Author: Steven R. Bruck

A Study on Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)

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The Book of Kohelet has often been misunderstood, and I suppose that’s because it starts off telling us that everything is pointless, and that all our efforts are no more useful than chasing the wind.

Okay, I get it- someone isn’t happy with how things they have done has turned out.

So, who wrote this treatise on disappointment?

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Most agree that it was King Solomon, although in recent years some have stated it may have been written by someone else pretending to be a king of Jerusalem. Personally, I don’t buy that.

In the first chapter the writer tells us that he has been a king over Israel in Jerusalem. Not only that, but this book is filled with wisdom and proverbs, very much like those Solomon wrote.

For example:

1:18- there is much wisdom in grief.
2:14- wise men have eyes that see, but fools walk in darkness.
4:5- better an armful of tranquility than both arms full of effort that yields nothing
5:1 nightmares come from worrying too much, and a fool chatters too much
5:9- the lover of money never has enough money

There are other wisdom sayings throughout the book that indicate the writer is a man possessed with great wisdom. Not to mention that he tells us in 1:16 that he has acquired more wisdom than anyone else ruling in Jerusalem- that is exactly what we are told in the Bible about Solomon (1 Kings 4:30).

Now, what about this statement that everything is pointless, that nothing matters, and what does a person gain after all their efforts? These sound like the ramblings of a depressed, cynical man, but when we realize the reason he is saying this, it makes sense.

In Kohelet 1:12, he tells us that he applied himself to seek out and investigate everything that is done under heaven. I believe what Kohelet was saying was that he wanted to understand the “why” of everything- he wanted to have the same level of understanding that God does. Well, no wonder he was disappointed and found everything pointless! No one can understand anything at the same level of God.

However, he did come to an understanding of what might be the most important lesson of all- that whatever we do we should do with joy and appreciation because this is what God has given us.

Kohelet tried to understand everything by starting out with the pleasures of the body. He went on to build palaces, gardens, pools, have slaves, amass wealth, have singers and musicians, and many other material things. Yet, in the end, he realized that it was all worthless, just chasing the wind.

Why? Because when he dies, everything he worked his whole life to attain will go to someone else who will just waste it.

Throughout this book, we are given a number of examples of what is pointless:

  • attaining wisdom is useless because no matter how wise or how stupid a man becomes, in the end, we all die and are treated the same.
  • the pursuit of material things is pointless because the rich never have enough and the money they accumulate will go to someone else when they die.
  • no matter how good a king is, it’s pointless because when the king is dead the ones coming after him will not regard him highly.
  • having goods and wealth will not please a person, who will always want more, and when they die someone else gets to enjoy them.
  • the righteous person can perish in his uprightness while the evil person lives a long and happy life.

Despite the overriding depressive feel of this book, Kohelet does come up with a number of revelations that are messages of hope and the lessons we need to learn in order to have a contended life:

Revelation #1: Kohelet tells us all that is left to us to do in this life is to eat, drink, and enjoy whatever fruits of labor that we have attained, because this is what God has given to us (2:24; 5:17; 8:15; 9:7).

Revelation #2: Everything that happens has its own time (3:1-11), nothing is new under the sun (1:9), and this is the way God has designed the world.

You may remember the song by the Byrds called “Turn, turn, turn” (1965) which was from this passage; it was originally written by Pete Seegar in 1959

Revelation #3: People who love things of the world will never be satisfied.

Revelation #4: Everything happens to everyone: rich or poor, wise or stupid, righteous or evil. In the end we all die, although those who live a righteous life will be in better shape when facing God.

The final and ultimate lesson that Kohelet has learned, which he tells us at the very end of the book, is this:

We should worship God and obey his laws, for that is what being human is all about;
in the end, God will bring to judgement all that we do.

This is unquestionably the wisest thing anyone can do.

Kohelet, with all his wisdom, riches, and achievements, concludes the only thing we really need to do is enjoy the fruits of our labors, the simple things in life, such as eating and drinking, and be thankful to God for giving that to us. I believe this was confirmed by Yeshua who, when telling us how to pray, said we should ask for our daily bread- nothing more, nothing less, and that we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow.

So, the next time someone tells you that they just don’t get the Book of Kohelet, asking why is such a “downer” even in the Bible, you can tell them that the real message of Kohelet is one of contentment. It teaches us we will never understand why things happen the way they do, that all things happen for a reason and that God has determined the correct time for all things that occur under the sun, and that to be at peace and enjoy life all we need to do is worship God, obey his commandments, and appreciate what God has given us because that is what being human is all about.

Satan Rules the Earth

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Whoa!! Stop the music! How can Satan rule the earth when we all know that God rules the universe?

Because the Bible says he does.

