Eccl 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Rom 1:20-21
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

God has “set eternity in the hearts of men” so that “men are without excuse”. There will be no excuses at the judgment.

Eccl 3:15
Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.

This verse is great confirmation of foreshadows in Scripture. God “calls back the past” to play out in the future.

Wise as he was, there was wisdom beyond Solomon’s grasp. He investigated and turned his mind to understand.

Solomon mentions the word "goad". A goad was an “instrument for guiding oxen, the long handle of which might be used as a formidable weapon. The instrument, still used in southern Europe and western Asia, consists of a rod about eight feet long, brought to a sharp point and sometimes cased with iron at the bigger end, to clear the plow of clay.
Figuratively to ‘kick against the goads’ was a proverbial expression for unavailing resistance to superior power.”
(from New Unger's Bible Dictionary)

Look at the context for the use of the word goad. It mentions “The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-- given by one Shepherd.

My, my, did Solomon know about THE Shepherd? Did he know about THE Shepherd’s nails on the cross? Did he know about the collected sayings (God’s Word) and why they were written?

How often do we “kick against the goads” and rebel against God’s authority in our lives? If so...Ouch!

When Solomon wrote of the emptiness of pleasure and achievement, was he making excuses for all the “pleasures” he had indulged in?

In his wisdom it seems that Solomon was seeing that everything on earth is meaningless so he must be thinking there must be something more.

Praise God, we know there is something more – life everlasting.

One of the themes in the book of Ecclesiastes is that "without God, life is meaningless and empty".

Happiness is dependent on circumstances. True joy comes from God and brings contentment no matter what the circumstances. (see the website for Walking in the Word - Joy Parts 1 and 2.)

We don’t find meaning in life through money, pleasure, work, or popularity. Meaning in life comes from doing things that are part of God’s purpose for us.

To be in His will is the greatest place to be.

How do we know how to be in His will?
Simple - pray to Him, listen to Him, and read His Word!

Dear e-bible study participants,

For the blog on Tuesday, May 25, we wrote the following concerning, The Wife Of Noble Character, Proverbs 31:
"Did you notice what’s missing from her description? Read it again. Our thoughts on tomorrow’s blog."

Then we neglected to give you our thoughts. I could blame it on too much stuff going on at the end of the school year, but......anyway, here are our thoughts.

In the description of the Wife of Noble Character, Proverbs 31, her physical appearance is not mentioned. Beauty is mentioned as being fleeting. Her true beauty comes from her character, what's inside. What a great portrait of an ideal woman, ideal in God's eyes!

Thanks, Gay for keeping me on track!

Dear e-bible study participants,

For the blog on Tuesday, May 25, we wrote the following concerning, The Wife Of Noble Character, Proverbs 31:
"Did you notice what’s missing from her description? Read it again. Our thoughts on tomorrow’s blog."

Then we neglected to give you our thoughts. I could blame it on too much stuff going on at the end of the school year, but......anyway, here are our thoughts.

In the description of the Wife of Noble Character, Proverbs 31, her physical appearance is not mentioned. Beauty is mentioned as being fleeting. Her true beauty comes from her character, what's inside. What a great portrait of an ideal woman, ideal in God's eyes!

Thanks, Gay for keeping me on track!

Interesting that immediately after that marriage masterpiece of Song of Songs we have the entry for today of 1 Kings 11 which relates how far Solomon strayed for the commands of the Lord. His heart was not fully devoted to God because of his foreign wives. He built high places for three major gods. When in Jerusalem in the summer of 2005 we saw the place east of the city where Solomon built those high places – not too very far from the Mount of Olives.

There are three major gods listed in the 1 Kings 11 passage, Molech, Chemosh, and Ashtoreth. The worship of Molech was accompanied by the burning of children offered as sacrifice by their own parents. It's referred to in Scripture as "passing children through the fire."

Chemosh was thought to be a pagan god associated with the heavenly bodies and also was worshiped by the sacrifice of children as burnt offerings.

Ashtoreth was the ancient Syrian and Phoenician goddess of the moon, sexuality, sensual love, and fertility. In the Old Testament Ashtoreth is often associated with the worship of Baal.

No wonder “the LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel,”
And so God raised up adversaries against Solomon.

How is it with all of us? Are our hearts fully devoted to God?