Go to Part Three...
…Worship
and Encountering the Divine…
Part
Two
..The
Creed of Yeshua..
Matthew 22:35-40
36 “Teacher,
which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37 And He
said to him, “ ‘aYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your mind.’
38 “This is the great and 1foremost commandment.
39 “The second is like it, ‘aYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Mark
12:28-34
28 aOne
of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and brecognizing that He had
answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the 1foremost of
all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The
foremost is, ‘aHear, O Israel! The
Lord our God is one Lord;
30 aand you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
31 “The second is this, ‘aYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You
have truly stated that aHe
is One, and there is no one else
besides Him;
33 aand
to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the
strength, and to love one’s
neighbor as himself, bis much more than all burnt offerings
and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered
intelligently, He said to him,
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
In
Part One of this series, we took a look at worship, with all it’s different
meanings and nuances. A bit technical maybe, some will probably complain that
it was too long, or maybe I lost you in a few paragraphs… oh well.
My
purpose, my calling is to open you up to a different way of looking at
Scripture; not through the lens of the 21st century, but of the lens
of the language and customs of the 1st century, of our Messiah’s
times. Now, that in itself would take us days or weeks to fully explore; but
without at least a rudimentary understanding of the times, language, culture
and customs of the writers of the Tanach (Old Testament, but I prefer
calling it the Original Covenant) and
the B’rit Hadashah (New Testament or more correctly the Renewed Covenant, and doesn't that definition cause some folks heart-burn..), we are at a
disadvantage when it comes to the correct interpretation of Scripture.
To
be sure, there are a lot of sites out there just waiting to “debunk” the
Hebraic Roots movement. Depending on how you word the question into a search engine,
you can come up with between 2,000 and 20,000 responses, some for, a whole lot
against, and the rest asking questions. But to be fair, type in “Christian
denominations”… on Google® you will get about 2,570,000 results.
Figure 1 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Syriac_Christian_Churches.svg/800px-Syriac_Christian_Churches.svg.png
Figure 2 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Historical_Branches_and_Sects_of_Christianity.png/800px-Historical_Branches_and_Sects_of_Christianity.png
Figure 3 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Protestant_branches.svg/800px-Protestant_branches.svg.png
Now we could
also list the major denominations, but a list of some 33,000 plus[3]
denominations is out of our scope here. The point I am trying to get at here is
we have as once quoted in a popular movie starring Paul Newman: “…What we got
here is failure to communicate…” [4]
In Christianity there are about
22,000 Independent denominations; about 9,000 or so Protestant denominations;
“Marginals” (those including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, ect.) make up about
1600 denominations; those with the “Orthodox” label total around 781
denominations while those that call themselves Roman Catholic include around
241 different denominations! Add up the Anglicans and whatever little splinter
groups you can find and the numbers are staggering. [5]
There is by one count 44,689 different Christian denominations in the world
today. [6]
You can go to any number of
websites and find similar statistics, but I think you get my point: you have
approximately 44,689 denominations all with their own spin on Scripture, and
probably very few of them with a favorable view of the Hebraic Roots movement.
While this may seem as an unfair generalization, for those of you who have
access to the world wide web, just go look. You will find website after website
denouncing the Hebraic Roots movement as cults at best, and teachers of the
doctrines of demons at worst, with all kinds of opinions in between. To be
sure, the Messianic movement has some “Messy-anic” elements to it; some might
say we are our own worst enemies. We have the
“One Law” proponents[7],
the “One House” group [8],
“Two House” [9],
lions and tigers and bears oh my…
My take is this: unity, what unity?
Matthew 16:13-21
13 aNow
when Jesus came into the district of bCaesarea Philippi, He
was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that cthe
Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say aJohn the Baptist; and others, 1bElijah;
but still others, 2Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed
are you, aSimon 1Barjona, because bflesh and blood
did not reveal this to you, but My
Father who is in heaven.
18 “I also say to you that you are 1aPeter,
and upon this 2rock I will build My church; and the gates of bHades
will not overpower it.
19 “I will give you athe
keys of the kingdom of heaven; and bwhatever you bind on
earth 1shall
have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth 2shall have been
loosed in heaven.”
