Ecclesiastes
3:21-22, "Who knoweth the spirit of man
that goeth upward, and the
spirit of the beast that
goeth downward to the earth?
Wherefore I perceive
that there is nothing better,
than that a man should
rejoice in his own works; for
that is his portion: for
who shall bring him to see what
shall be after him?"
This morning, there are many who
are looking at the
world the same way that Solomon
did throughout the
book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon
wrote this book from
the vantage point of looking at
what was "under the
sun." This vantage point does
not look upward through
the eye of faith beyond this
vale of tears. It simply
looks upon this earth and what
is contained herein.
What is the result of that
vantage? Vanity of
vanities, all is vanity and
vexation of spirit. That
is the only conclusion that one
can come up with by
looking at what
is "under the sun."
These verses
clearly show the difference between man
and beast. While Solomon is cast
down at this moment,
he still knew that the man's
spirit went upward (to
God) at the point of death,
while a beast's goes
downward to the earth with the
body. Dogs, cats, etc
do not have undying spirits
within them. They are
neither in heaven or hell at
death. This may seem
insensitive and unsentimental,
but that is the truth
of the matter. I have seen
parents try to console a
child after the death of a pet,
and they tell their
child that the dog, etc. is in
heaven. Then, years
later, they must undo that
thought that they put
there. While it may not seem
harmful at the time, our
children remember what is told
them at very early
ages. That is why we are to
train up a child (early)
in that proper way so that he
will not depart from it
when he is older.
Then, Solomon
launches into the
next verse by talking about
man's works. He says that
rejoicing in one's works are our
portion here below.
Remember the vantage point. When
looking at life
"under the sun" there is nothing
else that man can
glory in. We see many good
people rejoice in their
works, and the plain simple
truth is that they are
looking at things under the sun.
If this life is all
that we are seeing at the
moment, then there is
nothing else that we can rejoice
in. Man is grass and
as the flower of the field, he
is here one moment and
gone the next. That is the
endurance of our works.
Solomon even asks
who shall bring man to look beyond
these temporal things? What can
bring man into
realization that this world is
not all that there is?
Where is the hope that one day
we will be delivered
from the bondage of this death?
Solomon comes back to
that in the last chapter.
"Remember now thy
Creator.." The only way that one
can see beyond this
life and into a better one is to
remember our Lord.
The only way that one can reach
beyond their own works is to look with the eye of faith beyond the veil. The
only way that one does not
become of all men most
miserable is to see (through
faith) that One arose
from the grave, and will soon
return for us. While
these bodies do go to the ground
(the same as beasts),
there will come a day when they
will come out of the
ground (different from beasts).
Ever speed that day,
and in the mean time, may we not
focus on things
"under the sun."
In Hope,
Bro Philip
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