Shabbat Shalom! I'd like you please to turn with me to the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of Kohelet. And as we are moving along with the study of this wonderful, interesting book, we have arrived in this ministry meeting to Kohelet, chapter 8. And I would like to read all this chapter, the whole 17 verses that I found here in this 8th chapter. Remember that it is Kohelet, remember that it is Kohelet, Shlomo, Solomon, the king of Israel, who was the one who was the son of David, Ben David. He was ruling and reigning from the city of Yerushalayim. And this is his instruction to Israel the nation as he was gathering them together and instructing them in his later days as he arrived to an older age.

And he is helping them to see the importance of living life in a sinful world, in a vain world, a life that will help them to honor God in the midst of all the chaos that is existing under the sun. So he continues with his instruction in chapter 8, verse 1, and he says, Who is as a wise man and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be chained. I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God, be not hasty to go out of his sight.

Stand not in an evil thing, for he doeth whatsoever pleases him. Where the word of the king is, there is power. And who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing. And a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment. Therefore, the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be. For who can tell him when it shall be? There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit. Neither has he power in the day of death. And there is no discharge in that war.

Neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun. There is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy. And they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This is also vanity. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Therefore, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, Yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him.

But it shall not be well with the wicked. Neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God. There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there be just men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked. Again, there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said, "This also is vanity." And I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, For that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth, For also there is that neither day nor night seeeth sleep with his eyes. Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun, Because though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it. Yea, further, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it. Amazing how Shlomo, the king of Israel, shared with his people Israel these instructions concerning godly wisdom. You know, beloved brothers and sisters, to remind you that Shlomo, Solomon was the wisest man on earth in his days.

God had given him wisdom to be able to lead Israel as a nation and to be able to guide them for the time of Shalom, the time of peace of 40 years in his life here on earth. But the wisdom that he received from God was good for him when he submitted to God, when he allowed God to control his life. Then when he departed from the Lord, when he departed from the God of Israel, All the wisdom that God had given him was not availing for him, because a departure from the Lord, having merely human wisdom, did not avail him. Because as we have mentioned many times, he had turned away from God, he had gone astray from the God of Israel.

He worshipped other gods. And all sorts of sacrifices to idols because of the things that he had followed in his days. And you might say the latter part of his life. And then he turned back and he repented. And now he's giving this counsel to Israel and he's giving this counsel to you and I. We too, there are times that we are walking with the Lord. There are times that we have fellowship with the Lord. We enjoy fellowship with him. But there are also times, beloved brothers and sisters, when we turn away from the Lord. With human wisdom. And we find ourselves falling on our faces and living in such a way that God cannot be pleased with our lives.

And so Solomon now, remember that we said that the book of Ecclesiastes, Kohelet, is divided into two major sections. In the first section, chapter one to the end of chapter six, Kohelet have given to Israel all that which he have experienced in his life. He mentioned to Israel through many things that he have experienced in his life and how he searched to find meaning alive. And at the end the conclusion was vanity of vanities, all is vanity, says the preacher, says Kohelet. But now from chapter seven to the end of the book of Kohelet, in the second half of this beautiful message to Israel, in the last six chapters, Shlomo speaks of godly wisdom that is helpful for those who submit to God in order to live a godly life in a world that is vain and sinful.

And there is a possibility to live a godly life in a world in which we live in. But the person, whether it is in Israel history or whether it is for you and I, we must bear in mind that we need guidance from the living God and from the word of God. So when we have arrived to chapter eight now in this ministry meeting, in this eight chapter, those 17 verses, there is counsel concerning the benefit of godly wisdom. You know, when you and I meet godly brothers or godly sisters today, we see something unique about these men and women. They know how to maneuver in life.

They have problems maybe at homes, at work, wherever they are, but they are godly people. They are men and women of God. They have wisdom that they gleaned from the word of God, from obedience to the Lord. And they are able to live life that discerning how to conduct themselves here in this world. They have problems. They have challenges. They have conflicts. They have a position. They experience all sorts of things in their life. And yet they always seem to shine above all others. Why? Because they have godly wisdom. Godly wisdom comes from a godly lifestyle, from a godliness in their life. Maybe they don't have much prosperity here in this world.

