FUTILITY OF PLEASURE AND POSSESSIONS

I have been considering the thinking of the 

wisest man that ever lived, king Solomon, in

his writings in the book of Ecclesiastes.

In chapter two he decides to test pleasure and 

possessions and their value in life.  With 

pleasure he ends up saying; "What does it 

accomplish?"

Then he turns to possessions.

Solomon built for himself houses, vineyards,

gardens, ponds and collected silver and gold.

Then he said;

"Thus I considered all my activities which

my hands had done and the labor which I

had exerted, and behold all was vanity and 

striving after wind and there was no profit

under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NASB)

We can see the proof of this same thing in 

our own day.  Over the years I have been

amazed at how many wealthy famous people

end up killing themselves.  Were was the 

happiness that was supposed to be there?

Hey guys, catch this one.

"I provided for myself male and female

singers and the pleasures of men - many

concubines." (2:11)

What were many concubines to Solomon?

"He had seven hundred wives, princesses, 

and three hundred concubines, and his

wives turned his heart away."

(1 Kings 11:4 NASB)

That is one thousand women for just one 

man.  A whole town of women for him to

take his pick of.  

But they turned his heart away from God

to his own hurt.

No wonder Solomon was able to say;  

"It is better to live in a desert land

Than with a contentious and vexing

woman." (Proverbs 21:19 NASB)

and;

"It is better to live in a corner of the roof

Than in a house shared with a contentious

woman." (Proverbs 25:24 NASB) 

I do not know about you,

but I think I can learn something from this.

THE POWER OF A WOMAN

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com.    

This picture almost demonstrates the power of a woman.

Some of you kids will not understand this.  But us 

grandfathers do.

Imagine that little girl as your granddaughter.  Or in my

case it would be a great granddaughter.  She walks up 

to you and puts on her "innocent helpless" look.  Be

assured, they know how to do it.  And when she looks

up into your face says; "Grandpaw".  Brother, you just

lost the battle.  That little girl just got anything in the 

world she wants if it is humanly possible for you to 

do or get it.

True, their mothers don't fall for that line like you 

and I do because they have been using it all their 

life.

Ladies.  Truly it is you that I am wanting to make 

a point to.  And my first couple of illustrations would

seem to be blaming the women.  Not so, they are just 

the first to pop in my mind.  There have been many

Godly women who have used their influence to 

change the course of life for their whole family.

Consider Eve.  The very first women there ever was.

She messed up and fell for a lie so she ate some fruit

she was not suppose to.  Then she looked up into Adam's

face and said, that was good, here try some.  And the 

whole human race has been messed up ever since.

Consider Jezebel the wife of Ahab who was the 

most evil king that was ever over Israel.  

Ahab was bad to start with but then he 

married that witch Jezebel and 

the Scriptures tell us:

"(No one else so completely sold himself to what

was evil in the LORD'S sight as Ahab did under

the influence of his wife Jezebel."

(1 Kings 21:25  NLT)

One more.

Remember the daughter of Herodias who danced for

king Herod  and he was so overwhelmed that he 

promised her anything she wanted up to half of

his kingdom.

All she wanted was the head of John the Baptist,

so God's prophet lost his head because of a girl.

Something you and I have both noticed.

You have watched boys of - every age -

make absolute fools of them self to get

a girls attention.

Ladies what I am saying is that God has given

you a power and an influence over males that

can be used for good, or evil.  Are you using it

for God, or the Devil.

A WOMAN'S INFLUENCE

Ladies please I am not trying to pick on you one way

or the other.  In fact growing up without sisters I thought

that girls and women were angels.  I think that it was my

wife who told me that not all females are angels.

But one morning while reading my Bible I noticed what an

influence one woman had on her husband.  Then my mind 

began to wonder over the influence of a number of the women

mentioned in the Bible and their influence, either good or bad.

Consider:

Eve.  She influenced Adam to eat the forbidden fruit and the

entire world has suffered for it since.

Sarah.  She influenced Abraham to have relations with a 

woman he should not have.  The result is hard feelings 

and war between two races of people ever since.

Ester.  Here is a good one.  She simply melted king

Ahasuerus's heart.  That saved the Jewish people.

Solomon's wives.  They influenced him to worship

foreign gods to his hurt.

Jezebel.  She influenced Ahab to live an evil life.

King Herod's step daughter influenced him to have

John the Baptist's head cut off.

Here is a more modern day woman.

Susan Wesley.

If memory servers me right, she had 14 children.

She spent time with every one of those children

every day.  In the process she raised John and Charles

Wesley who greatly influence the world you and I 

live in.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it bothers

me in our modern world that women are trying to

be every thing but a woman.  In their God given

position women have one of the most influential

positions on the face of the earth.  Why lower it?

Most of my life I have heard the expression,

"The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."

Having never read the poem before it is included

below.

Blessings on the hand of women!
    Angels guard its strength and grace.
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
    Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
    Rainbows ever gently curled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.
Infancy's the tender fountain,
    Power may with beauty flow,
Mothers first to guide the streamlets,
    From them souls unresting grow —
Grow on for the good or evil,
    Sunshine streamed or evil hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.
Woman, how divine your mission,
    Here upon our natal sod;
Keep – oh, keep the young heart open
    Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
    Are from mother-love impearled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.
Blessings on the hand of women!
    Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
    With the worship in the sky —
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
    Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.

by William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)