Ecclesiastes can be easily misunderstood. I know because that's where I was before I reread it - I thought it was just about the second verse proclamation that "all is vanity." Discussing it with a Christian friend of mine, I realized how shallow my understanding was of this small but valuable book of scripture. So I took a second look, and as I reread it I marked the passages that seemed most quotable or full of hope.
One of the questions I wanted answered was whether or not Solomon thought wisdom was a good and useful thing or not. As his quest for discovery unfolds, he seems to have two opposing viewpoints on the issue. But although he wrote, "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow," (1:18) he also wrote, "For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail." (2:26)
Then there was the question of worldly possessions. Was Solomon an ascetic or a hedonist? (In the caricature sense, not the original philosophic meanings of the words.) It's discussed in chapter 5: "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." And yet, "It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion."
One of the big messages I take away is that we are not here to gain the physical, but to learn, and that from God. "Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor." (4:13) Very quoteworthy, that first part, and the second part reminds me of "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," from Matthew 5. Solomon also writes, "Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth." (5:2)
There's a lot of value in Ecclesiastes, even while it has it's tricky verses. (I still haven't an answer to 7:16: "Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?") The way I look at it is that Solomon is asking questions because he was once himself on the same path of inquiry and confusion that we are on, and he is willing to open the big questions for debate in order to bring us along the path from questioning toward faith. He wants us to realize how foolish and vain man is, and all the earth even, so that we can learn how great and wise God is, and that our true purpose lies in the world to come. He points out our immortal nature in 12:7 - "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Also, remember that Solomon was full of vigor and hope in his life work, as he explains in the last chapter: "And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs."
Writing this post reminds me how awesome and rich Ecclesiastes is, just as all true scripture. What insight have you gained as you've read? Comment below!
As much as I appreciate your thoughts on Ecclesiastes, I'm not sure I agree with them.
ReplyDeleteI'm reluctant to presume the Teacher asked questions "in order to bring us along the path from questioning toward faith." What evidence is there of that? I believe he asked questions for the same reason we all ask questions: to find answers.
Even the Teacher's acknowledgment that "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" must be balanced by his many gloomy assertions about death. Among other things, he wrote, "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! For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten" (Eccl. 9:3-5).
Without evidence beyond Ecclesiastes itself, I don't think we can assign hidden motives to the Teacher or hidden meanings to his book. Ecclesiastes is brutally honest. It offers no false optimism. In this life, some questions may not have easy answers.
The way Ecclesiastes struggles with some of those questions, as I struggle with questions of my own, is why I appreciate the book so much.
Thank you, Coffeeologian, (Adam, I presume?) for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Preacher really did struggle with those questions he wrote. I also think those struggles are part of what made him wise, for as the Savior said, "he that seeketh, findeth." I really believe that, and so I believe that Solomon probably found the answers to his questions in his life, just as I believe, with assurance, that you will find answers to yours, if you only endure the struggles that oppose (as you have seen) the search for answers to life's great questions.
The writers of the Bible were not perfect. I believe their writings, in large part, because of the faith which I place in God, who I see as the inspiration for most, if not all, of the writings of those books of scripture. Scripture is, by definition, the word of God, you could say.
When I read such statements as, "the dead ... have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten," I don't write it off as patently false. (We know that the dead are not forgotten: God knows and loves all of His children. And we know that one day they will be resurrected, and the righteous brought to glory.) Instead, I look at these so-called "gloomy" statements as what Solomon saw from his perspective as a king on this earth, with great earthly power and wisdom. Even from his vaunted position, it seems that he could not much see beyond the grave. Indeed, without divine assistance, no man can learn of more than the mortal, physical world which surrounds him.
And yet he was not without God, which we know from his life story and from the very fact that he was privileged to write a book which is now called scripture. He cannot have been entirely ignorant of the hope of the afterlife. Even if he were suffered to be ignorant for a time, -- if it weren't HIS original intent to lead us on to faith in Christ, -- it seems to me very clear that it IS GOD'S intent, for it is the correct end goal of the path of questioning. All questions, especially the hard ones, (I am increasingly convinced,) find their answers in Jesus Christ: He lives, and he is the source of light and truth.
Though I don't know the Preacher's intent for sure, I do have evidence beyond Ecclesiastes itself for many truths not fully covered therein. I have the testimony of prophets, both ancient and modern, pointing to Christ and His gospel of salvation...
In particular, for the topics of the post-mortal spirit world and resurrection, more light has been shed in recent centuries than in much of the history of the world! Or more, at least, than what seems to have been revealed to the world at large in times past. I have written a few short posts on the subjects.
Good writing with you! Merry Christmas! :)
You've made a broader point in your reply than in your original post, and I feel far more comfortable agreeing with it.
DeleteI don't believe the Teacher in Ecclesiastes asked questions for the purpose of guiding his readers toward faith in God—I believe, as I've already stated, that he asked questions for the purpose of finding answers.
However, I agree that God, as the ultimate author of Scripture, may have a purpose for the Teacher's questions—a purpose the Teacher himself may never have intended.
The Teacher struggled with hard questions. He didn't find all the answers, and he never pretended he had. However, even though he didn't find answers, his questions have been used by God for good. The Teacher may not have found the answers he sought, but it was enough for him to look.
As I struggle with tough questions, I'm comforted by the thought that there may be good simply in asking.
Happy New Year!