But they have spiritual prosperity that they can give it to others in their life. I often think of Yehoshua, Joshua. Where the Lord said to him through Moshe, this book of the law shall not depart from thy mouth, Joshua 1. And thou shalt meditate therein day and night. Then he said, then you will have good success. Then you shall prosper. Yehoshua, Joshua. If you are going to be successful in possessing the land and achieving that which I have for you, this book of the law shall not depart from thy mouth. You shall meditate therein day and night because there is wisdom that is found in the word of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

And so, beloved brothers and sisters, this is really an encouragement for us to be godly and wise in our life when we take the word of God seriously. And we applied it to our lives seriously. And we seek to submit to his word seriously. It's not a religion. It's not a system. It's not an opinion of man. It's not human ideas. It is the word of God. It is what God is given to us in scripture. We cannot change the word of God. We cannot add to the word of God. We cannot subtract from the word of God. It is indeed the word of God which gives us counsel as to how to live our life here under the sun.

Tachat Hashemesh. On this sad, sinful world to live a godly life for the benefit of the honor of the Lord and a blessing to others. Well, notice what he began in chapter 8 and verse 1. He, first of all, gives us an introduction. And he says, really, in verse 1, godly wisdom enables a man or a woman to know how to interpret all things in life. You see, he began, and I'm reading verse 1, and he's asking questions. And he said, who is a wise man? In other words, remember, Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, and none other man than Shlomo himself, the king of Israel. His name, Kohelet, here, means that he gathered the kahal, the assembly of Israel.

And what does he do? He's asking a question, and he says, who is really a wise man? And who really knows the interpretation of a thing? In other words, do you want to be really wise? He's asking Israel. And he would ask you and I, and he says, do you know how to discern the way things are going on here in this world? Are you a wise man? Are you a wise woman? Are you a wise brother? Are you a wise sister? He's not talking about human wisdom. He's not talking about intellect. He doesn't look about how much IQ, the height of the IQ that you have or I have.

No, no. He's talking in this chapter about godly wisdom. And he asked, who is a wise man, really? Who is a wise woman? Do you know how to interpret, how to discern a thing? In Hebrew, the word here interpreted means pesher, yodea, pesher, davar. Do you know how to discern, how to evaluate things that are happening here in this world? Do you have discernment? You know, I'm fascinated sometimes how God's people, oftentimes we have very little discernment. Somebody can speak things that are not found in the Bible and we don't discern whether it is from the Lord or not from the Lord. Someone is telling us something and we are not wise enough to discern.

Wait a minute. Is it from the word? Is it from the Lord or is it a human opinion? And you know, Shlomo is saying to Israel, listen, are you wise, Israel? Are you the one that know how to discern, to know why things happen and how things happen and the reason and the purpose for the things that happen to us in our life? Can you discern? He's asking Israel and he would ask you and I today, are you discerning between that which is sound, that which is not? Do you discern? Do you have this in your life? And notice what he says in the second half of verse one.

He's saying, wisdom changes the appearance of a godly man or woman. He said in verse one, he said, a man's wisdom makes his face to shine and the boldness of his face shall be changed. You know, sometimes there is something shining. You might say, the believer who walk with the Lord, there is something that's shining out of his or her face because they are discerning the things of God. Even their appearance does change. The last portion, he says, the boldness of his face shall be changed. What does it mean, the boldness of his face shall be changed? In other words, the appearance, the thought for boldness means the sternness.

You know, I don't know about you when things are not going right for me and I don't accept it. My face are being very stern. In fact, it had been said that we use more muscles to look sad than muscles to smile. For some reason, the challenges in life, the problems in life cause our appearance even to look very, very sad. And yet, the wise men or the wise women, because of the godly wisdom that they have, it helps them to deal with issues, to discern and interpret any matter that happened. They know how to handle a situation in their lives. I think of Shaul Paul and the tribulation that he had experienced.

The opposition that he had experienced. Those who sought to kill him along the way. And wherever he has gone, you might say he might have been a person that his face would be so stern and he would be an unhappy man. And yet, this man, when he was in prison, could say to the Philippians, "Rejoice in the Lord always." And again, I say rejoice. He is encouraging the people who are free while he himself was in prison. He was a godly, wise man. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, this is how Shlomo is opening this eighth chapter. He is saying to Israel, "Who is a wise man?" Number one, who is able to interpret anything that happened to him or to her in her life.

