An intelligent & powerful man who lusted

Solomon had transcended his Jewish identity and had become a cosmopolitan leader. He was married to Pharaoh’s daughter. His fame had also spread far and wide to the point where dignitaries like The Queen of Sheba came to Solomon to learn from his wisdom. His ministry and effect was not confined within the borders of Israel.

A young vibrant Solomon, who had been just anointed king, prays for wisdom that will allow him to rule the great nation of Israel. This The Lord grants to him in abundance. How much understanding was he given? It must have been considerable[2]. There were 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs that he had authored and he had knowledge about animal and plant life or what we today would call things like the Biology of fauna and flora[3]What we have in proverbs is a collection of only part of Solomon’s brilliant mind given to him by God. The amount and range of this collection is considerable adding up to thirty-one chapters of godly sayings, advice and counsel that address and pertain to numerous crucial issues of life.

[1] C. Hassle Bullock, Poetic books, an introduction to OT. P. 172
[2] Ist Kings 4:29
[3] Ist Kings 4:32

The Aftermath of Failure

We will accept with tradition and Biblical scholarship that says that Solomon is indeed the author of this Ecclesiastics.
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Vanity of vanities all is vanity, begins Solomon…

It’s Motivation

4For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. [1]

This book, is believed to have been written during Solomon’s latter years. A Solomon well endowed in years begins to reflect at the ruins, ashes of his life and the one enduring eternal “Rock” who never fails. The sense of pathos starts from the beginning where one senses’ his regret. This is also why he must have needed to leave behind a recorded legacy of a partly wasted life that could have and should have been, lived better. One can speculate in this way when trying to narrow down Solomon’s motivation to write this book. He had indeed started well but did not finish as well as he would have liked so he, at least, tries to redeem the wastage by warning those who would live after him and would be confronted with similar choices. He can still get up, walk and pen words so he gets busy. He is not like the Rich man in hell whom Jesus talked about who is told its too late for him to warn his brothers. He writes an open letter to all those who would come after him to consider their ways.

Historical context: Solomon, Israel’s wise peace time ruler

Alas as it turns out a lot of the Israelite dynasty that continued after him had the same or worse problems but Solomon needed at least to give a warning to these subsequent leaders of Israel. What a well-lived life he had. Here was a man that had set his heart aright early on through the instruction of his father David and his mother Bethsheba[2]. He was a man who enjoyed world renown as a statesman of great wisdom. He had also enjoyed unprecedented wealth in a time of peace and prosperity. Israel was at the peak of her statehood with no enemies in sight.

9And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

He was also spiritually blessed to have had no less than two visitations from the Lord[3] in which the Lord had appeared to him to grant him not just the wisdom he had asked for to govern but also prosperity as an added bonus. As the one commissioned with building the temple he witnessed an inauguration attended by the visible glory of God’s presence. What days those days must have been? It makes one realize why those who had returned from Babylonian captivity had wept remembering Solomon’s temple. All of this would end in a low note at the latter end of his life for having forsaken the ways of the lord and amassing inordinate number of wives and concubines from heathen nations of which he had been warned would turn his heart away from God[4]. The decline of Israel and the period of the divided kingdom begin as soon as he is gone.

The Message of Ecclesiastics

Speculations aside, what is he saying to us? There is a type of layered wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastics that is different from the concise advice in pill form found in proverbs. Vanity of vanities all is vanity, begins Solomon and starts on a down turn with a problem. He is not unlike other Old Testament prophets in this way, who spell out their society’s problems. However Solomon does not direct his outcry at a particular group of people but towards the world at large and to himself.

In The beginning chapters Solomon demonstrates the futility of life, wisdom and the pursuits of pleasure and the amassing of wealth. What an important message this is to every generation of people who have lived on this earth. Don’t get caught up in those things because they all turn out to be meaningless empty pursuits.

He does not speak this like a philosopher but like a scientist who had been in a libratory and had experimented with all these things and found them disappointing. It’s a difficult book in this way that it does not advocate abstaining but preaches from the hindsight of one who has partaken of all these things. It seems to say you need not make those same mistakes ‘I’ have made instead of delineating a line that must not be crossed. In contrast Jesus and the New Testament draw a line and command us, don’t do these but if you do and fail you have an advocate with the father. That is why The Lord is greater than Solomon and everyone else. We all preach from a lesson learned after failure like Solomon. We say, I backslid into drinking, or pornography but you shouldn’t do that to yourself. It useless vanity and only leads to greater disappointments!

While chapter one states the problems of excess. Chapter two shows us how to live a contented life with measure. This idea is also found in proverbs. Solomon continues by sharing with us the importance of timeliness. He says to us, one of the most quoted sayings from the Bible, “There is a time for everything”. This ties in to the excesses of the beginning chapter because we need not have all things right now, rather good things will come to us in their appointed time which The Lord has ordained. So here again he lets out the other secret of contentment, which is trusting the lord’s timing for our life. God’s sovereign rule over the earth is also developed in this chapter. Solomon develops the themes of ‘futile pursuits’ in the rest of the chapters.

