Safe in the Hand of God

Ecclesiastes 9:1 ¶ For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

The tone of Solomon’s writing seems to change again with this verse. This verse states a very precious truth to every child of God—God is in sovereign control regarding everything that is allowed to touch him/her; we are firmly in the grasp of His protective hand. I couldn’t help but think of some of my favorite verses from the book of John in light of this truth.

John 10:27-30 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”

That truth, however, does not mean that the righteous and wise will only experience love and not hate or good and not bad. Scripture affirms that good and bad (from our perspective) happens to both the one who has yielded to God as Lord in faith and the lost sinner.

Matthew 5:45 “…for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

John 9:2-3 “And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

Scripture is clear that only those who have yielded themselves to God as Lord are declared righteous, that wisdom comes from God, and that the wise fear God.

Isaiah 51:7 “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law….”

Isaiah 54:17 “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Proverbs 2:6 “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

Psalms 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom….”

Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

This verse is an exclamation point to the conclusions stated in the previous verse. You can’t judge a person’s standing before God by his economic condition or the state of his health. The whole book of Job gives testimony to this truth. When you study the lives of the apostles, you find that they suffered persecution and lived simply. They weren’t successful men according to the world’s standards; they were hated more often than not. Those who preach the prosperity gospel today are ignoring a major portion of God’s word and using most of the rest out of context. They are preying upon those who know little about the scripture and appealing to their desire for material blessing to promote their own lavish lifestyles. They are certainly not encouraging people to yield their lives to the Lord out of love for sacrificing His precious Son Jesus to provide our salvation.