Ecclesiastes 6

Today’s reading again smacks us in the face with hard realities. Ecc. 6:1,2 speaks of the person who has everything but is incapable of enjoying it. I expect that we have all encountered such people, perhaps up close and personal, perhaps more from a distance. At the very least we’ve seen them on the road, furiously driving their Maserati (or Mercedes, or Lexus, or…), evidently mad at the world, and thoroughly discontent. They shake their fist as they drive by, and we shake our heads in disgust at them, thinking how perverse it is that they have so much and yet are not satisfied. We tell ourselves that if we had that kind of money, we’d be nicer. We’d be happy. And in so saying, we reveal that we, too, are discontent, and that we have our eyes on the wrong prize: if only we had that kind of money…

And thinking of “that kind of money,” I’m sure we’ve all heard the news that someone in California just the other day bought a winning Powerball lottery ticket valued at over $2 Billion (with a “B”). What luck! That ought to be enough to satisfy the winner’s every desire, right? But it won’t. Guaranteed. Just ask the Preacher.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:11b-13

Saint Paul, sitting in a Roman prison, points us in a better direction.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

In Living Life Backward (page 37), David Gibson quotes Iain Provan (Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs [The NIV Application Commentary Ecclesiastes]) as summarizing the main message of Ecclesiastes this way: “Life in God’s world is gift, not gain.” He later condenses that a bit into, “Life is gift, not gain.” I love that, not just because it’s on target, but because it is pithy and really easy to remember. That summary fits today’s reading like a glove.

Where does the pursuit of gain get you? Nowhere. Wealth slips through your fingers. The more you get, the more it is consumed, so all you get to do is look at it for a while. (Ecc. 5:11) And overfilling your stomach just gives you indigestion so you can’t even sleep. (Ecc. 5:12 — By the way, I love the humor in that verse!) Or you gain riches only to lose them in some bad business venture, so you have nothing left to provide for your children, and even if you manage to hold onto some of it, you still can’t take it with you when you die, so you live your life in bitterness. (Ecc. 5:13-17)

And the alternative to that empty pursuit of wealth? Accepting life as God’s gift and enjoying whatever He gives you. (Ecc. 5:18-20) Stop struggling against reality. Accept reality. Accept the gift of God’s amazing grace.

So there you have it. Life is gift, not gain.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-9

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

Ecclesiastes 5:1

With today’s reading I feel like we have stepped onto holy ground, and I am reminded that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Pr. 9:10) Yet far too often we treat the Lord casually, and we fail to recognize holiness. For example, at the entrance to the sanctuary at St. Andrew’s we have a sign posted urging us to enter silently so as to prepare our hearts for worship, but the sign is widely ignored, and there is constant chit-chat before the service. Any notion of guarding our steps seems absent, and I fear that we may well offer the sacrifice of fools more often than we draw near to listen.

Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

Ecclesiastes 5:2

We tend to exercise our mouths much more than our ears, not only with one another, but also with God. We ask Him for this, and we ask Him for that, and we may even praise Him and thank Him. And we should. But perhaps we use too many words, and perhaps we hide behind our words, and perhaps we’re not entirely honest in our words. But God sees through all that anyway. So take some time today and find a quiet place where you can simply be silent before God and just listen.

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One more thing…

Today is Election Day — or perhaps more accurately now, today is the end of voting season — and we’ll (begin to) learn actual election results and not just opinion polls. So in anticipation of those results, I’d like to encourage all to bear Ecclesiastes in mind. If things tend to go your way, I’d like to say to you, “Congratulations! Praise God that His will was done!” And if your side goes down in defeat, I’d like to say to you, “Congratulations! Praise God that His will was done!” Be neither overconfident in victory nor despairing in defeat, for this nation known as the good ol’ U.S.A. is not the Kingdom you are looking for. It is God who raises up and God who tears down, and it is He Who is the one true King, so trust that He is in control and knows what He is doing.

That does not mean that we should just stay home and not vote. Far from it. As citizens we have the right to vote. And as conscientious citizens we have a responsibility to vote — a responsibility to seek the Lord’s guidance and to make the wisest choices we can for the good of all (which may or may not align with our own personal self interest). Voting is a way to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we should act accordingly. And that means thinking and praying seriously about your vote, and not just acting on the basis of soundbites and rhetoric. It means using true wisdom, and not being swayed by fear, bribes, or emotionalism. Choose life or choose death. Choose the status quo or seek change. Make your decision and cast your vote in the fear of the Lord. But in the end, we must leave the result to the Lord. Anything else is just so much more vanity and striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I have often found it curious that this passage shows up in Ecclesiastes. It seems like it should more properly be found in Proverbs. It is, I am sure, reasonably familiar to most of us, as it is often quoted (at least in part) to extol companionship and community. We heard it just last week in church as Ben preached on our new vision to be a “community of disciples,” and Fred told us that he and Carol chose this as a reading at their wedding. But when was the last time you heard this passage quoted along with the rest of (or even any other part of) Ecclesiastes 4? And yet that is where it is.

So why is this passage placed here in this chapter? Asking that question helps us see what the rest of the chapter is really all about: relationships. Do we work to build one another up? Or are we tearing one another down? Do we engage in oppression, or do we comfort? (Ecc. 4:1-3) Do we envy one another? (Ecc. 4:4) Do we isolate ourselves, becoming utterly alone? (Ecc. 4:5-8) Do we pursue positions of leadership, only to be forgotten? (Ecc. 4:13-16)

Take a look at your relationships, both friend and foe. Which look anything like “two are better than one,” and which are “vanity and a striving after wind”?

Ecclesiastes 3:9-22

Today’s reading offers the Preacher‘s most positive perspective yet. Having observed that [f]or everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecc. 3:1), he recognizes gifts from God. He sees that:

• God has made everything beautiful in its time (v. 11)
• God has put eternity into man’s heart (v. 11)
• There is nothing better for [people] than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live (v. 12)
• Everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil (v. 13)
• All of this is God’s gift to man (v. 13)

In contrast to the transient works of man and the repetitive cycles of nature, the Preacher recognizes the permanence of God’s works: whatever God does endures forever … so that people fear before him. (v. 14) And rather than just perceiving injustices, he sees that God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. (v. 15, echoing v. 1) God is surely testing us, because death comes to man just like the beasts. (v. 16) All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. (v. 17)

Note that all of this perspective comes not despite death but because of it. Death is the one thing we all most definitely have in common. It is what allows us to see how ridiculous our striving is. Without death we would continue down paths of illusion, each one forever looking for permanent significance, satisfaction, and happiness but only finding ongoing frustration. Death gives us the lens we need to put things in focus and see clearly. So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. (v. 22)

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One more thing…

Kathy H. gave me a book the other day, Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End, by David Gibson. I am not a fast reader, so I have made it through only the first couple of chapters, which goes to say that I have not yet caught up to where we are here in our own walk through Ecclesiastes. But I have to say that the book is excellent. In fact, I am tempted to simply quit writing any commentary here and just advise you to go read that book and come back here on November 21 for Song of Solomon. Alternatively, I am tempted to just quote the book extensively, but I’m afraid we don’t have space for that, and the copyright police would probably frown on that. I’ll do my best to avoid both of those temptations, but do yourself a favor and find a copy of Living Life Backward. You’ll be glad you did.

Oh, and thanks, Kathy!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Walk down the street and ask people at random whether today’s reading sounds familiar. I am sure that the vast majority of responses would be akin to “Of course!” But that familiarity is not likely to be due to widespread faithful reading of the Bible. Instead we can chalk it up to the song by Pete Seeger, Turn! Turn! Turn!. Go ahead; have a listen. The lyrics for the song are drawn almost entirely — and almost verbatim — from the King James Version of today’s passage. All Seeger added was the oft-repeated “turn, turn, turn” and the final “I swear it’s not too late” (just after “a time for peace”).

Given that the Preacher evidently expected to be forgotten (Ecc. 1:11,2:16), I doubt he ever envisioned that his words would top the pop charts over two millennia later. But I bet he would have accurately predicted that Seeger would miss the point. Why do I think Seeger missed the point? Because of that last line (“I swear it’s not too late”), which reveals his underlying belief that with just a little more effort man can turn this ship around, that we can, in fact, achieve world peace and then pat one another on the back for a job well done. And that just does not sound like the Preacher to me.

Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

The Preacher starts today offering a glimmer of hope, that wisdom is better than folly: Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. (v. 13) That idea is of course entirely consistent with Proverbs, where wisdom is treasured and folly is shunned. But that glimmer of hope is short-lived, as we then run full force into the great equalizer, Death: How the wise dies just like the fool! (v. 16) And there’s the rub.

The Preacher then goes further. In recognition of his own future death, he begrudges leaving the result of all his toil — his estate or legacy — to the man who will come after [him] (v. 18), who may well be a fool (v. 19) and who most certainly did not toil for it. (v. 21) This begrudgement reveals the Preacher’s focus on self, and we see again that his question is, “What’s in it for me?” But it also forces him to further recognize that what matters cannot be what he leaves behind.

So the Preacher turns to the here and now and finds a truth: There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (vv. 24,25) Indeed, apart from Him, is there any enjoyment at all? Any satisfaction? Any meaning? Any any?

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Today we see the Preacher trying all sorts of things looking for meaning and satisfaction. He explores pleasure and samples whatever his heart desires. He tries sex. (And if this truly is Solomon speaking, with 700 wives and 300 concubines [I Kings 11:3], we can surmise that there was no shortage of sex!) He tries wine. He tries entertainment. (Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll!) He explores both wisdom and folly. He undertakes building projects, agricultural projects, parks and recreation projects, commercial ventures. He builds enormous wealth for himself. In short, he tries everything.

And the result of all this investigation? Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. (v. 11)

But here’s the curious thing: Thousands of years after Ecclesiastes was written, the vast majority of mankind continues to seek satisfaction in all these endeavors. And we keep coming up empty. Slow learners.

So what about you? Setting your catechism aside for the moment, where do you honestly look for meaning? To what do you devote your time and attention? What do you expect to gain from all your toil? And how is all that working out for you?

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

It is worth noting that Ecclesiastes is not simply a compilation of casual observations; it is the result of very deliberate study and inquiry: I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. (v. 13a) Perhaps we should pay attention and dig into what the Preacher has to say, especially if we find it somewhat unsettling.

Indeed many over the centuries have found Ecclesiastes unsettling, so much so that they have questioned whether it should rightly be included in the Canon of Scripture, seeing it as being contradictory to the rest of Scripture, even heretical. Yet the Church has consistently reaffirmed that Ecclesiastes belongs in the Bible. So if Ecclesiastes makes us uncomfortable, or we feel like we want to reject what the Preacher says, then we need to ask ourselves, “Why? What’s the problem?” And then further ask whether the problem is with Ecclesiastes — or with ourselves. Hmmm. Bear that in mind as we journey through this book together.

What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.

Ecclesiastes 1:15

I recall an incident a few years back in which this verse inspired a rather profound insight. It was truly remarkable. Unfortunately, I cannot remember what it was! So I stand here now as living proof of the truth of this proverb: what is lacking (my forgotten insight) cannot be counted (or shared). This also is but a striving after wind. Sorry!

For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1:18

Think of that as the other side of the “ignorance is bliss” coin, and for that I offer you this Dilbert gem. Enjoy! [Edit: Unfortunately, our culture has canceled Dilbert, or rather it’s author, Scott Adams, so that link no longer works. Vanity of vanities!]

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (v. 1) So who is this Preacher? Ancient tradition holds that the Preacher is none other than King Solomon, which is clearly consistent with this first verse and later verses (see Ecc. 1:12,13,16,2:1-10), coupled with everything else we know about Solomon, including his reputation for wisdom, riches, and women. However, some modern scholars contend that some of the language would indicate a much later, postexilic date. I am content to stick with tradition, but, frankly, I don’t think it really matters who wrote the book. In fact, it seems to me that arguments over authorship fall pretty squarely into the realm of what the author himself says is “useless” or “futile” or “vain.” What matters more than authorship is what the book actually says.

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:2

The Hebrew word translated here in the ESV as “vanity” is “hebel” (or “hevel“, depending on one’s preference of pronunciation), a word used 38 times in Ecclesiastes. As Rev. Todd points out in his paper, “hebel” is notoriously difficult to translate, and “vanity” misses the mark somewhat. A more literal translation would suggest the notion of vapor or smoke, a breeze or a sigh. No single English word really captures the idea, but we certainly have the sense of futility, of grasping at something that cannot be grasped. Hence, we may also use words like “meaningless,” “useless,” or “pointless.” Nevertheless, “vanity” goes back to the Latin Vulgate translation and thus has a strong tradition behind it. Just recognize that we’re not talking about “inflated pride in oneself or one’s appearance; conceit” as Mirriam-Webster defines “vanity.”

What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 1:3

This is perhaps the central question of Ecclesiastes. And a key word here is “gain.” In other words, “I do all this work (toil), but what’s in it for me?” Indeed, what’s in it for me?

The rest of today’s reading, which acts as an introduction to the book, offers several examples of “vanity,” of how — in the grand scheme of things — nothing ever really changes, and progress is illusory:

• Generations come and go, but the earth remains the same. (Ecc. 1:4)
• The sun rises and sets, then does it all over again. (Ecc. 1:5)
• The wind goes round and round and comes back to where it started. (Ecc. 1:6)
• Rivers all run to the sea, but the sea never fills up. (Ecc. 1:7)
• Etc.

It all seems like so much futility with nothing new under the sun. (Ecc. 1:9)

Stay tuned.