Ephesians
4:4-6
5 aone Lord, one faith, one baptism,
John 17 (NIV)
“Father, the hour has come.i Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify
you.j 2 For you granted him authority over all peoplek that he might give eternal lifel to all those you have given him.m 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you,n the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you
have sent.o 4 I have brought you gloryp on earth by finishing the work you gave me to
do.q 5 And now, Father, glorify mer in your presence with the glory I had with yous before the world began.t
6 “I have
revealed youa u to those whom you gave mev out of the world. They were yours; you gave
them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything
you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave mew and they accepted them. They knew with
certainty that I came from you,x and they believed that you sent me.y 9 I pray for them.z I am not praying for the world, but for those you have
given me,a for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all
you have is mine.b And
glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they
are still in the world,c and I
am coming to you.d Holy
Father, protect them by the power ofb your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be onee as we are one.f 12 While I was with them, I protected them and
kept them safe byc that
name you gave me. None has been lostg except the one doomed to destructionh so that Scripture would be fulfilled.i
13 “I am
coming to you now,j but I
say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full
measure of my joyk within
them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them,l for they are not of the world any more than I
am of the world.m 15 My prayer is not that you
take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.n 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of
it.o 17 Sanctify them byd the truth; your word is truth.p 18 As you sent me into the world,q I have sent them into the world.r 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be
truly sanctified.s
20 “My
prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message, 21 that all of them may be one,t Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.u May they also be in us so that the world may
believe that you have sent me.v 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me,w that they may be one as we are onex—23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent mey and have loved themz even as you have loved me.
24 “Father,
I want those you have given mea to be with me where I am,b and to see my glory,c the glory you have given me because you loved me before
the creation of the world.d
25 “Righteous
Father, though the world does not know you,e I know you, and they know that you have sent me.f 26 I have made youe known to them,g and will continue to make you known in order that the
love you have for me may be in themh and that I myself may be in them.” [12]
There is a consistent theme
associated with these Scripture passages, and the theme outlines for us the
unity that Messiah sought for His bride, His “church”[13].
It involves the creed of Jesus, the founding truth of our Messiah.
First, I have to stand on my
soapbox for just a minute. This post is more than likely going to have to be
split up; I know that some of these posts get into technical language studies,
some are long and who knows who gets through a whole post. Maybe I’m just
writing for myself, and there is no one who reads and ponders the words I have
penned.. Does this bother me? No, for I’ll tell you why. I am not out to
convert anyone to my way of thinking or my belief system in the One True God
and His Messiah. I am not out to convert Christians into Messianics, or to
convince Jews Yeshua is the Messiah, or to challenge anyone on what they hold
as truth. That is not my call, or my job. The act of salvation and sanctification
is the providence of God Almighty alone, it does not rest in men like me or any
other. All I can do is present what I believe to be truth to you dear reader;
it is up to you to ponder it, test my words against the plain meaning of
Scripture, as admonished in Romans 12:2, and again in 1 John 4:1. I am
teachable and correctable, as long as reproof comes from Scripture and the
Scriptures used are not used to distort and twist the context in which they are
found. The Word of God is not a menu, letting us pick and choose from it as we
please. It has to be taken as a whole, and examined carefully, not “cherry-picking”
our way through it so that we can justify our pet doctrines and beliefs. To do
so is to manipulate the Word; when taken in context, you cannot manipulate the
word and make it say whatever you want it to say. That is why I present so much
Scripture in my examples, so as to retain the context and the proper
understanding of God’s intent as He instructed His trusted messengers to record
His Holy Writ. That being said, this is why I have such a problem with all
these different sites that bash and denigrate the Hebraic Roots movement. A
careful examination of the various site reveals a pattern of “cherry-picking”
Scripture, a little Paul here, a little Paul there; throw in some Peter and
John and shake well.. What you usually end up with then is a hodge-podge of
Scriptural references all taken out of their proper context and then used to
justify and “prove” that those of us who believe in the WHOLE word of God are
in fact as stated in 1 Timothy 4:1-2:
1
Timothy 4:1-2
1Now
the Spirit says clearly that in the last times some people will abandon the
faith by following deceitful spirits, the teachings of demons,1
2and the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences have been burned
by a hot iron.2 [14]
Does
this make sense? Does it seem right to anyone who has a mind to reason that
because a person holds that God’s word is truth (Psalm 119:160, Psalms 19:9,
John 17:17, 1 John 2:27), that they believe that God’s whole word is light
(Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 6:23, John 8:12, John 9:5, 1 John 1:5), that it is
pure and perfect (Psalm 19:7-8), that it is the way (Psalms 119:25-40, Psalm 1,
John 14:6), that in it is life (Psalm 19:7, Psalm 16, Psalm 23, Psalm 119:1,
Proverbs 3, Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:17-31, John 3:36, John 5:18-47,
John 6:26-65), that through the shed blood of Yeshua and obedience to the word
we find salvation (1John 1:1-7, 1 John 2:1-6, 1 John 3), can anyone with a mind
and a heart to reason say that we who believe these things follow deceitful
spirits and the teachings of demons?
