ManfredMann: "Machines"

This band and its leader were popular during the British Invasion of the sixties. They had a following in the UK but they achieved only a few hits in North America. But Manfred Mann wasn't content with love songs so he penned this science fiction song about machines running our lives. Listen to it here.

It seems odd to me that God had to impose rest on the Israelites. After all, today's people feel that two days off is too short. Even so, rest is necessary for any people group.

Exodus 20:9 and 10 (Bible in Basic English) reads, "On six days do all your work: But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on that day you are to do no work, you or your son or your daughter, your man-servant or your woman-servant, your cattle or the man from a strange country who is living among you:"

So God set one day in seven for people to worship him and enjoy respite from their labours. But the Pharisees took the word "rest" to extremes. They invented so many regulations on every little detail of people's lives that the Sabbath became a burden.

One example of this was recorded in Luke 13:14 (BBE) when Jesus healed a woman who couldn't stand upright. "And the ruler of the Synagogue was angry because Jesus had made her well on the Sabbath, and he said to the people, 'There are six days in which men may do work: so come on those days to be made well, and not on the Sabbath.'"

Jesus had the perfect answer to those rule bound leaders when the disciples plucked some grain heads. Mark 2:27 (BBE) says, "And he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath;'"

So enjoy the God-given reward for your work. As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:22 (BBE), "So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work--because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?"

If Christ hasn't given us rest from this evil world by Saturday, I hope to post about the empires of this world and how they'll all fall.

What Good is the Book of Ecclesiastes?

This book seems to be a strange choice for inclusion into the canon of Scripture. The tone alone is depressing. So what possible edification can we receive from such a seemingly hopeless missive?

King Solomon wrote this book to warn his son and us all against materialism. For example, there are times when people per sue what we call the good life but somebody else benefits from their work. Ecclesiastes 2:21 (BBE) reads, "Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.  What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?"

Of course this doesn't mean we should be lazy. Scripture contains many admonishments against sloth. Even Solomon answers his own question. Ecclesiastes 2:24 (BBE) reminds us that, "There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God." This applies to women as well.

Another wise warning from Solomon comes from Ecclesiastes 4:8 (BBE) which tells us, "It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. 'For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure?' This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work."

Furthermore, Solomon warns that wealth for wealth's sake is folly. Ecclesiastes 5:13-15 (BBE) admonishes, "There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--wealth kept by the owner to be his downfall. And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother at birth, so does he go again; he gets from his work no reward which he may take away in his hand."

Solomon also dealt with the aging process in Ecclesiastes 12:1 (BBE). He reminds young folks that, "1   Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them;'"

After what seems like a long and depressing rant, Solomon concludes with hope. Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 14 (BBE) tell us, "This is the last word. All has been said. Have fear of God and keep his laws; because this is right for every man. God will be judge of every work, with every secret thing, good or evil."

I'll be touching on the subject of why we suffer in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? We can't abide anybody having the blues so we try to fix them with Band-Aids of platitudes. But the scriptures are filled with people lamenting their situation yet still hoping in God.
What we tend to forget is that suffering is used by the Father to accomplish his glory and our eventual good.

My Saturday Song post will appeal to folks who love soft rock and who have lost beloved friends or family members.