Volume 51 Number 5 May 2009
King Solomon was a son of David who lived a life here below which many might consider ‘heaven on earth’, with all the wisdom, wealth and power to do whatever his heart desired. He concluded that life under the sun, even with the ability to do whatever you like, was not heaven, but rather, ‘vanity and vexation of spirit.’ He made this observation about our life here on earth in Ecclesiastes 3:11:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” There is a sense of eternity in everyone, a feeling that there must be more to life than just what happens under the sun. God gave this to us, and it is only when we have an eternal perspective of earth that we begin to obtain meaning in our lives. Some things such as suffering, injustice, and death only make sense in the light of eternity. When the wise man comes to the conclusion on this whole matter of how to live under the sun, he tells us that the way to live is to “Fear God and keep His commandments.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Unless we are wiser than Solomon, it is good idea for us to do likewise.Solomon’s father, David, was a prophet of the Lord, in addition to being a King and a ‘man after God’s own heart.’ He prophesied what type of person will make it to heaven, and though he lived under the Mosaic Law, the spirit of his divine description still holds true for us today. When we follow the perfect law of liberty, which instructs us to love God and one another, we also will be following the pattern of a heavenly resident David gave us years ago in Psalms 15:
“LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?Let us look more closely at these qualities so that we may better emulate them in our lives, taking it as a given that it is only through the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ that any of us can or will be saved (John 14:6). In verse 1, David gives us a useful insight into the nature of eternity. He describes being with God in eternity as abiding in His tabernacle, and dwelling in His holy hill. This tells us that God’s home is heaven, and it is His desire that we live with Him and be at home with Him. Here on earth is where we prepare ourselves for His eternal home by losing our interest in earthly things and setting our hearts on this eternal home. This is why Jesus and His holy apostles describe living for God as denying ourselves and dying to sin: We are only here for a moment, and we look forward to the real “home, sweet home” with God forever!
In order to live with God and fit in with the righteous forever, we must live the moral qualities that are described here by David. First of all, he says that it is the one who walks ‘uprightly’ who gets to live with God in heaven. What does ‘uprightly’ mean? The word means ‘entire’, and has to do with the integrity and truth which characterizes the righteous. How do we get to the point where we are entire? James tells us in James 1:4 that we are to
“let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Trials come our way in order to reveal our incompleteness, so that what is wanting in our moral character can be fixed. Just as a company puts its new products to the test, so we who are created in God’s image must be proven to show to all our true character.The next description David gives of the person who gets to live with God forever is that he “works righteousness.” Righteousness means the thing which is right; right in the sight of God! Most people strive to do what is right in the eyes of man to seek their favor, but happy is the man who learns to do what is eternally right, whose praise is from God, and not from man.
Then we see how this eternal dweller with God will be a speaker of truth, and where he speaks the truth is most interesting: “… in his heart.” While man looks upon and listens to the outward sights and sounds of people, God is gazing at the heart. His divine pleasure is with the man who is honest with himself and speaks the truth in the depths of his inner being, even as David found grace in God’s sight instead of his more kingly older brothers. The righteous view themselves soberly with no delusions of grandeur, only deep admiration for the work of God and how He does marvelous things in our lives. Here is the true standard for judging ourselves, not the faulty and fickle standards of man.
In verse 3 we see three different areas where the righteous stand out in regards to their neighbors. First of all, the one who would dwell in the Lord’s house does not employ the tongue that God created in order to bite and devour a neighbor. Secondly, no harm is done in any way to the neighbor, including the third quality, not taking up a reproach against a neighbor. In fulfilling the law of love (Romans 13:8-10), we do not speak against our neighbor. If we do have aught against him, we go to him alone in order to resolve our difference, instead of using the grievance as a means of tearing him down or making ourselves look better. We do not want to be guilty of speaking evil of the Law, or taking the place of the Judge (James 4:11, 12). Our desire is not to make anyone look bad by prosecuting a case against them; rather, we want them to be saved from the wrath to come!
But in verse 4, we see that the mercy and kindness of the righteous does not imply a kind of softness towards sin! On the contrary, the righteous retain a sensibility to sin, and lightly esteem the vile person. Today we are expected by the world to accept sin in the name of “tolerance”, and those who are the least deserving of honor because of their sinful conduct are put forth as worthy of our respect. But if you have a heart like God’s, you still discern the difference between righteousness and disobedience. Therefore, the vile person is not very impressive, while the one who ‘fears God’ is esteemed very highly in love because of the righteousness they are working. Truly, the righteous love good people! (Titus 1:8).
“He that swears to his own hurt, and does not change.” This is a sign of true character, and a quality that God has displayed throughout the Bible in keeping His great promises. No matter what the price or how much it might hurt, we must keep our commitments! The lack of this quality leads to marriages that fail, shoddy workmanship, and breach of contracts. But if a commitment is worth making, the godly find a way to see the deal through, just as God always keeps His promises to us in spite of man’s disappointing performances.
The bottom line for many people is money, and sure enough, it also comes up here in the end of the list in
verse 5. The one who wants to live with God forever keeps money in perspective, knowing that he has true riches in heaven! Therefore, we who have our hearts set on heaven will not be snared by the allurements of usury and take advantage of anyone for the sake of gain. Likewise, we will not take a “reward against the innocent.” What about the financial crisis we find ourselves in today in our country? Do interest rates and greed have anything to do with our problems? What about the increase in gambling that has become legalized in state after state? Is this not making a gain of the innocent, as well as appealing to the vilest part of man’s nature? Those who profess to follow Christ must also beware of covetousness and not turn the Lord’s house into a den of thieves, giving our enemies yet another reason to blaspheme. Yes, the righteous will use money correctly, and make to ourselves “friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness”, so that when we fail, we may be received into “everlasting habitations.” (Luke 16:9).Here on earth, we move from one house to another. We who seek an eternal rest are eager to dwell in the house of God where we will never be moved, and will enjoy true pleasures in the presence of our Lord forever and ever! David has written a beautiful description of an eternal resident of heaven so that we can truly be prepared and fit into heaven with no room for guessing. Let us all make heaven our home in truth!
“He that doeth these things shall never be moved.”