Categoria: Ecclesiastes

Solomon begins the final chapter of Ecclesiastes saying the famous words: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come… before the sun, moon and stars grow dark… when the house keepers tremble… when the grinders cease…when the doors close… when men are afraid of heights… when the almond tree blossoms… and the grasshopper drags itself… then man goes to his eternal home.” “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” Thus the author concludes his writings saying that people should fear God and keep his commandments. Then finally everything will be judged by God.

In this chapter 11 Solomon starts talking about casting your bread upon the waters to eventually find it again. This is apparently a reference to investment without immediate returns and maybe (“give portions to seven, yes to eight”) of a charitable nature. Then the author warns against hesitation and procrastination awaiting ideal conditions which paralyze action. “Sow your seed in the morning” as you never know what will succeed. He then encourages the enjoyment of life despite its meaningless and especially encourages happiness in youth. “Follow the ways of your heart,” he says, although all will be judged of God and be meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 10 gives a list of sayings emphasizing the good of wisdom and the negativity of folly. He starts with: as dead flies give perfume a bad smell so folly outweighs wisdom and honour… fools lack sense… I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves… if a snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer… words from a wise man are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips… the fool multiplies words… blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth… if a man is lazy the rafters sag… a feast is made for laughter and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything! 

Now the author re-states that all men share the common destiny of death – whether they be righteous of wicked, good or bad, or clean or unclean. The same destiny overtakes all. But whilst you’re alive you have hope because “even a live dog is better off than a dead lion”! The total absence of the concept of life after death brings Solomon to encourage eat, drink wine and be merry! He says: “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life. I have come to the conclusion, says Solomon, that “the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or wealth to the brilliant… but time and chance happen to them all”! No-one knows when his time will come. So Solomon’s confused words come to the close of the chapter saying wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man’s wisdom is despised…. but wisdom is better than weapons of war.

The author now advocates obedience and respect for the king (it doesn’t sound like King Solomon speaking!)… obedience to the king… not speaking out of turn… no-one has power over the day of his death… or power over the wind… no-one knows the future…I saw the wicked buried who used to receive praise in the city… when the sentence for a crime is delayed hearts of men scheme… I know it will go better with God-fearing men. He then goes on to say that something else meaningless is when righteous men get what the wicked deserve. I commend that we eat, drink and be merry as there is nothing better for us to do. It is simply not possible to understand the ways of God.

Ecclesiastes 7 starts saying that a good name is better than a good perfume, but the day of your death is better than the day you were born! It is better to mourn than to feast.. sorrow is better than laughter… for all is meaningless… patience is better than pride… don’t be quickly provoked in your spirit… don’t keep talking about the good old days… who can straighten what God has made crooked?… I have seen the righteous man perishing in his righteousness and a wicked man living long in his wickedness so don’t go to extremes of righteousness or wickedness because “the man who fears God will avoid all extremes”. No-one never sins… don’t pay attention to everything people say… the man who pleases God will not be ensnared by a dangerous woman… true wisdom is rare and often unattainable.

 Solomon’s dirge of negativism proceeds just the same in chapter 6 as he decries people having wealth which others end up benefitting from which he sees as meaningless and a “grievous evil”. A man may have a 100 children and live long, yet he will not enjoy his prosperity. He says that even if a rich man lives 2 millenniums he will always fail to enjoy his prosperity because death will always end everything. He says that everything is meaningless with no advantage for a wise man over a fool. For “whatever exists has been pre-ordained and it’s no good arguing about it with God who is stronger than us.” 

 Solomon exhorts reverence in God’s house in Ecclesiastes 5: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of the Lord listening to God rather than speaking”. He also exhorts caution with vows making sure you fulfill your vows. He says that much dreaming and many words are meaningless. “Therefore stand in awe before God”. Then Solomon goes on to discuss love for money saying: “Whoever loves money never has money enough”! Rich people are never satisfied and it all adds up to a meaningless life. He says that a labourer sleeps well whereas a rich man has plenty of insomnia. For hoarded wealth harms its owner! “Naked a man is born and as he comes he departs!” Thus he says that the important thing in life is to find satisfaction in your work which is a gift of God.

Initially in Ecclesiastes 4 Solomon spoke of the oppression he saw “under the sun”. He said “I saw the tears of the oppressed without a comforter” and he felt that the dead were happier than the living, but better still would be to never have existed! He then goes on to discuss man’s toil which “springs from envy of his neighbour” and which is “meaningless and chasing the wind”. He proceeds to focus on those without friends. All the lonely people – where do they all come from? Thus he defines friendlessness as “a miserable business”. He say that “two are better than one so that if one falls the other can help him up”. He then concludes the chapter saying that a poor wise youth is better than an old foolish king. But, he ends saying, all is meaningless just chasing after the wind!

Proverbs 3 presents the natural phases of life showing that God “has made everything beautiful in its time”. There is a time for birth and death, a time to plant and harvest, a time to cry and laugh, a time to mourn and dance, a time to love and a time to hate etc. Solomon goes on to say that there is nothing better for men to do than be happy and do good. For God, he says, will bring to judgement the righteous and the wicked. For God tests everyone. Man has no advantage over the animals and ends up in death in the same way. So Solomon’s conclusion is that the best you can do is enjoy work as beyond this is unknown.

 Solomon embarked on an experiment to test what makes life worthwhile and first of all he said “I will test pleasure to find out what is good” but it turned out to be meaningless. Then he tried great projects to see if this gave meaning to life and he planted vineyards, made reservoirs etc. but it all ended up leaving him with an empty feeling “chasing after the wind”. Then the author turned to comparing following wisdom and folly to see which worked out best and neither gave meaning to life because both the wise man and the fool will both die and get forgotten. Hence despair took over as nothing gave meaning to living – and the chapter closes defining everything as meaningless “chasing after the wind”.

The book of Ecclesiastes is another wisdom book as was Proverbs, and it too is attributed to Solomon as was Proverbs. The author thinks through human life and considers that human endeavour and the seeking of pleasure to be “chasing the wind” in that nothing lasts, with the inevitability of death being the great party pooper. 

Chapter 1 explodes initially with: “Meaningless… utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless… what does man get out of all his work?… the earth and all its forces just carries on… what has been will be again… there is nothing new under the sun… I, says Solomon, have studied this and can see that everything under the sun is meaningless just chasing after the wind… and so wisdom, madness and folly all add up to the same thing as with wisdom comes much sorrow”.