Readings for this week
Monday: Ecclesiastes 5
Tuesday: Ecclesiastes 6
Wednesday: Ecclesiastes 7
Thursday: Ecclesiastes 8
Friday: Ecclesiastes 9
Saturday: Ecclesiastes 10
Sunday: Ecclesiastes 11
Introduction to Ecclesiastes 5-12
Chapters 5-6
When one goes to before God, one ought to be more concerned with what God has to say than with what they have to say to God. One must truly fear God rather than practice empty religion.
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.
Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
who do not know that they do wrong.”
“Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.
A dream comes when there are many cares,
and many words mark the speech of a fool.”
As one guards against corrupt authority by striving to be self-sufficient, one finds that one’s protection in material gain becomes their undoing. Qoheleth affirms that life becomes something which can be enjoyed when God is known to be the giver of its fruit and labor.
“Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is hevel.”
“As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?”
“Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.”
Chapters 7-8
The value of difficulties is described variously as that which enriches rather than destroys a person.
“A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.”
Deathday Better than Birthday Explained...
"The point throughout is the person's name. When a baby is born it has no name - quite literally - and even after it has been given a name, that name is essentially meaningless until the person has actually grown and begun to do things in life. Little by little, he or she becomes a person, first doing this, then that, until slowly that "name" begins to mean something, for good or for ill. Eventually, it is full of rich detail and nuance - as detailed and nuanced as the person's own life. And like any nonmaterial thing, it is impervious to change; no one can steal someone else's name, and it will not erode or wash away. Meanwhile, that same person's physical existence has started down the long path of decline that is the lot of all humans. In a physical sense, we are all like the precious anointing oil: what was very valuable at first begins to lose its savor, and sooner or later the whole vial will be used up or go bad and have to be disposed of. That day, the day of a person's death, is certainly a sad day, but it is no less a day of great significance, since it marks the completion of the process of building a name. One can now take a step backward and contemplate (as one could not before) the whole person. In the end, each of us becomes our name; this is all that survives of the dissolution of our "precious oil," our physical selves."
To dwell on the superiority of the past is to not deal skillfully with today.
“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’
For it is not wise to ask such questions.”
“Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.”
For one to alienate oneself for wisdom and righteousness is for one to ruin their life. To be evil and foolish is to lose one’s life. To be someone who fears God is to be able to be upright and to live with the knowledge that one is good and evil. It is good to hold on to righteousness and to also be aware of one’s evil because this leads to a fear of God.
“Do not be over-righteous,
neither be over-wise—
why destroy yourself?
Do not be over-wicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?
It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.”
Although Wisdom and righteousness are helpful, no one is completely pure.
“Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
no one who does what is right and never sins.”
“Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—
for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.”
“This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
“Who is like the wise?
Who knows the explanation of things?
A person’s wisdom brightens their face
and changes its hard appearance.”
Qoheleth affirms that wisdom is a great attribute because it gives perspective to the hurts which one faces. Because of a person’s commitment to God, one should obey the governmental authority over him and not quickly rebel so as to incur the government’s sovereign retaliation.
"Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.
Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence.
Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases."
Examining life from a natural vantage point leads to frustration because the wicked never fully pay for their evil and this incites more evil.
"When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out,
people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong."
Although life from a natural vantage point seems to be out of control and replete with injustices, one should enjoy it as a God-fearer who understands His oversight.
"There is something else that is hevel that occurs on earth:
the righteous who get what the wicked deserve,
and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve.
This too, I say, is hevel.
So I commend the enjoyment of life,
because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.
Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun."
Chapters 9-10
Because one does not receive from life what one puts into life, it is impossible to explain the experiences of life outside of the hand of God. Death is a fate which awaits everyone, even those who pursue evil and deserve worse.
"This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun:
The same destiny overtakes all.
The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,
and afterward they join the dead.
Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!"
Life is more advantageous than death because the living are still able to enjoy life and especially impact the lives of those around them.
"For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even their name is forgotten. Their love, their hate
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun."
"Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart,
for God has already approved what you do.
Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.
Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love,
all the days of this hevel life that God has given you under the sun—all your hevel days.
For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,
for in the realm of the dead, where you are going,
there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."
Even though the experiences of a person’s life may be capriciously hurtful to any individual, one’s skill in life will be a source of life for many. There is not a natural cause-and-effect relationship to life because all are subject to the limitations of time and the capriciousness of chance.
"The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all."
Qoheleth affirms that foolish, sinful youthful choices lead to personal and public harm in life.
"The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Even as fools walk along the road,
they lack sense
and show everyone how stupid they are.
Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
A feast is made for laughter,
wine makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.
Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird in the sky may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say."
Chapter 11-12
Wise financial planning protects against the capricious disasters of life. It is wise to not become immobilized by the uncertainties of life, but by entrusting them to God to make the most of today’s opportunities of life.
"Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well."
A Poem on Old Age
Life must be pursued in its brevity with the perspective of its futility and one’s accountability before God. Qoheleth affirms that God is to be considered during the days of one’s vitality or else one will find the certain evil before them to be too overwhelming to think clearly. If one does not consider God while one’s strength is with them, the certain darkness before them will overwhelm them to conclude that all in life is empty.
“You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
‘I find no pleasure in them’—
before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.”
“Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
The Word-Pictures explained
Stars grow dark = blindness
Clouds return after the rain = frequently needing to relieve oneself
Keepers of the house tremble = shaky legs
Strong men stoop = arthritis
Grinders cease = teeth fall out
Those looking through the windows grow dim = poor eyesight
Sound of grinding fades = deafness
Songs grow faint = deafness
The almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags = youthful beauty fails to arouse the male sexual organ
Silver cord is severed = death
Golden bowl is broken = death
Pitcher is shattered = death
Wheel broken = death
Dust returns to the ground = death and decay of the body
The Conclusion
Although there are many sources for direction in life, God’s wise direction is to fear Him and to follow His word because everyone will be evaluated by these things.
“Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.”
“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.”
“Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.”