What he failed to do in life he tries to set aright on paper to forewarn others and leave a legacy of remorse that says, “learn from my mistakes” Solomon continues to rummages through all the let down’s of life (like work, politics, family, religion etc) but concludes by putting us on a nice comfortable hill that we can hope and trust in, That of The Lord’s.

12:1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;[5]

13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.[6]

What is the conclusion of a man whose life that had digressed on a tangent of amorous and greedy pursuits? Fear The Lord who will bring all to account!
[1] 1 Kings 11:4 (KJV)
[2] 1 Kings 11:9 (KJV)
[3] Ist Kings 11:9
[4] I kings 11:1-3
[5] Eccles. 12:1 (KJV)
[6] Eccles. 12:13-14 (KJV)

Intimacy

Song of Songs: The book of Intimacy

This book is not just ‘The song’ but the ‘song of songs’. The title indicates, in what esteem this beautiful book was held by Solomon and perhaps also to subsequent Jewish tradition that had incorporated it as part of its community and spiritual life. It’s the Psalter of the young. The young don’t always have the blues that a mature audience would experience. You can imagine young Jewish men and women, girls and boys, perk up while its read in a synagogue. It adds balance to a spirituality that might be devoid of romance, physical love or intimacy. It validates the love God had obviously intended to be there between couples. But does this book hold another mystery key related to our own spiritual life?

7I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. Song 2:7 (KJV)

This is obviously a book about love and its intricacies. Love is a wonderful and necessary emotion that adds meaning and substance to all human experience. There is much sense to the notion that it was written while a young Solomon inspired by an immense love he has for a mysterious Shulamite woman, authors a short two or three character musical play about their love. Solomon waxes poetic about this Shulamite woman. The bible codex generally uses modest language in describing the relationship between a man and woman but here one gets more intimate language that affirms the love between a man and a woman.

Who is the Shulamite woman?

One might speculate, maybe the long legged models in ancient Israel dwell in region of Shulam or shunem. The New American Bible has the following footnote as to her identity. “Shulammite: so called either because the girl is considered to be from Shulam in the plain of Esdraelon (cf 1 Kings 1:3) or because the name may mean "the peaceful one," and thus recall the name of Solomon”.[1] We know of a Shunamite woman in the Bible who was given to David as a wife in his latter years. [2] Therefore, Solomon’s Shulamite could have been from the land of Shunem or (Shulam). Since we know Solomon to have had many wives she may have been the one among the many that made his heart skip.

The Theme of Song of songs

8I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. [3]

Love is the one prevailing theme of this book. So in its content it’s New Testament counterpart would be John’s gospel and his 1st epistle which have an over abundance of the word love (more than twenty times each). The word love is used many times in the sense of the love between God and man. What a profound concept! The love between a single soul or a collection of souls, which is his church and God can be said to be the greatest love of all loves without it being considered a travesty of interpretation. It’s no wonder then that this book has been allegorized to indicate this great love. Even while applying a literal interpretation it still can be used to illustrate that great love between Christ and his church[4].

30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

It’s Application: Speaking the Language of spiritual love and doing God’s works

The application of this book cannot just be thought of as a call to keep the home fires burning or rekindle romance with one’s spouse, although that is perfectly valid. We should be able to use intimate language in our worship and prayers to express our love for the Lord. We should ask, when was the last time that we told The Lord, “I love you Lord!” and sang the love songs of the church with a genuine and a true heart? Sometimes the cares and problems of this world can make our hearts cold and make us forget to tell The Lord how much we love him. Jesus had predicted that in the iniquitous last times “The heart of many will wax cold[5], and faith will have disappeared[6].

It was also a charge he had brought against the Ephesians church “You have left your first love… Do the first works”[7] We should also then love the Lord by doing the ‘first works’ and continue in the works he has ordained for us to do since the foundations of the world.[8] Do we still pray, read our Bibles, go to church and pray? If not we may have left our first love and may need to repent. The question is, how is our love life today not what have we attained so far? Jesus had said in another place, “If you want to abide in my love, keep my commandments”[9] In other words he was saying for us to do the things He cares about not the things we ourselves want to do. Such was also the call for Peter to take care of His Sheep, “Do you love me Peter, if you do, feed my sheep and flocks”[10]


Opening up to Intimacy with God

The language of intimacy is not unique to Song of Songs, David says, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”[11] Jesus goes even further in wanting to share himself with the materially rich but otherwise wretched Laodicean church.

17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.[12]


2I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. 3I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? 4My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. 5I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. 6I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.[13]


Transcending the elementary principles of hermeneutics for a minute and seeing the Bible as one whole unit that is God breathed we can glean the following understanding. When we see the above two scriptures in tandem we see illustrated, the problems that emanate from substituting intimacy with The Lord with something else like politics. The solution also becomes glaringly apparent. Many times we can be closed to the type of intimacy God wants to have with us which would have availed us much. Put simply, It’s all about Loving The Lord and spending time with Him. When was the last time we had a long deep intimate time of prayer?

[1]http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/songs/song7.htm
[2] 1 Kings 1:3)
[3] Song 5:8 (KJV)
[4] Ephes. 5:30-33 (KJV)
[5] Matthew 24:12
[6] Luke 18:18
[7] Revelation 2:4,5
[8] Ephesians 2:10
[9] John 15:9
[10] John 21:17
[11] Psalm 42:1 (KJV)
[12] Revelation 3:17-20
[13] Song 5:2-6 (KJV)

Insight into human suffering from Job

Introduction

Job’s tragedy, the resulting dialogue and exchanges and final restoration have powerful lessons for all of us. Life can dish out some grief even when we have done our best to live righteously but we can hope for a better end and outcome especially if we are believing Christians. This comforts every person that has been hit with tragedy, sorrow and misfortune. This is the purpose of this book. To answer the questions, Why do the righteous suffer? How should we deal with our suffering and what will the end of be?

What manner of a man?

16If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; 17Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; 18(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;) 19If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; 20If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: Job 31:16-21 (KJV)

According to these verses Job was not only obviously a man of faith but also one through whom kindness flowed to others. He helped the poor and the widow (v.16) he had sheltered and shared his food with orphans (v. 17-18). He had helped and clothed the needy (V. 19). Jesus had also said, when you have a feast invite the poor and needy not the rich (Luke 14:3). James tells us such kindness is pure religion when combined with holiness (James 1:27) Job also describes his walk in the ‘holiness’ department as above reproach. No wonder The Lord had boasted about this man’s ways and his fear and reverential respect for him (Job 1:8).

9If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door; 10Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. 11For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. Job 31:9-11 (KJV)

In the above quoted chapter and especially in the verses indicated, we get a vivid picture of what Job was like. Job relates a mini-biography that would make the best of Christians look bad. These poetry portions are even more revealing than the prologue written in prose about Job’s character in understanding the type of man Job was.

It will not just do Job justice to say, Job was a really good man but a sinner like all of us. Why was Job called a good man without par in all the earth? ”Wow!?, In all the earth?” Only a few exceptional men have had the distinction of being called the most humble, most wise in all the earth and these were Moses and Solomon respectively. Job in his just dealings must have reached the highest bar that can possibly be attained by men, yet his problems were just about to start.


Spiritual Warfare

Job’s bafflement of the events that had overtaken him emanated from the impeccable life he had lived. Why me? That he was a good man was not just his own evaluation but also God’s and negatively Satan’s, although the latter attributes self interest to Job’s motivations. This perfect life, surprisingly enough seems to be the reason he gets caught in-between God and Satan (Job 1:8,9). Such warfare, it’s proven, no one will escape who lives, past, present and future including even our Lord Jesus. This single profound truth can become one of the great lessons from Job. Life in its spiritually bare form is a battle and a warfare that involves us with colossal spiritual forces. This parallels what the rest of the Bible says on the subject. See for example Jesus’ temptation or the verses in Ephesians that clearly depict this warfare[1]

12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.[2]

The Reasons For Suffering

Satan Challenges even The Lord’s testimony about Job and God permits a temporary trail period for Job by Satan with certain conditions. Why? Because God is sovereign and able to command anything and everything he wants concerning his creation. That was also the sum of The Lord’s answer to Job at the end[3]. One need not ask “Why?” one needs only to trust God. That seems to be one of the important lessons conveyed by this marvelous book. Another important lesson is that others who witness our suffering will more often than not misinterpret it as God’s wrath and fall into judgment themselves.

But the real reason for suffering is not as satisfactorily answered as in other New Testament portions concerning the subject of suffering. However, Job must have come to a realization of ‘the why’ himself and gives us the following hint.

10But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.[4]

A fuller more satisfying explanation of suffering from the New Testament can be found in the apostle Peter’s epistles who also had a theology of suffering as a fellow Christian sufferer and one who had seen The Lord suffer.

4:1Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;[5]

10But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.[6]

Why God permits the temporary suffering of his own becomes one among many theological questions that posit themselves to the reader of Job’s story. According to Peter, Suffering works in us sanctification. Therefore, the questions Job posits for its reader gets its full answer in The New Testament in Christ. This is perhaps also an answer and a solution to the questions and riddles of our own lives.

A Blessed End For the Sufferer

God is the ultimate authority on the outcome of suffering and He must anticipate a good end for it. This we can believe and rejoice about knowing that the reality of suffering is inescapable for every soul but its end will always be beneficial to it. The end for Job was a theophany[7] and a blessing and a restoration that exceeded his initial state and ownings[8]. Job had the joy of seeing the lord which is the heart desire of all devout men yet granted to only a few like Moses, Daniel and Isaiah. “The pure in heart shall see God.”[9]

[1] (Matt. 4: 1-10. Eph 2:2).
[2] Ephes. 6:12 (KJV)
[3] (Job 401; 42:1
[4] Job 23:10 (KJV)
[5] 1 Peter 4:1 (KJV)
[6] 1 Peter 5:10 (KJV)
[7] (Job 42:5)
[8] Job 42:12,15
[9] Matthew Ch 5

The Shulamite(debugged)

The Search For The Shulamite
The most perfect, beautiful and desirable woman

Who can find a virtuous women? Proverbs 31:10
A beautiful women who rejects good sense is like a gold ring in a pig's snout
Proverbs 11:21



The Question: A book about love, written in beautiful poetry, 'the Song of Songs', also known as 'The Song of Solomon' talks of a Shulamite women who is beautiful and desirable to her beloved more than all others. The question that begs to be asked is, "What makes the her so desirable?"

