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Welcome to Day 2005 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
The Wicked And The Righteous \u2013 Daily Wisdom
Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps. We are on Day 2005 of our Trek. We are transitioning in the structure of Wisdom-Trek to focus on the great wisdom books of the Bible. One habit I have practiced nearly every day for the past 45+ years of my adult life is to read the chapter in the book of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. This single habit has been the catalyst for gaining wisdom and creating a living legacy. Adopting this habit can do the same for your life. So, beginning October 1st, I will start publishing the reading of the chapter in Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. Before that, I am reading through the book of Ecclesiastes. King Solomon, who wrote both Ecclesiastics and Proverbs, was the wisest person to live. He wrote Ecclesiastes late in his life, after trying many other paths to wisdom, and then he was brought back to the realization that God\u2019s Wisdom is the only true wisdom. This realization is what drives me to seek out God\u2019s wisdom each day. Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. So we are on a daily trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today I will read Ecclesiastes 8, and I have titled this chapter:
The Wicked And The Righteous
How wonderful to be wise,
to analyze and interpret things.
Wisdom lights up a person\u2019s face,
softening its harshness.

Obedience to the King



2 Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. 3 Don\u2019t try to avoid doing your duty, and don\u2019t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. 4 His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5 Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, 6 for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.

7 Indeed, how can people avoid what they don\u2019t know is going to happen? 8 None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.

The Wicked and the Righteous



9 I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. 10 I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%208andversion=NLT#fen-NLT-17445a (a)] in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. 11 When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. 12 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13 The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

14 And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!

15 So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

16 In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people\u2019s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. 17 I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.

As you ponder this chapter covering The Wicked And The Righteous, please...