Ecclesiastes 7:2,4 The House of Mourning

At times I come across a viewpoint that is so odd to me that it catches me off-guard and leaves me momentarily speechless. This happened again when someone felt that the God of the Bible was emotionally unstable and grossly contradicted himself. In every case I can think of that is similar to this one, it is usually a superficial reading of the passages coupled with a complete misunderstanding of the context and intent that leads people to wrong conclusions about God.

Ecclesiastes 7:2,4 says that being in the “house of mourning” is better than rejoicing. How can that be seeing as we serve the "happy God"? Besides that, elsewhere the Bible tells us to always rejoice. How is sad better than happy?

In this particular case, comparing Ecc.7 with the other scriptures is like comparing apples to oranges. Although apples and oranges are both fruits, they are very different. Similarly, although both are scriptural ideas in the Bible, the intent of both are totally different points.

Take for example 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19. The context makes it very clear that we should rejoice in relationship to our faith, our hope, and comfort from God, Christ, and, by extension, the Bible.

But since the verse about the “house of mourning” is found in Ecclesiastes, let’s stay in that book and compare it to Ecc.3:12,13. In this latter passage, the writer concludes that God indeed wants man to rejoice by seeing the good outcome of all his hard work because it is a gift from God. Now, when we get a gift from someone we love and that loves us, we tend to take very good care of it because we don’t want the giver to conclude we are unappreciative. What would you say is the right way to demonstrate appreciation for a gift God gives us? Would it be through unbridled, drunken parties? Or, in appreciation of our life and relationship with God, something a little less extreme and dangerous to our health? In all things then, we need to remember how our Father Jehovah would feel if we treated our own life cheaply.

So now lets examine Ecclesiastes 7. The point it is making is appreciating the final “eventuality” and uncertainties of our present short  life. Those who are always partying pay no attention to their accountability before God. They may vaguely acknowledge there is a God, but do not feel compelled to live their lives in accord with that knowledge. Living only for the present, they are ill equipped to deal with trials and never used the death of someone they knew as an object lesson.

However, those who take time to reflect on the frailness of life (going to “the house of mourning”), come to appreciate the value of developing a close relationship with their heavenly Father. This relationship causes a person to rejoice in a wholesome way that recognizes God is the source of life and will be the source of any future life we have. These ones not only enjoy (in moderation) the pleasures being human have to offer, but also rejoice in the hope that if/when they die, they are assured of being resurrected back to life--a life that is considerably better than what we now have.

In short then, Ecclesiastes 7 speaks of those who never give time or thought to more serious matters that would affect their relationship with their creator. In contrast, the other scriptures cited rightly encourage us to be happy because of our God caring for us and the confidence we have that he appreciates the time and energy we give to our relationship with him.

Micah Chapter 6 verse 8

Walk Humbly (or Modestly) with your God (Micah 6:8)

Of the more than one-dozen Bible versions listed here, the greater number of them render the instruction in the latter part of the verse as telling us to walk humbly with God. The Douay-Rheims Bible (the first English-language Catholic Bible) used an interesting word instead of humbly. It used “solicitous,” which carries some interesting nuances in meaning. Depending on application, it can mean "manifesting deep interest" or being "meticulously careful" and "full of desire." When applied to our walking with God, all those things should be true. Our walking "with" God (or on HIS path) means that we would manifest a deep interest in what pleases God; we would be meticulously careful to stay on the path he wants and we would be full of desire to absorb whatever he tells us as we walk with him and wanting to please him.

Along with being humble is being modest. And so it is that the New World Translation (2013 edition) renders those words in Micah as “to walk modestly with your God.” The Watchtower of November 1, 2012, on page 22, made the following observation: ““To be modest in walking with your God.” In the Bible, the phrase “to walk” means “to follow a certain course of action.” We walk with God by following the life course he has outlined in the Bible. We need “to be modest” in pursuing such a course. How so? When we are modest before God, we realistically evaluate our position before him and recognize our limitations. Therefore, “to walk modestly with” means to have a realistic view of what he requires and of what we can give.”