Search for an answer: Was it just her natural attributes or was there something else? Her physical features don't seem to have been as exceptional yet she was loved more than all the others (Song of songs 8:8). Why was she Solomon's favorite? Could there be a double entendre woven into this unusual poetry? Could it be as some writers and commentators have suggested a metaphor for a soul who is loved by God and one who is desirable to Him for friendship and fellowship? We will leave that for another dscussion.

The following essay ponders what the heart of such a beautiful women loved by God (and her man) might be like. We have upped the ante of beauty to include righteousness. Remember the teenage movie 'weird science' in which two wiz kids are somehow able to create the ultimate woman who turns out to be the once beautiful model Kelly Lebrock? If we apply spiritual(and not just physical) parameters to create a picture of this most beloved of women, would we possibly come up with the shulamite of Solomon or a heretical monstrosity? Read bellow and You be the judge. No one woman might have all these attributes but 'her' ideals can be studied and emulated beacuse in of themselves they are etrnally relavant and trancedent virtues that come right out of God's Word The Bible!

We hope you do the deeper searches with the linked scriptures and are able to form at least a rough caricature her. You can then supply the flesh to her skeletal form. In the least, We hope to show that a two dimentional physical appearance is not all there is to beauty even after you consider a bright intellect as they do in beauty pagents. It would be interesting to see what woman can come up with as an answer to the question of what real beauty is. We have opened up the discussion so you can participate and add to it. Therfore, this essay is not a final a verdict as to what real beauty may be.

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Who is the shulamite or what was(is) she like?

Conjecture or Assumption: The essence of a shulamite can be expressed as a collage of other virtuous women in the bible who are spoken of well by the spirit.

She has an inner spiritual beauty (translate-the fruits of the spirit) along with (and not just) the know-how to make herself look attractive on the outside like Sarah. ( Not everyone inherits genes that make for exceptional physical beauty like Sarah, so you have to work with what God gave you but everyone can have the more precious inner beauty, the beauty of salvation). She is aware of modern fashion but dresses modestly when it comes to her choice of hairstyle, apparel, jewelry or makeup. She does not seek attention by wearing skimpy or flashy clothes but lets her inward good character be the point of conversation among her peers. She is not driven or motivated by lust or greed but lets higher principles (of The Word & The Spirit) be her light and guide!. She honors her body (she does not cheapen it!) as the seat of birth and as a temple. She keeps herself in good physical shape and health.

She considers Christian submission (to a righteous rule or directive) as a good thing so she exercises it. She is chaste with eyes only for her betrothed and the bridegroom (I mean Jesus, of course). She is a lover of Jesus like Mary Magdalene. She is a devout, focused and attentive disciple (as a student of righteousness) like Martha's sister, Mary. She has a servant's heart and is not bossy. She is a kind, gentle and humble soul like Mary mother of Jesus who would be both a good mother and a good wife. She has a giving heart and keeps giving even though she has next to nothing herself or is going through a hard time like the generous widow who gave her last two coins. She is a faithful minister unto the Lord like Elisabeth, always serving the Lord in His house and having His priorities at heart! Aware of her own faults and shortcomings, she is not overly judgmental but practices being merciful!

She is a resourceful person (a proverbs 31 women) able to cook and keep a clean and organized household as well as having wisdom along with a reverential fear and respect for God. She is a spiritual/prayer warrior like Esther, whose courage and decisiveness saves her people from certain destruction. She is loyal and faithful to her kin (brothers and sisters in Christ) and to God himself like Ruth was to Naomi. We are making the conjecture that this is what constitutes the perfect women, the proverbial Shulamite from the 'Song of Songs' who is also a type of the church. Since the 'Song of Songs' is a book about intimacy the shulamite is a worshipper and all her good qualities come and flow from the intimacy she has with Jesus. As a worshipper, She dances for joy, singing and rejoicing over the victories of her beloved like Miriam. She is full of laughter and the joy of her maker.

These qualities don't come overnight but are lofty qualities that take a lifetime to develop through God's grace and help. If you feel you don't have them all, don't worry, not many women are like that. Just be one that trusts in Jesus and He will work those qualities in you! Only be willing to be changed and molded by him. A good place to get started to having her qualities is to get introduced to her beloved Yeshau! Here is how!

Timeliness

3:1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Eccles. 3:1-8 (KJV)

1.To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Introduction

This introductory statement in verse one in the above passage provides for a succinct statement for all the specific applications listed bellow it, so we will delve into its implications more deeply before looking at the other verses. Verse one in the above passage posits for us a gem of an idea. It’s a beautiful idea that is not always apparent to us who live down here on earth. The seeming randomness of life, its cumbersomeness, its repetitiveness make us sometimes to believe that there is no plan or propose to life and the events that are happening in our world. But according to this statement by Solomon events are not haphazardly taking place and they are not random but they happen according to the predetermined plan and purpose that God has for them. This is not to say that all things are robotically pre planned before in eternity with no leeway for human will or impetus having a role in shaping a destiny. Both the sovereignty of God and the will of man are taught in the Bible even if we can’t always reconcile them intellectually. The latter mentioned is obviously smaller by comparison but does play some role.

