- I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. -
Once again, this collection of verses asks us to consider previous verses in new contexts. At the beginning of verse 15 is an idea originally communicated in Ecclesiastes 1:9.
There is nothing new under the sun, and what we experience appears to loop like a song left on repeat.
Now, we’ve learned recently that God makes everything beautiful in time, and that He has given us the concept of eternity.
How can history repeat itself (like a wheel), yet God intends to make things beautiful? How do we marry these two ideas?
Well for starters, the verse in Ecclesiastes only deals with events under the sun. The implication here is what repeats is physical.
Our nature causes us to repeat our previous actions. Men will continue to sin, lust, and tyrannize.
Let’s go to the beginning of verse 14. Now we find what God does endures forever. It doesn’t repeat itself. It is.
It’s important to say here that man repeats himself thinking he is progressing. The experience of Heaven may very well repeat, but that would only be repetition of perfection, not searching for perfection.
Man may try to tie claim some form of ownership over it, but he fools himself thinking he is able to make eternal projects.
He might also hate it for how it changes his life and attempt to remove the uncomfortable parts. He will find his efforts wasted.
Now, why does God create lasting change?
The answer seems foreign to us. We are to fear God for making these changes?
Do you fear God because He put away the law, saved you from your sins, and intends to give you an eternal home?
Last time I checked, eternal security was not something many of us worried about.
This fear translates better as worship. God has done all that He has for His glory, as we are told many times in the New Testament.
But, there is an element of fear or at least awe in worship. It’s a beholding of something too great for you to understand.
A fear of the unknown is healthy, and God is not known to us, in a complete sense. That makes worship a proper response, especially when He has been so merciful.
I want to end there, but I want to discuss the last part of verse 15 before I do. I really don’t have a great point to bring up here, so I don’t want to waste another post on it.
The truth is, the language here is very difficult to understand. Each translation I read says something different.
Looking at the original text, the best translation I could find is “God seeketh the pursued” with the added caveat pursued should be read as disappeared and that this translation is dubious at best.
In short, I don’t think we have a good translation in English.
My best idea? God seeks the eternity/garden that was in the beginning in order to restore it.
The Fall led to the Earth that repeats. God wishes to bring us back into His Paradise with His eternal actions.
Housekeeping: Hey everyone. You’re probably wondering when I’m going to mention the events going on in Ukraine.
Well, it’s a hard thing to discuss, and not just because it’s an incredibly horrible act to invade a sovereign, peaceful country.
I actually have personal friends in Ukraine. I’ve been on several mission trips with my wife to serve the orphans there with some in country partners.
I feel helpless to do anything. I’ve told my wife the only solution I can come up with is to get on a plane and get a gun from Zelensky.
She did not like that idea.
One thing I’ve learned during this crisis is that me adding my voice actually distracts from the people who can make a difference.
My mother and dear friend (the lady who runs the organization that puts on the mission trips) are on the phone and getting funds to people overseas who need it.
Thank God for them.
Me? Honestly, at this point I’ll add to the confusion, so I pray and have faith.
And all that, doesn’t take away from the other things God has called me to do, like this blog.
To participate in this is to say, “God matters, and what He asks of us does not turn back void.”
If I’m limited to help my brothers and sisters in Ukraine, how can I stop doing this?
So Broken Wheel is going to keep being about Ecclesiastes, but I want to share two other things with you.
1) If you are looking to donate, give to engraved (the organization I’ve served with) https://www.engraved.org/
2) If you want to get into the nitty gritty, my brother and I do podcast called Carlpooling. We talk politics, science, religion, art, philosophy etc. We are going to do a deep dive on it this Wednesday.
With that, my love and heart pours out to the wonderful people of Ukraine.
Хай живе Україна