Memory Verse: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and Godliness,…” II Peter 3:11.
Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 8:1-17
Introduction:
Although there seems to be some inequities in this present life, we know that God is working out His good purposes. The Preacher (Solomon) notes the refrain to “eat, drink, and be merry,” equating God’s work with the activities that take place on the earth. And while the wicked person decides that the best thing to do is to do this, they do so with no thought given to the living God; but the righteous person, or the wise, can enjoy life while thinking of God and His good gifts.
“The Holy Spirit is in the heart of every believer (Romans 8:9); but alas! Too often He is shut up in some mere attic in the back of the house, whilst the world fills the rest. As long as it is so, there is one long weary story of defeat and unrest. But He is not content. Know ye not that the Spirit, which He hath made to dwell in us, yearneth even unto jealous envy? (James 4:5). Happy are they who yield to Him. Then He will fill them, as the tide fills the harbor and lifts the barges off the banks of mud; He will dwell in them, shedding abroad the perfume of the love of Jesus; and will reveal the deep things of God.
We can always tell when we are wrong with the Spirit of God; our conscience darkens in a moment when we have grieved Him. If we are aware we have discovered the cause, and confessed it, and put it away. Besides this, if we live and walk in the Spirit, we shall find that He will work against the risings of our old nature, counteracting them as disinfection power counteracts the germs of disease floating in an infested house, so that we may do the things that we would (Galatians 5:17).
This is one of the most precious words in the New Testament. If you have never tried it, I entreat you to begin to test it in daily experience. “Walk in the Spirit,” hour by hour, by watchful obedience to His slightest promptings, and you will find that “you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”” Written by F. B. Meyer
(Taken from Thomas Nelson, Inc., Heritage of Great Evangelical Teaching: Featuring the best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C. H. Spurgeon and others (computer file), electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1996.)
Study Questions:
- What great differences can be observed in the man with “heavenly” wisdom? Ecclesiastes 8:1-3; Job 29:20-25; Proverbs 24:1-8.
- Why should we strive to observe the laws and commands of those in governmental rule? Ecclesiastes 8:4; Romans 13:1-8; Proverbs 24:21-27, 32; Titus 3:1-8; I Peter 2:13-16.
- What special quality does the wise man possess that causes him to be a “step ahead” of changes and calamities, so that he avoids the full weight of their miseries? Ecclesiastes 8:5-7; Isaiah 11:1-5; Daniel 5:11-12; II Kings 6:15-18; Genesis 41:11-13.
- What inescapable certainty must every living person face? Ecclesiastes 8:8; Hebrews 9:27; II Samuel 14:14; Job 30:22-23; Psalm 89:48; Psalm 49:10-13, 16-20.
- When a ruler oppresses his subjects, who is the one most affected? Ecclesiastes 8:9-10; Matthew 18:7; Isaiah 10:1-4; Isaiah 33:1; Jeremiah 22:13-19; Ezekiel 34:1-10; Matthew 23:29-39.
- What did the preacher observe happens when the wicked die? Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 14:14-21.
- What compels the sinner to continue sinning and what is the end result of his folly? Ecclesiastes 8:11-13; Psalm 10:1-11.
- Why can it seem that life is so unjust? Ecclesiastes 8:14; Exodus 5:22-23; Job 12:4-10, 16, 23-25; Job 21:7-17; Romans 9:10-16; Matthew 20:8-16.
- For one who has a purely worldly view, “under the sun,” what is the best life can afford him? Ecclesiastes 8:15; I Corinthians 15:32-39.
- When the preacher attempts to answer the perplexing meaning of work or activity done upon the earth, what is his conclusion? Ecclesiastes 8:16-17; I Corinthians 2:16; Job 11:7; Job 37:23-24; Isaiah 40:28.