God’s sovereignty and time

Time comes from the one who spun our globe(earth) on her axis and causes her to complete a single rotation amounting to a day. The idea of timeliness fits snugly into one of the great themes of the scriptures, that of the sovereignty of God in all of human life and activity. Stated precisely, The Lord by His infinite wisdom has established the times and purposes for all things that take place under heaven. He controls them and wields them according to His will. Time, like all things created by God, falls under the category of things upon which The Lord sovereignly reigns over. One recalls for example the great general Joshua, who prayed for and was granted more daylight-time to conclude his battles (Joshua 10:120).

The wise Solomon was aware of and sensitive to this aspect of wisdom, which we call today as timeliness. Solomon had said concerning love, presumably in his younger days, “do not awaken love before its time”(Song. 2:7; 8:4). In chapter three of ecclesiastics, which he must have written in the latter days of his life, he again echoes timeliness as being important to all aspects of life. In its simplest rendering the gist of this section in Ecclesiastes is to show the importance of good timing. Stated another way, it exhorts us that there is a right time to do certain things. It seems also to imply that we need to have enough wisdom to know the proper time to do certain things.

Today we say things like “Time is of the essence” or “Comedy is all about timing.” In a profound sense this idea of timeliness can transcends a mundane understanding and can be applied towards spiritual things the way Jesus and Paul had done. We can say then that synchronicity with heaven is of ‘the outmost essence’. Today, we need to discern the Lord’s will for our lives along with the right timing to execute them. Paul for example had spent a season of preparation after his conversion before he set out to go on his world changing missions. He said that before setting out to go to Jerusalem that he had spent some time in Arabia. One can imagine that he was in deep prayer and study in preparation for the work God had ordained for him. We also are doing the same thing when we come to seminary to study.

Spiritual Timing

The Lord thought us to pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Since messiah broke into our world and put on humanity in order to save us, the purposes of God and heaven also have come down to us and we are to work with them in synchronicity.

35Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. John 4:35 (KJV)

2He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matthew 16:2-3 (KJV)

We are to have the spiritual insight to know that the harvest is indeed ready for reaping.We need to be able to see spiritual realities and not be blind to a lost and dying world the way the Pharisees must have been. Jesus told his disciples (and spoke to us by proxy) to work while it is still light because the darkness can come anytime when no one can work. Paul, for example says to us, “Be ready in season and out of season (i.e. preach)" These are all scriptural examples that speak of time and timeliness and of being synchronized with heaven’s plan and purposes.

The Lord’s Timing and prayer

The word time is mentioned 72 times in the gospels (76 if you include ‘times’) counting from the KJV version of the bible. In His time of ministry the Lord used to say, ‘I do what my father shows me". Every word, miracle was synchronized with The Father and that synchronicity happened during His prayer time. It can safely be said that, we ought to spend sufficient time in prayer so that we will know what the Lord would have us to do, as well as, where and when He wants us to do it. So the key to understanding and applying the timeliness that Solomon so eloquently talks about is to spend time with The Lord who fashioned time and still controls it.

Application: There are two ways we can practically look at and apply the above scriptures that Solomon presented to us. Negatively, We should be careful not to forgo the opportunities that present themselves to us especially those that are spiritual in nature. For example, when one senses a tug by the Holy Spirit to pray, it is essential to do so. On the other side of the coin, we should be careful not to do something too soon and we should wait for God’s perfect timing when making an important move, action or decision.

Prayer: What would you have me (us) to do this day, Lord? How about this week? This year? Dear Lord, Help us to be synchronized with your purposes and to be in tune with your timing for our life.

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to be born refers to our birthday and can also be seen parallel with the day for us to be born spiritually from above that Jesus talked about in John CH 3. That time is always now because “Today is the day of salvation” We can always ask God to save us and allow us to start a new life in him, if we have not done so already.

‘A time to die’ can refer to the time we are finished in this world and are ready to depart to the next one. David had gotten so old they had given him a young woman to keep him warm. Paul was acutely aware of his own passing and anticipated his reward while he also got the satisfaction of a work that was accomplished well and was pleasing to his master. He had also said, “I die daily” referring to the dying that should happen everyday to our own self and our selfish desires.

‘A time to plant’ Jesus was referring to himself when he related the parable of the sower and we are ever to be the farmers and plant God’s word into people’s hearts, “whether they hear or they forbear.”

“A time to pluck up that which is planted” this would seem like a negative activity but its like firing an employee that steals and is sometimes needed. Perhaps the greatest illustration for this is Jeremiah, who was told he would, root out, and to pull down, and to destroy. John the Baptist also spoke about, “The ax being led at the root” the Lord will only tolerate evil for a time before he uproots it completely.

5Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)

9Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. Jeremiah 1:9-10 (KJV)

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up

A time to kill This can refer to capital punishment where the bible talks about executing someone who has committed a heinous crime of murdering the innocent. It can also referrer to the killing that happens in war.

a time to heal can refer to the times of healing that come from the Lord. Jesus heals a demoniac and another man crippled for over thirty years so Jesus coming can be seen as the time for healing and thankfully is still going on. We can be healed spirit, soul and body by crying out and asking the Lord to save us and heal us.

a time to break down, and a time to build up Abraham was told to leave his fathers land and Go to the land where God would show him. We also need to know we are sojourners in this world. We need to know when to set up camp and we need to know when to remove our stakes from the ground for the next thing that God would have us to do. We should never have our stakes dug in too deep into the ground that we cannot move when the Lord calls us to go somewhere.

This can have other applications like for example in marriage. No man should separate what God has put together for God hates divorce and we should always seek to build up families. However, in the midst of unrepentant marital infidelity or abuse one might perhaps need to look into divorce as a sad but necessary action as a final resort.

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn

The shortest verse in the bible says, Jesus wept. This he did because his friend Lazarus had passed and he had identified with his sisters in their great sorrow. That showed his humanity and so we also weep in times of loss and bereavement. The Lord feels our sorrow and He cares and does not leave us alone but is with us. We are to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. A merry heart does us good like medicine as proverbs tell us so we should rejoice in The Lord always as Paul also reminds us. Are you saying rejoice in the midst of trouble? The answer is “yes”. The joy of The Lord is our strength and so we need it the most at our ‘low’ times. We need to remind ourselves of the wonderful promises that He has given us especially at these low times in our lives. Paul said the above statement while he was in prison. He, like the apostles had found it a great joy to be able to suffer for the lord’s sake. He knew that to such was promised the kingdom of God.

A time to dance, The cripple at the gate who was healed by John and Peter leapt for joy and so he can be said to have danced for joy that he had been set free. Its very possible that Jesus had also danced as he had attended a wedding in Canna since that was the tradition not only in Israel but in nearly all cultures including our times. In Psalms 149, we are exhorted to praise the Lord in the dance. This psalm paints a picture of praise and worship that a lot of people in certain churches won’t feel comfortable with; nevertheless, The Word gives us the freedom and blessing to do so. David also danced before the Lord.

5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together this seems to speak of judgment and acquittal, as that was how Israel meted out judgment to transgressors. Jesus had said, “He who is without sin to cast the first stone” as a reminder of this grim period in the dispensation of The Law. Stoning is still practiced in some places in the Moslem world by groups like the infamous Taliban.

a time to embrace This is speaking of the embrace of matrimony whose bed is undefiled. This physical love between a husband and a wife is the only Bible sanctioned act of sexual nature. Perhaps it can also speak of the embrace or hug that happens between brethren of like mind, heart and faith.

a time to refrain from embracing; this is speaking of responsibility to things other than our spouses. For example a newly married soldier need not go to war but is to keep his wife company but others had to fight in ancient Israel.

This might also perhaps speak of offense that happens between people causing a rift. We are to always try to reconcile with our brother and exhaust all possible avenues before we break fellowship with them as a last resort due to their un-repentance.

6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away

A time to get, and a time to lose This is akin to the thought in the book of Job. Job said after suffering immense loss, “ The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord” Both gain and loss are part of the reality of life but why they happen might not be an easy mystery to unravel.” The Lord makes the sun to shine and the rain to come down on both the just and the unjust alike” So we should accept both gain and loss as the realty of life in order to be mature balanced people because both are inevitable.

A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

This phrase can have many secular as well as spiritual applications. One good example of this phrase might be when the Lord comes at the end of the age and separates the wheat from the tares. The parable of the sheep and the goats also speaks of a time when the just will be separated from the wicked to inherit eternal life. Another example is the hardening of Israel that took place because of their rejection of messiah and the ushering in of the gentiles into the kingdom. They were cast away for a time and we grafted in.

7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak

A time to rend, rend your hearts and not you garments says the prophet beaconing a wayward society to repent. We should always have an attitude of repentance.

and a time to sew; means a time for reconciliationa and put things together that were apart. Its not always good to reconcile individuals or groups of people without dealing with the hraet of the issue that separated them. But there comes a time that we also need to reconcile the broken and separated parts of what ought to be a unit.

a time to keep silence and a time to speak we are to be quick to listen and slow to speak. A lot of time the temptation is to say what’s on our mind. In retrospect however we realize that lots of times we do more harm by saying something rather than being silent. On the opposite end there are times we absolutely need to speak up so evil cam be thwarted and not take root in our lives or other’s lives as well as in our churches.

8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace

A time to love, and a time to hate

We are to always love God and also our neighbor and hate sin always. But we are to forgive those who trespass against us and love them and pray for them.

a time of war, and a time of peace Solomon had obviously enjoyed a tremendous time of peace and prosperity during His reign, David however was a man of war. The business of war is always dirty even when its commanded by the Lord. The church today should always be on war footing in fighting and exposing the works of darkness in spiritual warfare. We are also to leave peaceably with everyone when possible. Today’s God people are no more to engage in meting out God’s Justice. He rather says to us, ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay”

Eccles. 3:1-8 (KJV)

W. Graham Scroggie, P. 143 The unfolding drama of redemption, Kregel 1994,

Genesis 1:1-14

Matthew 24:36

Joshua 10:12

Song of Songs 2:7, 8:4

John 4:35

Matthew 16:2-3

John 9:4

II Timothy 4:2

John 8:28,38

Luke 6:12, John ch. 17

John 11 35

Roman’s 12:15

Phil 4:4

Nehemiah 8:10

Matt 5:10

Calvin's Apology

Calvin’s Apology, his institutes concerning our most precious faith
Reflection on the first volume of Calvin’s institutes

Motivation and nature:

Even though Calvin’s work ‘the institutes’ is understood to be systematic theology, it can also be very well seen as an apology to the Christian faith and especially of the reformed faith. It’s obvious that it was written as a defense against the Romanism of the times. This is evident from its content and from the main motivation stated in the opening of Henry Beveridge’s translation. In 1536 Calvin was in exile and thousands of his protestant brothers also known as the Huguenots were facing dire persecutions from an apostate Catholic Church and those under its sway. The principles for which they were fighting for had to be explained before the governing authorities and judges while still in the face of attacks by a formidable and well-entrenched enemy. In the opening letter to the king of France, Calvin discounts his motivation not to be for his own selfish desire, that of overturning his exile and preparing a return for himself to his native France. Calvin relates how he undertakes this task through God’s grace attributing his success in the work to His maker. The work was intended to become a match, an answer and shield against an overshadowing and formidable Roman Catholic Church, which had run a full course of heresy, corruption, tyranny and unorthodoxy. Once written, Calvin’s work becomes influential even beyond the times of the conflicts in France even up until today, especially among reformed circles.

The evidences of God in creation that is made clear to the conscience of every individual, along with the wholesomeness and truth of the scriptures are stated and defended with skill no par. This Calvin does in the first book of his humongous four-volume work, which he refers to as the knowledge of God and man, which he explains to be the sum of all wisdom.[1] Calvin here is defending the faith once delivered to all of us. Therefore, his apologetics goes beyond classical apologetics about the existence of God to further establish this only and true God to be the Christian God. Therefore, his statements and arguments along with the numerous inferences from scripture are compatible with pre-suppositional apologetics[2] (see Baird p.1) even though there are smatterings of classical apologies in his work. There is no doubt that he most vigorously states and defends the Christian faith with exacting deduction and thoroughness.

The Nature of Calvin’s Institutes: Defense

These initial chapters of the institutes are deep, well-rounded reflections of someone who has meditated all their lives on such issues, alongside of the scriptures, to come up with a sweeping and epic work about the knowledge of God and man. For example, Calvin starts out his treatise by saying the profound idea that man can only know himself through God. He states,

For, in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves; nay, that our very being is nothing else than subsistence in God alone.[3]

These meditations or if we can call them vignettes or theological pieces, reveal a mind that is well versed in the scriptures as well as disciplines like theology, philosophy, psychology and logic, just to mention a few. Calvin succeeds in combining all the disciplines at his disposal to create masterful explanations for all of reality, which done well can be the ultimate apology and defense. He comes very close to succeeding in this formidable task of putting Christianity’s truth beyond the reach of any opposition. Calvin makes such arguments like the one quoted above throughout his treatise, as one grappling with any and all doubts, real or imagined, to answer and settle them once and for all in order to bring them captive to Christ.[4]

Its almost as if he means to leave no rock to be left unturned or no argument is to be left unanswered; all issues are dealt with and all doubts are repelled, resulting in a sizable work that surpasses the regalia and fodder of Roman hypocrisy. Of course he could not have foreseen the opposition and attacks that would arise in the centuries that followed his time. Others would have to have risen to answer those challenges when they materialized. What he deems as “perfectly obvious” in the above quote would get challenged in modern times as a presupposition, when Christianity becomes vilified by modern philosophies and so called sciences. Evolution, Marxism and secular psychology begin to have a grip on the thinking of modern man and a type of Biblical scholarship gets formulated in Europe that discounts the claims of the Bible. It then must follow that, new and even stronger apologetics needed to be developed and apologetics has to evolve to answer the objections and heresies of its times.

Its influence on Church Doctrine

In one place, Calvin explains how Augustine’s statement was misunderstood when he said, “he would not have been saved apart from the authority of the church” Calvin does this by putting Augustine’s statements in the proper context of the Manichean controversy which Augustine had been involved with.[5] This idea misconstrued had found itself into Catholic theology and lead to much abuse by the church whose practices were a far cry from what Paul had meant when he said,

Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand. 2 Cor. 1:24 (KJV) [6]

. Its obvious Augustine was dear to Calvin and he explains what the Bishop from Hippo had meant without compromising the reformation idea of salvation by grace alone through faith. By doing so he also defended the scriptures and the budding growing reformation movement against the prevailing, oppressive, Roman thinking and dogma.

Criticisms of Calvin’s Work:

It is often stated that the over arching theme of Calvin’s institutes is the sovereignty of God. While this as a whole is a true, great and wonderful principle under which to systematize theology, some of its parts like predestination and election can be employed to an extreme to create theologically sticky positions. The main opposing view to these ideas is that, human drama in history is not precisely and robotically pre-planned by God but its dynamic requires the input of human actors and players, who have a part in molding destinies, theirs as well as others. The strength of this opposing view is that it puts human responsibility on par with what scripture says about it.