This person will be able to do so when he or she are close to God. And even their mannerism will change. There will be a benefit to those that hear them and to those that see them. And so now from verse two on to the end of the chapter, Shlomo is giving Israel, you might say, four things in order to help them in their lives if they will gain a godly wisdom. He is instructing Israel as to the benefit of godly wisdom. Do you know, beloved brothers and sisters, there is a benefit in this world for men and women, brothers and sisters, who are godly people.

You will notice the benefit that he is saying here to Israel in the rest of the chapter. The first benefit that is for a brother or for a sister or for a man who is going to have godly wisdom. Godly wisdom verses two, three and four. Godly wisdom will lead one to submit to the government under which he or she are under. In other words, you live in Canada, you live in Israel, you live in the United States, you live in Europe, you live in a former Soviet Union, you live in a Muslim country, in a Christian country. And wherever you live, godly wisdom will cause you to realize that you need to submit yourself to the authority that you are under.

Now again, when Shlomo spoke to Israel, he was the king of Israel. The king of Israel was established by God. It's not Israel chose the king. It was God who set the king. He chose David. And through David, his descendants, Shlomo, and then Rehov Am later on. But then there was a split among the nation of Israel because Israel did not want to submit to the authority of God and to the king whom he had set. But it's the same for us today, beloved brothers and sisters, even though we are not a theocracy here on earth. Believers are living in every land, in every place around the world, including here where we are and all over this world.

The governments that be are ordained by God. We don't like it always. We don't agree with the government always. We don't agree with the prime minister or the president or the rulers that are above us. But the Bible teaches us that governments are ordained by God. And so notice what he's telling them in verse two. Godly wisdom will lead one to submit. And notice verse two, to keep the king's commandments. And I'm reading now verse two. I counsel thee, saying to Israel, to keep the king's commandment. And that in regard of the oath of God, obey the king's commandment. It is interesting because New Testament writers like Shaul, Paul, and like Peter, Simon Peter, Shimon Petros, they wrote the very same thing to the believers we just read earlier in Romans chapter 13.

And I want you to turn with me for a moment to Romans chapter 13. And you notice that Shaul, that is Paul, is writing to the Romans. And he said to them in Romans chapter 13 and verse one, he said to them these words. Very clearly he said, "Let every soul be subject unto a higher power." Why, Paul? Why should we be subject to the authority that be? For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. In other words, you might say, God, wait a minute. I don't quite understand. You mean I'm supposed to submit to a godless authority and power and godless government?

You mean that I'm supposed to submit to those that are ungodly? What about governments that are oppressive? What about governments such as we know from history, like Hitler in those days? We can look throughout history how evil men have rose and took a position in this world. What about North Korea today? A tyrant. Are we going to submit to him? Well, the Bible is clearly saying to us, we don't agree with the way he leads, but governments or power that ordain are ordained of God. And notice what he says in verse 2 of Romans chapter 13, "Whosoever therefore resists the authority, the power, he resists the ordinance of God.

For they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For the rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Will then thou not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is," verse 4, "a minister of God to thee for good. But if you will do that which is evil, be afraid. For he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God and a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." Now, it is rather strange, but yet, beloved brothers and sisters, Israel was a theocracy. God is supreme.

The king was ordained by God. The assembly that is the church, the body of Christ. We don't have any particular king here in this world that is our ruler. Yeshua is our king. Yeshua is our Lord. We are to submit to him in heaven. But he is the one who set authorities and governments here in this world. And the believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, are called to submit to the authorities. And by not submitting to the authorities, you actually will bring upon yourself the discipline of the authorities because they have been ordained by God. And so you notice the wise, godly man will know how to handle his situation.

Now, you might say, "Brother Gideon, what if the authorities will tell me not to worship God and to worship idols?" Well, of course, there is always a limitation. Peter and the others in the early assemblies in the city of Yerushalayim said, "Are we to obey men rather than God?" Because they have asked them not to speak in the name of Yeshua. This is another story altogether. But when it's come to the governmental authorities over which we are under, all believers everywhere are called to submit to the authorities. To the king, as it's mentioned here in Ecclesiastes chapter 8, and to the authorities as the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter mentioned in the book of Roman and in the book of Peter.

Notice he continues. He says, "And that in regard to the oath of God," verse 2. God made an oath. He promised to David that out of his seed the rulership will continue. And Shlomo became now the king. And Shlomo is saying to Israel, "Listen, this is the oath of God. God set the king to be a king over the nation of Israel. And you are to submit to the authority of the king." Now notice verses 3 and verse 4. He wanted Israel to realize that the king has an authority given to him by God. And therefore, they are not to be hasty in rejecting what the king is saying.

And they are to be submissive and not to do evil. And I'm reading verse 3 and 4. "Be not hasty to go out of his sight. Stand not in an evil thing. For he doeth whatsoever pleases him. Where the word of a king is, there is power. And who may say unto him, what doest thou?" Nobody could tell King Shlomo or any king, any authority that is set by God, "What are you doing?" The king has power. When the king is, there is power. He has authority. Now, we are privileged, of course, to live in a democratic country where we can go and vote should we wish to vote for who is going to lead the nation.

The liberals, the conservatives, the democrats, and the republicans, and so on. But really, beloved brothers and sisters, behind the scenes, there is one that sets authorities here in this world. And as we read in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will." God is in control, ultimately. And let me just remind you that even when we have a so-called better government or a better ruler, that ruler is still a sinner. He is not perfect, and whoever is there always seems to have challenges here in this world. God's people, the godly men and the godly women are responsible to submit to the authority of the rulers under which we live.

Here or there, wherever we are here in this world, to commit ourselves to the Lord and to do the right thing. The Lord is the one that set up the rulership here in this world. I want to just read one more verse in 1 Peter 2. And there, Peter is saying in verse 13: "Submit yourself to every ordinance of men for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme." Verse 14: "Or unto the governors as unto them that are sent by him, that is by God." Again, brothers and sisters, we are not to be lawless. Because we are believers, it doesn't give one the right to be lawless.

Apostle Paul: "Submit yourself to every ordinance of men for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or to the governor as unto them that are sent by him." That is by God. Apostle Paul: Apostle Paul: Apostle Paul: Apostle Paul: We are under authority and we are to submit to the authority. So the wise man or the wise woman who have godly wisdom is simply adhering to the counsel of Shlomo. Submitting yourself to the king. Keep the king's commandments. Shlomo is saying in chapter 8 of Ecclesiastes in verse 2. This is the first counsel that he gave the people of Israel. But not only so.

If you want to really know how to handle yourself in this world, he is saying to Israel. If you want to know how to interpret everything, to be wise in your life here on earth, which is very short. We are only going to live here for a season and soon we are going to be taken out of here. We are not here for a long time. If we are going to have godly wisdom to be able to live a life that is pleasing to God, we need, number one, to submit to the authority of the king and of the governors, of the rulers that we are under.

But secondly, in verses 5 to 8, godly wisdom will lead us to prepare for the future. You know, we are not here forever and ever and ever. We are here passing through. We are only here for a season. No one has eliminated his appointment with death, except those that we know, Hanokh, in the earlier days in biblical history. And of course, Eliyahu, Hanavi, Elijah, the prophet, who have been taken out of here without to go through death. But all of us have to prepare ourselves for the future. Do you know there is a future coming where everybody is going to have to one day give an account for how he lived here in this world?

And so Shlomo is saying, in verse 5 and verse 6, the first part, he says, the wise man is submitting to authority, discerning, as he says, both time and judgment. In Hebrew it says, et ve mishpat, time and judgment. Wait a minute, there is time coming. Judgment is coming. Shlomo is saying, are you preparing yourself for the future? Do you realize that one day you and I will all have to stand before God one day? The believers, the godly believers, the less godly believers, the ungodly world, everyone is going to have to stand before God. And Shlomo is saying to them in verse 5, notice that he says, Whosoever keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing, and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

Why Shlomo you are saying? And he continues, and he says, verse 6, because to every purpose there is time and there is judgment. You know, everything that happens here in this world happens in a certain time and will bring about a judgment. Everything that is going on, everything that we do here in this world, it's going to come in a certain time, but it will also bring some judgment, consequences. That's why Shlomo is saying to our people of all, the people of Israel, he says, listen, you are to keep the commandments of the king. A wise man's heart discerning that there is time and there is judgment.

