Joy of life, radiance of creation, peace and solitude, wholesomeness and sweetness of nature, the exquisite beauty of woodland and wasteland at the break of day, and a marvelous, inscrutable, divine will pervaded that wilderness scene.”
–Zane Grey (Nevada)
“By faith Moses…choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”
“By faith Moses…choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”
–Hebrews 11:23,25 (NKJV)
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There was a time when everything on earth was pure. A time of true peace and tranquility when one day a lovely maiden was walking through the garden. She was enjoying the sweet aroma of the flowers that were blooming around her. Life was wonderful, sweet, and peaceful when she came upon a creature–a serpent. This serpent went up to her and said, “Hey, baby, have I got a deal for you.” And in minutes Eve and Adam were not the same, and mankind was now on the downward slope. I have often wondered what Adam thought about when he was old and gray. He lived to be quite old and he must have thought often about the time back in Eden. We know little of his life except that he blew his opportunity.
Solomon said in his later years, “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NKJV) He was a man who wanted more and more and more. Perhaps you have read the “Picture of Dorian Gray.” It is a profound book, telling a depressing story. Dorian was given an opportunity to sin–to do anything he wanted without any sign of the sin showing on his features. He remained pristine and pure, at least in his features. He dreamed of sin, and he wanted more, more, and more of sin and didn’t stop. He had unlimited resources, money, and pleasure, but found that more didn’t satisfy. David A. Hubbard wrote,
“Pleasure offers to lift us above the routine. So much of our living seems bound to the ordinary. It is hobbled by the patterns we learned in childhood; it is grooved by the habits we developed as teenagers; it is fettered by the cords of conformity our culture puts upon us…. Often we long to kick over the traces and bolt off on our own free course. Pleasure lets us do that. Temporarily, we can hang our inhibitions in the hallway and go to the party without them…”
We live in a society that thrives on pleasure. There are things that are faster, greater, and more bright than ever before. From the Millennials downward through the generations there is an emphasis upon pleasure. Enjoy life, be happy, don’t fret, but to do that one must push God aside. They think that He is holding a hammer ready to bring it down in judgment so they have only a small look at who God is if any at all.
Solomon is saying here–Face the Truth, all equals emptiness. The NLT states, “There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.” Look at the fruit friend, what does it offer? Does the taste offer you promises, but then you find they lack the staying power? Is there a promise to open our eyes, but then we find that in reality we are blinded? Is this pleasure that is offered a disillusion, making us cover-up artists? We think we want the pleasure that it offers, but when we eat we find ourselves lying, hiding, and trying to cover up what we did. John writes, “For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16, NKJV)
What started out as a wonderful enticing dream has found itself a living nightmare. “To seek it [pleasure] and to labor for it is to miss it. All human experience shows that it soon pulls upon the taste, that it fades fast in the hands of its devotees; that there is no company of men so utterly weary and so wretched as the tired hunters after pleasurable excitement.” (W. Clarkson) The devil still offers a deal; it looks good, it is enticing, but the end thereof is destruction. It won’t satisfy for long. The promise given by him is an illusion; it is like “grasping for the wind.” But Jesus, ah, there is a different story. His promises are “Yea and Amen,” they are sure and can be depended upon. Look at the words of the Psalmist, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11, NKJV) This is what Adam and Eve had, yet they threw it away seeking a pseudo-pleasure.
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There was a time when everything on earth was pure. A time of true peace and tranquility when one day a lovely maiden was walking through the garden. She was enjoying the sweet aroma of the flowers that were blooming around her. Life was wonderful, sweet, and peaceful when she came upon a creature–a serpent. This serpent went up to her and said, “Hey, baby, have I got a deal for you.” And in minutes Eve and Adam were not the same, and mankind was now on the downward slope. I have often wondered what Adam thought about when he was old and gray. He lived to be quite old and he must have thought often about the time back in Eden. We know little of his life except that he blew his opportunity.
Solomon said in his later years, “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NKJV) He was a man who wanted more and more and more. Perhaps you have read the “Picture of Dorian Gray.” It is a profound book, telling a depressing story. Dorian was given an opportunity to sin–to do anything he wanted without any sign of the sin showing on his features. He remained pristine and pure, at least in his features. He dreamed of sin, and he wanted more, more, and more of sin and didn’t stop. He had unlimited resources, money, and pleasure, but found that more didn’t satisfy. David A. Hubbard wrote,
“Pleasure offers to lift us above the routine. So much of our living seems bound to the ordinary. It is hobbled by the patterns we learned in childhood; it is grooved by the habits we developed as teenagers; it is fettered by the cords of conformity our culture puts upon us…. Often we long to kick over the traces and bolt off on our own free course. Pleasure lets us do that. Temporarily, we can hang our inhibitions in the hallway and go to the party without them…”
We live in a society that thrives on pleasure. There are things that are faster, greater, and more bright than ever before. From the Millennials downward through the generations there is an emphasis upon pleasure. Enjoy life, be happy, don’t fret, but to do that one must push God aside. They think that He is holding a hammer ready to bring it down in judgment so they have only a small look at who God is if any at all.
Solomon is saying here–Face the Truth, all equals emptiness. The NLT states, “There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.” Look at the fruit friend, what does it offer? Does the taste offer you promises, but then you find they lack the staying power? Is there a promise to open our eyes, but then we find that in reality we are blinded? Is this pleasure that is offered a disillusion, making us cover-up artists? We think we want the pleasure that it offers, but when we eat we find ourselves lying, hiding, and trying to cover up what we did. John writes, “For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16, NKJV)
What started out as a wonderful enticing dream has found itself a living nightmare. “To seek it [pleasure] and to labor for it is to miss it. All human experience shows that it soon pulls upon the taste, that it fades fast in the hands of its devotees; that there is no company of men so utterly weary and so wretched as the tired hunters after pleasurable excitement.” (W. Clarkson) The devil still offers a deal; it looks good, it is enticing, but the end thereof is destruction. It won’t satisfy for long. The promise given by him is an illusion; it is like “grasping for the wind.” But Jesus, ah, there is a different story. His promises are “Yea and Amen,” they are sure and can be depended upon. Look at the words of the Psalmist, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11, NKJV) This is what Adam and Eve had, yet they threw it away seeking a pseudo-pleasure.