In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better”, and in chapter seven and verse four of his book Solomon said, “the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning” where we read,
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
The verse reads, “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;” Solomon began with the words, “the heart of the wise” or “the soul, mind and will belonging to the shrewd, skill, cunning and learned” “is in the house of mourning” which means “exists within the abode, habitation and dwelling place belonging to lamentation and grief for the dead”. Solomon declared that the soul and mind of the person who is skilled and learned exists within the dwelling place of grief.
The verse continues, “but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” Solomon added the words, “but the heart of fools” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the soul, mind and will belonging to dullards, simpletons and stupid fellows” “is in the house of mirth” which means “exists within the abode, habitation and dwelling place belonging to gladness, joy, gaiety and pleasure”. Solomon said the soul and mind belonging to simpletons exists within the dwelling place of gladness and pleasure.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Solomon contrasted people who are shrewd and learned with those who are simpletons and stupid. He said the difference could be found in that which they directed their souls and minds toward - death or only having a good time. The idea is that we are eternal beings. God created us that way, and because we will go on to live forever after our bodies on earth die, we should be thinking about what is after death because we will be in that state much longer. God knew we would be eternally damned if we remained in our sinful state, so He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for our sins. When He raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way by believing and trusting in Him as our “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and keep us mindful of investing ourselves in that which lasts forever rather than only being invested within the temporal pleasures of the world.
Next time Solomon says, “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment