"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." (Ecclesiastes 11:9 KJV)
""Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me! You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. For it was I, the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. "But no, my people wouldn't listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!"" (PSALM 81:8-13 NLT)
Taking this to the next level, there is something we must never forget about Israel: This is God's chosen people! And, whether or not you want to receive this, we are a mirror image of Israel. Yes, the Church is just like them, in everything sense of the word, we have the same desires, make the same mistakes, have the same ways of walking our own paths, and, thankfully, we have also been chosen by God!
I know there are a lot of people who might think that the Church has taken the place of Israel; but that is totally and completely incorrect! God has said that He would never abandon His chosen people; and God does not change His mind and will always keep His promise! We, of all people should want that to be true, because that includes us too!
If you really want to see the 'Pilgram's Progress,' then imagine yourself living as Israel; having been saved from the wickedness of this world yet still holding onto the wickedness you have been saved from, in some form or fashion. It is really not that hard to understand, if you are being honest with yourself.
Basically, Solomon is pointing out the three areas of our sinful natures, which none of us can deny that they are not part of our lives; all three of them are a part of our wicked hearts; the three temptations of the world: "The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life".
This was the way it was in the Garden, way back with the original sin. Just one simple command was given, yet it could not be kept! Personally, I think I know why God placed that tree in the Garden, in the middle of the Garden, no less. Man was never going to be able to remain holy and pure, because He gave us the ability to make our own choices.
The most motivating thing God made Adam do, in order to think things through and make his own choices, was to name all the animals. Imagine what that might have been like, as he studied an animal to see what it looked like, how it moved and ate certain foods, and what kind of life it had with its mate.
God knows exactly what we need, way before we know it ourselves! We might think sometimes that we have been down certain roads before, not really knowing or understanding that God roads are set in stone and always carried out...
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:3-8 NLT)
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