When
did God’s word, the holy word become the teaching of demons? Before anyone can
say I’m “cherry-picking”, any single scriptural verse I give you it must be
understood that I expect you as one who should be schooled in the proper way of
reading Scripture to hold that verse in its proper context: read 5 above and 5
below that verse, or 10 above and 10 below! But read it in its context,
understand what you read. The Epistles of the Apostles were written as letters,
not as chapters and verses, they were written to be read in their entirety, and
understood in that context. When you do so, you cannot manipulate the words to
fit your “bent” on the Word; you have to accept the Word as it is intended. In
1 John 3:8 the Apostle states:
1
John 3:8 (ISV)
8The person who practices sin belongs to the evil one, because the devil has been sinning since the beginning. The reason that the Son of God was revealed was to destroy the works of the devil.8[15]
8The person who practices sin belongs to the evil one, because the devil has been sinning since the beginning. The reason that the Son of God was revealed was to destroy the works of the devil.8[15]
When
did the word of God become the work of the devil? Those that say the Torah
(Law) of God is done away with make our Messiah out to be a liar, and that God
is unable to keep His own word, that somehow in those believers that hold to
the commandments of God and the testimony of Yeshua are walking in the
doctrines of demons and the hypocrisy of liars. If that is the case, then Jesus
is a liar Himself for He said:
Matthew
5:17-19
17
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one
jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least
in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the
same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.[16]
Heaven
and earth are still with us, and all is not yet fulfilled. So does Jesus teach
the doctrines of demons and the hypocrisy of liars? When did God become a liar?
Psalm
138:1-2
1
I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto
thee. 2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name
for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth:
for
thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.[17]
“…The Psalmist asks Ps 119:9 “How
can a young man cleanse his way? He answers, “By taking heed according to Your
Word. Just a few more verses later v:11 “Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.” God's word keeps us from sin and keeps us on
his path, as the Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path
(Ps.119:105) in a dark world. Ps. 43:3 “Oh, send out Your light and Your
truth! Let them lead me”. As one reads the psalms one grasps the importance
of the Word to the people of Israel, especially the leaders. To disregard God’s
Word that is holy, pure and absolutely true is to defame God’s name and
character. It is to bring ruin upon our walk. So it becomes the main focus
point in our daily walk with Christ…”[18]
Can
we truly say our Messiah lies? Or that God lies? Many have made the mistake of
thinking that the way that the traditional church has interpreted the word is
the only way to interpret it. When man elevates the way he thinks Scripture
should be interpreted over the way that the Scriptures themselves plainly show us, it is done at our own folly. Isaiah
66:2 tells us:
Thus all these things came into being,” declares
the Lord.
“But to this one I will look,
There are those who are quick to condemn
God’s own words, His commandments as “leagalism” or “bondage”. Do these “…tremble
at the commandment of our God (Ezra 10:3)…” as did the priests and leaders of
Israel in the days of Ezra? Can we do as “the Preacher” says to do in
Ecclesiates 12…
9)
In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge;
and he pondered, searched out and arranged amany proverbs.
10)
The Preacher sought to find adelightful words and to write bwords
of truth correctly. 11 The awords
of wise men are like bgoads, and masters of these collections
are like 1well-driven cnails; they are
given by one Shepherd.
12)
But beyond this, my son, be warned: the 1writing of amany
books is endless, and excessive bdevotion to
books is wearying to the body.
because this applies to cevery
person.
14)
For aGod will bring every act to judgment, everything
which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. [20]
What
is our proper attitude to God and His word? Is it one of thankfulness, of
gladness that in His infinite wisdom He has provided for us a model and a
blueprint of how to walk holy with Him, how to love our Messiah and our fellow
man? Or do we approach His word with scorn, distaining that which He lay before
us in order for us to keep what we only feel is appropriate in our
lives? Yeshua/Jesus is our model of a life that was spent in obedience to God
the Father and His word. Why do we treat His (Messiah’s) words as if Paul’s or
the other disciples’ words carry more weight than what He said? O man, justify this before God! I would rather
keep and follow all the word of God and be told at the end that it wasn’t
necessary than stand before a Holy, Terrible God and be asked why I discounted His word, why I held it in disdain. Why is
there the need to disrespect God and His written word for words and
interpretations penned by men? Why are those who hold His word in contempt deny
the lead of the Spirit to bring them into the knowledge of the truth? My heart
is saddened, but I pray that all of us will heed the words of God and not bash
one another, but come together in unity as one body, loving the Father and His
Son, Yeshua (or Jesus if you prefer…) as it is written…
As I
said, this will either be a long post or one that need to be continued, so…
Let us
meet again to continue our discussion.
