"I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered". Ecclesiastes. 1:12-15

Why would God give the sons of men a sore travail? Did God give man a sore travail when He told man to dress and keep the Garden of Eden? Man was fully enabled and equipped to do all that God commanded him to do. But man chose to disobey God (1 Tim 2:14). Shall man not pay the consequence in this world? The wisdom and knowledge that men can obtain in this world shall come by the sweat of his face. Man shall learn of the things of this world as a result of much travail. Mankind will be exercised therein. Even the wisdom and knowledge that comes from this world shall not come easily. I have often heard the phrase "the school of hard knocks", and I am sad to say that there I have attended many classes. How many lessons men have learned from such travails? King Solomon concluded that all these are "vanity and vexation of spirit". 

Nonetheless, the preacher Solomon said that he applied himself to seek and search out all things done under heaven.  Notice that both phrases, "all things done under heaven", and "all the works that are done under the sun", are used in these verses. The preacher's first considerations are those that are heavenly, those that pertain to heavenly places. God's children are exhorted to seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness (Mt 6:33). I suppose that man can search and seek out the things of this world with varying degree of difficulty. One might gain some worldly wisdom and knowledge from their diligence and travails. The natural man shall neither seek nor search out the things under heaven nor the things pertaining to the Kingdom of heaven, for those things are foolishness to man. They are past finding out (Romans 11:33).

When I think of all the things that are done under heaven I think not only of the blessing God bestows unto His Little Flock; but also all the things that trouble the child of God in the Old Church. Those latter things can be summarized several ways. They can be labeled as deceivers and those being deceived. They can be categorized as the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life or more generally as all that is in the world. Perhaps these two terms would also suffice: heresies and heretics. I suppose that most God called preachers will eventually feel the fiery dart of the devil piece him through when one of the Flock sadly admonishes him to just "preach the gospel", the good news and "leave out the admonitions and exhortations to godliness". In short they are saying, "Speak unto us smooth things!"

I am certain that this is all part of the sifting that a minister of God must endure as he is exercised in this world. Surely nothing would please the devil more than half the truth to be preached. Shall the minister preach just God's love? The truth is that God is love and that our Lord also hates (Proverbs 6:16).  The half-truth that God is good would please the devil much more than the fact that God is good and man is not good and depraved by nature. The servant of God is to exhort the children of God to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ and fight the good fight of faith. The truth that all God's elect shall be housed in immortal glory when time is no more should not lead to ungodliness in this present evil world. The preacher is to admonish and exhort and reprove the unfruitful works of darkness as well as comfort the children of God. There would be no comfort for the children of God if the Church was silent and suffered these things to infiltrate and infest the Old Church. If these travesties were ignored then these would not bear the identity of the Lord's Church but would be a part of the world.

Brethren, there is nothing new done under heaven either. In the book of Isaiah it is written: "Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, see not; and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. (Isaiah. 30:8-11) Some shall indeed go that way but not the Lord's Church. Scripture reveals "there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you" (1 Cor 11: 19). Why would God allow heresies among the Lord's Church? It isn't so that the heretic or the heresy should be approved among us but rather they which are approved may be manifest. Shall we now persuade men, or God?  Do we seek to please men? If we yet please men, then we are not the servants of Christ (Gal 1:10). Let us pray to preach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, the whole truth!   Elder Marty Hoogasian 3/12/2004