There is a season and there is a time that there are results to the way we conducted ourselves here in this world. And so the time and season, in Hebrew is beautiful, the word is et. Et means a point in time, etim, a point in time, but also there is a judgment, mishpatim. You know, God is a righteous judge. He's a just judge. He ultimately will evaluate the way one has lived here in this world. Don't you think, God says to Israel through Shlomo, he says, you want to be wise, prepare for the future. Of course, first of all, for the unbeliever to prepare for the future is to accept the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

Because we all deserve to be judged by nature. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. For there is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. Shlomo said already in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verse 20. The first thing that we need to prepare is to know the Lord Yeshua as our Lord and our Savior. To know that all our sins, so great, so many, have been paid by Him there upon the shameful cross where He died for our sins. But now that we have accepted Him and that we have become children of God, part of the family of God, we are to also be wise in our life, the way we live.

And unfortunately, beloved brothers and sisters, we are often playing the fool. We don't discern time. We don't discern judgment that is coming. We think that everything is going to be fine and I can carry on my own way and there is no time and there is no judgment. God cannot be fooled. We cannot trick God. He will deal with His own in love, in grace, in time and in judgment. And so He says, really, He's saying in verse 5 and 6, He says, The wise men submit to the authority, discerning both time and judgment, et and mishpat, because there is a day coming and we are to prepare to meet the Lord one day.

You know, if you go back to chapter 3 with me for a moment of Ecclesiastes, you remember the whole third chapter was speaking about to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the sun. Verse 1 of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. Mitachat Lashemesh, under the sun, in this world, there is time and there is season. And then he continued later on in verse 17. And again, to remind you, of course, that the Old Testament saints from among the people of Israel were limited in their understanding because much more revelation was given to humanity after Yeshua, the Messiah, came to this world, died for us on a Roman cross, was raised for our justification, sent the Holy Spirit of God to indwell all believers and gave us an instruction through the Word of God.

Far more information we have today than our older brethren in biblical days. We have the complete canon of Scripture. And the complete canon of Scripture teaches us or gives us additional information such as, let me just read you, for example, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. He says there, Every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work shall abide whatever he builds thereupon, he shall receive every word. But then he's saying, if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire.

So God, thank God for his forgiveness, beloved brothers and sisters, where would we be if God will deal with us in the way that we deserve to be treated? That's why a wise man does not seek even justice for himself in the way he or she have lived because we know how we fail God so much. And so God helps us in our life here. And Shlomo is instructing Israel and he says, listen, a wise man discerning time and season. He prepares himself for the future. You remember what the prophet of Israel has said to Israel? Amos chapter 4 and verse 12, he says, prepare to meet thy God.

Amos said to Israel. And the apostle Paul says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Messiah. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 10. There is a day that we have to prepare for the future. We don't prepare in our salvation. Our salvation is secure. God had prepared it through the work of Yeshua the Messiah. But we ourselves are going to have to be one day standing before the judge. And everything that was done for the Messiah will last. And everything that was done for the flesh will be burned as if of fire, as the scripture tells us. And so he says, godly wisdom will lead a believer to prepare for the future.

Of course, the unbelievers, they don't think about this. Because as far as they're concerned, they live life here for 80, 90 years and they go six feet under the ground. And it's finished. As far as they teach or they think, they don't realize. That it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. They will have to be judged and cast into the lake of fire, rejecting the only answer for sin, Yeshua the Messiah, who paid for our sins when he died for us on the tree. Notice he continues in the second half of verse 6 and verse 7. I'm reading verse 6b and verse 7. It says here, Therefore, the misery of a man is great upon him.

See, nobody can tell him anything because he, continuing in his path, he doesn't realize, he doesn't take into account that one day he will have to stand before the living God. And notice it says the misery of a man is great upon him. That word for misery comes from the Hebrew word ra'ah. Or in other words, he's evil. For evil is so much upon his life. He continues evil. He lives in this kind of lifestyle. He continues on in this way. And he's not discerning neither the time nor the season. He or she do not realize, hey, hey, one day I'm going to have to stand before God.

I better make sure that I'm preparing myself for the future. And preparing ourselves for the future doesn't mean that we become goody-two-shoes. It doesn't mean that we all of a sudden become with halo over our head and we become so-called holy. It's when we're getting closer to the Lord. And we submit to his authority. And we humble ourselves before the Lord. We realize that we are helpless and hopeless and we need his assistance in our lives, even as believers. That's the wise men or wise women who have godly wisdom. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, King Shlomo, HaMelech Shlomo, telling Israel, our people of all, that it is important to get godly wisdom because godly wisdom will instruct, will benefit you.

