mentions the names of his mighty men and their deeds.

Chapter 24: David Sins; The Lord Sends Pestilence

           

                David decides to number Israel and Judah, which combines 1, 300,000 troops! This angers the Lord and he sends a famine, that kills 70,000 men! David tells Gad; "...let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man" (2 Samuel 24:14). We learn hear of the importance of being in the hands of God. Sometimes it is not popular to be with God, but whose hands would you rather be in? I think I would rather be in the hands of God and NOT MAN!

                David sees an Angel of the Lord, with whom he had sent. The Angel prepares to deliver more destruction, but David pleads with God and God decides to stop the destruction... because David repented of what he had done.