Ecclesiastes 8:10-17

The Preacher lives in the real world. He declares those hard truths that we don’t want to face. We like to think, like Job’s friends, that “good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people”, but — like Job — the Preacher observes otherwise. He sees the reality that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. (v. 14) And it shouldn’t take much looking around for us to see that the Preacher is correct. To deny it is to deny reality.

In similar fashion the Preacher declares another hard truth: Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. (v. 10) This truth flies in the face of those currently implementing and promoting cashless bail and other criminal justice reforms who seem to believe that the heart of the children of man is fundamentally good and needs only the mildest of nudges to find the right path. Poppycock! Any honest examination of one’s own heart without Christ should reveal that if granted impunity, each of us would descend rapidly into evil. Again, to deny it is to deny reality.

But the Preacher does not give in to the temptation either to shake his fist at God for apparent injustices or to give up and join the wicked. He remains confident that in the end it is better to fear God and be joyful. Why? Because he is a realist. He understands that God’s ways are beyond us. (Ecc. 8:16,17) So he accepts the ultimate reality, which is God Himself.

Ecclesiastes 8:1-9

Keep the king’s command… (v. 2) Today we get some very practical advice from the Preacher: Be a good citizen, keep your head down, don’t offend the authorities, and hope for the best. As usual, the Preacher’s advice is firmly rooted in reality — specifically the reality that crossing the most powerful person around can be more than a little dangerous; it can be deadly.

Saint Paul gives us much the same advice:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Romans 13:1-7

And so does Saint Peter:

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. … Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

I Peter 2:13,14,17

We all nod our heads in agreement (because this is Scripture, after all) until our own interests or opinions clash with those governing authorities. Then our hackles go up and we immediately point to Acts 4 where Peter and John defy the Sanhedrin and continue preaching Christ despite being ordered not to. And we ask, “What about Hitler? What about Stalin?” These are, in the large, good questions that reveal that we are not obliged to blindly obey orders that contradict God’s law. But I think that we in modern Western democracies are far too quick to believe that our opinions equate to God’s, and so we rationalize disregarding these admonitions to be subject to governing authorities. Perhaps a bit more humility and a good deal more fear of the Lord would be in order.

Ecclesiastes 7:14-29

All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?

Ecclesiastes 7:23,24

We know from our study of Proverbs that wisdom is well worth pursuing, that we should seek for it like treasure. The Preacher likewise values wisdom. (Ecc. 7:19) But he also recognizes our human limitations. Some things are just beyond us and always will be, because God has made it so, such that man may not find out anything that will be after him. (Ecc. 7:14)

And speaking of limitations, I’ll leave it to someone much wiser and braver than I to wade into the minefield we have in Ecc. 7:25-29. I’m reminded of the Southwest Airlines TV commercial that had Mary Todd Lincoln confronting Honest Abe with the question, “Does this dress make me look fat?” at which point Southwest cuts in with “Want to get away?” I’ll just leave it there…

Ecclesiastes 7:1-13

Review for a moment your own personal history and pick out the top three most positively impactful experiences you’ve had, those things that changed you for the better and taught you good, solid life lessons, those things that brought you significantly closer to God. If we are truly honest in making our lists, my guess is that they are dominated by what most would call “tragedy”, with Death himself knocking on the door of many, if not most, of those experiences.

And that is what we see in the first few verses of today’s reading:

• Death over birth (Ecc. 7:1)
• Mourning over feasting (Ecc. 7:2)
• Sorrow over laughter (Ecc. 7:3)
• Sadness over gladness (Ecc. 7:3)
• Mourning over mirth (Ecc. 7:4)
• Rebuke over song (Ecc. 7:5)

It is not that the Preacher has some morbid preference for depression. No. He just recognizes that the truly valuable lessons of life are learned when we realistically face cold hard truth — particularly the truth of death. Meanwhile, we tend not to learn much of anything of real value at parties. “But,” one might say, “the rest of the Bible tells us to be joyful.” Indeed it does, but that joy comes at a dear cost, the Cross of Christ. Until we take that Cross seriously, with all the mourning, sadness, and sorrow, we will never learn what joy really is.

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.