We can go no further

We can go no further


13Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? 14In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. Ecclesiates 7: 13-14

Does this mean that we have two extremes, prosperity and adversity, and that when we hit adversity we can go no further, but can only go back toward prosperity and toward GOD? hmm, loved this verse, but could use some insight. blessings
 
Hey there! I have been studying Ecclesiastes for awhile now and I believe what this means is this. Verse 13 is just stating that God has ultimate power and He has set certain things that we cannot change, such as His perfect plan. Verse 14 says that God created both the prosperity and adversity. When we are prosperous we should be happy! When we are in times of adversity we should consider what lessons we can learn from the experience, because everything that happens, happens for a reason. God made life unpredictable for a reason! Hope this helps clear it up, and if someone else gets another meaning from this I'd definitely love to hear it.
 
Thank you shill, it sounds like your study is going freat, blessings on that. I still have a question, what is GOD saying here "
God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him
. I am a bit unclear on what it means, HE set one over against the other, Prosperity and adversity on each end right? So which is at the end, ? Thank you shill, loved your post on this!
 
Does this mean that we have two extremes, prosperity and adversity, and that when we hit adversity we can go no further, but can only go back toward prosperity and toward GOD? hmm, loved this verse, but could use some insight. blessings


You are using the KJV correct? Yes, the old english there is really difficult to understand but there's no mystery there. Here are some other english translations that might be able to help you:


NIV©When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.


NAS©In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider-- God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.


GWT©When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one time as well as the other so that mortals cannot predict their future.


DRBIn the good day enjoy good things, and beware beforehand of the evil day: for God hath made both the one and the other, that man may not find against him any just complaint.

I believe the Catholics' Douay-Rheims Bible made it pretty clear when it said "God hath made both the one and the other" which is better (contemporarily-wise) than "God also hath set the one over against the other"
 
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