It will help you to submit to the authority that be and it will help you to realize and prepare yourself for the future. The future will come. Most of us know it from experience how time in our life change very quickly. We just talk, some of us, as we get older, we are no longer able to do what we did yesterday. It's as evident that we look at ourselves in the mirror the way we look 10 years, 20 years ago, and the way we look today and we get shocked because we did change. And it wouldn't take too long and we will have to leave this scene.

I was just a few days ago in the funeral of a brother that was 90 years of age. But what a testimony he had by those that spoke about him, how he loved to minister the gospel. He loved to tell people about Yeshua. He was over 55 years married and he lived a life that was pleasing to the Lord. And he already, early in his life, he made a decision for the Lord Yeshua in his life. And he became a blessing. His grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren could speak about him. So beautiful. It was such a God-honoring funeral service of a man that died, just passed away, the year of 90.

But he did something for the Lord. He served the Lord. He ministered to God's people. He went to Africa there to minister to the believers there. And he was always a blessing, instructing them and helping them spiritually in their life. Led many to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. He used his life. He was wise. He had a godly wisdom that assisted him in preparing for the future. Because the future did come and the Lord took him home. And he must have heard the words, well done, good and faithful servant. So, number one, godly wisdom will lead one to submit to the authority that be.

Godly wisdom will lead one to prepare for the future. But now, thirdly, in verses 9 to 13, godly wisdom, this is Ecclesiastes 8, verses 9 to 13, godly wisdom will lead one to arm himself against wrongdoing. Notice, Solomon observed in verse 9, that in this world, under the sun, even the ruler can hurt himself. Even if you have an authority, if you are not watching it, and if you're not, as it says, arm yourself and be careful, you can hurt not only others, you can also hurt yourself. And I'm reading verse 9, he says, All this I have seen and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun.

There is a time when one man rule over another to his own heart. In other words, he's really kind of speaking to the rulers themselves. You might say to the boss, to the leaders, to the ones that have an authority. How do you lead? How do you lead? Are you leading in such a way? Are you ruling in such a way that you ultimately not only hurt others, but you also hurt yourself? Is that wise? Don't you understand that your conduct, your behavior, and the way that you lead or you rule over others, you are only benefiting not only them, but also you benefit yourself.

You honor the Lord. And if you don't rule well, you actually can hurt yourself. That's not ministry. That's not rulership. When you oppress those that are under you, when you harm others that are below you, even in biblical things, the Apostle Paul says, honor them that rule well. Give them double honor. To those among the assemblies who rule, who lead. They're not rulers who are like monarchs. They're just leading the assembly, the local assembly. They're the ones who we should honor and respect them. And thank God for those of us that have benefited from others, that have led us in our spiritual walk with the Lord, that they have been such a blessing.

They ruled well. But it's not only there, because he's not only speaking about the local assembly. In this world, in your business, in your family affairs, in school, wherever, a place the Lord gave you authority at work, on a job, how do you handle those whom the Lord has given you to be over them in authority? He says, I noticed that under the sun, here on earth, through the time we're in one man rulers over another, but he does it to his own hurt. Paul said, and I'll just read that verse in Colossians 4, in verse 1, he says, Masters, give unto your servant that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven.

Know how to lead. You know that King Shlomo said this, but he himself failed in that. And you remember what happened to his son, Rechovam, after Shlomo died, and his son, Rechovam, became the king of our own nation, Israel. You remember the people of Israel came to him and said, Rechovam, please take away some of the taxes that you are loading on our people. We're going to serve you, Rechovam. So Rechovam went, in 1st King chapter 12, he went to the wise men to get some counsel from them. The wise men says, You know Rechovam? Do it. Listen to the people. Don't overtax them. Don't put too much pressure upon them.

And then he went to the young men, to his friends, to his buddies, and he said to them, Hey guys, what do you think we should do? And this young man said to him, No, no, no, no, no. Make it even harder for them. So he came and he gave the Israel this answer, and the people of Israel said to him, The 10 tribes, to your own tent, O Israel. And that's where the division of the kingdom, of Israel began. 1st King chapter 12. Rechovam lost 10 tribes of Israel, who did not want his leadership anymore, and they have raised to themselves another leader by the name of Yeruvam.

