Consider Solomon’s familiar words found in Ecclesiastes 3: “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace” (v. 1-8). I want to hum, “turn, turn, turn.” Old fashioned, I am! I am impressed by the way Solomon finishes his point.
“What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?” (v. 9). A professor of mine often said that many spend their entire lives climbing the ladder of success only to discover at the end that their ladders have been propped against the wrong wall. To quote my grandson, “What a bummer!”
Solomon continued, “I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (v. 10-11).
Solomon was saying that no one can climb high enough, even to the farthest expanse of the universe, and discover what God is really doing from beginning to end. But King Nebuchadnezzar discovered that God does according to His will – His choosing, and He does it in the invisible realm of innumerable angels and in the historic generations of human beings. And no one can stop Him from doing His will or even begin figure Him out (Daniel 4: 34-35).
It is because God is not like us. Repeat! The Source of all things is NOT LIKE US! God said, “You thought that I was altogether like you, but I will rebuke you” (Psalm 50:21). We would be wrong to even think like this. Very wrong! God does not think like us nor does He act like us (Isaiah 55:8). This is why the pagans, earth lovers and worshippers, do what they do. They fashion gods of their own liking. They worship earthly things. They fall deeply and passionately in love with the things of this world.
We would never consider the seemingly innocent things in which we are passionately involved as being “idols,” would we? God does! Anything and everything that robs God of His time with us and our worship of Him is idolatry – anything.Life is all about His glory, not ours. The apostle John says simply, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn. 2:15). Ouch! That is very clear, very broad, and exceedingly understandable.
Isaiah pondered the question, “Who would form a god or mold an image that profits him nothing?” Yet the blacksmith fashions a god with the strength of his arms, but he goes hungry and thirsty from lack of food and water. The craftsman fashions an idol of wood. He plants and nourishes the tree, then cuts it down and makes a fire to warm himself and bake bread. With the rest, he makes a god to worship and falls down before it. God has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
This is absurd, yes! It does no good to mention a laundry list of all the ways that we today worship stuff or activities rather than God. The voice of the Holy Spirit is sufficient and shouts!
Isaiah concluded, “And no one considers in his heart, nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire. Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isaiah 44:6-20).
The idols have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see! They have ears, but they cannot hear (Psalm 115:5). The human race is like these idols. It is spiritually blind, living in darkness. But the living God both sees and hears to an infinite degree. God does not think like us. His thoughts are not like our thoughts, and His ways are not like ours. How far are His thoughts and actions from ours? They are as far as the heavens are above the earth (Isaiah 55: 9). That is an immense distance which is boundless and unfathomable. A distance that totally separates us from God – separates us that is, unless He deems otherwise. Blessings!