Still, his possessions never satisfied him (Eccl. 2 :llff). This life of try ing to “keep up with the Joneses” doesn’t fulfill the deepest needs with in the human heart. No wonder Solo mon observed that all was vanity and “like chasing after the wind.” At the end, Solomon fell into idolatry. He taxed the people so heavily to sup port his luxury that after his death the kingdom was divided and all but two tribes were taken away, and it was only because of David his fa ther that God didn’t take everything away from Solomon. He died a bro ken and defeated man. We see David, his counterpart, however, whose life ended in glory, peace and prosperity (I Chron. 29:8ff). No wonder David was a man after God’s own heart. He was the greatest king Israel has ever known, except for Jesus Christ, “The Son of David,” who will reign one day. David was one of the great men of the faith. While he made mis takes, he had unquestionable faith. Solomon made a wreck of his life because he looked around him, at his own wisdom, pleasure, and posses sions. His life ended in tragedy. David looked to God, owning Him as Lord and Master. May our testi mony be that of David’s, “Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is the fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). We can measure our likeness to Christ by the range of our sensitiveness to the burdens and needs of others. The man who deals in sunshine is the man who gets the crowds. He does a lot more business than the man who peddles clouds. Don’t make God your last resort; make Him your first resource. From the darkness they are calling, Burdened hearts bowed down by sin. Hear their cries of bitter anguish, Who will go — their souls to win? 18
CONTEMPORARY PHARISEES
by Merton Leigh, student at Talbot Theological Seminary
I N His earthly ministry the Lord encountered many who opposed Him, such as the Pharisees, Saducees and other various individuals. The Pharisees were a group considered to be the separatists of their day. That's what the word means. This sect was known as early at 185 B.C. While they believed the law, the prophets, and the writings, they adopted the allegorical method of in terpretation, placing h igh regard upon tradition. They believed in the immortality of the soul, the exist ence of angels, and even in a future resurrection. Much of their time was given to prayer and fasting. They tithed of their income, and were strict in keeping the Sabbath. Two notable individuals were Nicodemus and Saul of Tarsus. The Pharisee demonstrates some of the major errors which are seen in 1970 among both professing Christians and un believers. We need to ask ourselves, “How can we avoid the errors of the Phari
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