…May
The Lord richly bless you my beloved, Amein…
1 I.e. an expert
in the Mosaic Law
a Luke 7:30;
10:25; 11:45, 46, 52; 14:3; Titus 3:13
a Deut 6:5
1 Or first
a Lev 19:18; Matt
19:19; Gal 5:14
a Matt 7:12
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
a Mark 12:28–34: Matt 22:34–40; Luke 10:25–28; 20:39f
b Matt 22:34;
Luke 20:39
1 Or first
a Deut 6:4
a Deut 6:5
a Lev 19:18
a Deut 4:35
a Deut 6:5
b 1 Sam 15:22;
Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6–8; Matt 9:13; 12:7
a Matt 22:46
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3] “Denominations. A denomination is
defined in this Encyclopedia as an organized aggregate of worship centers or
congregations of similar ecclesiastical tradition within a specific country;
i.e. as an organized Christian church or tradition or religious group or
community of believers, within
a specific country, whose component congregations and members are
called by the same denominational name in different areas, regarding themselves
as one autonomous Christian church distinct from other denominations, churches
and traditions. As defined here, world Christianity consists of 6 major
ecclesiastico-cultural blocs, divided into 300 major ecclesiastical traditions, composed of over 33,000 distinct denominations in 238
countries, these denominations
themselves being composed of over 3,400,000 worship centers, churches or
congregations.” (Barrett et al,
volume 1, page 16, Table 1-5, emphasis
added) From the World Christian Encyclopedia : a comparative
survey of churches and religions in the modern world, by David B. Barrett, George T. Kurian, Todd M.
Johnson, 2nd ed. Published by Oxford ; New York : Oxford University
Press, 2001.
[4] The phrase "What we've got here is
failure to communicate" is a quotation from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, spoken at different points in
the movie first by Strother Martin (as
the Captain, a prison warden)
and later Paul Newman (as Luke, a young prisoner). From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_we've_got_here_is_(a)_failure_to_communicate.
[5] From
the article “…The Facts and Stats on "33,000 Denominations" The 20,000 30,000
numbers and David Barrett's statistics Part II…” at http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/a106.htm
[6] http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/a106.htm
; website described as “...a
personal web site from Phil Porvaznik containing
many discussions, debates, and articles on Catholic Apologetics, Philosophy,Spirituality
and Conversion Stories…”
[7] [Note: In identifying these different
factions, to be honest with you my readers, I’ll let you know if I have any
theological leanings toward the basic premises of the different groups or
not..] Those that believe God’s Torah is the privilege and
obligation of all His people, Jew and non-Jew alike. I probably identify myself
more with this basic tenant than with any other, though my walk or halakah is based upon the interpretation
of the Torah as expressed by Yeshua and His disciples and not necessarily those
espoused by rabbinical sources. Where the two agree, I agree.
[8]
Those that believe that God is calling forth His people as one family (whether
Jew or Gentile) being reunited and restored
as the house of Israel. (Eph 2:11-22) [Note: again, part of my theology agrees with this basic premise.]
[9] “…Generally speaking,
the so-called “Two House Theory” (sometimes called the “Ephraimite Movement”)
thinks that Christians are actually members of the “lost tribes” of Israel
(Ephraim is used as a synonym for the Northern Kingdom of Israel that was taken
into captivity in 722 BC). Based on readings from the prophets Ezekiel (Ezek.
37:15-28) and Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31), this doctrine maintains that one day the
lost tribes (i.e., the church) will be reunited with the “house” of Judah
(i.e., the Jewish people) under the terms of the New Covenant…” From “Hebrew for Christians” by John J.
Parsons at www.hebrew4christians.com article “Two House Theology: Are
Christians the “lost tribes” of Israel?” [Note:
No offense to my “Two House” brethren, but my identity revolves around my
Messiah, not with the “lost tribes”. This is my take and I mean to disparage no
one for their belief system, Messianic or Christian, for if we can unite on one
theme and that is our love and respect for the Savior of Israel and of all
mankind, Yeshua the Messiah, then maybe we can end this “failure to
communicate” at last and unite as one..”
a Matt 16:13–16: Mark
8:27–29; Luke 9:18–20
b Mark 8:27
c Matt 8:20; 16:27, 28
a Matt 14:2
1 Gr Elias
b Matt 17:10; Mark 6:15; Luke 9:8; John 1:21
2 Gr Jeremias
* A star (*)
is used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been
translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage. The
translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more
unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have been.
But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened
vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual
scene at the time of occurence. However, the translators felt that it would be
wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.
1 I.e. the Messiah
a Matt 1:16; 16:20; John 11:27
b Matt 4:3
c Ps 42:2; Matt 26:63; Acts 14:15; Rom 9:26; 2 Cor 3:3;
6:16; 1 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 3:15; 4:10; Heb 3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22; Rev 7:2
a John 1:42; 21:15–17
1 I.e. son of Jonah
b 1 Cor 15:50; Gal 1:16; Eph 6:12; Heb 2:14
1 Gr Petros, a
stone
a Matt 4:18
2 Gr petra, large
rock; bed-rock
b Matt 11:23
a Is 22:22; Rev 1:18; 3:7
b Matt 18:18; John 20:23
1 Gr estai
dedemenon, fut. pft. pass.
2 Gr estai
lelumenon, fut. pft. pass.
a Matt 8:4; Mark 8:30; Luke 9:21
1 Or strictly
admonished
2 I.e. the Messiah
b Matt 1:16; 16:16; John 11:27
[10] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
a 1 Cor 12:4ff; Eph 2:16, 18
b Eph 1:18
a 1 Cor 8:6
a Rom 11:36
[11] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12] The New International Version. 2011.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[13] The word “church” is in parentheses for a reason: the
word “church” is not found in the original languages. While it the word used, “ekklesia”
or in some cases “sunagōgē” or what we get our word synagogue from, it is more correctly
transliterated as “assembly” or “assemblies”; but for our purposes church will
suffice as it is the form we have become used to. Do an internet search on the
origins of the word church for a fuller understanding, but please, be
respectful and search so that you can know the truth, not for the purpose of bashing
others with it.
1
Dan
11:35, 37–38; John 16:13; 2Thes 2:3; Dan 11:35, 37–38, 2Tim 3:1,
13; 1Peter 1:20; 2Peter 2:1; 3:3; 1John 2:18; Jude 1:4, 18,
37–38, 2Tim 3:1, 13; Rev 9:20; 16:14
2
Matt
7:15; Rom 16:18; Eph 4:19; 2Peter 2:3
[14]International standard version New Testament : Version
1.1.
2000 (Print on Demand ed.) (1 Ti 4:1). Yorba Linda, CA: The Learning Foundation.
8 Gen 3:15; Matt 13:38; Lk 10:18; John 8:44; 16:11; Heb
2:14
[15] International
standard version New Testament : Version 1.1. 2000 (Print on Demand ed.).
Yorba Linda, CA: The Learning Foundation.
[16]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995
(electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.) (Mt
5:17-19). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[17]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995
(electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.) (Ps
138:1-2). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[18] From the article: You have
exalted Your word above all Your name; see
at http://www.letusreason.org/Doct42.htm
c
Ps 119:120; Is 66:5
a
1
Kin 4:32
a
Prov
10:32
b
Prov
22:20, 21
a
Prov
1:6; 22:17; Eccl 7:5; 10:12
b
Acts
2:37
1
Lit
planted
c
Ezra
9:8; Is 22:23
1
Lit
making
a
1
Kin 4:32
b
Eccl
1:18
a
Eccl
3:14; 5:7; 7:18; 8:12
b
Deut
4:2; Eccl 8:5
c
Deut
10:12; Mic 6:8
a
Eccl
3:17; 11:9; Matt 10:26; Rom 2:16; 1 Cor 4:5
[20]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ec
12:9-14). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
Ec 12:13, 14—Solomon had been on a long
journey “under the sun” (see the note on Eccl. 1:2). The journey was a life of
futility and emptiness. Now, at the conclusion, the Preacher puts all his words
into a proper perspective. All the things done for selfish gain are
unimportant, pointless, and futile because they are all secondary. The primary
focus of man should be to “fear God and keep His commandments.” This is the
only proper course for the believer to follow that is God-ordained. The
Preacher continues by stating that God will eventually evaluate all the deeds
that are done in order to reveal the motives behind them. All will be brought
before Him, even the things done in secret. This evaluation will be based on
obedience to the commandments that He has given as a guide for the believer’s
life.
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