Now we have Rechovam leading Judah, and Yeruvam leading Israel. Israel. You got a divided nation. Oh, beloved brothers and sisters, how many a time in even the spiritual leadership, in local churches, local assembly, leaders, because of the manner in which they conduct themselves, they are actually ruling in such a way that it is really to their own hurt. He lost 10 tribes. Israel was divided. Friction between the nation. Had he listened to the counsel of his father, Shlomo, he would have not lost this kingdom. But of course, Shlomo had departed himself from the Lord, and his son continued on in this pathway. And Israel, our people of all, was divided.

And what about the church, the assemblies? Look around us. I think we talked about it earlier in our meeting. There are over 3,000 and something groups of people, division that existed, and everyone mentioning the name of Yeshua, the name of Jesus. But they're all divided. Yet we know that biblically speaking, there is only one body. And that body is a composition of all believers in Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. Every saved person is part of the body, and yet there is division that exists today. Sad to see. And so he says in verse 9, you know, I know this, I observe, that in this world, that it's full of vain, full of emptiness, he says, a man can rule under the sun, and at the time we're in that one man that rules in a wrong way, he's actually hurting himself.

In verse 10, he says, listen, the wicked rule will pass away, and eventually, ultimately, he will be forgotten. In other words, if we are living under a government, or under rulers, that are not right, not good, not right leaders, he says in verse 10, you know, I saw that the wicked is buried, whom have come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This is also emptiness, vanity. In other words, you also see that those who rule here in this world, that eventually, if they are wicked, if they don't rule right, you know, it doesn't take too long, and they depart.

And nobody remembers that. They're gone. They haven't done anything for God. They haven't done anything for themselves. They haven't done anything for others. They come and go. As he says in verse 10, they come and gone. Come and gone. God remained the same. Yeshua, Jesus remained the same. But those wicked ones who are ruling wrongly, they come and they go. They come and they go. And as he says here, they've forgotten in a city where they had so done. They ultimately are being forgotten. So it is important for us to realize that if we are going to be able to discern how to handle a situation, even when we are in leadership and authority and so on, godly wisdom will lead us to discern or to arm ourselves in not doing the wrong things.

Let me just for a moment remind you, remember the rich ruler in Luke 16. You remember Lazarus, Eliezer, and the rich man. Lazarus died and he was carried to Abraham's bosom. Yeshua said, the rich man died and he was buried. And we read, Yeshua said, and in hell, he lifted up his voice and he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. For I am tormented here in this place. Send Eliezer to my family. I don't want them to come into the very same place that I am there. And you remember what Father Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets. They have the Bible.

They have the Torah, the Nevi'im, the Ketuvim. They have the word of God. If they don't listen to the word of the Lord, how they will listen even when one comes out of the dead. That's why it is important to realize the wicked one who reject God, they are coming and they are going. And they are not remembered anymore. But believe me, when you look at scripture, biblical scripture, we always seem to talk about men and women of God. Abraham and Isaac and Yaakov and Moshe and David and Shlomo and Yeshayahu and Yirmiyahu and Yehezkel. And we can go New Testament, Matityahu, Marcus, Lucas, Yohanan, Shaul, Paul.

We always read about them because they were sinners, that they were forgiven, but they sought to live their lives for God here on earth. They were what you call the men and women, Deborah, Dvora, we can remember her. We can remember even Rachel and Sarah and Rivka and even Ruth HaMuaviyah and even, of course, Rechab, Rachab, who have turned to the God of Israel. Those people we remember. They were sinners who were forgiven. But those that reject the ways of the Lord, we don't remember. We hardly read about them and even remember them a little bit. We always remember them for their evil doing. They are not benefiting those that follow the Lord.

We only learn from them how not to walk in that way. Notice in verse 11 of Ecclesiastes, Kohelet chapter 8, the unwise men think that because judgment is delayed that they can carry on and live like that. Notice verse 11, because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. you know how true it is beloved brothers and sisters because God did not judge us this moment. We think oh wait a minute it's okay I can continue in my own way because judgment didn't come right now. But they don't realize the judgment will surely come because the judge sees all things.

Avraham our father used to say shall not a judge of all the earth do right? He will surely do right and Shlomo is saying unwise men who doesn't have godly wisdom think that because judgment is delayed for a season the judgment will eventually not come and they are mistaken because judgment will surely come in due time. In verses 12 and 13 of this 8 chapter of Ecclesiastes even if outwardly the sinner continue and prolonging long days yet it will only be well with the wise who feel God and with the wicked it will eventually not gonna be well.

