AGNOSTIC-ATHEIST

AGNOSTIC-ATHEIST 

"Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him back to see what shall be after him?" Eccles. 3:22

With this chapter the Debater begins to advance evidence of the vanity of all things, from a wider outlook than that of the purely personal. In six chapters (3-8) we find him dealing with relative considerations. First he returned to the MECHANISM OF THE UNIVERSE, already touched upon (1:4-11). He sees a recurrence of opposite circumstances continuously manifest, and concludes that man's wisest course is to adapt himself to these. It is to be observed throughout that this man was by no means an ATHEIST. He believed in God, and in His government of all things. But his conception of man was that he is a being living in the midst of this government without any personal fellowship with the God Who is governing. He thought of man as an ANIMAL ONLY; he is like the beasts—at least this man was not sure that there is any difference. He was an AGNOSTIC. He inquired: "Who knows the spirit of man whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goes downward to the earth?" Therefore his outlook upon life lacked illumination and his conclusion was that there is nothing better than that a man should make the best he could out of the things of the earth that he should rejoice in his own work. This is perfectly natural and inevitable. To attempt to interpret God by circumstances, as they appear to man's partial vision, is to become PESSIMISTIC. It is only when the soul looks out upon circumstances from the standpoint of fellowship with God, and knowledge of Him, that it can be OPTIMISTIC.

NO ESCAPE FROM GOD

NO ESCAPE FROM GOD 

"Therefore thus says Jehovah; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil . . ." Micah 2:3

After a graphic description of the coming judgment (Mic. 1:6-16) the prophet declared the nature of the sin of the nation (Mic. 2:1). It will be noticed that the sin was peculiarly the sin of the RULING CLASSES. The period was one of MATERIAL PROSPERITY, but the power of this was in the hands of the rulers. In view of this power, they planned and plotted in the night, and in the day carried out their plans. Their rule was that of OPPRESSION. The note in this charge which reveals the deepest wrong is that in which the prophet declared that the oppression was not an action of sudden passion, or of swift moral collapse. It was premeditated. Observe the force of the word devise: "Woe to them that devise iniquity." This gives force to the declaration: "Behold against this family do I devise an evil." Men deliberately PLOT AND PLAN IN THE DARKNESS, DEVISE INIQUITY IN THE NIGHT, when their fellow men cannot see, and therefore do not know. But God is not deceived, He knows; and over against the devising of wickedness, is set His devising. They DEVISE INIQUITY AGAINST THEIR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN; but JEHOVAH DEVISES EVIL AGAINST THEM. This is forever so, and the evil which God devises against the devising of iniquity: is always the outworking of that very iniquity in its reaction upon the evil workers. THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM GOD; and that fact is the reason of confidence, and the secret of peace, in the days bursting of the apparent triumph of evil men.

LIVING WITHOUT PROPER FOCUS

LIVING WITHOUT PROPER FOCUS 

"Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity" Eccles. 1:2

The subtitle of this book found in our translations, "or the Preacher," we owe to Luther, and it is misleading, the more correct rendering of the Hebrew word “Koheleth” would be "The Debater." This is important, for it immediately reminds us that here we have DISCUSSION, rather than TEACHING. In these words we have the GENERAL PROPOSITION of the Debater. Everything he says from here on to the 8th verse of chapter 11 is in defense of this statement. Then in a paragraph, brief but pregnant (11:9-12), he gives an entirely different view of life, which is a correction of this. Let us, then, at once face this opening declaration. It is an absolutely accurate statement of life when it is lived under certain conditions; but it is not true as a statement of what life must necessarily be. There are thousands of men and women today who cannot, and do not, accept this to be true of life as they find it; it is not vanity, vapor, emptiness, nothingness. To them life in every way is real, rich, full, and glorious. It is best, then, that at the beginning we should understand the viewpoint of the Debater. His DECLARATION is that things in themselves bring no satisfaction to the soul of man. To live on the earth without recognition of the ULTIMATE WISDOM which begins and continues in the FEAR OF JEHOVAH, to deal only with that hemisphere which is "under the sun," is indeed to find things of exceeding wonder and beauty and power; but it is to find NOTHING THAT SATISFIES, AND TO BE LEFT AT LAST WITHOUT ANY REALITY, TO FIND ONLY VANITY, VAPOR, EMPTINESS.

GOD EVENTUALLY GETS FED UP

GOD EVENTUALLY GETS FED UP  

"Thus saith Jehovah; For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four" Amos 1:3

Amos was a man of Judah, who was sent by God to prophesy in Israel. In this book we have the notes of his ministry. No prophet, in the technical sense of the word; nor the son of a prophet, that is he had no training in the schools of the prophets, he nevertheless was a veritable prophet of God. His outlook upon the Divine government was of the widest. He saw God judging, NOT JUDAH AND ISRAEL ONLY, but ALL THE NATIONS. The first section of the book contains eight oracles concerning the nations, setting forth this fact. Each one of them is introduced by these words, "For three transgressions . . . yea, for four." The language is obviously figurative, rather than mechanical. The truth thus emphasized with reference to all the nations is that of the Divine patience, and justice. Upon all these nations the wrath of God was to fall, but not until their persistence in wickedness was such as to leave no room for any other method of dealing with them, enough is enough. The "three transgressions" represent FULLNESS OF INIQUITY; but when that becomes "four," then the iniquity has PASSED BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF THE DIVINE PATIENCE. This is always the law of God's dealings with nations. The stroke of His judgment never falls until sin has become so COMPLETE that there is no room for the exercise of mercy. In the Bible we see the good getting better to perfection while the bad get to their worst and then we see the complete exercise of the mission He was sent to this earth. When that is so, His judgments inevitably come, and that in the interest of humanity as a whole. A careful reading of these narratives will show that the national sins against which God proceeds, are always those of wrong done to other nations.