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Haven’t you ever heard of Chain of Command?

When I was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, at one time I was the Executive Officer of the Headquarters and Supply Company, 2nd Marine Combat Engineer Battalion. I was able to “rule” over 365 Marines, including even a Captain who was, technically, my superior in rank but still under my command because he was the Platoon Commander of one of the platoons in the company, and I ruled over the entire company.

Yet, the Company Commander ruled over me, and he was ruled by the Battalion Commander, who was ruled by the Division Commander, and so on, all the way up to the President of the United States.

Satan might rule the earth, but God rules the universe, which means he rules Satan. It’s simply a matter of chain of command.

So, nu? Where does it say that Satan rules the earth?

In Luke 4:5, when Yeshua was in the desert and Satan was tempting him, he showed Yeshua all the kingdoms of the earth, and told Yeshua that he (Satan) had been given them all and they were his to give to whomever he wanted to. That certainly sounds like he rules them, doesn’t it?

Later, in Luke 10:18, Yeshua confirms this when he told his disciples that he saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven (to the earth).

Shaul (Paul) confirms Satan’s rule of the earth in his letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:2), when he told them they used to conform to the ways of the world and to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that causes disobedience in men. Clearly, that spirit is Satan.

The Tanakh also states that Satan is in the world: in the Book of Job, God asks Satan where he has been and he answers that he has been wandering here and there, throughout the world (Job 6:7). We are shown that Satan has authority in the world to come and go as he pleases. Even though God did control what Satan could do to Job, Satan had the power to do whatever he wanted to do, including to cause the death of people.

This is interesting: when he killed Job’s children (Job 1:18-19), he did so by sending a strong wind to destroy the house they were eating in; hmmm… maybe this is why Shaul calls him the ruler of the power of the air?

There you have it! Satan rules the earth, and that is why even though we are in the world we are not to be part of it, i.e., not to be ruled by the one that rules the world.

We are to be ruled by the one that rules the universe, who sent Yeshua the Messiah.

So, what’s today’s take-away? Don’t be concerned or afraid of the world or the one who rules it, because despite all the power he has, the one who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone! Subscribe to both this ministry on my website and my YouTube channel, click on the bell to be notified when I post, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules, or you can’t come in).

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

Just What Does Matthew 18:18 Mean?

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The “Church” has used this verse to authorize priests to forgive sins. They also reference John 20:23, when Yeshua breathed the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) on the disciples and (allegedly) authorized them to forgive sins.

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However, this is not the same as Matthew 18:18, in which Yeshua told his talmidim (students/disciples) that whatever they bind/prohibit on earth will be bound/prohibited in heaven, and whatever they loose/permit on earth will be loosed/permitted in heaven.

So, is this the same as forgiving sins? I don’t think so.

(I am using “The Jewish New Testament Commentary” by Daniel H. Stern to help explain my position.)

I don’t believe this has to do with forgiveness of sins because of the Jewish understanding of those terms, which is the only way that Yeshua would have meant them.

The traditional usage of “bind” and “loose” in Judaism (asar ve-hittir), as the Pharisees and Scribes would have used them, is relating to legal judgements and Halacha (The Way to Walk).

Halacha is defined as the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the written and Oral Torah. For example, having two sets of dishes, how far one can walk on the Shabbat, plus an additional plethora of rules for how we go through our daily activities.

We need to realize that Yeshua was talking specifically to his talmidim, those disciples closest to him. This chapter begins with his talmidim asking Yeshua to explain some of what he had been teaching, and in doing so he tells them that when two or more of them are together, he will be there with them. This means that he is granting them the authority to act in legal and daily activity judgements, just as the Sanhedrin would in creating both judicial and social regulations.

The Christian view of this is that “two or more” is the same as a minyan, which is a group of 10 or more men (as required by Halacha) to form a congregation. This passage, however, is not about prayer but about regulating Messianic communal life. When he said he will be there with them, he meant that the regulations they create on earth will have the backing of heaven.

In the Talmud, the following extract explains this:

“How do you know that if ten people pray together the Sh’khinah (“manifested divine presence”) is there with them? Because it is said ‘God stands in the congregation of God’ (Psalm 82:1a) [and a congregation must have a minyan of at least ten]. And how do you know that if three are sitting as a court of judges the Sh’khinah is there with them? Because it is said ‘In the midst of judges he renders judgement’ (Psalm 82:1b) [taking elohim to mean judges]; (B’rakhot 6a)

This is the way Yeshua would have known what was meant by the terms “loose” and “bind”.

In Daniel 7:22, he said, “The Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” And here we have Yeshua telling his talmidim that “Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

Clearly, Yeshua was telling his talmidim that they will be the ones to replace the Sanhedrin in the Acharit haYamim (End Days) and that whatever social and judgmental regulations they create will be supported by both Yeshua and God.

So, as far as Peter being the first Pope and men having the authority to forgive sins, well… not supported by the Bible, not even what John wrote- the only one who has authority to forgive sins is God, and God alone.

Yeshua doesn’t forgive sins: he is the means by which our sins can be forgiven.

It is so important to understand the traditional Jewish cultural usage and meaning of whatever you read in the Bible, especially in the New Covenant; otherwise, you will never be able to truly understand what Yeshua taught.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe to both my website ministry and my YouTube channel. Buy my books (if you like what you get here, you will like my books, as well), share these messages all over the place, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please make sure you agree to the rules, or I can’t let you in).

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Was Kashrut Different in Noah’s Days?

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The laws concerning Kashrut are what we call the Kosher laws. We know that God defined what is kosher and what is not (for the most part) in Leviticus 11, but there is something about what he told Noah that doesn’t jive with what he told Moses.

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In B’resheet 6:19 (Genesis), we read that God tells Noah to take two of every kind of animal into the ark, one male and one female. There are no exceptions to what Noah is to take.

Then, in Chapter 7, Noah is commanded to take seven pairs of clean animals and only one pair of unclean; but he is to take seven pairs of all birds.

Now wait a minute!

In Leviticus 11, we are told that there are many birds that are not clean, such as the eagle, vulture, osprey, owls, hawks, some waterfowl, and bats (yeah, I know these aren’t really birds, but God wasn’t giving a class on taxonomic classification).

So why the difference? God tells Noah to take seven pairs of clean animals, and the same seven pairs of birds of the air, yet later he tells Moses that there are many birds of the air that are not clean.

So …which is it?

I wish I had an answer.

That being said, I wonder if the reason God had Noah take all seven pairs of the birds of the air is because he knew that so many of the baby birds do not survive (that’s the way he designed them) and so he wanted to make sure there were enough of the unclean ones to survive because they are so important to the world.

For instance, many of the unclean birds serve a valuable service in cleaning up the dead and diseased animals in the wild. The vultures eat carrion, and many of the raptors are scavengers, helping to recycle the dead and renourish the land. Despite the millions upon millions of birds, there are still so many more billions of insects and other species of animals that God knew he had to have enough birds to do what he designed them to do.

“But Steve- God made a nation of millions from one man, why not do the same with the birds? He can do anything!”

We have been told that God can do anything, but he really can’t- he can’t sin, he can’t lie, he can’t break his own rules, and he can’t act in anger. Now, don’t get me wrong here- he certainly does get angry, and that does result in him punishing the guilty, but he always punishes in a fair and just way, tempering his angry response with mercy. He does not lash out in anger as we humans do to each other.

Of course, he could have made as many birds as possible of whichever species he wanted to after the flood, but this is where I think he ran into the rules he made when he created them.

You may not know this, but the unclean birds that do most of the “cleaning up” duties do not have a large clutch of eggs, and often the youngest hatchling doesn’t survive. The number of newborns surviving in raptors and scavengers is relatively low compared to, say, chickens and waterfowl. So, since God can’t break his own rules, I think – maybe – he had Noah take seven pairs of all the birds in the air, clean and unclean, to ensure that there would be enough in the world to do what they are needed for.

You know, when reviewing this message, I feel like I am “stretching” things here and am not sure if this is really a good message or not, but it’s something I was thinking about and wonder if it makes sense to anyone else.

Do you have any idea why God would tell Noah to take seven pairs of all the birds of the air, even after saying to take seven pairs of just clean animals, yet there are so many birds that are unclean according to what God later told Moses?

I would be interested in hearing what your thoughts are on this.

Please make sure if you haven’t subscribed to this ministry to do so on my website and YouTube channel. Also, buy my books and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you agree to the rules, or you can’t come in).

I always welcome your comments and look forward to (hopefully) some interesting discussion on this topic.

That’s it for now, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Do You Pray Correctly?

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Did you know that I wrote an entire book on Prayer?

(here’s a link to it: Prayer)

And yet, I still wonder if I am doing it in a way that honors God, is respectful to him, and appreciative that he listens. I think I pray correctly, but just in case, I always pray that God will help me to do so in a way that pleases him.

I developed a bad habit of praying every morning in my car when I would drive to work. Now, praying in the car each morning is not the bad thing: what was bad is that when I retired, and no longer began every day driving to work, I neglected to perform that daily prayer session. I still find the moment I get in my car, no matter where I am going, I pray, but at home when I am not going anywhere, well…like I said, it became a bad habit.

I believe the best way to pray is, of course, directly from the heart. I never, even way before I knew the Lord or accepted Yeshua as my Messiah, felt that praying to God using someone else’s words was right.

The prayer Yeshua gives us (Mattthew 6:5-15) is not just a prayer, but more of a template for all prayer, although it is a pretty good prayer, on its own. And, as a template, I use it to make sure my prayers are always in the same manner.

I start by acknowledging who God is, thanking him for all he has already done for me, and then asking for forgiveness of whatever sins I have committed against him (by the blood of the Messiah), as well as lifting up my wife and my children and their mother (from a previous life of mine). Even though they have made me their enemy, they are not mine, so I pray for them.

It also makes forgiving them easier, for they definitely sinned against me for many years, but that’s another story.

I ask not for anything other than to advance God’s word correctly, to always honor him in all I do and say (wow- do I ever fail at that!), and to be a better example to people of what it means to know and trust in God.

That’s it- if you do that, I am pretty sure you are praying correctly. Remember that Yeshua told of the tax collector and the Pharisee, the Pharisee praying thanks that he wasn’t like the sinners and the tax collector beating his chest, begging for forgiveness that he is such a sinner. Yeshua told us that the prayers of the sinner were more pleasing to God than those of the Pharisee.

When you pray, always do so humbly, ask only for that which you need, and trust God to answer your prayers with what he knows is best for you (which is usually not what we ask for, but definitely what we need).

And be patient, look for the answer (it isn’t always obvious), and remember our timing stinks, but God’s timing is perfect.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe to this website and my YouTube channel, as well. Buy my books and share them with others. And join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but make sure you click that you agree to the rules, or I can’t let you in).

And remember I love to hear back from you regarding what you think about these messages- please do so to help me stay on the right track.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!


Give Credit Where Credit is Due

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I think we all understand what this title means, so why am I talking about it in a message regarding our relationship with God?

Maybe it’s because so many people misplace the credit they give?

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I have been to many different houses of worship, both Jewish and Christian, as well as the “in-betweens”, i.e., Messianic Jewish synagogues and Hebraic Roots churches. And what I have found in too many of them is that they continually praise Yeshua (Jesus) for the wonderful blessings they have received.

Now, there’s no question that Yeshua deserves consideration when it comes to salvation; after all, if it wasn’t for his sacrifice, we would all be in deep trouble. With the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, which is the only place God says we can bring our sacrifices, without Yeshua’s sacrifice (which replaced the need to bring an animal to the temple) we would have no way to receive forgiveness. So, clearly, Yeshua is deserving and worthy of our thanks and yes, I suppose, praise, too.

But who did Yeshua say we should praise? And to whom did those who actually were there and saw the miracles Yeshua performed give praise to?

I can tell you that the Gospels tell us who that was, and (get ready for it) …it wasn’t Yeshua.

Let’s look at Matthew 5:16 (CJB), which is just after Yeshua was talking about people being a light to the world:

In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

And later, in Matthew 9:8 (CJB), when he was healing people left and right, and the crowds were amazed, this is what happened:

When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and said a b’rakhah to God the Giver of such authority to human beings.

And these are not just one or two lines taken out of context, but verified by the other Gospels as showing that the people knew who to give the proper credit to- God, the Father, who empowered Yeshua.

Yes, thanks to Yeshua we can receive salvation, but it doesn’t come from Yeshua- he is the means to salvation, not the source. God, and God, alone, is our salvation. God is the one who forgives, God is the one who saves, and Yeshua is merely the instrument of God’s salvation.

And if you don’t want to believe me when I say this, then believe Yeshua, who never once took credit for any of the miracles he performed.

OK, maybe once, in Mark 1:41, when he said he was willing to make the man clean. He did, in a way, make it seem that he was the one doing the cleansing, but still he told the man to go to the Cohen as the Torah required.

Other than that one exception, Yeshua always gave credit to their trust and faith, and often thanked God for what he (Yeshua) was able to do (like when he praised God for allowing the people to see him raise Lazarus so they would know that was God behind it).

God is the one who dispenses blessings, God is the one who forgives sins; read Matthew 9:6, where Yeshua said he was given authority on earth to forgive sins: meaning only during his ministry.

And remember how Yeshua also said (Matthew 7:21) that many people who worship him and call him “Lord” will not be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven, unless they do what his Father in heaven wants, meaning obeying the Torah.

Yeshua always gave credit for what he did to his father in heaven, and I am pretty sure that is what he tells us to do, as well.

So, the next time you give thanks for a blessing, or for your salvation, or for your health, or any, and every, thing you are thankful for, give the credit to the one who the credit is due- God, the Father.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know. Subscribe to my website and YouTube channel, buy and share my books, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please make sure you agree to the rules or I can’t let you in).

And remember that I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!