The thrust of the whole article was to comfortingly demonstrate that Jehovah is not unreasonably harsh and demanding. He knows our weaknesses and our strengths. He wants us to do our best. But coming back to the use of the word “modest.” Many I talk to view modesty as dealing with moral and sexual behavior, dress and grooming. Indeed those ideas are part of being modest. But there is more. True godly modesty affects the way we treat others. How is this modest? Because we give way to the instruction that God gives us instead of acting on imperfect traits to be less than loving to others. Modesty and humility also affect the way we view ourselves. It affects our whole life.

See also: How Do We Walk With God?

Proverbs 30:12 Idealism vs Realism

Proverbs 30:12 doesn't mince words when it comes to describing every upcoming generation’s viewpoint that they are better than the one preceding it. Although the phrasing seems to indicate it refers to a single unspecified generation, really, time has shown that every generation feels that way about themselves.

For example, if you are now an adult, do you remember thinking to yourself (or maybe even angrily shouting it at your parents) “I will NEVER act like my parents do”? If you were complaining about how strict they were, likely when you became a parent, you realized what a protection some strictness has to actually keep your child safe, healthy and alive. If you were observing some imperfect vice of one of your parents, perhaps you didn't fall into it. Good for you. For me, such a thing occurred when I told myself I would never smoke. Sure enough I never did, but I did have other bad habits that could be just as self-destructive.

Teens and young adults have been observed as being very idealistic. I was such in my youth and with every successive generation I seen teens come with very opinionated viewpoints, blaming everyone but themselves for their place and plight in life. Although it is absolutely true that their parents are far from perfect, they fail to realize the same is true about their own lives. What does it take to acquire a kinder and more realistic viewpoint toward others?

I have seen this happen as young people begin to pair off, get married, and start having and raising a family. It is not long before their own children begin to show them just how imperfect they are as parents. For me, this happened after my firstborn got around age 3. As that child started asking questions, I soon realized that I didn't know as much as I thought I did. It was around that time that I called my parents and thanked them for my upbringing and even apologized for being such a opinionated, narrow-minded, self-righteous jerk. I’m not alone. I’ve seen this happen to others down through the decades. As each generation passes through their teen years, into young adulthood, and then become parents, they also go through these various stages.

Chances are that if you yourself now have children, even if they've never vocalized it to you, they have probably made observations about the things you do that they feel strongly about, enough to say to themselves “I will never do that!”

Is there any way to break this feature of the so-called “circle of life”? On an individual basis yes. It is said that the greatest lesson history teaches us is that we don’t learn from history. Although we might know facts about the past, unless we reflect on the lessons those facts teach us, we will continue to make the same mistakes over and over. That is why I say that only on an individual basis can this circle be broken. It depends on each individual to learn from the past and lessons it teaches us today. This is one of the main benefits of accurately learning what the Bible teaches because unlike secular history, the Bible helps its readers reason on social and moral lessons learned from our forefathers. For starters, is the scripture cited at the beginning. We need to realize that everyone is imperfect including we ourselves.

If you are still a youth living at home, let me kindly recommend to you that instead of becoming embittered against your parents or other adults, be aware that everyone is imperfect. Jesus himself, although perfect, continued obedient to imperfect adults (Joseph, his adoptive human father, and Mary his mother). As an adult, his focus was on proving himself loyal to his heavenly father. Although he surely could have complained about his imperfect human relatives, such is not even mentioned in the Bible. So likewise, learn to do your best and to be kind to others. Be as forgiving to others as you are so ready to overlook and sweep under the carpet your own faults.

(I know that some religions teach that Mary was perfect, however there is absolutely no scriptural evidence of that. The Catholics try to extrapolate that such had to be true, reasoning that since Jesus was perfect, Mary would have had to be perfect in order to carry him. But then that reasoning would have to be carried backwards through every generation, which immediately demonstrates how wrong such reasoning is.)

Context Determines Inflection

I was listening to a young, relatively new, speaker who was assigned to read a conversation that occurred in history. Such an exercise can have multiple goals and challenges. His diction was “spot on.” His rate was pleasant to the ear. His volume was also just right and he used the mic competently. He read with understanding but his voice could have had a bit more life it in. However, it was not something I would have counseled him on. Yet, the person delivering the critique also caught it and, based on his comments, he felt stronger than I did.

Sometimes I feel that besides competency we also need to take into account the age and experience (not only experience as a speaker, but also life experience as a whole). After the critique was done, I stopped and thought about what exercise might teach a new student the value of modulation, inflection, intonation, and maybe even prosody.

