Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Now, at the end, I can confess that Ecclesiastes is, by and large, my least favorite book in the Bible, which, I suppose, is no surprise. It does have its good moments (the first bit of chapter 3) but, by and large, it's just...a depressing read.
I will also say it is the perfect example of the need for context; some verses in Ecclesiastes, taken out of context and without the understanding that they were written by a jaded, cynical fellow who tried and failed to find significance in life in every way but being devoted to God, could really mess with sound theology. For one thing, the Teacher apparently had no concept at all of eternal life, as we will see in the first verse in chapter 9 that mentions 'heart':
This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. --Ecc. 9:3; the first occurrence of 'hearts' is Strong's H3820, Leb, - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; but the second is Strong's H3824, Lebab, inner man, mind will, heart, soul, understanding, Leb is actually a form of Lebab.
So, why the distinction in the verse? The only real difference I see is that Lebab also carries the connotation of soul. So, is the Teacher conveying that the hearts of men are full of evil, and there is madness in their souls? That mankind is corrupt, 'heart and soul'? That actually makes the most sense to me...and that does line up teaching throughout Scripture on the state of the unredeemed., the natural man. We, in our own selves and own strength, cannot purify our hearts or souls. And, while it's true that all die; the Teacher seems to think that is The End. Which, I believe, largely explains his gloomy outlook. The cynical tone of the next verse kinda bears that out:
Go, eat your food with gladness and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. -- Eccl 9:7; 'Heart' is H 3820 again.
On the surface, this seems a rather pleasant instruction, but the following verses betray his sarcasm, using phrases like all the days of this meaningless life, all your meaningless days, in the grave where you are going is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (from Ecc. 9: 8 - 10). Now, he is right...we should be gad and joyful in our daily life...but he's missing the point. And if someone were to pull Ecc. 9:10 out of the context of the Teacher's sarcasm, s/he could use it as Biblical evidence that the Sadducees were right...there is no life after death. It may have been part of their own argument. But the actual mindset of the author needs to be considered. (That raises a point that I'll discuss at the end of the post...)
Chapter ten is, again, a collection of proverbs. There's one that mentions 'heart'...and it has always amused me greatly.
The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. -- Ecc. 10:2; 'heart' is H 3820 both times.
I am just going to say right off the bat that I really don't know what the point of that was. It certainly did not apply to American politics. It could be a reference to the kind of predisposition for anything on the right hand/ right side to be thought of as good, and anything on the left side to be thought of as sinister or shady...one of the reasons left handed kids suffered forced use of their right hand in times past. But there's no context to help us, so we're just left with this proverb that seems weirdly applicable in some crazy coincidence...even though that application is really beyond reasonable. But it does make me chuckle, not gonna lie.
One more passage to look at in Ecclesiastes:
Be happy, young man, 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 to judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. -- Ecc. 11:9-10; all three occurrences of 'Heart' are H 3820
Interesting that we have the encouragement to 'follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see'...quickly followed by the caveat that 'God will bring you to judgment'. After his earlier statements that the heart is corrupted, advising folks to follow their heart sounds...odd, to say the least. I confess, I am getting a brain cramp from trying to wrap my head around this. Ecclesiastes is a rough thing to handle, even taking the cynicism and sarcasm into account. For instance, having said that I don't think the Teacher believed in life after death, he goes and says that 'God will bring you to judgment'. Which implies an after-death thing, taken in context about what he has said earlier about the righteous and the wicked sharing the same fate of death; it really appears that this judgment has to happen later. So...see what I mean? It's like he hasn't completely made up his mind what he thinks/ believes, but has come to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter anyway.
Which all gets me to wondering...why is the book of Ecclesiastes included in the canon of the Bible? It's clearly Solomon's...er, the Teacher's...viewpoint and opinion and can't be taken at face value as The Word of God, yet I believe God did inspire him to write...if only to show the complete fallacy of being able to be able to find significance and meaning to life apart from one's obedience to God and gratefulness to Him. It's a depressing book because living life apart from God is, as the Teacher says repeatedly, "Meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Can we learn from The Teacher?
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