Two things however are true, whether or not we can harmonize them, namely the sovereignty of God, and the free will of man. Neither of this can cancel out the other. They are both thought in scripture, and exemplified in experience (Scroggie P. 143)[7]

The Little Foxes that Divide:

Calvin often employs scripture in expounding these truths and so we can say he is biblically based. However, smatterings of the philosophy of former greats like Augustine have obviously influenced him and are found quoted in the body of his work. Human opinion and reflection or even bias can creep into a theological body of work. Therefore, it becomes necessary to state that no human theological work, not even an influential one like Calvin’s can be put on the same level as God’s word but should only at best be subservient to it. It also becomes necessary to measure all of its parts, even the minute ones, alongside of the scriptures to determine whether they are totally free from error. While works like Calvin’s can be valuable due to their clarity of exposition and certain degree of doctrinal correctness found within them, their inerrancy cannot and should not be exaggerated.

We should therefore rely on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God for guidance while we employ all such works. As Daniel says, “Knowledge shall increase”. It follows that when we have a better vantage point and better linguistic and theological tools at our disposal, it should not be beyond the realm of possibilities for us to revise or critique a great reformer and theological mind like Calvin, in some of the ideas he has posited that have been less than illumining. For example, when Calvin famously states double predestination in Ch. 21 of the institutes, he is saying something not explicitly stated in scripture but one he had synthesized from scripture albeit correctly or not. The implications of this view have polarized evangelicals into two camps even unto this day.

Calvin had said,

By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.[8]

Not all of the other 1st generation of reformers had agreed to it and even if Paul seems to have mentioned both predestination pair they are not thought to unfold in the same manner or to be equally weighed (Berkhof, 110)[9] As someone who is of reformed faith and who has himself written a great sweeping work, Phillip Shaff says the following, in his discussion of the Calvinistic system, In Book VIII of his eight-volume church history work,
Calvinism has the advantage of logical compactness, consistency, and completeness. Admitting its premises, it is difficult to escape its conclusions. A system can only be overthrown by a system. It requires a theological genius of the order of Augustine and Calvin, who shall rise above the antagonism of divine sovereignty and human freedom, and shall lead us to a system built upon the rock of the historic Christ, and inspired from beginning to end with the love of God to all mankind [10]


Conclusion

Calvin’s work in the institutes provides us with a working philosophy of how God can be known and how we are to know ourselves. The institutes can be viewed as a defense of the reformed faith against the errors of the then prominent Catholic church but goes far beyond in its sweep to be an enduring work of theology and philosophy. Its one of the greatest stabs ever made at the question of what reality is from a Christian’s point of view. Therefore, it is also a defense against philosophical atheism and therefore can also be classified as a work of apologetics or at least as one that includes apologetics. Notwithstanding its greatness, the work has certain limitations in stating and holding a strict view of election and predestination that leaves little room for human impetus, responsibility or will in the process of salvation. While it reinforces the idea that salvation is (wholly) of the Lord[1] it also baffles the issue of why the punishment of the lost becomes deserved. It therefore creates a conundrum that may not be solved and these ideas may never reconcile in a Calvinistic model to one’s satisfaction. One will have to wait until eternity ensues and Jesus comes with the answer. A simpler model that can serve us well might be one that leaves room for human responsibility while it leaves the answer to the question of how God elects before the foundation of the world, as one that we can only wonder about and one which we can only peer through darkly as one looking through a glass.

[1] KJV Jonah 2:9






























Bibliography

Bibles

The King James Version of The Holy Bible

Books

Berkhof, Louis: Systematic Theology, Banner of Truth 2005

Calvin, John The Institutes of The Christian Religion Arnold Hatfield, London 1599
(Online versions)
http://www.reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/books/institutes/
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.txt

Schaff, Phillip History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII: Modern Christianity. The Swiss Reformation, Charles Scribner & Sons 1910

Scroggie, W. Graham, The Unfolding Drama of Redemption, Kregel 1994

Online resources

Baird, Bryan Neal, An Apology for my Theology, The inseparable link between Reformed Theology and Presuppositional Apologetics
http://www.reformed.org/apologetics/index.html
Calvin, John The Institutes of The Christian Religion http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.txt
Schaff, Phillip History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII: Modern Christianity. The Swiss Reformation.
http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/About.htm
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xiv.ii.html
[1] Calvin Calvin's Institutes, CH. 1, P.1
[2] Baird, The inseparable link between Reformed Theology and Presuppositional Apologetics p.1

[3] John Calvin, The Institutes of The Christian Religion Ch. 1 sec. 1
[4] KJV, 2Cor 10:5
[5] John Calvin, The Institutes of The Christian Religion, Ch 2 sec 4?
[6] KJV 2 Cor. 1:24
[7] W. Graham Scroggie, The unfolding drama of redemption, Kregel 1994
[8] John Calvin, Calvin's Institutes, CH. 21, John Calvin P.568
[9] Berkhof, P. 110
[10]Schaff, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xiv.ii.html

[11] KJV Jonah 2:9