Shlomo is saying to our people of all the people of Israel he says in verse 12 though a sinner do evil a hundred times and his days be prolonged yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God which fear before him but verse 13 it shall not be well with the wicked neither shall he prolong his days which are as a shadow why because he fear not before God he does not fear God and so Shlomo is instructing Israel and he says listen are you going to arm yourself against evil doing by realizing the judgment will surely come and if God seems to not judge immediately don't think for a

moment that in time God is not going to deal with those that continue on persisting in their evil way and I thought of what Peter said in 2 Peter 3 and verse 9 Peter said for the Lord is not slake concerning his promise as some men count slackness but he is long suffering towards us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance beloved brothers and sisters even today we may ask the question Lord already 2000 years since Yeshua the Messiah was born and lived and died and rose again and went to heaven 2000 years have passed by Lord why is it that you're not coming already look at the mess

and the chaos that is existing here in this world and Peter says the Lord is long suffering can you imagine had the Lord came before you and I got saved would you and I have a hope but the Lord is long suffering he delayed his judgment he will bring it to pass but he delayed it because he wanted more to come in more to come in and he wanted the people of God to walk with him to take another step for God here in this sad world the Lord is not slack concerning judgment and his promises he will surely bring them to pass but thank God that he delays the judgment a little so we

will turn back to him so we will repent and turn back to him I'm continuing here now beloved brothers and sisters finally in Ecclesiastes chapter 8 in verses 14 to 17 godly wisdom not only cause us to submit to authority not only lead us to prepare for the future not only arm us for not doing wrong not practicing wrong doing regularly but also godly wisdom will lead one to endure this vanity of life to endure what's going on here in this world because there are certain things we can change and we need to learn to endure it and to do the right thing here in this world and finally look at this what he said

in verses 14 15 16 and 17 notice verse 14 Solomon observed the wrong that is upon the earth he said there is vanity which is done upon the earth that there be a just man unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked again he said there is a wicked man to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous I said that this is also vanity he said I don't quite grasp it the righteous man seems to receive evil and the evil man seems to receive you might say good things something seems that I can't fathom that King Shlomo is saying to Israel notice I wanted to know this I don't

quite get it things happen the way they happen here in this world seems to be unfair he already mentioned it in chapter 7 and verse 15 all things I have seen in the days of my vanity there is a just man that perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked that prolong his life in his wickedness you notice that he already said this before I don't quite get it but I discern that this is what's going on here in this world and so in verse 15 Solomon counseled the people of Israel to be thankful and enjoy what God had given to us here and now to do it a sign to the Lord and

he says in verse 15 then I commended mirth because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry notice that it's not only really having party what he's really saying here for that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life which God giveth him under the sun in other words what he's really saying we do not know what's going on and how things are happening here in this world but one thing we can do is to thank God for the food thank God for the drink thank God for the fact that he had given us what he had given us and

to celebrate this to be thankful for this this has been given to us by God here God gaveth this to him first Timothy tells us God gave us all things to enjoy but to do it with him not without God and he concludes beloved brothers and sisters the advice that he gave Israel and to you and I that godly wisdom will teach us that men cannot find out all the reasons for which the Lord allow here to happen under the sun we do not know all things and let me just read those verses verses 16 and 17 when I applied mine heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done upon the

earth for also there is that neither day nor night see asleep with his eyes he said then I beheld all the work of God that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun because though a man labored to seek it out yet he shall not find it yet further though a wise man think to know it yet shall he not be able to find it and you know what the conclusion of Shlomo was in this chapter is that really we do not know why God allows certain things in our life but we do know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are

called according to his purpose Romans chapter 8 and in Romans chapter 11 the apostle Paul closed this chapter and he says all the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgment and his ways past finding out for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor who has first given to him that it shall be recompense unto him again Shaul is saying Paul said in verse 36 for of him and through him and to him are all things to him be the glory forever and ever amen and that's how he concluded this eventually he said listen we do not know

why God allows things to happen to us in such a way in our life but we do know that God is an authority and he allowed this godly wisdom to enable you to submit to the government to prepare for the future to arm yourself from doing that which is wrong and to endure the sad vanity that exists here in this world that is the counsel that Shlomo is giving Israel but he also giving it to you and me today can we say amen