I came up with a simple one. Consider these three words: “I see you.” To appreciate the point I am making, consider how you would say those three words in the following circumstances.

• Mother playing peek-a-boo with baby
• Avatar (movie) endearment  expression
• Kids playing hide & go seek
• An air traffic controller trying to guide a pilot landing a disabled plane.

Clearly, the context dictates how we will say those words. Usually, when reading passages that quote other people, we need to try to see ourselves in their situation and then determine how best to convey not only the message but the emotion behind it.

God Can "Make Our Eyes Shine"

Have you ever visited a person that is going through difficult circumstances? Maybe you were expecting that it was going to be a depressing visit because you already knew how serious their situation was. But instead, you were amazed and even personally encouraged when you discovered what a positive attitude that person had in spite of the difficulties. What can make a person have such a positive attitude? Appreciation and trust in their Creator is one reason.

Ps.107:20 "He would send his word and heal them and rescue them from the pits they were trapped in." (Although in context "his word" was that they should be released from physical captivity, it is also true that through God's instruction they were extracted from the pits of spiritual darkness--like a prison hole.) So in the case of personal challenges, emotional and psychological “downers,” life-changing major events such as death of a loved one or losing employment, God “sends out his word” in that it is readily available throughout the earth and reading the Bible can fortify us to withstand anything life throws at us because we know God cares for us.

In the next two citations, note the use of the phrase "make [or making] our eyes shine." Experiencing a release from oppressive or even discouraging circumstances of any sort definitely lifts our spirits (making our eyes go from dim depression to shining with hope).

Ezra 9:8 "But now for a brief moment, favor has come from Jehovah our God letting a remnant escape and by giving us a secure position in his holy place, to make our eyes shine, O our God, and to revive us a little in our slavery."

Ps.19:8 "The orders from Jehovah are righteous, causing the heart to rejoice; The commandment of Jehovah is clean, making the eyes shine.”

The above passage from Psalm 19 can be true even DURING whatever challenge we face. Attention to God's written word can have a profound effect on our countenance (our demeanor, attitude, emotions). However, strong faith doesn't come overnight. It is something, like exercise, that we must build up beforehand--so that when we need to flex that muscle, it responds and protects us.

See also: God’s Hand Not Too Short

God's Hand Not Too Short

We humans tend to sell God short. We underestimate his ability to provide, his ability to help and save, even his interest in our lives. This lack of confidence even dates back to Bible times, even with those considered to be loyal and faithful men such as Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah.

One instance of outstanding faith was that the three men (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) whom a king threatened with execution by being thrown into a burning furnace. Most people would accept that anything thrown into a hot fire will be instantly consumed, especially human flesh. So these three men’s response showed a depth of confidence that most would deem credulity. Yet, God did indeed save them. They were able to “walk about” in the fire, completely unharmed.

Underscoring the need to have ultimate confidence in God, Paul wrote that there is absolutely nothing that can stop or interfere with whatever God’s intentions are for a specific situation as well his general purpose for mankind and earth.

Revelation 20:10 Satan and Hell

There are those that believe hell (or hades) is a torturous place for evil people. Several so-called Christian religions have taught this, including the Catholic Church of which I used to be a member. Even to this day, there are depictions that I have seen and descriptions I have heard that demonstrate a complete lack of knowledge about this matter.

For example, three common misconceptions I hear frequently are that the devil is the one doing the tormenting and he has resided there longer than anyone else. The devil himself is not affected by the flame of hell. With only one scripture, I can dispel all three spurious beliefs! Revelation 20:10 says: “And the Devil who was misleading them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfur, where both the wild beast and the false prophet already were; and they will be tormented* day and night forever and ever.”

In case you think: “That is just your version of the Bible,” you can read other translations here. So now that the “translation” issue is settled, consider these points:

The “wild beast” and the “false prophet” are said to already be in hell before Satan was thrown there.

Satan is also being “tormented” in hell.

There is no mention of Satan himself torturing others. (You will not find any scripture that supports such an idea.)

As for what hell really is, that is not the intent of this post, however, you might be interested in this article.

Is this news to you? Start reading the Bible yourself to see what it really says so you can stop believing the lies you have been and are being told.