ALL THINGS CARED FOR IN THE DIVINE PLAN

ALL THINGS CARED FOR IN THE DIVINE PLAN  

"Everyone according to his service, and according to his burden" Num. 4:49

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 2 Tim. 1:9

In this chapter we have a continuation of the instructions concerning the Levites. It gives a minute account of their work in connection with the marching of the people. The duty of carrying all the holy furniture was that of the Kohathites. This furniture, however, they were not permitted to look upon, or touch. Aaron and his sons first entered the Holy Place and covered each sacred piece, affixing the staves which were to rest upon the shoulders of the Levites. On the march these holy vessels were in charge of Eleazar, who carried also the anointing oil and the sweet incense. The curtains and the tents which constituted the Tabernacle itself were carried by the Gershonites. They were under the charge of Ithamar. To the Mera­rites were committed the boards and bars and pillars, and other things which formed the foundations upon which the sacred hangings rested. These also were under the charge of Ithamar. All this is instructive, as it reveals the DIVINE THOUGHT AND CARE for EVERY DETAIL of the life and worship of His people. It is of particular value too as it teaches us that in the thought of God every detail is SACRED. These men were in this regard the "caretakers" of the House of God. How often we are prone to think meanly of "caretakers" in these modern times! Such thinking is utterly wrong. The men and women who have charge of the houses of our worship are rendering holy service. And all of this part of the meeting before the foundation of this earth in that Trinitarian meeting (Eph. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:20; 2 Tim. 1:9). See article titled “Triune meeting before the Beginning.”

BLESSING OR CURSING

BLESSING OR CURSING 

"Hear ye peoples, all of you. . . ." Micah 1:2

Micah was a prophet to the people of God, contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea. His messages were concerned with Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals respectively of the Northern and Southern kingdoms, as being the centers of national thought and action. Their burden was that of authority. He denounced the false, and announced the true. The book contains three discourses, each commencing with the same formula "Hear" (See 1:2; 3:1 and 6:1). The words we have emphasized constitute the introduction to the first of these. Necessarily the message was for the nation to which he spoke, but he couched it in the form of an address to ALL NATIONS; and to the WHOLE EARTH. The burden of the message is that of declaring THE COMING JUDGMENT OF GOD UPON THE CHOSEN NATION ON ACCOUNT OF ITS APOSTASY. The other nations are called upon to listen to this message, and to WITNESS THE DIVINE JUDGMENT. Micah recognized the Divine purpose of the chosen nation. It was to be THE MEDIUM THROUGH which God bore witness concerning Himself to all the other nations of the world. Israel, OBEDIENT to the Divine government, realized the blessings of the Divine government, and revealed its kindness to the world. Israel DISOBEDIENT to that law must be judged and punished as they were to be the blessing giver to the rest of the nations (Gen. 12:3), and thus the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the Divine government would be manifested to all the nations of the earth. Either in blessing or in blasting (Gen. 12:3), Jehovah reveals Himself to the nations by His dealing with His ancient people. This is still so, if men have minds to apprehend. Let the rulers among the nations consider the history of the Hebrew people; let them ponder the reason of their long-continued suffering and scattered condition. God is speaking yet to the nations through the Jewish nation.

SAVED BY GRACE AND TRUTH

SAVED BY GRACE AND TRUTH 

"Founded upon the Rock" Matt. 7:25

In the closing sentences of His ethical statement, our Lord claimed full and final authority for all He had said; and that matchlessly, by thus declaring that to hear and to do, is to build upon a rock foundation, so securely that no storms can destroy the building. This figure of building may be applied in many ways. Indeed, in every way in which men are attempting to do constructive work, in individual character-building, in every phase of social realization, in national affairs, and in all international and racial matters. His words are fundamental and final. They result from His perfect understanding of all the deepest facts concerning humanity. TO ORDER ONE'S OWN LIFE ACCORDING TO HIS TEACHING IS TO REALIZE ALL ITS MEANING AND STRENGTH, AND SO TO MAKE IT PROOF AGAINST ALL DESTRUCTIVE FORCES (John 13:13). To obey His law is to realize the true kingdom of human lives, and so to ensure the order which abides, and in which righteousness issues in PEACE and in JOY. All this, however, is only possible as we are brought into living relationship with Him by the way of the Cross. We may hear His words, and even admire them; but we cannot do them EXCEPT IN THE POWER OF THE LIFE HE BESTOWS when we trust Him first as our Savior. The Mount of ethical proclamation reveals the need for the Mount of the Cross. Yet once more let it be said that the GIFT OF LIFE RECEIVED THROUGH GRACE must be wrought out to its full realization by OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS OF LIFE GIVEN IN TRUTH. We are saved by GRACE AND TRUTH. You need the TRUTH to learn of the GRACE He offers. Therefore all our building, if it is to abide, must be sure-founded on the rock of HIS TEACHING.