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The Story:Rehoboam may have been acting like a bit of a know-it-all:“I know what I’m doin’, dad. I don’t need all this advice.” But, of course, he didn’t know it all. He couldn’t. No one can. Life is filled with mysteries that even the brightest minds can’t fathom. And yet Rehoboam considered himself wiser than his father when it came to knowing what was best for his life. Solomon had “been there, done that.” A wise son would have listened to his father’s counsel, reflected on his ways, and sought the life of wisdom over the way of folly (Prov. 3.1, 2; 5.1, 2). Life is filled with so much uncertainty, so many unforeseeable events, that we need to trust ourselves to God and rest in His sovereign care. But if we won’t do that with the everyday details of our lives, we’re not likely to do it when push comes to shove in the hard patches that must surely come.
The Structure:People today don’t like to be told that they aren’t as smart as they think. The atheist who insists that he knows there is no God is simply a fool. Does he know everything? If not, would he be willing to allow that, within that vast universe of things he doesn’t know, there might be a God? If he’s not willing to allow that, then he doesn’t know the limits of his knowledge. A little further questioning can reveal to such a person that there are plenty of mysteries in life that he will never be able to understand, and yet he accepts them by faith. Faith in what? Chance? His own experience? Mere human authorities? These are shaky foundations on which to try to build a life of security and happiness.
How about the unbelievers in your life sphere – what do they trust in to make sense out of their lives? Why not try asking some of them?
Each week’s studies in our Scriptorium column are available in a free PDF form, suitable for personal or group use. For this week’s study, “Think of the Days Ahead: Ecclesiastes 11,” simply click here.
T. M. Moore
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved