tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-376484962012-01-01T20:14:59.813+08:00An exposition of Ecclesiastes on the meaning of life and how to experience ittfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1163743385424058052008-01-31T14:01:00.000+08:002011-11-30T09:04:20.427+08:00Dear Friend,<br /><br />Welcome to this website. It hosts a series of reflections that addresses the question of the meaning of life. It complements<a href="http://ourreasonforhope.blogspot.com/"> Our Reason for Hope</a>, a series of reflections on the meaning of history.<br /><br />It is undeniable that we all have a deep-seated desire to make sense of life. Existential psychotherapies seek to help us find a meaning in life, a purpose to live for. But we do not seem to be satisfied with having just any reason for living. What is the whole point of being born only to die some time later? Human beings seem to have an innate need for<span style="font-style: italic;"> the</span> (not just <span style="font-style: italic;">a</span>) meaning of life. Our heart seems to cry out for the purpose of our transitory existence in this world.<br /><br />This series of reflections is written in response to this cry for meaning. It is an exposition of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. You would be amazed how relevant this ancient piece of wisdom literature is to contemporary thinking and living. Ecclesiastes addresses our need for the meaning of life in a rather comprehensive, coherent and compelling manner. I invite you to take the journey to explore with me what this book has to say to us.<br /><br />I hold a doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California, Los Angeles. I have been teaching a course on Ecclesiastes for more than ten years. I offer this exposition to you as a fellow pilgrim in search of our reason for being.<br /><br />The beginning of the journey is just this <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/introduction.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CLICK</span></a> away.<br /><br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Leong Tien Fock<br />tf.leong@gmail.com<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116374338542405805?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-10586282637567838192008-01-02T11:29:00.001+08:002011-11-30T09:08:13.742+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;">Ecclesiastes is a speech and not a treatise. So it is not expected to be a complete presentation of the meaning of life. As a wisdom teacher Qoheleth presents only what is needed in his Old Testament context to persuade his audience to fear God and keep His commandments. He limits his consideration to our individual life-story from birth to death, showing us how to live in light of the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life, as well as God’s final judgment of everything we do under the sun. In this way he demonstrates that the fear of God is fundamental to discovering and experiencing the meaning of life.<br /><br />We know that throughout his speech Qoheleth is indeed talking about <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> meaning of life, and not <span style="font-style: italic;">a</span> meaning or meanings of life. For he presents fearing God and keeping His commandments as <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> reason for being for “every man” (12:13). And he shows how “God so works” in and through human experiences “that man should fear Him” (3:14). Which means, his speech presents <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> purpose of human life and shows how the various aspects of human life, including undeserved suffering, contribute to this overall purpose. He has to be talking about the meaning of life.<br /><br />Citing <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#polkinghorne">Polkinghorne</a> again, “To ask about the meaning or significance of an event is to ask how it contributed to the conclusion of the episode [of which the event is a part]” (1988:6). So to ask what is <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> meaning of life is to ask how our individual life-story as a whole (an extended event) contributes to the conclusion of human history. But Qoheleth neither asks nor answers this question; he does not show how the purpose of human life is in line with the purpose and goal of human history. So as expected, his presentation of the meaning of life is incomplete. But is it also inadequate?<br /><br />He has affirmed that “God so works [in history] that man should fear Him” (3:14). Thus the purpose of history is so that people of all nations would fear God and keep His commandments (cf. Matt 28:18-20). Exactly how this purpose has been and will be worked out in history is not presented in biblical wisdom books like Ecclesiastes, but in the rest of the Old Testament and the New Testament (see <a href="http://ourreasonforhope.blogspot.com/">Our Reason for Hope</a>). However, it is clear that by heeding Qoheleth’s final exhortation to fear God and keep His commandments, our life-story is already in line with the purpose of history.<br /><br />Both the Old and New Testaments (Isa 65:17-25; Revelation 21-22) reveal that the goal of history is the establishment of “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2Pet 3:13). This means, when the goal of history is reached, God’s purpose for humanity to fear Him and thus become righteous through keeping His commandments will be perfectly accomplished. Hence it is also clear that by heeding Qoheleth’s final exhortation, our life-story is already in line with the goal of history.<br /><br />Therefore, though Qoheleth’s presentation of the meaning of life is incomplete, it is not inadequate in helping his audience discover and experience it. What is not clear is how a God-fearing life-story actually contributes to the purpose and goal of history. The Bible has much to say on this matter. But within the limited scope of a postscript, we will only pick up from where Qoheleth left off and briefly consider where it leads us.<br /><br />Qoheleth ended his speech with God’s judgment of every deed under the sun, whether good or bad, hidden or not (12:14). But what is the outcome of this final and comprehensive judgment? What will happen to those who “pass” and to those who “fail” the judgment? The Bible reveals that at the end of history, those whose life-story passed the judgment will be resurrected to “everlasting life” in the new heavens and the new earth, while those who failed will be resurrected to “everlasting contempt” in the “lake of fire” (Dan 12:1-4; Rev 20:11-21:8). And in the new heavens and the new earth, where what is normally called “heaven” will be, every longing of the human heart will be fulfilled and every human fear will be no more. So this is how a God-fearing life-story will eventually end.<br /><br />However, as Qoheleth has observed, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (7:20). Who then could pass such a stringent judgment? Qoheleth did not seem bothered. Neither would his Old Testament audience. For in the Old Testament, a sacrificial system was available specifically because it was (and still is) impossible for imperfect human beings to keep God’s commandments perfectly. Those who sincerely feared God and lived a reasonably righteous life would confess and repent of their sins and receive forgiveness through faith by offering appropriate sacrifices (Num 5:5-10; cf. Ps 51:15-19). In this way, their righteous life-story, though not sinless, would pass the judgment. This means, though good deeds will characterize those who eventually pass the judgment, no one, no matter how sincere, can pass by just doing good works.<br /><br />The New Testament teaches that the sacrificial system has become obsolete. For the sacrifice that ends all sacrifices has already been offered--the death of Jesus Christ on the cross (Heb 10:11-14). This was already anticipated in the Old Testament (Isa 52:13-53:12) “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb 10:4). This is because sins are committed against God and so only God can forgive sins. And since to forgive an offender the one offended must himself bear the consequence of the offense, to forgive sin God must Himself bear the consequence of sin, which is death (Rom 6:23). But God cannot die.<br /><br />So He took on human flesh in the person of Christ to bear the consequence of sin by dying on the cross (John 1:1,4,29). This sacrifice was effective for sins committed even in the past (Rom 3:25). This means the Old Testament saints received forgiveness on the basis of Christ’s death. The animal sacrifices then served as “credit cards” that God temporarily accepted. Since the death of Christ, we receive forgiveness through faith not by the use of “credit cards,” but “gift vouchers” paid for through that sacrifice. The voucher expires upon our own death (Heb 9:27).<br /><br />We now need to take a fresh look at the theme of Ecclesiastes in light of “heaven.” In our exposition of 1:2-3, we considered two possible responses to the reality that all is vanity. Those who put their hopes in this world will likely respond with <span style="font-style: italic;">pessimism</span>--“everything is meaningless.” And those who do not, and are able to accept the reality that they will leave this world empty-handed, will likely respond with <span style="font-style: italic;">realism</span>--enjoy what they have while they still have them. There is actually one more possible response.<br /><br />Jesus has commanded His followers: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt 6:19-21). So there is such a thing as spiritual and eternal profits (“treasures in heaven”) which one can lay up while still living under the sun. Even if Qoheleth was aware of it, he ignored this kind of profit in his speech. He spoke exclusively about material and temporal profits (“treasures on earth”) even when he was considering the profits of righteousness. So when he declared, “there is no profit under the sun,” he was not ruling out “treasures in heaven.”<br /><br />However, followers of Jesus who are committed to obey this command face a major obstacle. For, being human and living in a covetous world, they are under pressure to conform to the rest of humanity in the pursuit of “treasures on earth.” This must have led missionary Henry Martyn to pray: “May I have Christ with me in the world, not substituting imagination in the place of faith, but seeing outward things as they really are, and thus obtaining a radical conviction of their vanity” (cited in <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#bridges">Bridges</a> 1960:7). For “a radical conviction” concerning the vanity of the things of this world would set his heart free to obey Jesus in laying up “treasures in heaven.”<br /><br />Qoheleth’s persuasive speech is designed to cultivate just such a conviction. People like Henry Martyn would see Ecclesiastes as God’s answer to their prayer. They will thus respond with <span style="font-style: italic;">optimism</span> to the reality that “there is no profit under the sun.” To them “all is vanity” is actually most meaningful! And of course this optimistic response and the realistic response admonished by Qoheleth are not mutually exclusive. So according to the Bible, it is possible to “have the best of both worlds,” this and the next!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/12/elaboration-on-speaker-and-his-teaching.html#b">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html">next</a></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-1058628263756783819?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-57038454199744255182007-12-15T22:29:00.002+08:002010-09-04T09:50:32.953+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">12:9 And in addition, as a wise man Qoheleth also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, explored and put together many proverbs. 12:10 Qoheleth sought to find words of delight and faithfully wrote words of truth. 12:11 The words of wise men are like goads, and the collected sayings are like well-fixed nails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12:12 But beyond these, my son, beware. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is weariness to the body. </span><br /><br />The very first verse of Ecclesiastes has already introduced the speech as “the words of Qoheleth.” So the three occurrences of the phrase “says Qoheleth” (1:2; 7:27; 12:8) are not really needed. Since Qoheleth is identified with King Solomon, each of the occurrences then has the effect of giving extra weight to what is just said as coming from a speaker with the credibility to say it with authority. And taken together (one right at the beginning, one somewhere in the middle, and one towards the end) they also indicate explicitly that “the words of Qoheleth” extend from 1:2 up to at least 12:8.<br /><br />The phrase “And in addition” here then connects this passage to “the words of Qoheleth” marked out by the three occurrences of “says Qoheleth.” In other words this verse tells us more about the work of Qoheleth “in addition” to the speech just presented up to 12:8. It conveys that Qoheleth was a wise man, and besides giving this speech on the vanity of life under the sun, he also taught the people knowledge as well as put together proverbs based on reflection and investigation. The passage goes on to describe the nature, purpose and origin of Qoheleth’s teaching. All this further establishes the credibility of the speaker in light of the somber and sobering message just heard.<br /><br />Qoheleth is said to have made an effort to use “words of delight” and was careful that what he taught were “words of truth.” As <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> puts it, “The emphasis falls on elegance and truth: Qohelet devoted time and energy both to the aesthetic of his composition and to the reliability of what he said” (1987:191). As our exposition has shown, the manner Qoheleth appeals to the reason and the emotion through his use of prose as well as poetry is delightful in terms of artistry. But as we have seen, these “words of delight” are also “words of truth.” We testify to the truthfulness of his words in that our conscience do not argue with his assertions (correctly understood).<br /><br />These delightful words of truth are meant to persuade the audience to a make a decision or to take a course of action, or both. For like goads made from nails fixed to sticks that shepherds use, Qoheleth's words and the “collected sayings” of wise men like him prod us to move in a certain direction. As for Qoheleth’s words in Ecclesiastes, if we are already moving in the direction he wants us to go, the prodding will hardly be painful. It simply nudges us to keep going in that direction. And the direction is to fear God and keep His commandments (12:13). But if we are moving in the opposite direction the prodding will be most painful. To avoid the pain we need to yield to the goading.<br /><br />To further assure us that Qoheleth’s words are truthful, the claim is made that they are “given by one Shepherd,” namely, God. We are not told how Qoheleth’s words of truth are ultimately the words of God. But it means that the prodding effects of the words are ultimately the goading of God, the ultimate Shepherd. Qoheleth had actually made a parallel claim when he said, “God so works that man should fear Him” (3:14). The best way to test these claims is to compare Qoheleth’s teaching on the meaning of life with one which denies God and see which teaching, when consistently lived out, gives the deepest sense of fulfillment. A theory about the meaning of life that, when consistently lived out, brings despair is actually most harmful.<br /><br />In light of competing teachings, the audience (often addressed as “my son” in the wisdom literature of the ancient biblical world) is warned to be careful of books that do not teach “words of truth.” For there will be “no end” to human speculations, and hence to “the making of many books,” about the meaning of life and other truths essential to living life to the fullest. Studying them wearies the body. Understood in context, the warning here is not against the writing and reading of books. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> captures the meaning well: “The reader is warned against poring over unsuitable literature, which will only weary him and do him harm” (1989:173).<br /><br />This passage elaborating on Qoheleth as the speaker and the nature of his teaching is written in the third person. Who wrote it? Obviously it is the same person who first introduced Qoheleth as the speaker (1:1), and who punctuated the speech with the three occurrences of “says Qoheleth” (1:2; 7:27; 12:8). The present writer sees no good reason to assume that just because the passage is in the third person Qoheleth could not have written it himself. And he has good reason to believe that, in this context, if Qoheleth would elaborate on himself and his teaching, he would do so in the third person. For Qoheleth makes much use of personal experiences and observations as a means to persuade his audience. And by presenting himself as a reliable teacher in the third, instead of the first, person he places himself “in the realm of history and sets a degree of objectivity and distance between the reader and the Teacher, a distance that would not exist if the entire book were written in the first person... [and] thus lifts the book above the level of personal reflection and presents the Teacher as an authority whose words ought to be heard” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#garrett">Garrett</a> 1993:262).<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a name="b"></a>Conclusion and Call to Decision (12:13-14) </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">12:13 The end of the matter, (when) all has been heard: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is every man. 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil. </span><br /><br />For our purpose, it does not really matter whether the third-person statements are written by Qoheleth or not. Even if they are not, we could still and should in fact read these final two verses of Ecclesiastes as part of Qoheleth’s speech that began in 1:2. For if the speech ended abruptly with the encapsulation of the theme in 12:8, the audience would ask, “All is vanity... So what?” Though, as our exposition has shown, the answer—to fear God and keep His commandments—has already been given implicitly as part of Qoheleth’s rhetoric to prepare the audience mentally and emotionally for the final exhortation to do just that, it still has to be given explicitly. For without a concluding exhortation in direct response to the theme of the speech, the speech is incomplete.<br /><br />As a matter of fact if Qoheleth were presenting the speech extemporaneously, the next thing he would have said following 12:8 would essentially be what we read in these two verses. But since this is a written speech, originally to be read out to an audience, Qoheleth (if he wrote the third-person statements) makes full use of the written medium to strengthen his case through a third-person elaboration on himself and his teaching, before making the final appeal to the audience to do what he has been implicitly prodding them to do. Qoheleth is indeed a master in the art of persuasion.<br /><br />The conclusion, says Qoheleth, in light of all that has been heard, is indeed what has been anticipated all along: fear God and keep His commandments. By now there is no need to defend this conclusion. What is new is the revelation that “this is every man.” We have translated the Hebrew clause quite literally because no idiomatic translation in English can do it justice. The construction of the clause is similar to that of “I am prayer” (Ps 109:4). According to <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox2">Fox</a>, “The effect of this construction seems to be an intensification of the equation: Not only am I prayerful, I am prayer itself.” We would call someone who regularly prays like this Mr. Prayer, just as we would call someone who has so completely given himself to the cause of the environment, Mr. Environment (“He is environment”). Similarly, “this is every man” means that “<span style="font-style: italic;">this</span>—the fear of God and obedience to his commandments—is the substance ... of every person” (1999:362). In other words, this is what being human is all about. It is the very essence or purpose of human existence. No wonder when a human being violates God’s commandments and commits something unconscionable we would say, “He is not a human being!”<br /><br />This explains why “God so works that man should fear Him” (3:14). And why life does not really make sense until and unless we live according to this purpose. In our exposition we have already discussed how the fear of God contributes in different ways to the meaning of life. What needs to be added here is that the fear of God provides a transcendent purpose for living under the sun. A transcendent purpose is certainly more worthwhile and meaningful than one which is not. And human beings do express the need for such a purpose. As sociologist Peter <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#berger">Berger</a> puts it, “The religious impulse, the quest for meaning that transcends the restricted space of empirical existence in this world, has been a perennial feature of humanity. (This is not a theological statement but an anthropological one—an agnostic or even an atheist philosopher may well agree with it.) It would require something close to a mutation of the species to extinguish this impulse for good” (1999:13).<br /><br />Theologian <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#mcgrath">McGrath</a> confirms that even prominent atheists like Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx do not deny the fact that human beings do seek for transcendent meaning; they simply sought to explain away this human desire as “nothing more than a coping mechanism thrown up by the human mind to shield us from the unbearable pain of knowing [from their atheist point of view] that life is pointless” (2002:11-12). Even if it is indeed purely a “coping mechanism,” being able to cope with reality is still better than bearing the “unbearable pain” of meaninglessness. And what if Qoheleth is correct, that this “coping mechanism” is not just an invention of the human mind but also an intention of the divine will?<br /><br />If Qoheleth is correct, “God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.” This judgment is here given as the basis (“For”) to heed his exhortation to fear God and keep His commandments. Since this judgment is comprehensive, especially since even “every hidden thing” will not escape scrutiny, it has to be a judgment after death. Furthermore, only a belief in such an inescapable judgment would be adequate to move one’s conscience to take Qoheleth's exhortation and God's commandments seriously. If Qoheleth did not have in mind a judgment after death, his exhortation to fear God rings hollow.<br /><br />Also, the human heart cries out for a final accounting of all that is done under the sun. For unless good deeds are ultimately vindicated and bad deeds incriminated, our sense of justice is violated, and like a movie that ends with the villain vanquishing the hero, life does not make sense. Only with an assurance of a final and just accounting do we have an idea of how the story of life under the sun ends, and ends meaningfully. Only then do we know something of the significance, or meaning, of what we do in this world. With the disclosure of this transcendent ingredient to the meaning of life, Qoheleth ends his speech.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefreeness-117-127.html#b">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2008/01/postscript.html">next</a><br /></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-5703845419974425518?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-62351860217695105692007-11-29T00:22:00.001+08:002009-09-01T10:04:21.395+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">11:7 Light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 11:8 No matter how many years a man may live, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, which may be many. All that comes is vanity. 11:9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart make you glad in the days of your youth. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desire of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 11:10 So remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. </span><br /><br />Qoheleth did say that a stillborn child who “never sees the sun” is better off than a rich man who could not enjoy life, no matter how many children he may have and how many years he may live (6:1-7). Now, as he continues to speak on making the most of life, he clarifies that actually “light is pleasant” and it is “good for the eyes to see the sun,” that is, to be alive in this world (cf. 9:3-6). And this is provided that no matter how many years one may live, “let him rejoice in them all.” Otherwise he is no better off than the stillborn child, as “all that comes,” which means all that he gains under the sun, “is vanity.”<br /><br />Qoheleth then qualifies, “and let him remember the days of darkness.” As “light” symbolizes life, the “days of darkness” refer to death and the days of physical frailty (“which may be many”) preceding it (12:1-7). To “remember the days of darkness” is to recognize that when the body becomes increasingly frail one begins to lose his ability to enjoy life. So Qoheleth admonishes the “young man” to “rejoice in your youth” and so make the most of life before it is too late. In 5:18-20 he made it clear that real enjoyment is experienced out of a carefree disposition. There, emphasizing God’s sovereignty, he said it is God who enables one to be carefree (“God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart”). Here, emphasizing human responsibility, he says one is to become carefree (“let your heart make you glad”). He then explains how we can enjoy life with a carefree disposition.<br /><br />To enjoy life one must be able to follow the “impulses of your heart and the desire of your eyes.” This means we must be able to do what seems and feels good for us to do. Some people find this teaching out-of-place in the Bible. But imagine what it is like if we must <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> follow the impulses of our heart and the desire of our eyes. If we must not choose a line of work that seems and feels good for us to do, we must exclude any line of work which we are good at and enjoy doing, which by definition is our vocation. Or, if we must not follow our heart and our eyes in our choice of leisure, we must exclude any activity that seems and feels good for us to do, which is what leisure is supposed to be. Can we then enjoy life?<br /><br />It is a common misconception that this teaching contradicts the prohibition in Numbers 15:39: “(do) not follow after your own heart and your own eyes.” For in that context, the people were admonished to observe all the commandments of God. That prohibition is about not following after one’s heart and one’s eyes when doing so violates God’s commandments. But there is adequate room to follow one’s heart and one’s eyes without violating any commandment. In fact Qoheleth himself qualifies (“But know”) that “for all these things,” that is, how we follow after our heart and our eyes, “God will bring you into judgment.” The “judgment” here is the same as that in 12:14, where it covers “every act ... whether it is <span style="font-style: italic;">good</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">evil</span>.” Hence the “judgment” need not be negative, as doing what seems and feels good to do is not necessarily evil. In other words, we are to follow the impulses of the heart and the desire of the eyes within God’s moral framework (built on the Ten Commandments).<br /><br />In fact, the admonition to “follow the impulses of your heart” comes right after the admonition to “Rejoice ... and let your heart make you glad.” This means the “impulses” Qoheleth has in mind are those of a carefree heart, which is a God-fearing heart inclined to obey God’s commandments. To ensure that one does have a carefree heart, Qoheleth adds, “So remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body.” And this requires one to fear God and keep His commandments. For consider the vexation of the heart that we have looked at: being burdened by the cares of this world. We saw how this relates to violating the moral dimension of the created order by breaking the tenth commandment: covetousness (see exposition of 5:18-6:9). And covetousness is basically about putting too much value on the transitory things of this world. The seventeenth century theologian John <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#owen">Owen</a> has warned that “an over-valuation of temporal things” will only cause us to “spend our lives in fears, sorrows and distractions” (1949:32).<br /><br />Since “a joyful heart is good medicine, but a stricken spirit dries up the bones” (Prov 17:22), very often our physical pain is caused by vexation of the heart. Hence removing the vexation through observing God’s commandments helps in putting away pain from the body. And physical affliction can also be directly caused by the violation of God’s commandments. The sabbath commandment shows that we are also to respect the physical dimension of the created order by having adequate rest. But covetousness often causes one to overwork to the detriment of his health. Sheer complacency and carelessness about the way the physical world and our physical body is ordered can also damage our health. All this unnaturally hastens the coming of the “days of darkness.” But one who fears God respects His created order in all its dimensions and thus cultivates a carefree disposition as well as minimizes physical affliction.<br /><br />Therefore not only is there adequate room within God’s moral framework to enjoy life by doing what seems and feels good for us to do, outside of God’s moral framework there is no room at all for real enjoyment.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">12:1 Therefore remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no delight in them"; 12:2 before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain: 12:3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, and the grinders become idle because they are few, and those who look through the windows grow dim, 12:4 and the doors on the street are shut, while the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; 12:5 also they are afraid of heights and terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry fails, for man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners walk about in the street; 12:6 before the silver cord is broken, and the golden bowl is crushed, and the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, and the wheel is crushed at the cistern; 12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. </span><br /><br />Qoheleth admonishes the “young man” to remove vexation from his heart and put away pain from his body because “youth and the prime of life are fleeting” (11:10). This is in order to make the most of life in light of the coming “days of darkness” (11:8). Here Qoheleth calls these dark years the “days of trouble” (12:1). And when these troublesome “years draw near” one will say, “I have no delight in them,” because he can no longer enjoy life. “Therefore,” Qoheleth admonishes, “remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (in order to enjoy life), before the arrival of these unpleasant years. But what has remembering our Creator got to do with enjoying life?<br /><br />The Hebrew word translated “remember,” like its English counterpart, does not always mean to recall the past (cf. 5:18; 9:15; 11:7). To remember something can also mean to remember to do what one is supposed to do with respect to that something. To remember the sabbath day (Exod 20:8) is to remember to observe it and keep it holy (Deut 5:12). Hence to remember our Creator is to remember our accountability to Him as our Maker and thus obey Him (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989:163). And this verse (12:1) is parallel in meaning to the one preceding (11:10). For the phrase “before the days of trouble [bodily frailty] come” is another way of saying “for youth and the prime of life are fleeting.” So to “remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body” one must “remember [or obey] your Creator.” We have already inferred this much above. Here Qoheleth makes it explicit that the fear of God is basic to the enjoyment of life. This anticipates the final exhortation to fear God and keep His commandments (12:13-14).<br /><br />We are to remember our Maker “before the days of trouble ...” (verse 1); “before the sun and the light ... are darkened ...” (verses 2-5); and “before the silver cord is broken ...” (verses 6-7). The often metaphorical descriptions in the second and third “before”-clauses elaborate on the “days of trouble” in the first. And these “days” begin to draw near after one reaches “the prime of life.”<br /><br />The darkening of the sun, moon and stars and the returning of the clouds signal the dawn of the “days of darkness” (11:8), when “light” (or life) is disappearing (cf. 11:7). In due time the hands tremble, the legs stoop, the teeth become few, the eyes grow dim, and sound is shut out because the ears are failing. Due to the lack of teeth there is little chewing. They become idle and “the sound of grinding is low.” And because the ears are failing one is unable to appreciate music (“the daughters of song are brought low”). Though the hearing is bad one is easily awakened because he does not sleep soundly (“one rises up at the sound of a bird”). As one advances in age, the hair grows white like an almond tree blossoming. When he begins to walk with difficulty, like a grasshopper dragging itself along, he is afraid of heights and feels terrified on the road. And the caperberry, “reputed to have been stimulants for the appetite and thought to have worked as aphrodisiacs,” also fails (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997:363). The time to enjoy life is over.<br /><br />The degeneration of the body is part of the natural process in which one eventually dies and “goes to his eternal home,” sent off in a funeral (“mourners walk about in the street”). The third “before”-clause is obviously describing death even though it is not clear how the idiomatic expressions concerning “the silver cord” or “the wheel... at the cistern” relate to dying. For Qoheleth himself understands the expressions as depicting death: the “spirit,” or life-breath, returns to God and the body, made from dust, returns to dust (cf. Gen 2:7; 3:19). Since each of the items, whether the “golden bowl” or “the pitcher,” is said to be damaged beyond repair (like a cord broken or a wheel crushed), perhaps these ancient idioms are about some vital organs failing beyond remedy (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#kaiser">Kaiser</a> 1979:120-21). This fits the context as Qoheleth is describing natural bodily degeneration that leads to death.<br /><br /><br /><a name="b"></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Encapsulation of Theme: “All is vanity” (12:8) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">12:8 “Vanity of vanities,” says Qoheleth. “All is vanity!”</span><br /><br />With this statement, Qoheleth concludes his thesis. It is essentially an exact repetition of the statement he began his speech with (1:2). It thus encapsulates the contents of the speech. It confirms that the theme of the speech is indeed “all is vanity.” And “all is vanity” because “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” In other words, there is ultimately no net gain. It confirms what we have inferred right from the beginning, that when Qoheleth first asserted that there is no profit under the sun (1:3), he was talking about ultimate profit. In light of death there is indeed none. Also it is clear from his speech that he recognizes immediate profit under the sun.<br /><br />So Qoheleth’s theme is neither pessimistic nor unorthodox. There is then no reason, as is often done, to assign the positive and orthodox admonition to fear God and keep His commandments (12:13-14) to someone other than Qoheleth. And we have been highlighting how, right from the beginning, Qoheleth prepares his audience mentally and emotionally for this exhortation, which draws the speech to a natural conclusion.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefulness-910-116-contd.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/12/elaboration-on-speaker-and-his-teaching.html">next</a><br /></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-6235186021769510569?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-63780531796148625802007-11-16T01:32:00.000+08:002007-11-29T00:31:58.749+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">continued from previous page</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">10:8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaks through a wall--a snake may bite him. 10:9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. 10:10 If the iron (tool) is blunt, and he does not sharpen the edge, he must exert more strength. But the advantage of wisdom is success. 10:11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.</span><br /><br />Having given counsel to court officials to make the most of their privileged position, Qoheleth applies it to occupations in general. He reminds us that in every line of work there are “occupational hazards” (verses 8-9). Therefore we need to be careful at all times. Otherwise we may not be able to fulfill our vocation. Then he reaffirms that wisdom is better than might and has the advantage of giving success in what we are called to do. He uses the illustration that if our tool is sharp (working wisely) we need less effort to do the work. But if we are complacent and careless we may be like the snake charmer who got bitten by an uncharmed snake. His charming skills gave him no advantage over the rest of us who do not have them. So we need to be careful and prudent in doing our work so as to decrease the possibility of tragedy and to increase the possibility of success. In doing this we are heeding the admonition to make the most of our abilities and the opportunities we still have (9:10).<br /><br />Since Qoheleth is talking about carefulness and prudence in what we consider “non-moral” aspects of life, it may not be obvious that he is actually reaffirming the value of sound proverbial wisdom. Biblical proverbial wisdom, which is based on the Ten Commandments, enables us to avoid violating the created order, which affects not only the moral and social but also the physical dimensions of life (note the Sabbath commandment). This means biblical wisdom covers not only how we relate to one another but also how we relate to our occupation. For instance in Proverbs, the shepherd is admonished to “know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds” because “riches do not last forever” (Prov 27:23). In other words, if the shepherd is not careful and prudent in his work, his wealth will soon be depleted.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">10:12 The words of the mouth of the wise bring favor, but the lips of a fool devour him. 10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, and the end of what he says is harmful madness. 10:14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will come to be, so who can tell him what will come to be after him? 10:15 The toil of a fool wearies him, because he does not know the way to the city.</span><br /><br />In line with his reaffirmation of sound proverbial wisdom, Qoheleth now reassures us that words of wisdom do bring about a favorable outcome. He did qualify that there are no guarantees (9:11-12). But he did also imply that with carefulness and prudence unfavorable outcomes can be minimized (10:8-11). It simply means that we are to use, not worship, wisdom. To emphasize the usefulness of wisdom Qoheleth highlights the harmfulness of folly. Though the words of a fool are from beginning to end harmful and have an unfavorable effect on (“devour”) him, he “multiplies words,” apparently oblivious to the foolishness of his folly.<br /><br />In verse 14b Qoheleth reiterates the sub-theme that no one “knows what will come to be” in order to contend (“so who can tell him ...?”) that the fool could not have known “what will come to be [in this world] after him,” that is, after his leaving this world (cf. 6:12). For the fool multiplies words as if he knew about the distant future (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#delitzsch">Delitzsch</a> 1872: 384)! Qoheleth has warned that we do not really know what is indeed good for us to do in our lifetime since we do not know what is going to happen in this world after we are gone (6:12). It is foolish to talk as if we did. So perhaps the fool here keeps on asserting that what he is doing is good (even when it violates sound proverbial wisdom), as fools are wont to do. As we saw in our exposition of 6:10-12, “God so works,” which includes not letting us know about the future, whether within or beyond our lifetime, so “that man should fear Him” (3:14). And 7:1-14 demonstrates the usefulness of sound proverbial wisdom in facing an unknown and uncertain future. But a fool, who by definition does not see the need to fear God and be careful to respect God's created order by observing sound proverbial wisdom (Ps 14:1), is prone to live as if he knew about the future. In fact some foolish people, especially those who happen to be in power, behave as if they were even in control of the future!<br /><br />Because a fool cannot outsmart the created order, his toil “wearies him”--he toils long and hard but there is little result (in terms of what can really be considered good in the long run). For he works with an “iron tool [that] is blunt” because he does not “sharpen the edge” (10:10). He does not even realize he is working with a blunt tool! Qoheleth likens him to a child, who “does not know the way to the city,” which is an idiom for basic incompetence (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 320). For a fool is basically incompetent when it comes to observing sound proverbial wisdom.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">10:16 Woe to you, O Land, whose king is a child, and whose princes feast in the morning! 10:17 Blessed are you, O Land, whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the proper time--for strength, and not for drunkenness! 10:18 Through slothfulness the roof sags, and through slackness of hands the house leaks. 10:19 Food is prepared for merriment while wine cheers up life, and money answers to both. 10:20 Even in your bedchamber, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air may carry your voice, or a winged creature may report the matter.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth now looks at the economic consequence of an imprudent and incompetent government. To set the tone, he laments over (“woe to”) a nation whose king is immature and incompetent (“a child”) and whose princes lack discretion (“feast in the morning”); and congratulates (“blessed are”) a nation whose king (or prime minster) is noble and whose princes (or cabinet ministers) are prudent. People who are not rich can expect economic hardship when the government is complacent and careless. Qoheleth uses the imageries of a sagging roof and a leaking house to recreate the irksome experience. Money is needed to buy (“answers to”) food and wine. A lack of it means a lack of access to even the basic pleasures of life. It is natural then to “curse the king” out of anger for the misfortune he has caused, as well as “curse the rich,” perhaps out of envy for their continued access to much food and wine. Prudence dictates that we should be careful with our words even in the privacy of our homes, as we would say today, “Walls have ears.”<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">11:1 Send forth your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.11:2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may come upon the land. 11:3 If the clouds are full, they pour rain on the earth; and whether a tree falls in the south or in the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will be. 11:4 He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. 11:5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how bones develop in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who does all things. 11:6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, this or that, or whether both of them are equally good.</span><br /><br />Good and bad governments come and go. And there are also other causes of economic uncertainties. Hence Qoheleth admonishes economic prudence on the part of his audience. His advice on sending forth “bread” (perhaps, here means commodity) upon the waters probably refers to overseas investment. And since misfortune may happen we had better factor it into our economic planning. The wisdom in dividing the portion “to seven, or even to eight” is similar to the contemporary saying, “Do not put all your eggs into the same basket” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#gordis">Gordis</a> 1968: 330). This piece of advice has wider application than in Qoheleth’s day, especially within the economic realm (think of the different ways one can invest money today). Whether these two verses actually refer to overseas investment or not, the basic message is that, in light of the uncertainties of life, we need to be prudent in planning for the future, and to minimize the risks involved. But unless one fears God and restrains his greed, he may become so careless (read foolish) that he loses all his savings (cf. 5:14).<br /><br />And since we cannot avoid taking risks, Qoheleth uses imageries related to farming to illustrate the need to do so. When the clouds are full, the rain will fall; but we do not know when they will become full. And we do not know where a tree will fall until it has fallen, for we do not know which direction that blast of wind which uproots it will blow. So even when clouds which have become full are in sight we cannot tell where the wind will blow them (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 345). Therefore a farmer cannot determine the perfect time for sowing (when rain is needed) or reaping (when rain is to be avoided) by watching the wind or looking at the clouds. He who does this will neither sow nor reap (nor eat). We need to go ahead to do “what our hand finds to do” even though we may not have the certainty that we will succeed. This should drive us to observe sound proverbial wisdom.<br /><br />Besides ignorance about the path of the wind, Qoheleth also uses ignorance about how bones develop in the womb to reiterate again the sub-theme that we “do not know the work of God,” that is, we cannot discover what is going to happen (8:17). So Qoheleth admonishes sowing seed “in the morning” and “in the evening,” as one does not know which time of sowing will succeed. Since these words are used as imageries to convey how we are to work in general, a farmer is not to take them literally. Qoheleth is basically saying, since we have to act without knowing what actually works, we need to be prudent and try different approaches, if not concurrently then consecutively.<br /><br />It is significant that we are here called to accept human responsibility (“Send forth your bread ... sow your seed...”) in the very context that explicitly affirms divine sovereignty (“... God, who does all things”). Hence to Qoheleth, divine sovereignty and human responsibility are definitely not incompatible. In fact, they are inseparable in the experience of those who fear God, and are thus able to be carefree and careful at the same time. For in fearing God they acknowledge His sovereignty and become <span style="font-style: italic;">carefree</span> through recognizing divine providence (see exposition on 3:10-15). And because they fear God they accept the responsibility to observe sound proverbial wisdom and so keep His commandments. In this way they are being <span style="font-style: italic;">careful</span> through exercising human prudence in the face of the uncertainties of life.<br /><br />By now it is clear that we need to be both carefree and careful to make the most of life and to live sensibly. This means, in order to adequately make sense of human experience, we need to accept Qoheleth’s paradoxical assumption that God is sovereign over human actions and yet human beings are responsible for what they choose to do.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefulness-910-116.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefreeness-117-127.html">next</a><br /></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-6378053179614862580?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-43095685660621817902007-11-16T01:13:00.000+08:002007-11-29T00:42:55.632+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.</span><br /><br />Because of the certainty of death and uncertainties of life, we are not living sensibly if we do not make the most of the opportunities we still have in this world (8:16-9:6). Qoheleth's admonition to enjoy life with one’s spouse was given in light of this (9:7-9). He now extends his admonishment to “whatever your hand finds to do.” The phrase does not refer to whatever we happen to be doing (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox2">Fox</a> 1999: 295). It is an idiom that means doing what needs to be done that is within our capacity to do (1Sam 10:6-7; 25:8; Lev 12:8; Jud 9:33). And we are to do it zealously (“with your might”). The admonition is about what we should and could be doing before we die. If we do not heed it, on our deathbed, and perhaps even before that, when we consider how we have lived, we would feel a deep sense of meaninglessness. This is particularly so with regards to our lifework or occupation, which occupies most of our waking hours (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#brown2">Brown</a> 2000: 95). In today’s terms, we are here admonished to fulfill our “calling” or “vocation.”<br /><br />What then is a vocation? “If you have a <span style="font-style: italic;">vocation</span>, you have a strong feeling that you are particularly suited to a particular job or role in life, especially one which involves serving other people” (<span style="font-style: italic;">Collins Cobuild English Dictionary</span>). When we view and so treat our occupation as our vocation, we zealously seek to serve humanity by meeting people’s needs (“what needs to be done”) according to our gifts and opportunities (“within our capacity to do”). This would require us to fear God and observe the commandment to love other people as ourselves.<br /><br />Unfortunately, for some time now, it has been taken for granted that one’s occupation is one’s “career” rather than one’s calling. When we view our occupation as a career, we treat it as “a course of professional life or employment ... that offers advancement or honor (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#bellah">Bellah</a> 1996: 119). This is because “work as career is motivated by the desire for success and recognition” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#baumeister">Baumeister</a> 1991: 119). This led many people to choose an occupation based on the money or the prestige it offers, or both, rather than on what they are gifted and have a passion for. So instead of fulfilling their calling to serve humanity they are pursuing their career for self-advancement and temporal success. Qoheleth has already warned that this is vanity and a grievous affliction (2:12-23; 4:4-8,13-16; 5:10-17; 6:1-9). We will not find life (and work) fulfilling or meaningful.<br /><br />To increase the sense of urgency to make the most of our limited time in this world, Qoheleth reiterates that “there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.” As in 9:5, this statement describes the dead in relation to this world and not their condition in the hereafter. The opportunity for human activities in this world such as working and planning, using human abilities like knowledge and wisdom, no longer exists once we die. As <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#eaton">Eaton</a> puts it, “The Preacher does not provide any positive description of Sheol. Negatively it is characterized by the absence of opportunity for earthly life; more than that he does not say” (1983: 129). The message is that, “When this life is terminated, there is absolutely no opportunity of making up for the tasks left undone, no matter how many and varied our gifts may have been” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#leupold">Leupold</a> 1952: 217).<br /><br />In effect, this is an admonition to be <span style="font-style: italic;">careful</span> in how we live (and work). And it qualifies and complements the oft-repeated admonition to be <span style="font-style: italic;">carefree</span>. For to be carefree does not mean to be complacent and careless; we are to be careful. And to be careful does not mean to be full of cares; we are to be carefree. In the extended passage that follows, Qoheleth elaborates on what it means to be careful in the face of the uncertainties of life (9:11-11:6). And he pays attention to making the most of our occupation.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">9:11 Further, I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the valiant, and neither is bread to the wise, nor riches to the discerning, nor favor to those with knowledge; for time and chance befall them all. 9:12 For indeed man does not know his time: like fish caught in a dreadful net, and like birds caught in a snare, so the children of man are ensnared at a time of calamity, when it falls upon them suddenly.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth has previously made the observation that even the righteous and the wise cannot discover what will happen to them because they and their deeds are also “in the hand of God” (8:17-9:1). So they do not know “whether it is love or hate; anything awaits them.” The phrase “anything awaits them” refers not only to what happens to them personally but also to the outcome of their deeds, whether they are successful (signified by “love”) or not (“hate”).<br /><br />The word “Further” in verse 11 indicates that Qoheleth is building on this observation. Obviously the verse is not saying, “the race is <span style="font-style: italic;">(always) not</span> to the swift ...,” but rather, “the race is <span style="font-style: italic;">not (always)</span> to the swift....” It elaborates graphically Qoheleth’s observation that it is <span style="font-style: italic;">possible</span> that those expected to be successful because of their abilities, <span style="font-style: italic;">may</span> not succeed. This is because “time and chance befall them.” In other words, an unexpected outcome (“hate” instead of “love”) may be awaiting them (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#schoors2">Schoors</a> 2004: 117, 205).<br /><br />We experience unexpected outcomes because “man does not know his time.” The word “time” here, and in “time and chance,” refers to the time or occasion an event happens, as in “a time to love, and a time to hate” (3:8). So we may even encounter a calamity that befalls us suddenly. To recapture for us this sense of unexpectedness, Qoheleth uses the imageries of fish getting caught in a net and birds getting trapped in a snare. We should make the qualification that the phrase “time and chance befall them,” which is the same as “anything awaits them,” may refer to a <span style="font-style: italic;">positive</span> event (“love” instead of “hate”). Qoheleth uses negative imageries to illustrate it because he is now highlighting the possibility that those expected to win may actually lose. This is in line with his admonition to be careful.<br /><br />This qualification reminds us that the phrase “time and chance” refers back to the set of opposite (positive and negative) events represented in the poem of 3:1-8. There we are told that the “times” are actually appointed by God (3:1,11). Hence, though we may encounter an event as “chance” because we do not expect it, it is still “in the hand of God” (9:1). And though this means that what happens to us is beyond our control, it is within God’s control. So those who acknowledge the sovereignty of God and His purpose in making “everything appropriate in its time [so] that man should fear Him” (3:11,14) are able to entrust their times to Him and be carefree. In fact, because the God of the Bible is a personal Being, the psalmist could beseech Him: “My times are in your hand; save me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors” (Ps 31:15).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">9:13 I have also seen this (case concerning) wisdom under the sun, and it seemed significant to me. 9:14 There was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it and surrounded it, and built huge siegeworks against it. 9:15 But there was found in it a poor wise man and he might have delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 9:16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than might.” But the poor man’s wisdom was despised and his words are not heard. 9:17 The words of the wise (spoken) in calmness are to be heard rather than the clamor of a ruler among fools. 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth then recounts an observation which made an impression on him: a wise man might have saved a city from being captured by a powerful enemy but no one "remembered," or considered, him. This was due to prejudice against him because he was poor, and so he and his wisdom were despised. They would rather suffer calamity than be delivered through a poor man’s wisdom. This observation reflects a larger phenomenon that is seen even today. Often a nation or an organization is heading towards disaster because those in power do not operate by sound proverbial wisdom. And they despise those in their midst who are wise, because heeding their wisdom means going against their personal agenda. So they would not even allow the words of the wise to be heard.<br /><br />This particular observation demonstrated to Qoheleth that “Wisdom is better than might ... and weapons of war.” So he declares that the unassuming counsel of the wise are to be heard rather than the pretentious claims of even the best (“ruler”) among the fools (cf. 7:5). But the observation also illustrates what Qoheleth has just said earlier: “favor is not (always) to the wise.” So he qualifies that wisdom may fail to secure a favorable outcome: “one sinner destroys much good.” A “sinner” is one who is not “good in God’s sight” and hence lacks “wisdom, knowledge and joy” (2:26). In other words, it takes just one person who does not fear God to undo the wisdom of the wise and wreak havoc through his folly. This is particularly true if that foolish person happens to be the one in power. In the next passage Qoheleth counsels those who could avert this kind of unfortunate outcome.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">10:1 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 10:2 A wise man’s heart is (inclined) to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. 10:3 Even when the fool walks on the road, his sense is lacking, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. 10:4 If the temper of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your (official) position, for composure allays great offenses.10:5 There is a misfortune that I have seen under the sun, an actual error that proceeds from the ruler: 10:6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in humble places. 10:7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the ground.</span><br /><br />He begins by reiterating that, just as a dead fly destroys a bowl of ointment, a little folly has a greater impact than (“outweighs”) wisdom and the esteem that comes with it. He then assures us that it is not difficult to detect folly (and be forewarned). For a fool’s decision or action is conspicuously unwise as his heart is not inclined to the path of wisdom. And so “even when the fool walks on the road,” signifying how he conducts himself in public, “his sense is lacking” and it is obvious to everyone that he is a fool; except to himself, since hardly anyone deliberately displays his folly publicly. It is certainly true that we can recognize folly when we see it, and that we often fail to recognize it when we are the ones committing it. This means we need others, especially those who care about us, to alert us when we are being foolish. This is not to suggest we take seriously every criticism directed at us. But we need to take special note when someone points out that what we are doing actually violates what we ourselves accept as sound proverbial wisdom.<br /><br />In 8:1-5 court officials are counseled on how to respond to a king who is acting unjustly. For though injustice (read folly) is obvious to an observer it is usually not so to the one committing it. So a court official is to respond carefully and wisely to the king. He is not to desert the ruler quickly, but to maintain a composure that would enable him to know when and how to address the problem. Here in verse 4, Qoheleth gives a similar counsel. The court official is not to abandon his official position even when the ruler becomes angry with him. For his reconciliating composure may enable him to influence the ruler so that he does not make a decision which is indeed foolish (“an actual error”) that eventually brings about upheavals in society: “folly is set in many high places ... and princes walking like slaves on the ground.” Qoheleth said he has seen such a misfortune actually happening. Indeed, if there were more aides who are God-fearing and truly wise to people in power, less misfortune would befall innocent people.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">exposition of this section continued next page</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/elaboration-on-uncertainties-of-life.html#b">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefulness-910-116-contd.html">next</a></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-4309568566062181790?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-18492988674772359502007-10-31T20:22:00.001+08:002007-11-16T07:53:04.811+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">8:16 When I set my heart to know wisdom, and to consider the preoccupation that is done on earth--even though one’s eyes should neither see sleep by day nor by night--, 8:17 I observed all the work of God, that man is not able to discover the work that is done under the sun. Therefore man may toil to seek, but he will not discover. And even if the wise wants to know, he is not able to discover. 9:1 For all this I took to heart and all this I ascertained, that the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it is love or hate; anything awaits them. </span><br /><br />Earlier on Qoheleth revealed that (because of the uncertainties of life) he had personally sought the wisdom that would enable him to discover what was to happen, but failed miserably (7:23-24). Now he elaborates on that quest. He says he was determined (“set his heart”) to acquire (“know”) that kind of wisdom. In doing this he was also “to consider,” or evaluate, “the preoccupation that is done on earth.” For since this preoccupation is the human drive to find out about the uncertain future in order to make sense of life (see exposition on 3:10-15), Qoheleth was then himself participating in this preoccupation. His conclusion, as already affirmed repeatedly, is that this preoccupation will be fruitless (3:11; 6:12; 7:14, 23-24; and now 8:17). Here he stresses that neither determination, hard work (“one’s eyes ... neither see sleep by night or by day”) nor even wisdom will make a difference.<br /><br />In this quest, Qoheleth had “observed all the work of God.” But what he observed concerns “the work that is done under the sun.” Therefore, “This verse explicitly equates God’s work with activity on earth--elsewhere Qohelet only implies that whatever occurs is God’s doing” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> 1987: 157). He is reiterating God’s sovereignty over human actions (3:1-15). In our exposition we have already taken this perspective into consideration, and have been (and will be) doing so consistently in interpreting Qoheleth’s speech. Otherwise we would misunderstand him.<br /><br />The conjunction “For” in 9:1 indicates that Qoheleth now explains how he came to the conclusion that no one, not even the wise, can discover the future. He said he had taken to heart and examined and so had come to recognize (“ascertained”) that even “the righteous and wise and their deeds are in the hand of God.” This means what happens to them and to their deeds are “in the hand of God,” that is, beyond their control. So even they do not know “whether it is love or hate” that “awaits them.” For this reason Qoheleth will soon admonish his audience to be careful (9:10-11:6). In fact, this is another affirmation that proverbial wisdom does not teach that the righteous will <span style="font-style: italic;">always</span> prosper and <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> suffer. So the wise, even though they understand proverbial wisdom and know what would normally happen to the righteous, cannot pinpoint ahead of time whether it is love or hate that awaits them. If even they cannot discover the future, no one can.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">9:2 It is the same for all; there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked; for the good (and the evil), the clean and the unclean; for him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner; he who swears is as he who is afraid to swear. 9:3 This is a grievous thing in all that goes on under the sun, that there is one fate for all. And also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts throughout their lives, and after that they go to the dead. 9:4 But whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything; and they have no more recompense, for the memory of them is forgotten. 9:6 Even their love, their hate and their envy have already perished; and forever they have no longer a lot in all that is done under the sun. </span><br /><br />Qoheleth also revealed that after he had failed to obtain the wisdom needed to know the future, he turned his attention to “the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness” (7:25). He now reflects further on this matter. He begins by reaffirming that “it is the same [fate] for all,” which is death (2:14; 3:2; 6:6). Here he spells out in no uncertain terms that no one will escape this final outcome. For it does not matter whether one is righteous or wicked, good or evil, clear or unclean, <span style="font-style: italic;">et cetera</span>. Then Qoheleth goes on to help his audience see why fearing God is the most sensible response to this reality.<br /><br />To assure his audience that he has not been glib about this painful reality, he expresses that “This is a grievous thing.” Besides the observation that “there is one fate for all,” he also found something else grievous. He laments that because the righteous have the same outcome as the wicked--“they [also] go to the dead”--people’s hearts are “full of evil” (cf. 8:11). And so “madness [or folly] is in their hearts throughout their lives.” As <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#garrett">Garrett</a> comments, “instead of reckoning with the meaning of death, humans fill their lives with the distraction of a thousand passions and squander what little time they have to immediate but insignificant worries” (1993: 331).<br /><br />To counter this tendency Qoheleth explains that, actually (“But”), “there is hope” for the living because, unlike the dead, they “know that they will die.” This seems ironic, but it is not. For this “hope” is “the opportunity this present life affords to consider the fact of death, as the Preacher has been constantly urging, and to evaluate life accordingly” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#eaton">Eaton</a> 1983: 126). “Love” and “hate” sum up how people relate to one another; “envy” or rivalry (4:4) sums up how people relate to their work. To say that all these perish when people die, is to describe in a graphic way that the dead forever have no more share (or “lot”) in what happens in this world and in what it offers. Even the only possible “recompense” left, namely, the memory of them, will soon be lost. It is in this sense that “the dead do not know anything.” The statement refers to the dead in relation to this world, and not their condition in the hereafter (cf. Job 14:20-22). It emphasizes the lack of “hope,” or second chance, after we die to do what we could and should have done before we die.<br /><br />We should then consider the implication of not taking the opportunity to evaluate our life in light of the certainty of death and the inability to know when it happens (because of the uncertainties of life). This evaluation should lead us to fear God because “God so works that man should fear Him” (3:14). In fact this is where Qoheleth’s speech, which is guiding us through such an evaluation, is leading us (12:13). If we do not act on this “hope” in time we will forever lose the opportunity to leave this world as “one who is good in God’s sight” (2:26). Since “God will bring every deed to judgment” (12:14), this cannot be taken lightly. No wonder Qoheleth says “a living dog is better than a dead lion.” In other words, it is better to be alive than dead even if this means being despised like a lowly dog. For unlike the dead, even if they were admired like the mighty lion, the living still have the opportunity to make it right with their Maker before facing Him after death (cf. 12:1-7).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);font-size:130%;" ><a name="b"></a>Admonition to Carefreeness (9:7-9) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">9:7 Go (then), eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a glad heart, for God has already approved your actions. 9:8 Let your garments be white at all times, and let not oil be lacking on your head. 9:9 Enjoy life with a woman whom you love, all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun; for this is your lot in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. </span><br /><br />This admonition to enjoy life is in response to what has just been said: the uncertainties of life and the certainty of death, and the need to evaluate life in this light. Here Qoheleth specifically affirms that “God has already approved your actions,” that is, our eating with enjoyment and drinking in gladness. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> is probably right: “this may mean the enjoyment of God’s gifts is something which God has decreed from the beginning (cf. 5:18, ‘for this is his lot’).” Wearing white garments and anointing the head with oil both “were signs of joy” as these “were practised on festive occasions.” And since Qoheleth admonishes wearing white “at all times” and not letting the oil “be lacking,” he is commending “the enjoyment of life whenever possible” (1989: 144).<br /><br />This leads him to highlight for the first time the social dimension of enjoyment: “enjoy life with a woman whom you love.” His choice of the phrase “a woman” instead of “the woman” does not mean he has in mind just any woman; he is still referring to one’s wife (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 301). This choice enables him to address men in general, whether married or not. For the admonition to enjoy life “with <span style="font-style: italic;">a</span> woman whom you love” applies to those who already have such a woman (their wife), as well as those yet to have one; whereas “with <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> woman whom you love” excludes unattached men. The admonition then also has the effect of encouraging single men to get married (cf. Prov 18:22). It implies that true enjoyment cannot be confined to the individual level. We shall soon see why.<br /><br />It is significant that Qoheleth highlights enjoyment at the social level in response to the certainty of death as well as the uncertainties of life. According to him, uncertainties in life are intended by God to prod us to fear Him (3:10-15). Therefore, just as the pain from a shepherd’s goading is relieved when the sheep turns and moves in the direction the shepherd wants it to go, fearing God and keeping His commandments alleviates the distress caused by the uncertainties of life. We now apply this teaching to enjoying life with one’s spouse and see how this enjoyment relieves the discomfort of not knowing what awaits us.<br /><br />Since the “enjoyment” Qoheleth has in mind is that which is experienced “with a glad heart” (9:7), that is, out of a carefree disposition (5:18-20), the very experience of enjoying life with one’s spouse already means that uncertainties in life are no longer bothersome. So the admonition to enjoy life with one’s spouse basically amounts to cultivating the disposition needed for this to happen. Given the human propensity towards selfishness, this requires one to fear God and keep the commandment, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18b), which sums up all the commandments (Gal 5:14; cf. Matt 7:12). This is in fact implied in the admonition to “enjoy life with a woman <span style="font-style: italic;">whom you love</span>.” Enjoying life <span style="font-style: italic;">with</span> one’s spouse involves enjoying one’s spouse as well. This cannot happen without love.<br /><br />The ability to love and enjoy one’s spouse has far reaching implications. Since in this world we do not know whether it is love or hate that awaits us, we will never experience the blessedness of a stable loving relationship unless we experience it with someone whose love we can always count on. And this is what a spouse is meant to be (Prov 31:10-12). It is a common experience that unless we cultivate at least one life-long (“all the days of your fleeting life”) relationship of such quality, the deepest longings of our heart will not be fulfilled; and it is then hard for life to make sense. Indeed quality relationships constitute another crucial component to the meaning of life (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#baird">Baird</a> 1985: 119-20). The disposition that enables one to build a quality relationship with his spouse will also enable him to do the same with others. And when life is meaningful and friends and family are helpful we are more prepared to face adversities, and hence less bothered by uncertainties. Otherwise, we will be afflicted with the cares of this world, and no true enjoyment whatsoever is possible. Hence unless we have the disposition to enjoy life at the social level, we do not have what it takes to enjoy life at the individual level.<br /><br />This shows that if one does not observe the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself, one will become vulnerable in a seemingly hostile world. Since this commandment sums up all the commandments, it sums up God's purpose for human life (12:13). If we do not observe it, we are out-of-sync with who and what we are and should be; life will not be peaceful and meaningful. In our exposition of 3:22, we have already discussed the implication of enjoying life with one’s spouse not only as one’s “lot” in this life but also “in your labor”; and thereupon highlighted a contemporary folly--live to work, rather than work to live. We now see more clearly that this is not only meaningless; it is indeed “madness” (7:25; 9:3).<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/fear-god-and-be-carefree-81-15.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefulness-910-116.html">next</a></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-1849298867477235950?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-59286528341100556842007-10-16T12:16:00.001+08:002008-01-25T10:04:21.982+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">8:1 Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the severity of his countenance is changed. 8:2 I say, Keep the king’s command, because of the oath before God. 8:3 Do not be in a hurry to leave his presence. Do not take a stand in an evil matter, for he could do whatever he pleases. 8:4 For the word of the king is power, and who can say to him, "What are you doing?" 8:5 Whoever keeps a (royal) command will not experience a harmful thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the proper procedure. 8:6 For there is a proper time and a proper procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery is heavy upon him. 8:7 Since no one knows what will come to be, who can tell him what will come to be? 8:8 No man has power over the spirit, to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death; and there is no discharge from war, nor will evil deliver those who are given to it. </span><br /><br />Qoheleth has affirmed the value of proverbial wisdom rooted in the fear of God even in the face of righteous suffering. He has also attested that humanity is characterized by wickedness. He now applies all this to the case of a despotic king who is causing his subjects to suffer, especially those who serve in his court. How should a court official respond to such a king? The answer is still to fear God and act wisely. For only then is he in the position to know the “interpretation of a matter,” that is, understand the situation adequately to come up with a solution.<br /><br />For in this particular case, firstly, the wise official will have the right outward appearance (“wisdom makes his face shine, and the severity of his countenance is changed”). To make “his face shine” is an idiom that means “to be gracious” or “to be pleasant,” or both, as in this context. Thus wisdom enables the wise official “to suppress an angry or defiant look before the king and show, instead, a pleasant countenance” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 278).<br /><br />Secondly, he will honor his oath of loyalty to the king made before God, and so continue to “keep the king’s command” as well as not be “in a hurry to leave his presence.” To “leave his presence” here means to desert the king and “take a stand in an evil matter” by joining in a rebellious conspiracy (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 131). By doing so, in a world in which “the word of the king is power” and thus cannot be questioned so that the king “could do whatever he pleases,” the wise official will escape the harmful consequences of rebellion (cf. Prov 24:21-22). More than that, because of his continued access to the king coupled with his pleasant countenance before him, the official is in the best position to “interpret” the situation.<br /><br />Qoheleth is certainly not advocating that we do nothing about the injustice perpetrated by people in power. He affirms twice, that “there is a proper time and a proper procedure for every matter.” As in 3:1, the word translated “matter” in this context has the root meaning of “desire” and so refers to a “desired or purposed event.” The question is when and how this purposed course of action should be taken. He does not give a “one size fits all” solution. But the wise official who fears God and so observes sound proverbial wisdom, “though his misery is heavy upon him,” will have the needed composure (7:7-10) to be in the position to discern the right opportunity and the best approach to address the problem (cf. 10:4).<br /><br />In fact Qoheleth’s reiteration of the sub-theme that “no one knows” and so no one can tell us “what will come to be” reaffirms the value of proverbial wisdom rooted in the fear of God (7:1-14). For since we do not know what our uncertain future holds we had better live by principles that on the whole will deliver us from harm. He reinforces this reminder through a graphic depiction of what it is really like to face an uncertain future in light of the certainty of death. He says we have no power over our spirit, or life-breath, to stop it from leaving us; that is, we have no power to resist death when it happens (cf. 12:7). The imagery of having been drafted to fight in a war evokes the sense that death can happen anytime. And that there is no discharge from the war captures the reality that we have no escape from facing such an uncertain future. Qoheleth spells out that the schemes of those who practice evil will not succeed in delivering them from this reality; they only make things worse (7:11-12).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">8:9 All this I have seen while setting my heart on every deed that has been done under the sun, wherein a man exercises authority over (another) man to his hurt. 8:10 Thereupon I saw the wicked brought to the grave, and they proceeded from a holy place; and they were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. </span><br /><br />Verse 9 indicates that the discussion above on how a court official should respond to a despotic king is only a case study of a larger phenomenon. The lessons learned can be applied or adapted to other situations in which someone in power “exercises authority (unjustly) over another man to his hurt.” This is a common cause of righteous suffering. Grammatically the phrase “to his hurt” is ambiguous as to whether it refers to the one in power or his subordinate. In terms of context, the most natural reference is to the subordinate. But in terms of real life experience, when this happens, the one in power is, in the long run at least, also hurting himself. Perhaps Qoheleth deliberately left it ambiguous to alert us to this implication.<br /><br />As he observed and pondered over the abuse of authority by people in power, he noticed that such people do get an honorable funeral (“brought to the grave ... from a holy place”) and be praised in the very city they had committed their wicked deeds. This is observed even today. But to put it in perspective, it does not mean that they did not suffer for their wickedness at all. At the least, they will not have peace in their heart to the day of their death (Isa 59:8). And there have been wicked dictators who paid for their crimes before, or in, death. But even if not, the honorable funeral and the exuberant eulogy, being undeserved are meaningless. The people know it--it is all a show. This, Qoheleth says, is also vanity.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">8:11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 8:12 For a sinner does evil a hundred times and may prolong his life--although I know that it will be well with the God-fearers, because they fear Him. 8:13 But it will not be well with the wicked, and he will not prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God. </span><br /><br />As we saw earlier, Qoheleth has implicitly explained why God cannot always allow the righteous to prosper. But the question arises as to why He does not always cause the wicked to suffer and so deprive them of their undeserved prosperity. His answer is that God does not punish wickedness immediately, at least not always. This implies that He will do so ultimately. Why then does God not always punish wickedness immediately? Qoheleth does not need to spell it out that if He does, we will not be here discussing it (Lev 10:1-3)!<br /><br />The further explanation given in the New Testament is helpful: God’s forbearance and patience is intended to lead people to repentance (Rom 2:4). But instead, partly out of ignorance and partly out of stubbornness, people like the despotic king set their heart on doing evil. This explains why wickedness may abound even though God is still in control. But Qoheleth warns that it is well with those who fear God but not well with those who do not, especially in the long run. Wicked people may prolong their life; but they will not prolong it indefinitely like a shadow lengthening itself as the sun goes down. Death will catch up with them and so will their wickedness. Here Qoheleth makes no reference to judgment after death. But at the very end of the speech he does (12:14).<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">8:14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, 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. I said that this also is vanity. 8:15 So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and drink and have enjoyment, and this will accompany him in his toil all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. </span><br /><br />Having now explained why God allows the righteous to suffer and the wicked to prosper, Qoheleth rephrases this enigma bluntly: the righteous may get what the wicked deserve and vice-versa. He considers this vanity also. In light of his advice not to become “overly righteous” in order to obtain prosperity and avoid adversity, this “vanity” refers to the times when righteous deeds are, contrary to expectations, not “profitable” in terms of temporal blessings.<br /><br />In response to this enigma, Qoheleth further commends enjoyment. We are already very familiar with this as an admonition in response to the vanity of temporal things (2:24-26). In this context, though on the surface it is a response to the <span style="font-style: italic;">possible</span> vanity of righteous deeds, it is still a response to the vanity of temporal things. For it counters the temptation to become “overly righteous,” which we just saw wears one out and is rooted in covetousness (after temporal blessings). In fact, since the enjoyment is to be experienced out of a God-fearing and carefree disposition (5:18-20), this commendation amounts to an admonition to fear God, repent from covetousness and cultivate a healthy sense of detachment from temporal things, and thus be carefree.<br /><br />It is this disposition that enables us to come to terms with the enigma. We noted in our exposition of 1:12-28 that to have a truly meaningful life we must not only have a worthwhile purpose to live for, but we must also be able to see how the different aspects of life, especially the painful ones, contribute to that overall purpose. Then we can see a worthwhile purpose for painful experiences such as righteous suffering. Qoheleth’s teaching that God so works (allows righteous suffering) that we should fear Him (for nothing) points us to God's (worthwhile) purpose for humanity (3:14b; 12:13); it also helps us to make sense of undeserved suffering by showing how it contributes to this overall purpose.<br /><br />But people who do not accept Qoheleth’s teaching will have to look elsewhere to find meaning in undeserved suffering. Some may even use this apparent lack of meaning to argue for the non-existence of God. The irony is that, according to Qoheleth, the very purpose of painful experiences is to goad them to acknowledge who God is. Unless we submit to God’s purpose--to fear Him and be carefree--we do not have the disposition needed to appreciate and accept undeserved suffering and to experience the meaning of life as envisioned by Qoheleth.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/admonitions-in-light-of-human.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/elaboration-on-uncertainties-of-life.html">next</a><br /></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-5928652834110055684?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-53636272636576271652007-10-01T00:07:00.002+08:002010-08-31T17:05:06.669+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;">Through a series of proverbs, Qoheleth has just expressed the value of the fear of God and of wisdom in light of the uncertainties of life. Proverbial wisdom teaches that in the long run, if not also in the short term, those who fear God, that is, the righteous, will <span style="font-style: italic;">usually</span> prosper and the wicked will <span style="font-style: italic;">usually</span> suffer. So by using the genre of proverbs to teach the reward of righteousness, he has actually qualified himself implicitly that there can be exceptions. He now begins to address this problem.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);font-size:130%;">Fear God and Be Moderate (7:15-29) </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">7:15 In my fleeting lifetime I have seen it all: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 7:16 Do not become overly righteous, and do not make yourself excessively wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 7:17 Do not become overly wicked, neither become a fool. Why should you die before your time? 7:18 It is good that you grasp the one, and also not let go of the other; for he who fears God shall come forth with both of them. 7:19 Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. 7:21 Do not then take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 7:22 For you know too in your heart that many times you yourself have likewise cursed others. </span><br /><br />He begins by affirming that the righteous do suffer and the wicked do prosper. And since the righteous do die (young) in their righteousness, they do not seem to prosper even in the long run. While this observation does not contradict what he has just expressed through proverbial wisdom, he still needs to address this most enigmatic reality.<br /><br />His advice is not to “become overly righteous.” As reflected in our translation (“<span style="font-style: italic;">become</span> ... righteous” rather than the usual “<span style="font-style: italic;">be</span> ... righteous”), Qoheleth is referring to righteous action and not disposition. He is saying that since there is no guarantee righteousness will be rewarded (with temporal blessings), do not become righteous in order to attain prosperity and avoid adversity. This will only drive one to become more (and so, overly) righteous in action than he is in disposition. One is tempted to do this because on the whole the righteous do prosper and the wicked do suffer. When one is thus driven he will strive to become perfectly righteous and wear himself out (“ruin yourself”). For there is no way one can be sinless: “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (verse 20). Qoheleth’s comments about not taking seriously what we hear (verses 21-22) illustrates this truth in a way that no one can deny. And since righteousness is an expression of wisdom, the advice carries over to avoiding making oneself “excessively wise.”