Hello Manasseh. We welcome all comments centred around God's Word & your question is a very good one.
When we look at both those references you gave, we could see contradictions (as you see also), but then a clearer understanding of them will give us more light. In Ecclesiastes 1:17,18, the author, Solomon, states that he was committed to gaining more wisdom. As a king, this was a very noble thing to desire so that he might rule well & give correct judgements for his people. But in his quest to acquire much wisdom which included learning & understanding what causes men to live foolishly & make wrong decisions in life, he found that his spirit was getting increasingly troubled. So he says, 'in getting wisdom & knowledge comes much sorrow'. Not that there was anything wrong with having more knowledge, but by understanding it better, the sorrows & inconsistencies of life, become more apparent & troubling. So, we have this oft quoted saying, 'ignorance is bliss'. Though not really true, but what it's saying is that 'if you don't know much about life, of people, & life's intricate threads, the less you will burden your mind & heart & fewer will be your pain & sorrows'.
Then in Hosea 4:6, we read, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." If we go back to verse 1, we read this indictment by God against Israel, "there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." The people were disregarding God, indulging in sins & forgetting His directives to them about their behaviour one towards another. So here, God's people ought to be regarding the Laws He gave them & to show love & respect to one another, but they had forsaken God & His Word to direct them. When that happens, when God's people, then & now, refuse to obey God (i.e. refusing to receive knowledge of what He wants for them), then they will suffer isolation from God. In those days, God's Hand was heavy upon them, today, we will suffer spiritual poverty & feel that God is far from us. Blessings.
Hoseas task was to explain about the sins of the people, the judgment is fixed and the covenant of God's love is fixed
Ecclleasiastes 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
It is a fact that with wisdom comes responsibility, too know or not too know.
God bless u in Christ may the Holy Spirit lead you to the whole truth.
John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
I will be glad to recieve more light on these scriptures as i grow in faith.
Solomon knew and understood in verse 13 of Chapter 12 he ends with Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter Fear or respect God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Which
Hosea 4:6 if you don't have the knowledge God or disregard it you will be eventually useless.
When we look at both those references you gave, we could see contradictions (as you see also), but then a clearer understanding of them will give us more light. In Ecclesiastes 1:17,18, the author, Solomon, states that he was committed to gaining more wisdom. As a king, this was a very noble thing to desire so that he might rule well & give correct judgements for his people. But in his quest to acquire much wisdom which included learning & understanding what causes men to live foolishly & make wrong decisions in life, he found that his spirit was getting increasingly troubled. So he says, 'in getting wisdom & knowledge comes much sorrow'. Not that there was anything wrong with having more knowledge, but by understanding it better, the sorrows & inconsistencies of life, become more apparent & troubling. So, we have this oft quoted saying, 'ignorance is bliss'. Though not really true, but what it's saying is that 'if you don't know much about life, of people, & life's intricate threads, the less you will burden your mind & heart & fewer will be your pain & sorrows'.
Then in Hosea 4:6, we read, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." If we go back to verse 1, we read this indictment by God against Israel, "there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." The people were disregarding God, indulging in sins & forgetting His directives to them about their behaviour one towards another. So here, God's people ought to be regarding the Laws He gave them & to show love & respect to one another, but they had forsaken God & His Word to direct them. When that happens, when God's people, then & now, refuse to obey God (i.e. refusing to receive knowledge of what He wants for them), then they will suffer isolation from God. In those days, God's Hand was heavy upon them, today, we will suffer spiritual poverty & feel that God is far from us. Blessings.
Hoseas task was to explain about the sins of the people, the judgment is fixed and the covenant of God's love is fixed
Ecclleasiastes 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
It is a fact that with wisdom comes responsibility, too know or not too know.
God bless u in Christ may the Holy Spirit lead you to the whole truth.
John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
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