<br /><br />Qoheleth’s advice on not becoming “overly wicked” is not implying that it is alright to become a little wicked. For since no one can avoid sinning altogether, we are already being a little wicked even when we seek to live conscientiously. The advice then is: do not “become a fool” by allowing our wickedness to go unchecked and thus “become overly wicked.” This advice is needed. For if even the righteous may suffer and the wicked may still prosper, one may conclude that there is no point in living righteously. Qoheleth's warning about dying before one’s time if one does not heed this advice is a reaffirmation of sound proverbial wisdom: wisdom and righteousness do, on the whole, protect us from harm and even untimely death (7:11-12).<br /><br />How then shall we live? Qoheleth admonishes that if we fear God, we will be moderate and “come forth with both of them,” that is, on the one hand grasping the advice not to become overly righteous and excessively wise, and on the other hand not letting go of the other advice not to become foolish and overly wicked. So there is practical value in fearing God in light of this most enigmatic experience in life. He goes so far to say that wisdom, which is founded on the fear of God, is even stronger than the political strength of ten rulers put together.<br /><br />It is obvious that fearing God helps us to keep our wickedness in check and so avoid becoming “overly wicked.” But how does fearing God help us avoid becoming “overly righteous”? Qoheleth is in effect saying that we should not seek to fear God and become righteous in order to receive (temporal) blessings from Him. For this amounts to covetousness, from which the genuinely God-fearing would repent. To fear God is then to fear Him for who He is and not for what we can get out of Him. This is also taught in the book of Job, where we read about God allowing the righteous Job to be tested to prove Satan wrong, that Job did fear God “for nothing,” that is, not because of temporal blessings from God (Job 1:9). Hence if we truly fear God we will not become “overly righteous.”<br /><br />Qoheleth has in fact implicitly explained the enigma of righteous suffering. When he admonishes us to fear God in order to avoid becoming either overly righteous or overly wicked, both of which have painful consequences, he is actually applying what he said before: “God so works [in this case, allows the righteous to suffer] that men should fear Him” (3:14b). For we just saw that, in light of the baffling observation that the righteous do suffer, fearing God and so avoiding both these extremes is the most sensible way to live. What is further clarified here is that to fear God is to fear Him for nothing. That means, God so works that we should fear Him for nothing. And because human beings “have sought out many schemes” (7:29), God could not promise that the righteous will never suffer. For if He did, there will be few, if any, who would fear Him (for nothing). Because God is righteous He could not have created a world in which, on the whole, the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. This should give us incentive to live righteously but it should not tempt us to “fear Him” for something. Hence Qoheleth is teaching us how to live in such a world.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:23 All this I have tested with wisdom. I said, "I want to become wise," but it was far from me. 7:24 That which comes to be is far off, and is very deep; who can discover it? 7:25 I turned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and the sum (of things), and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. 7:26 And I discover more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters. He who is good in God’s sight will escape from her, but the sinner is captured by her. 7:27 Look! this is what I have discovered, says Qoheleth, (adding) one thing to another to find the sum--7:28 that which I have sought continually but have (still) not ascertained (is this): one man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 7:29 Look! only this I have ascertained, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. </span><br /><br />In light of what follows, the “all this” in verse 23 refers to the two observations made above concerning righteous suffering and inevitable wickedness. Qoheleth makes a quick comment on how he “tested with wisdom” the first and then turns his attention to do the same with the second.<br /><br />He said he had tried “to become wise,” that is, attain to the level of wisdom that would enable him to solve a certain problem, but failed (“it was far from me”). And the specific problem he sought to solve concerns “that which comes to be,” which refers to whatever we observe or experience (1:9; 3:15; 6:12), including the observation that the righteous may suffer and the wicked may prosper. He is reaffirming the sub-theme that the uncertain future, whether it concerns the righteous or the wicked, cannot be known ahead of time, as “that which comes to be is far off and very deep; who can discover it?" (cf. 8:17-9:1). Since Qoheleth has just admonished his audience to live in accordance with sound proverbial wisdom in the face of an uncertain and unknowable future (7:1-14), what he says here has the effect of urging them to heed his admonition to fear God, which includes being moderate.<br /><br />Qoheleth then turned his heart to investigate the observation concerning sin or wickedness. After recognizing that he could not be wise enough to discover the future, he began investigation to seek the wisdom that would enable him to see how things related to wickedness (“the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness”) add up (“the sum of things”). In part he was trying to “discover why, if God ‘made everything fitting in its time’ (3:11), human folly and wickedness should exist” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 126).<br /><br />He made two discoveries. The first supports the conventional wisdom concerning “the immoral woman against whose temptations men are constantly warned in the ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature and specifically, in the Old Testament, in Prov. 2:16-19; 5:3-6; 6:24-26; 7:5-27” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 125). Like the book of Proverbs, the implied audience of Ecclesiastes is male. It is an admonition to them to fear God and thus be “good in God’s sight” so that, unlike the sinner, they will escape from the snares, nets and fetters of such a woman. Like the other teachings and admonitions in Ecclesiastes, this one can also be applied to a female audience. For a God-fearing woman would also escape from the seductions of an immoral man.<br /><br />So this focus on the immoral woman is not to be understood as anti-women. In fact, the second discovery, as reflected in our translation of verses 27-28, can be interpreted as a defense of, rather than an unfair attack on, women. Though this interpretation is grammatically plausible, it is accepted by relatively few interpreters. This is probably because most interpreters see an unorthodox and inconsistent Qoheleth. But by interpreting Ecclesiastes as a persuasive speech and giving Qoheleth the benefit of the doubt whenever there is no valid reason not to, we have so far found him to be consistently orthodox. If this is the perception one has of him, this interpretation can readily be accepted. For even <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#murphy">Murphy</a>, who does not share this perception, defends it (1992: 74-78).<br /><br />According to this interpretation, Qoheleth is not the one making the claim, “one man among a thousand I found (righteous), but a woman among all these I have not found.” Rather, he discovered that though he has sought continually, he still could not ascertain the validity of this claim made by others. “Only this I have ascertained,” he clarifies emphatically, “that God made man upright but they have sought out many schemes.” Men and women are equally guilty. This discovery confirms the observation above that there is no one so righteous that he will never sin.<br /><br />Undoubtedly Qoheleth is echoing the teaching of the book of Genesis on the origin of humanity and its wicked bent. He affirms that though wickedness characterizes humanity, humanity was originally created “upright.” It was humanity that chose to become wicked, explicitly affirming the freedom of choice in human behavior. The Hebrew word translated “schemes” here shares the same root with that translated “thoughts” in: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). The phrase “every inclination of the thoughts of the heart” can be more idiomatically translated as “every plan devised by the mind [or heart]” (The <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#jewish">Jewish</a> Publication Society 1985: 10). The “schemes” are thus contrivances of the covetous heart bent on breaking God’s commandments. Only those who fear God has the inner strength to overcome this bent, and even then not perfectly.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/09/deliberations-in-light-of-uncertainties.html#b">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/fear-god-and-be-carefree-81-15.html">next</a><br /></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-5363627263657627165?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-86387899141983630622007-09-15T21:47:00.001+08:002010-08-31T17:02:39.912+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;">We do not know the future, whether the future within or beyond our own lifetime. As the previous passage highlights, we therefore do not know what we decide or choose to do in our lifetime is in the long run good or not. But then, even in the face of the uncertainties of the future, we still have to decide and choose what to do in life. How do we decide? What do we choose?<br /><br />Qoheleth has actually answered this question. He has said that because human beings will not know the future, “there is nothing good for them except to have enjoyment <span style="font-style: italic;">and to do good</span> in their lifetime” (3:11-12). In that context, “to do good” was presented as the prerequisite to enjoyment (cf. 2:24-26). Since enjoyment is good regardless of what happens in the future, “to do good” is therefore also good. But also in that context Qoheleth said, “God so works,” including making us face an uncertain future, “that men should fear Him” (3:14b). This means, to fear God and thus do good is not merely so that we can enjoy life. As Qoheleth will further clarify at the end of the speech, this is the very purpose of life and so exhorts his audience to observe it (12:13-14).<br /><br />For the next five chapters (7:1-11:6) he deliberates on how this purpose is workable in light of the uncertainties of life. He also deliberates on why it is sensible even in the face of the most baffling experiences in this world, such as when the righteous suffers while the wicked prospers.<br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);font-size:130%;"><br /><a name="b"></a>Proverbial Wisdom in Light of Uncertainties of Life (7:1-14) </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Qoheleth begins his deliberations with a series of proverbs. The choice of this genre to begin his deliberations on how to live in light of the uncertainties of the future is significant.<br /><br />The truthfulness of proverbial wisdom is not prescriptive but descriptive. Take for example the contemporary proverb, “Honesty is the best policy.” It is “true” not in the sense that it prescribes, as though making a promise, that if we are honest we will have no set-backs. But rather, it describes the usual outcome of a certain disposition or action under normal circumstances, especially in the long run. In this case, it means that it has been widely observed that honest people, despite possible set-backs in the short term, usually prosper in the long run.<br /><br />Proverbial wisdom assumes a created order that covers the physical, moral and social dimensions of life. When we violate this order we will suffer in the long run if not also in the short term. For instance, if we live as if gravity does not exist sooner or later we will have to pay for it. Similarly if we live as if greed is good or practice injustice, sooner or later we will reap what we sow. Since life is full of uncertainties and we do not know the future, the wisest thing to do in making decisions and choices is to observe time-tested principles such as those embodied in sound proverbial wisdom.<br /><br />As for Qoheleth, since he believes that the purpose of life is to fear God and keep His commandments (12:13-14), the proverbial wisdom that he shares are based on the Ten Commandments and are thus similar to that in the biblical book of Proverbs, which is based on the theme, “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10).<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:1 A good name is better than good ointment,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And the day of one’s death is better than the day of his birth. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In light of biblical proverbial wisdom (see for example, Prov 22:1-5) and what Qoheleth has been saying, the first half of this verse means, if we have to choose between the two, it is better to live a God-fearing and thus blameless life, and so maintain a “good name,” than to live in luxury (“good ointment”). He has just shown that on the whole this is true even in the short term (5:10-6:9). Its truthfulness for the long run is widely attested even in our newspapers today.<br /><br />Since “one’s reputation is not complete until one dies” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> 1987: 133), in this sense, one’s death is better than one’s birth. This is particularly true in light of the uncertainties of life. For there have been people, including those born into reputable families, who began so well but only to fall into utter disrepute. This preference for lamentation over celebration takes a different nuance and serves a different purpose when read in light of the next few verses.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Than to the house of feasting,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Because this is the end of every man,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And the living will take it to heart.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For when the face is sad the heart may be glad.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">While the heart of the fool is in the house of pleasure. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When viewed in terms of its possible effects on others, the idea that one’s death is better than one’s birth is also true in a different sense. For in a funeral, one is graphically reminded of the certainty of death and is prodded to come to terms with one’s own mortality. As <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> puts it eloquently,<br /><br />The reason for preferring grief to revelry resembles the thought in Ps 90:12 (“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom,” RSV). By pondering the implications of life’s brevity and death’s inevitability, we may acquire insight or even real wisdom. Qohelet advises one to face death squarely, without drowning awareness of mortality in endless drinking bouts and parties.... Since everyone eventually dies, a realist prepares for that moment. In considering that unwelcome event one encounters an astonishing paradox: suffering can instruct, purge the spirit, and offer increased learning. An astute observer of life makes a path for the house of mourning, anticipating an encounter with the essence of human existence. The fool takes up residence in the place of mirth. (1987: 134-5).<br /><br />In fact, through confronting his audience repeatedly with the sense of vanity, Qoheleth has been goading his audience to come to terms with their own mortality up until the last passage. This set of proverbs in effect helps them to accept what he has been saying by showing that otherwise they are not equipped to face the uncertainties of life and an unknown future with proper confidence.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of the wise</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Than for one to listen to the song of fools.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">So is the laughter of the fool,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And this also is vanity. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">These two verses extend from the previous ones. For just as the sorrowful experience of the death of a friend or family member is beneficial, so is the sorrowful experience of being rebuked by the wise. For in light of the uncertainties of life we need the rebuke of the wise so that we would not stray from the path of wisdom. The relative worthlessness of the nice feeling or even the foolish laughter that we get from listening to “the song of fools” is comparable to using thorns as fuel: “Thistles provide quick flames, little heat, and a lot of unpleasant noise” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> 1987: 135). This is indeed vanity.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:7 Surely extortion makes the wise foolish,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And a bribe corrupts the heart.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A patient spirit is better than a haughty spirit.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:9 Do not be quick in your spirit to be angry,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For anger resides in the bosom of fools.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this. </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Qoheleth now picks up again on the wisdom of maintaining “a good name” by living a God-fearing and blameless life. The wise are hereby warned that when under the pressure of extortion even they may make foolish decisions and choices. And needless to say, a bribe corrupts the heart.<br /><br />The advice Qoheleth gives is to look at “the end of the matter” and not “its beginning.” For “there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov 14:12). In other words, consider the consequences of our decisions and actions. Is it a case of short-term gain but long-term loss? Are we willing to suffer short-term loss for long-term gain? If we have to violate sound proverbial wisdom we can expect long-term loss, no matter how promising the short-term gain may seem to be. To do the wise thing often requires patience, which in this case is to endure the short-term loss. To do otherwise is in this sense “haughty,” as it implies that one presumes he is able go against the odds stacked against him and win.<br /><br />An obvious but often ignored application of being patient is to avoid getting angry easily. Its foolishness is obvious to anyone when he is not angry. But too many people have suffered the consequences of reacting to the slightest provocation in anger, out of the “haughtiness” that they are able to get away with it. To help us cultivate the right spirit so that we react correctly to different kinds of unpleasant circumstances, Qoheleth says it is not wise to ask, “Why are the former days better than these?” For to do so reveals an impatient spirit and a habit of not looking at the long term (“the end of the matter”), but instead focusing on the current situation (“its beginning”). This predisposes us to act or react foolishly.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:11 Wisdom is good like an inheritance,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And a profit to those who see the sun.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">7:12 For the protection of wisdom is the protection of money,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Without saying so, by reciting proverbs that are so similar to those in the wisdom book of Proverbs, Qoheleth has been affirming the value of wisdom. He has shown that wisdom is vanity in light of the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life, in the sense that the things we gained through laboring with wisdom are transitory (2:12-17). And also, wisdom is not able to solve this basic problem of life (1:12-18). But here he explicitly recognizes that, in a different sense, wisdom has profit in light of this very basic problem: its ability to protect against avoidable harm and loss, and even untimely death.<br /><br />He compares wisdom with money because this is what people tend to trust in. Though money can offer protection, but the love of it is a root of all sorts of evil, and leads to destruction. He has just reminded us of this in his warning concerning extortion and bribery. In biblical proverbial wisdom, the reward of the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, “are riches, honor ['a good name'] and life” (Prov 22:4; cf. Prov 3:13-18). For a God-fearing and thus wise person is trustworthy, hardworking, prudent with money, and avoids getting into legal, moral or social problems. Under normal circumstances he will usually do well materially (“riches”), be respected (“honor”), and is not likely to suffer an untimely death related to criminal or immoral activities (“life”). Since wisdom brings not just riches but also honor and life, it provides not just the kind of protection money offers, but also what money by itself cannot offer. It thus has a distinct advantage over money.<br /><br />Since Qoheleth broached this subject by comparing wisdom with an inheritance, he is saying something to parents concerning what they really want to leave behind for their children. He had himself done some serious thinking on this matter (2:18-23).<br /><br />In verse 12b knowledge is not to be understood as the same as wisdom. In biblical wisdom thinking, knowledge refers to the correct understanding of how the created order works in all its dimensions. Wisdom then is the correct application of this knowledge in daily living. Hence though knowledge and wisdom are not the same they come in the same package. Confusion arises when people mistake information for knowledge. One may have gained information. But until and unless he has understood it adequately and so could use it profitably (wisdom), the information has not yet become knowledge.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">7:13 Consider the work of God. For who is able to make straight what He has made crooked? 7:14 In the day of prosperity be glad, but in the day of adversity consider--indeed God has made the one as well as the other, so that man will not find out anything after him. </span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Qoheleth now concludes what amounts to a series of proverbial admonitions with a call to “consider” or reflect on reality as ordained by God. The imagery of “what is made crooked cannot be straightened” was used earlier in the context of the inability of wisdom to solve the basic problem of life (1:14-15). Here he spells out that this “crooked” world is the result of “the work of God,” and specifies one aspect of it: God gives prosperity but also allows adversity (cf. 3:1-9). And just as we saw in the previous passage, we cannot argue with God to straighten what is crooked. Qoheleth then gives an admonition on how to respond to this “crookedness”: in times of prosperity, make the most of it and be glad, for times of adversity will come; but in times of adversity reflect on God’s purpose in allowing them, namely “so that man will not find out anything after him.” This means, because there are times of prosperity as well as adversity, no one is able to predict what the future is like after his death. So no one “knows what is good for man (to do) in his lifetime” (6:12). Since Qoheleth’s proverbial admonitions are given in light of this situation, the call here to reflect on the inevitability of adversity and its purpose has the effect of persuading his audience to take the admonitions seriously.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/09/recapitulation-of-theme-and-sub-themes.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/admonitions-in-light-of-human.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-8638789914198363062?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-35685996540974394382007-09-07T02:22:00.000+08:002007-11-05T22:16:49.983+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">6:10 Whatever comes to be has already been called by name, and it is known that he is man, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he is. 6:11 For there are many words that increase vanity. What is the profit to man? 6:12 For who knows what is good for man in his lifetime, the few days of his fleeting life, which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell man what will come to be after him under the sun? </span><br /><br />This passage is exceptionally compact. Here Qoheleth pulls together the theme and the sub-themes and show in a direct and concise manner how they relate to one another. So to unpack the ideas we must interpret the passage in light of what he has said so far.<br /><br />When Qoheleth first announced the theme of his speech, presented as, “Vanity of vanities; All is vanity (profitless),” as well as, “What profit is there?” (1:2-3), he recited a poem (1:4-8). The poem embodied the idea that, “whatever has come to be, that is what will come to be,” which means, “there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). It thus illustrates the idea of the theme: there is no net gain or profit in this world. But it also carries its own message: despite the cycles of one generation replacing another, basic realities about humanity remain unchanged (1:4).<br /><br />When the theme was repeated for the first time, presented only as “What profit is there?” (3:9), it was expressed as a consequence to the reality captured in the second poem (3:1-8). This poem, which began with “a time to die” (3:2), and ended with “a time for war” (3:8), embodied the reality that while death is certain, life is uncertain. In other words, there is no profit under the sun because we will one day lose everything we gain in this world, if not through a misfortune like war, then through death.<br /><br />In reference to the events represented in this poem, Qoheleth said: “Whatever comes to be, has already been; that which will come to be, already has been; for God seeks what has gone by” (3:15). This is just a rephrasing of 1:9 and is thus saying the same thing as the previous poem, reminding us that basic realities have not changed. That means, the reality presented in the second poem--the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life—has not changed.<br /><br />When Qoheleth’s audience now hear him say “Whatever comes to be has already been called by name,” they will recognize that this statement is also another rephrasing of 1:9. For when something has been “called by name” it is already known (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox2">Fox</a> 1999: 248), and so it is already in existence (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> 1987: 130) and its character has been determined (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 110). Therefore it amounts to saying that whatever comes to be, whether a thing or an event, it is not something new. This statement is thus making a quick reference to the message embodied in the two poems: basic realities, including the unpleasant reality that death is certain and life is uncertain, have not changed.<br /><br />Qoheleth’s manner of rephrasing 1:9 and 3:15 in this passage enables him to remind his audience of this unpleasant reality and in the same breath, to highlight another unchanging reality about humanity: “it is known that he is man,” which implies “he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he is,” that is, God. What is happening is this. Qoheleth confronts his audience with the unpleasant reality, which he told them was ordained by God and which they would want changed if they could (3:1,11-15). He then says that it is useless to dispute with God to change it. For if a man is foolish enough to do that, no matter how many words he uses to present his case, these will fail to impress Him. The situation becomes one in which “there are many words that increase vanity.” In fact Qoheleth has already said that there could be no change, for “everything God does remains forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it” (3:14a).<br /><br />The rhetorical question that follows--“What is the profit to man?”--is asked not only in light of the futility of trying to change the unchanging reality presented in the second poem, but also in light of the unchanging reality itself. Like the same question asked (3:9) just after this very poem (3:1-8), it is a repetition of the theme. But there is a difference. The question in 3:9 was asked in light of the unpleasant reality presented in the poem, which renders everything we gain in this world transitory and thus profitless. Here Qoheleth is asking whether there can be any profit at all when this reality is not only unchanging but is also unchangeable, and that trying to change it only increases futility. This rhetorical question, here asked for the last time in the speech, has never been asked in light of a situation this desperate. Hence this recapitulation of the theme and sub-themes enables Qoheleth to reiterate the theme in a more forceful way.<br /><br />In the very next breath (verse 12), Qoheleth further explains why this unchangeable reality results in no profit under the sun. Everything is vanity because no one “knows what is good in his lifetime, the few days of his fleeting life, which he spends like a shadow.” And this in turn is because no one knows “what will come to be after him under the sun,” which means, since life on earth is uncertain, no one knows what will happen under the sun "after him," that is, after his leaving this world. To follow Qoheleth’s argument we must answer two questions. The first is, why is it that because we do not know what will happen in this world after we die, we do not know what is good?<br /><br />Franz <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#delitzsch">Delitzsch</a> has answered this question well: “The author means to say, that a man can say, neither to himself nor to another, what in definite cases is the real advantage [or good]; because, in order to say this, he must look far into the future beyond the limits of the individual life of man, which is only a small member of a great whole” (1872: 312). The need to look beyond one’s lifetime to know what is good within one's lifetime explains why there is such an unusual emphasis here on the brevity of life: “few days,” “fleeting life,” and “spends like a shadow.” The imagery of a shadow here gives a concrete sense of how brief human life is compared to human history. For just as a shadow lasts a fraction of the lifespan of the observer, so is his lifetime a fraction of the span of human history.<br /><br />Delitzsch’s answer is fully in line with what Qoheleth has said. For in light of the certainty of death, he had himself lamented the fact that he had to leave behind the fruit of his labor to his heir (2:18). He considered this vanity as well because, in light of the uncertainties of life, he would not know if his heir could make good use of it (2:19, 21). We saw that in that context he was recounting his quest for the meaning of life through the pursuit of success. Since he said he despaired over the fruit of his labor (2:20), he must have found the whole experience meaningless. Let us consider why this would be the case.<br /><br />As Donald <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#polkinghorne">Polkinghorne</a> puts it, “The question, ‘What does that mean?’, asks how something is related or connected to something else. To ask what a word means is to ask what it stands for. To ask about the meaning or significance of an event is to ask how it contributed to the conclusion of the episode [of which the event is a part]” (1988: 6). The story-shaped nature of human life and human history is such that whatever we do is part of a drama that goes beyond our brief lifetime. And unless we know how the story ends, we do not know the value (whether good or bad) or the significance (meaning) of what we are doing. Since Qoheleth could not know the outcome of the fruit of his labor, not even in the very next generation, he found leaving it to his heir not only vanity but also a “great affliction” (2:21). This implies he found his success painfully meaningless, as he had toiled hard for it (2:22-23).<br /><br />The second question we need to answer is, why is it that because we do not know what is good, there is no profit under the sun? We have just answered it as well. For if Qoheleth were able to know the ultimate outcome of all that he labored for, and that in light of that outcome, his labor could be considered good, he would have found meaning in it. And since the ultimate purpose of his pursuit of success was to find the meaning of life, he would not have considered the fruit of his labor vanity and despaired over it simply because he had to leave it all behind. That means, there is no profit under the sun not just because we have to leave this world, but also because we do not know what will come to be in this world after we have left, and thus do not know what is good. Hence this recapitulation of the theme and sub-themes also enables us to understand “What profit is there?” more clearly.<br /><br />But how does this passage relate to the previous one? Note that verse 12 of this passage is essentially saying the same thing as 3:22, although in that verse, instead of the rhetorical question “who knows what is good for man in his lifetime” we have the repeated affirmation “there is nothing good except that man should have enjoyment.” For though the two expressions seem contradictory, they are in fact complementary. We just saw that Qoheleth's recounting of his pursuit of success (2:12-23) illustrates the meaning of verse 12. And this pursuit was part of his investigation to “see what is <span style="font-style: italic;">good</span> for the children of man <span style="font-style: italic;">to do</span> ... during the few days of their life” (2:3). This means in verse 12 Qoheleth is really asking, “who knows what is <span style="font-style: italic;">good</span> for man <span style="font-style: italic;">to do</span> in his lifetime, the few days of his fleeting life.” Also, Qoheleth concluded his investigation with the affirmation that there is nothing good except enjoyment (2:24). So the question “who knows what is good (to do)...?” excludes enjoyment. Combining verse 12 and 3:22, Qoheleth is therefore saying: because we do not know the future, we do not know what is good to do, and so there is nothing good except enjoyment. We have seen enjoyment is good because it gives meaning to life, and this is not affected by what happens in the future.<br /><br />Hence Qoheleth’s repeated affirmation that enjoyment of life is the only good (2:24; 3:12, 22; 5:18) is based on the assumption that we do not know what is good to do, which is itself based on the assumption that we do know what will happen in the future. So the rhetorical questions--“Who knows what is good for man...?” and “Who can tell man what will come to be ...?”--are in effect reaffirming these assumptions respectively. In the process, they reinforce the affirmation on enjoyment.<br /><br />In other words, verse 12 not only explains why the reality of the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life results in no profit under the sun, it also reinforces the admonition to enjoy life. And in this passage, this verse follows the repetition of the theme “What profit is there?” just as the extended passage before it, which is an elaborate discussion on enjoyment (5:18-6:9), follows the previous repetition of the theme (5:16). Also, in the present passage the repetition of the theme in verse 11 follows a reference to the poem on the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life (3:1-8), just as the earlier repetition of the theme (3:9) follows this very same poem. So this passage recapitulates chapters 3-6, up to the last verse of the last passage (6:9) in terms of content and structure. Furthermore, the first part of verse 10 is a rephrasing of 1:9, which confirmed that the first poem (1:4-8) was an illustration of the theme, which was there expressed for the first time (1:2-3). And verse 12 is illustrated by Qoheleth's recounting of his quest for the meaning of life (1:12-2:23), which led to his first admonition to enjoy life (2:24-26). That means, this recapitulation goes all the way to the very beginning of the speech.<br /><br />What then is the point of this recapitulation? As we just saw, because it shows directly and concisely how the theme and sub-themes relate to one another, it enables Qoheleth to ask “What profit is there?” more forcefully and helps us understand its meaning more clearly. But there is more to it. As shown in our exposition of previous passages, the unpleasant reality of the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life, the consequent vanity of life under the sun, and the consequent need for enjoyment to make sense of life, all have the effect of prodding us to acknowledge God and live a life pleasing to Him. “For God so works that men should fear Him” (3:14b). So even if his audience is not perceptive enough to see that in this recapitulation Qoheleth is urging them to do that, he is still in effect preparing them for the final exhortation: “The conclusion, when all has been heard: Fear God and keep His commandments” (12:13).<br /><br />But, as we shall see in the next section, before he makes that call to decision, having now recapitulated the theme and the sub-themes, he shifts his focus to deliberate on how to come to terms with the down-to-earth realities in this world in light of the uncertainties of life. In the process he shows why a God-fearing life makes sense even in light of the most puzzling experiences under the sun. This thus further prepares his audience for the final exhortation.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/08/non-enjoyment-of-prosperity-61-9.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/09/deliberations-in-light-of-uncertainties.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-3568599654097439438?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-12942532487860703582007-08-15T23:55:00.000+08:002007-09-07T02:32:40.467+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">6:1 There is a grievous thing that I have seen under the sun, and it is prevalent among men: 6:2 a man to whom God gives riches, possessions, and honor, so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not empower him to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a grievous affliction. </span><br /><br />Qoheleth now contrasts the carefree person in the previous passage with one who is not able to enjoy the riches, possessions and even honor (apparently as a result of the wealth and not of righteousness) that God has given him. Unlike the carefree person, “God does not (also) empower him to enjoy them.” He is like the sinner whom He “has given the business of gathering and collecting in order to give to one who pleases God” (2:26). Here Qoheleth calls the one who pleases God “a stranger.” As we saw in the exposition of 2:24-26, what he means is that the wealth would only benefit some others who are able to enjoy it because they please God. Like in 2:26, Qoheleth says, “this is vanity”--wealth does not profit its possessor. For it fails to fulfill even the immediate purpose why the wealth was pursued: enjoyment and satisfaction. <br /><br />Qoheleth observed that one could have everything one ever wanted (“his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires”) and yet find no satisfaction. He himself had a similar experience (2:1-11). This observation of vanity reminds us that the ability to enjoy life is beyond self-determination--it is the side-effect of fearing God. Qoheleth introduces this observation with, “there is a grievous thing,” and concludes with, “it is a grievous affliction.” But because the non-enjoyment of prosperity is “prevalent among men,” it may not seem grievous. What is the “norm” (average experience) is usually felt to be “normal” even though it is not what it could and should be.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">6:3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many the days of his years may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things, I say, even though it has no grave, the stillborn child is better off than he. 6:4 For it came in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name will be covered. 6:5 Even though it has not seen the sun or known anything, it has more rest than he. 6:6 Even if he had lived a thousand years twice over, yet does not enjoy good things--do not both go to one place? </span><br /><br />To help us feel the grievousness of the non-enjoyment of prosperity, Qoheleth compares the case of one who is not only wealthy but has many children and a very long life, with that of a stillborn child. In the ancient biblical world, “wealth, progeny, and longevity are the items that humans, even kings, most commonly requested from the deity” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 225). In contrast, a stillborn child comes into this world “in vanity” (in vain), as its birth amounts to nothing. To “see the sun” is to be alive in this world, as “under the sun” is the realm of the living. The stillborn “goes in darkness” because it goes to the netherworld without having “seen the sun” at all. <br /><br />That means it never had the chance to taste even fleetingly what this life is like and hence “has not known anything” about it. It does not even have a grave to indicate that it ever existed, as “stillbirths were cast into pits or hidden in the ground in no recognizable graves” (The <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#jewish">Jewish</a> Publication Society 1985: 1448). Since its “name” (memory) is thus “covered in darkness,” it is considered to have never existed. As Robert <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#gordis">Gordis</a> aptly puts it, “the lot of the still-born was regarded with a particular horror precisely because both avenues of life, directly or vicariously, was denied to it, since it neither experienced life nor left any offspring or memory behind” (1968: 259).<br /><br />As horrid as the case of the stillborn may be, Qoheleth tells us that it is better off than the one who has wealth, progeny and longevity but does not enjoy the good things he is blessed with. This is because “it has more rest” than the rich man. To appreciate this comparison we need to recall what Qoheleth has just said about the consequences of loving money (5:10-17), which is the basic reason why a rich person could not enjoy his wealth (this is confirmed in verses 7-9). For his covetousness not only robs him of the gladness of his heart but also plagues him with cares and miseries. On the other hand, specifically because the stillborn never had a chance to know what it is like under the sun, it has never experienced unrest whatsoever. Thus Qoheleth “could not emphasize the rich man’s plight more strongly than by this comparison. The stillborn lies at rest while the rich man continues in frustration” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> 1987: 127).<br /><br />The only “advantage” the rich man has is the chance to experience life and even accumulate wealth under the sun. But what is the whole point of this “advantage” if his life lacks enjoyment, since he must ultimately die and “go to the same place” as the stillborn? Compared to such a life, what does the stillborn really miss by taking a “short-cut” straight to the hereafter? Nothing but the toils and sorrows that we must all bear in this life. So unless these inevitable experiences are adequately compensated for by an overall sense of carefreeness and satisfaction, life is not worth living. Many people are simply enduring a meaningless existence. The stillborn is better off than them. Qoheleth affirms that this is still the case, “however many the days of his years may be,” and even if he lives “a thousand years twice over,” but does not enjoy what he has.<br /><br />When life is worth living, longevity is a blessing. When it is not, it is a curse, a curse worse than the fate of the stillborn. By emphasizing the longevity to the point of fantasy, Qoheleth makes sure we do not miss the meaninglessness of an existence such as that of the rich man described here.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">6:7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, and yet his appetite is not satisfied. 6:8 Indeed what advantage has the wise man over the fool? What is there for the poor by knowing how to conduct himself before the living? 6:9 What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This also is vanity and a pursuit of wind. </span><br /><br />Having considered the grievousness of the non-enjoyment of prosperity, Qoheleth states the cause: one who craves after prosperity cannot be satisfied by it. He has earlier made a similar statement that he who loves money will not be satisfied with it (5:10). Now he goes on to explain why.<br /><br />He uses the universal human experience of eating to illustrate that craving after more things is insatiable. For just as the food that we put into our mouth will not remove our hunger once and for all, there is no end to our appetite for the other things that we toil for. We cannot deny our biological craving for food. But Qoheleth is calling us to deny our psychological craving for prosperity. The proverbial statement, “What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires,” is comparable to, “One bird in the hands is better than two in the bushes.” The <span style="font-style: italic;">Good News Bible</span> captures the meaning well: “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.” For otherwise we will not be able to enjoy what we have, no matter how much we already have.<br /><br />And when prosperity cannot be enjoyed, then the wise who knows how to make wealth has no real advantage over the fool. To further drive home the point, Qoheleth adds that there is also no use for the poor to gain wisdom and become successful through “knowing how to conduct himself before the living.” For he is only graduating from one form of misery to another.<br /><br />Qoheleth’s concluding statement, “this also is vanity and a pursuit of wind,” does not refer to the comparison--“what the eyes see is better than what the soul desires”--itself. It refers to the tendency implied in verse 7: attempting to satisfy our psychological “appetite” (same Hebrew word as soul) by means of the things we toil for in this world. And this is futility in light of what is assumed in the comparison: the insatiability of “what the soul desires.” But how do we overcome the craving of the soul? In the immediate context the answer is to be satisfied with what we already have (“what the eye sees”). This can happen through a heartfelt recognition that everything is ultimately profitless. This is partly why Qoheleth seeks to create, amplify and reinforce the sense of vanity in our heart.<br /><br />But there is more to it. The main reason Qoheleth wants us to feel deeply the reality that all is vanity is to prod us into recognizing our accountability to God, to fear Him and keep His commandments. Another name for the craving of the soul is covetousness. One who truly fears God desires to please Him and so has an inner strength to overcome covetousness. For he is conscious that God knows what he is harboring in his heart and his God-given conscience restrains him from evil and constraints him to do good. He will not be perfect in keeping God’s commandments. But his fear of God keeps him repentant, enabling him to progress in living a conscientious life. As a covetous person is “not satisfied with what he has but always wanting something else,” he is by definition not a carefree person. So Qoheleth’s teaching that the fear of God is basic to carefreeness and enjoyment is built on rock solid ground.<br /><br />The soul, presented here as the seat of desire, is insatiable when one yields to its covetousness. But one could and should “let his soul see good in his labor” (2:24). We stated in the exposition of 2:24 that this refers to the soul finding satisfaction in one’s labor through the enjoyment of its fruit. This interpretation is confirmed when Qoheleth equates he whose “soul is not satisfied with good things” (6:3) with he who “does not enjoy (‘see’) good things” (6:6). Qoheleth has also affirmed that one who “sees good” in his labor (5:18) is one who rejoices in it (5:19). The soul can even find joy in one’s labor! This clarifies the kind of satisfaction Qoheleth has in mind. And by now it seems redundant to add that the prerequisite is a carefree disposition cultivated through a God-fearing way of thinking and living. To avoid misunderstanding, we must add that the word “carefree” as used throughout our exposition of Ecclesiastes does not imply being careless or complacent. Qoheleth will soon admonish us to be “careful” in light of the uncertainties of life (9:10-11:6).<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/08/elaboration-on-carefreeness-518-69.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/09/recapitulation-of-theme-and-sub-themes.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-1294253248786070358?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-13707905153620477522007-08-02T19:36:00.000+08:002007-08-16T00:08:34.942+08:00<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);font-size:130%;" >Enjoyment of Prosperity (5:18-20)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">5:18 Look! What I have seen to be good, what is fitting, is to eat and drink and to see good in all of one’s labor in which he toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 5:19 In fact, (in the case of) every man whom God gives wealth and possessions and (also) empowers him to enjoy it and to receive his lot and rejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God. 5:20 For he will not often remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.</span><br /><br />With the interjection “Look!” Qoheleth redirects our attention to what he had seen to be “good” and “fitting.” Instead of being trapped in the grievousness of loving money (5:10-17), he admonishes us to enjoy our eating and drinking and so find satisfaction (“see good”) in our toils. He has already said three times that except for this, there is “nothing good” (2:24; 3:12, 22). He also reiterates the reason for it: “for this is his lot” (5:19; 3:22). Without repeating the discussion in our exposition of 3:22, this phrase means that the only good we can expect from the things we work for in this life is to find enjoyment in and through them. For this is what is alloted to us. When one is able to experience this good and thus “rejoice in his labor” he is said to have “received his lot.” As reflected in our translation of verse 19, the implication is that not everyone, including those who have wealth and possessions, “receives his lot.”<br /><br />In this passage, Qoheleth adds that enjoyment is not only good but also “fitting.” The Hebrew word was earlier used in 3:11 in the statement that God “makes everything <span style="font-style: italic;">appropriate</span> in its time.” There it is used to express the idea that the events represented in the poem of 3:1-8 happen in this world in a way that is appropriate to, or is fitting in light of, an overall purpose. Here it expresses the idea that the enjoyment of the fruit of our labor “is fitting,” or makes sense, in light of the brevity (“few days”) of life under the sun. As can be seen in our exposition of 2:24-26, this idea was already implied when Qoheleth first presented enjoyment as the solution to the vanity of life.<br /><br />How then can one “receive his lot”? According to Qoheleth, the ability to enjoy what we have is a gift received from the hand of God (5:19; 2:24; 3:13). And only those who are “good in God’s sight” (2:24-26), that is, those who are God-fearing (3:12-15) get to receive this gift. How then is this gift received and what has fearing God to do with it? Before we answer these questions, let us take note that in this context Qoheleth is talking about the enjoyment of wealth and prosperity. This passage provides the solution to the problem presented in the previous passage: the grievous afflictions that plague wealthy people who love money. It also confirms that Qoheleth was not speaking against wealth, but only against the love of money. Although this passage addresses enjoyment of prosperity and not enjoyment of life in general, it is clear that what it teaches about enjoyment is also applicable to it.<br /><br />Qoheleth explains that one who has received his lot as a gift from God is he whom God has “empowered” to enjoy what He has given him. To do this, “God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart” so that “he will not often remember the days of his life.” That means he is hardly bothered by the cares of this life. When we are burdened by cares our days pass by slowly. But when we are occupied with gladness we hardly “remember” or take notice of our days passing by. Qoheleth is not saying, “he will <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> remember the days of his life.” He recognizes that even a carefree person will face problems and experience sorrows and even have anxious moments (7:14). He is talking about a disposition that is basically carefree, a carefreeness that makes it actually possible even for a wealthy person to enjoy his prosperity. In light of what Qoheleth has just said about the cares and miseries often associated with wealth, this comes as a breath of fresh air.<br /><br />This elaboration on what it means to have enjoyment as a gift from the hand of God clarifies the kind of enjoyment Qoheleth had in mind all along (2:24-26; 3:12-13, 22): experiencing pleasure and satisfaction out of a carefree disposition. And since not many people have such a disposition, the kind of enjoyment that Qoheleth has been referring to is not common. The experience we call “enjoyment” is very subjective. Anyone can say, “I am enjoying life.” But unless he has a relatively carefree disposition, he has not known the blissful enjoyment Qoheleth is talking about. With this in mind, we are now ready to consider the fear of God in relation to enjoyment.<br /><br />It may not be obvious to a contemporary reader that in this passage Qoheleth has actually begun to explain why only God-fearing people can enjoy life. But to his original audience, to fear God is to keep His commandments (12:13). And they would have known the Ten Commandments by heart (Exod 20:1-17; Deut 5:6-21). When Qoheleth was describing the grievousness of loving money, they would have understood it as the consequence of violating the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet.” In case any of them failed to do so, Qoheleth soon made it clear enough that covetousness was indeed the problem (6:7-9). A God-fearing person, whether rich or poor, will be relatively free from the love of money and the self-imposed cares and miseries that come with it. This will enable him to enjoy what God has given him.<br /><br />The love of money is an expression of covetousness. As “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1Tim 6:10), covetousness is often the cause behind the breaking of the other nine commandments. So the tenth commandment forbids all forms of covetousness. It is not just against coveting one’s neighbor’s field (greed) but also his wife (lust) and “anything that belongs to him” (which includes envy and selfish ambition). Each of these negative feelings, in and by itself, already robs us of the gladness of our heart. What more when it leads to the actual violation of the other commandments. The possibility of carefreeness is then virtually ruled out. For consider the commandments against murder, theft, adultery, and perjury. Can anyone who commits, or is covetous enough that he is inclined to commit, any of these be care-free? Since covetousness is in one’s heart and no one else sees it except God, only the conscientious will be able to overcome it. It should now be obvious why a God-fearing heart is necessary to cultivating the carefree disposition needed to enjoy life.<br /><br />If it is one’s fear of God that gives him the ability to enjoy the fruit of his labor, how then can Qoheleth say it is God who “empowers him to enjoy it,” and it is God who “keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart”? We have been reminding ourselves that, since Qoheleth considers whatever happens as ultimately either directed or permitted by God, he attributes whatever we experience to the hand of God. However, in this case, since we do know the immediate cause behind one’s ability to enjoy life, we can explore more specifically in what way it is ultimately the work of God.<br /><br />In Old Testament wisdom thinking, God has created, and has been sustaining, the world in such a way that those who do not fear Him and so violate His commandments will suffer the consequences (Prov 8:12-14, 22-36; 9:10). Qoheleth just highlighted one such consequence, namely, the inability to enjoy the fruit of their labor. His description of the misery of loving money illustrates this reality. The painful consequences of not keeping God’s commandments are intended to goad us into fearing Him, “for God so works that men should fear Him” (3:14). In the context this statement occurs, it refers to God appointing unpleasant events in this world to make us face the reality that while death is certain, life is uncertain (3:1-8). An intended effect on us is the realization that everything we covet after and work for in this life is in the end profitless (3:9). When we take this somber reality to heart we can see that coveting after what we do not have, and especially since it burdens us with cares and deprives us of the enjoyment of what we do have, is utterly meaningless. This realization can thus set us free from covetousness as well as free to keep His other commandments.<br /><br />Since it is God who so works that we are prodded to fear Him, ultimately it is God who keeps our hearts from the cares and miseries associated with not keeping His commandments. Furthermore, God has not only created human beings with the predisposition to fear Him through their conscience, but has also put a knowledge of His commandments in their hearts (Deut 30:11-14; Rom 2:14-16). This explains why people who have never heard of the Ten Commandments and may not even profess belief in God know it is wrong to commit murder, theft, adultery and perjury. And some of them may even be by nature conscientious enough that they would not even consider committing any of these wrongs. In this sense they are innately enabled to be carefree. So all the more it makes sense to say that it is indeed God who empowers us to enjoy life. But of course not everyone is by nature conscientious enough, or is willing to yield to God’s prodding, to fear Him and keep His commandments. This is the concern of the next passage (6:1-9).<br /><br />A question now arises. Can one who lives a conscientious life but does not acknowledge God be “occupied with the gladness of his heart”? As we saw in our exposition of 3:10-15, when we are faced with the reality of the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life, it evokes in us a deep-seated sense of insecurity. This is intended to make us feel the need to turn to the God who is in control of whatever happens in this world. This then leads us to acknowledge Him by living our life on His terms through keeping His commandments. By thus recognizing His providence, we are enabled to cultivate a deep sense of security instead. People who do not acknowledge God may be conscientious enough to be free from the negative emotions associated with covetousness. They are certainly more carefree than those under the grip of covetousness. But they cannot be truly carefree unless they are also able to come to terms <span style="font-style: italic;">emotionally</span> with the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life. Since according to Qoheleth, this somber reality is intended to prod us to acknowledge God, he would not think one who does not do so could be truly carefree.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/oppression-in-high-places-58-9.html#c">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/08/non-enjoyment-of-prosperity-61-9.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-1370790515362047752?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-42564609120025749792007-07-17T20:36:00.000+08:002007-08-02T20:13:47.839+08:00<div align="justify"><em>5:8 If you see in a district the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 5:9 On the whole there is profit for the country when there is a king over cultivated field.</em><br /><br />Having “digressed” so that he could make a direct appeal to fear God (5:1-7), Qoheleth now returns to the subject of oppression. In chapter 4 he used this subject to open up a discussion on the futility of pursuing after power. Now he uses the subject to open up a discussion on the futility of pursuing after money (5:10-17). The reason for using oppression in each case is perhaps to link his reflections on power and money to the poem of 3:1-9. For following a reflection on the poem (3:10-15) he had used oppression (3:16-22) to reinforce the sense of vanity evoked by the uncertainties of life that the poem expresses.<br /><br />This present observation about oppression, more specifically about corruption in the government, would then also be intended to sustain the sense of vanity evoked through the poem. He tells his audience not to be surprised when they see corruption practiced rampantly and openly. This is because a corrupt official is “watched,” or protected by those more powerful than him. (Recently, it has been reported that in one country a corrupt official would even issue a receipt for the bribe taken!) Qoheleth reminds his audience that despite a corrupt government, on the whole, it is profitable to have “a king over cultivated field,” that is, “for the sake of agriculture” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#garrett">Garrett</a> 1993: 312). In other words, it is still better to have a corrupt government than have no government. Otherwise there will be anarchy from within and without and agriculture (economic production) will not be possible.<br /><br />He is not condoning corruption. Later, he warns against doing evil even when evil seems to go unpunished (8:12-13). By expressing apparent acceptance of the status quo Qoheleth conveys a feeling of helplessness that sustains the sense of vanity. It also suggests the need to look to God, who in His own way “will judge the righteous and the wicked (accordingly)” (3:17).<br /><br /><a name="b"></a><strong><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Addiction to Money (5:10-14)</span></span></strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a name="c"></a><strong><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Repetition of Theme: “What Profit is There?” (5:15-17)</span> </span></strong><br /></div><br /><em>5:10 One who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor one who loves wealth with income; this also is vanity. 5:11 When affluence increases, those who consume it increase. So what is the advantage to its possessor except to see it with his eyes? 5:12 Sweet is the sleep of the worker, whether he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich does not allow him to sleep. 5:13 There is a grievous affliction that I have seen under the sun: riches was hoarded by its possessor to his own hurt. 5:14 For those riches were lost in a bad investment. And he fathered a son and had nothing in his hand. 5:15 As he came from his mother's womb, naked he will depart as he came. And he will take nothing from his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 5:16 This is also a grievous affliction: just as he came, so will he go, and what profit does he have that he toils for the wind? 5:17 Even all his days he eats in darkness with much vexation, sickness and anger.</em><br /><br />There is perhaps another reason Qoheleth uses the subject of corruption to introduce the observation on the love of money in this passage. Corruption not only exposes the human predisposition towards greed but also demonstrates its inhumane ugliness. What Qoheleth just said about corruption, and the feeling of helplessness conveyed, should evoke a sense of outrage against greed. And the love of money is also about greed. So in terms of the art of persuasion, we cannot think of a better way for him to prepare his audience to see the evil of greed and of the love of money.<br /><br />He declares without apology that he who loves money will not be satisfied with riches. Thus riches will not only be ultimately profitless as their possessor has to leave them behind when he dies. But to him who loves money, riches are also immediately profitless in the sense that they do not satisfy their possessor's actual needs. This immediate vanity is experienced in two ways. Firstly, when “affluence (income) increases those who consume it (expenditure) increase.” We should not limit “those who consume it increase” to the involuntary increase in expenditure due to “parasitical friends and relations” and the “taxes and other expenses pertaining to a large fortune” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 99). For human beings love riches because of the trappings of wealth. And this usually means not just the luxuries but also the glamor that riches bring. For what is the point of wealth if you cannot show it off? In fact, a good way to find out whether a high official is corrupt is to investigate whether he is living beyond his (legal) means.<br /><br />So having more money to spend will often result in splurging on the family as well as friends and relatives. And to support this lavish lifestyle, there will be more expenses on servants too. But neither wealth nor its trappings satisfy. So what is the advantage to the rich man except to see with his eyes lots of money coming in and going out, a privilege and pleasure the poor man does not share? But even this “advantage” comes with a price. The poor worker sleeps soundly, whether he eats much or little, but not so the rich person with his full stomach. We must be reminded that Qoheleth is not commenting on wealth itself but on the love of money. For a wealthy person who loves riches is not only anxious about making more money, but also about keeping on making more money. And in a world full of uncertainties, when you have the compulsion to protect a glamorous lifestyle and project a fabulous image, how well can you sleep?<br /><br />Not every rich person treats his wealth and experiences its immediate vanity in the same way. For secondly, at the other extreme is the miser who hoards his money. Perhaps he cannot bear to see with his eyes so much money coming in and going out. He wants money to come in and stay. He derives his sense of being glamorous and fabulous from how much he is “worth,” measured by the amount of wealth accumulated. But this is also harmful. For since he who loves money will not be satisfied with riches, he who hoards it will keep on investing it. Like the gambler at the casino who does not know when and how to stop even after a winning streak, he may invest compulsively even when prudence dictates otherwise. For to him, getting more is more important than having much.<br /><br />His investments may not be as risky as gambling in a casino. But for one who loves and so hoards money, the risk of losing everything through a bad investment is there. “There is a time to make lots of money and there is a time to lose them all,” echoes the poem. In this specific case that Qoheleth observed, the miser did lose everything. And then, he fathered a son. What was supposed to be a source of joy became a cause for pain. For he had thought that his son would be the proud heir to a large fortune. But as neither he nor his son now has anything left, he feels the pain of loss not only for himself but also for his son. No wonder Qoheleth calls the hoarding of money, especially in this particular case, a “grievous affliction.”<br /><br />People who lose their wealth suddenly are known to be prime candidates for suicide. But even if one is so fortunate that he will never lose a lot of money in an investment, the stress that comes with investing a lot of money for quick gain is harmful enough. The difficulty in sleeping applies to him more than to his counterpart who spends lavishly. And even if he keeps winning without any setback, since he will die, sooner or later he will lose them all. Qoheleth could not have stated it better: “As he came from his mother's womb, naked he will depart as he came. And he will take nothing from his toil that he may carry away in his hand.” The miser who loved and hoarded money to his own hurt through losing it all, should have recognized this reality. If he did, his greed for more and more money could have been tempered and he may have avoided the painful eventuality. In light of this reality, what he did with his money does not make sense at all. So by stating it right after describing the misfortune of this rich miser, Qoheleth seeks to evoke the sense that the affliction was not only grievous but also meaningless.<br /><br />He adds that this reality, which he rephrased as “just as he came, so will he go,” is also a grievous affliction. But we must not take what Qoheleth says out of context. This reality does imply that everyone “toils for the wind” as it means there is no ultimate profit to human labor. But this, in and by itself, need not be a grievous affliction. In this context, Qoheleth is saying that this reality is a grievous affliction to a person like this miser, who would hoard money to his own hurt. His comment, “Even all his days he eats in darkness,” further clarifies why it would be a grievous affliction to him. Whatever the imagery “eats in darkness” means specifically, it gives the impression that when he eats he is full of unhappiness, because he eats “with vexation, sickness and anger.” Since he is a miser, this misery is most likely due to his compulsion to hoard money and thus his revulsion to spending it, even on food. A person like him will not be able to come to terms with the reality that, in the end, he will not be able to take his unspent money with him. It will afflict and grieve him.<br /><br />This example is an extreme case of hoarding money. Most rich people who love money will fall somewhere in between the two extremes of spending and hoarding that Qoheleth discusses here. They will then experience to varying degrees a combination of the consequences of loving money expressed through splurging as well as hoarding. But it is possible to be rich and avoid these consequences. To this Qoheleth turns next.<br /><br /><br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/admonition-to-fear-god-51-7.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/08/elaboration-on-carefreeness-518-69.html">next</a><span style="font-size:78%;"><em></em></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-4256460912002574979?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-7772069542796578252007-07-02T14:45:00.001+08:002009-10-07T11:56:47.295+08:00<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">5:1 Watch your steps when you go to the house of God: draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not 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. 5:3 For as a dream comes with much preoccupation, so the voice of a fool with many words. 5:4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it, for He has no delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow. 5:5 It is better that you not vow than to vow and not fulfill it. 5:6 Do not let your mouth cause you to commit sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? 5:7 For in many dreams there are many profitless words. Rather fear God.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth’s speech has so far been about the vanity of life with respect to temporal things. So this passage on a specific religious practice seems to be a digression, especially since in the passage that follows and the rest of the speech, the subject matter returns to temporal things. This digression is only apparent, and it actually alerts us to the meaning of the text.<br /><br />For this passage is not out of place if we recognize what it is really about. Though Qoheleth seems to have used far too many words, what he really wants to say is, “Fear God!” (verse 7b). This admonition to fear God is in fact expressed right at the very beginning: “Watch your steps” (verse 1), that is, proceed carefully with what you are going to do or say in the temple. If we have been following the preceding flow of thought we can understand why he admonishes his audience to fear God. For he has been arguing that in light of the vanity of life the most sensible thing to do is to fear God, so that we can have enjoyment of life. So it is a matter of time before he appeals to his audience to fear God. But if he does this only at the end of the speech, which he does in 12:13, his audience may not be prepared to respond. And this passage is an appropriate place to give a preliminary appeal as he has by now touched his audience emotionally as well as explained sensibly why they need to fear God. But why then all this talk about “the sacrifice of fools” and “fulfill what you vow”?<br /><br />This is the first time Qoheleth directly admonishes his audience to fear God. When he talked about the need to fear God earlier, his audience may be smugly thinking that they already feared God. So they would take it as a tacit encouragement rather than an implicit admonishment. For his original audience, like all ancient peoples, was basically religious. And religious people, if they faithfully observe their prescribed religious practices, usually assume that they are already God-fearing. In fact, in some contexts such as Isaiah 29:13 and 2Kings 17:25-28, “fear of God means religious practices, or religion in general” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#sarna">Sarna</a> 1993: 87-88). So if Qoheleth instructs religious people to fear God without also helping them see (in a non-offensive way) that they may not be God-fearing after all, they will be taken aback and may even be offended: “Are we not God-fearers already?!”<br /><br />Apparently, Qoheleth had in mind an audience that was quick to make vows but slow to fulfill them. They did not even realize that this was evil, a clear sign that they were not really God-fearing. This explains why Qoheleth used the context of making vows to admonish them to fear God. Vows were voluntary and were usually made out of a psychological need in times of crises. It was an attempt to “bribe” God to answer a desperate prayer. So what was vowed was usually very costly. Because of this, when the crisis was over, what was promised in the heat of the moment may likely be withheld. Since this agreement was entirely between God and the person who made the vow, only a genuine God-fearer would be conscientious enough to fulfill it. Put in general terms, an excellent way for a person to know if he truly fears God is how readily he would avoid doing what is wrong and seek to do what is right when nobody (except God) is watching or is holding him accountable. This is what it really means to be conscientious.<br /><br />Hence the making of vows was a serious matter. So Qoheleth admonished his audience to “watch your steps” when they went to the temple. They should be careful with what they would say to God. To avoid making rash vows it was better to go to the temple to listen than to speak. For just as much preoccupation with the crisis one is facing results in dreams during sleep, speaking too many words in the temple results in saying foolish things before God. This caution was applied particularly to people who went to the temple with a heavy heart. Perhaps the phrase “in many dreams” in verse 7 refers to the mental state of the worshipper at the temple: he was still preoccupied with the crisis he had been facing, and had thus been experiencing many dreams lately. People in such a condition were thus prone to make hasty vows, saying “many profitless words” before God. The command to fear God is thus most appropriate in this context.<br /><br />Therefore we must not remove Qoheleth’s admonishment about going to the temple to listen rather than to speak from its context of making vows. As <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox2">Fox</a> notes, “the central theme [of the whole passage] is vows .... [Even] the remarks about sacrifices and speech are subordinate to this theme and allude to the circumstances of vows” (1999: 229). Qoheleth was thus neither discouraging prayers at the temple nor advocating a very austere form of religion. As <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> puts it, “these verses should not be taken as expressing the whole of his views about worship: he is concerned here only with one particular aspect of it (1989: 91). Addressing this particular religious practice not only gave Qoheleth an appropriate context to ensure his religious audience understood what he meant by fearing God. As we shall now see, it would also help promote a God-fearing way of life.<br /><br />In the Old Testament God did not forbid, only regulated, vows: those who made vows must make sure they fulfilled it without delay (Deut 23:21-23). Qoheleth was simply reiterating this teaching. Since it was not required of them, it was better that they did not vow than to vow but not fulfill it. He likened a vow made impulsively in the presence of God to “the sacrifice of fools,” a sacrifice that offended instead of pleased God. It was a foolish act. Making a costly promise in haste without first giving it adequate thought usually led to regret when it was time to fulfill it. This would then lead to making an excuse before “the messenger,” probably “the priest who officiates at the temple to which people come to confess that they have erred” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 201). This lax attitude disregarded that “God is in heaven and you are on earth,” amounting to not recognizing His majesty or even reality. It expressed, and would further cultivate, a lack of the fear of God, and would thus hasten a deeper decline in conscientious living.<br /><br />Hence this religious laxness has social consequences. And it also has personal consequences. Qoheleth warned his audience that not fulfilling their vows was sin and they would not get away with it. God “has no delight in fools,” meaning He is displeased by their foolishness. He would “be angry with your words” and would even “destroy the work of your hands.” This statement must be understood in the context of the speech. In our exposition on 3:10-15 we explained that when Qoheleth refers to something as God's doing, he may not be talking about a supernatural involvement, but simply a naturally experienced or observed phenomenon. This is because he considers whatever happens as God's doing, since it is either directed or permitted by God. How then would vow-breakers experience this “destruction” of the work of their hands? Beginning with 2:24-26 Qoheleth has been saying that in order to have the ability to enjoy the fruit of our labor, that is, “the work of your hands,” we need to please or fear God. And here, the statement that God would “destroy the work of your hands” is made in the context of not pleasing or fearing God. So the “destruction” simply means that vow-breakers would not have the ability to enjoy the fruit of their labor.<br /><br />This inability is not so much the direct consequence of breaking the vow. Note that the admonition, “(Rather) fear God,” is given as the alternative to making empty vows and “God be angry with your words.” It is also the antidote to “and destroy the work of your hands.” That means, the actual reason behind the lack of enjoyment is the lack of the fear of God, of which the failure to honor vows is only a definite expression. Qoheleth has yet to explain why the lack of the fear of God leads to the inability to enjoy life. But as already alluded to in one way or another in the course of our exposition of the preceding chapters, it is unlikely that people who do not fear God, such as those who are greedy and are dishonest in their dealings with others, can find satisfaction in life and enjoy the fruit of their labor. The lack of the fear of God expresses itself in more than one way. Some expressions (like the example just used) reveal more clearly than others (like the making of empty vows) why people who do not fear God cannot be happy. And of course, the fear of God or the lack of it actually falls on a spectrum; it is a matter of degrees and not a clear-cut dichotomy. So are the consequences.<br /><br />As for Qoheleth’s original audience, the making of empty promises to God was a clear indication that they were not really God-fearing. For us today, it may be the making of empty promises to fellow mortal beings. We can no longer do business with just a handshake. We need legally binding contracts before we have some assurance that people would honor their promises. Hence when promises are made without such contracts, they are usually not seen as binding. So those who make the promises may not consider themselves accountable to anyone. In such a culture, only those who are adequately God-fearing or conscientious would consistently honor their promises.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/06/addiction-to-advancement-47-8.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/oppression-in-high-places-58-9.html">next</a></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-777206954279657825?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-44080722256087239772007-06-15T22:50:00.000+08:002007-07-02T14:52:48.169+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">4:7 And again, I saw a (case of) vanity under the sun: 4:8 there is a man who is all alone by himself; he does not even have a son or brother. But there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are not satisfied with riches. "For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is vanity and a grievous business.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth goes on to recount an observation about a man who had more money than he could ever use and had no one to share or inherit his wealth. Yet he kept toiling to the point of depriving himself of pleasure. Note that Qoheleth suddenly introduces a question in the first person: “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" Some translators add the phrase, “And he never asks,” while others, “And he asks,” before the question. Did he ask that question or did he not? We tend to think that he did not because most people in a similar situation would not stop and ask themselves that question. This is pathetic.<br /><br />But in general, when a first person discourse suddenly interrupts a third person narration, as is the case here, the assumption is that the character just referred to uttered it. This is how we read a narrative. If the man did indeed stop and ask, but kept on doing what he was doing, it is more pathetic. He was clearly addicted to the pursuit of wealth. Whether he asked or not, “this also is vanity and a grievous business.” In this particular context the idea of vanity carries the added nuance of “meaninglessness.” For this particular case of vanity is so absurd in the eyes of any sane observer that we can imagine Qoheleth actually thinking, “This (case of vanity) is meaningless!” Perhaps, the man did not actually ask the question himself. But he should have, and so Qoheleth puts the question into his mouth to express how absurd it is (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 86).<br /><br />Since this man could not spend all his money and there was no one to share or inherit it, was he really pursuing after riches itself? The connective phrase, “And again,” indicates that this passage relates to that preceding it, which is about the drive to work hard and smart out of rivalry. This observation then is an illustration of what can happen when people are driven by the quest for superiority. Since material wealth and the social status that it brings often enable one to get what he wants, when people pursue after riches, it is often socio-economic power that they are really after.<br /><br />However, like the pursuit of pleasure, this pursuit of power is just another expression of the God-given task of seeking after the meaning of life (1:13; 3:10). Psychiatrist <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#frankl2">Frankl</a> would agree. Having affirmed that the search for meaning is the primary motivation in humans he said, “That is why I speak of a <span style="font-style: italic;">will to meaning</span> in contrast to the pleasure principle (or, as we could also term it, the <span style="font-style: italic;">will to pleasure</span>) on which Freudian psychoanalysis is centered, as well as in contrast to the <span style="font-style: italic;">will to power</span> on which Adlerian psychology, using the term ‘striving for superiority,’ is focused” (1984: 121). People do pursue after pleasure (so observed Freud) or power (Adler), or both. But they do it to find the meaning of life. They will not succeed. Hence, just as Qoheleth observed, it is not surprising that the man was not satisfied with his wealth (and the socio-economic power that it brought). When what you have does not satisfy your real need, you are not satisfied with what you have, no matter how much you have. So you are driven to pursue after more and more and thus become addicted to it.<br /><a name="b"></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br />Admonition on Cooperation (4:9-12)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their toil. 4:10 For if either of them falls, one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls and there is not another to lift him up! 4:11 Also, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 4:12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can withstand him--a threefold cord is not easily broken.</span><br /></div><br /><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> captures the theme of this passage very well: “it is dangerous and unwise for the individual to attempt to face life alone, and simple common sense to seek the co-operation of others in all that one does” (1989: 86). When two people cooperate and work together, their return is better than the sum of each working separately. This is because they can complement, not just supplement, each other’s abilities. Three specific examples are used to illustrate this principle. When one person falls, especially if he injures himself and there is no one to help, it is indeed “woe to him.” In ancient times, one effective way of keeping warm in a cold winter night is to lie together. This is not limited to husband and wife but can also refer to two male travelers. And finally, it is common experience that when we have a companion with us we are less likely to be a victim of crime than when we are all alone. So “two are better than one.”<br /><br />There is no need to read any significance into the unexpected occurrence of the number “three” (instead of “two”) in the proverbial saying, “a three-fold cord is not easily broken,” as there is probably no such thing as a two-fold cord. The meaning is clear: pluri-unity is strength. This nicely summarizes the theme of cooperation in this passage. It has wide applications. But in this context, it is the antidote to the problem behind the observations of vanity above. The man addicted to the pursuit of wealth is an extreme example of someone working hard and smart, driven by rivalry in pursuit of self-advancement. The drive to compete with others is often fueled by the need to feel superior to them. But Qoheleth admonishes that it is better to cooperate with others so that we could bless them and be blessed in return. We can then prosper together with them. In our capitalistic culture of socio-economic rivalry, we may have to compete even when we are not seeking self-advancement. But we can still cooperate with others, especially those who share our goals.<br /><br />If one is driven to pursue socio-economic power for self-advancement, he is less likely to use it to bless others. More likely, he will abuse it to oppress others in one way or another. For what is the use of the hard-gained power if you cannot display it? Those who oppress others alienate not just their victims but also some of their friends. And those who still side with them may be doing so only out of fear or greed, or both. So oppressors may not be able to tell who their real friends are, if they still have any. When trouble strikes, they may find themselves very much alone. So they need to fear God and heed Qoheleth’s admonition on cooperation. In light of the uncertainties of life, they will never know when they will lose their wealth, status and power and come face to face with their greatest fear: they lack genuine friends when they desperately need them.<br /><br /><a name="c"></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);font-size:130%;" >Delusion of Power and Popularity (4:13-16)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">4:13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to take advice, 4:14 for he went from prison to the throne, even though he had been born poor in his kingdom. 4:15 I saw all the living, those who walk under the sun, with the second youth who replaced him. 4:16 There was no end to all the people, to all those whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a pursuit of wind.</span><br /><br />We cannot be certain of the details of this story, but the overall message is clear: the vanity of power and popularity. In light of the foregoing discussion on rivalry and socio-economic advancement, this observation on political power is timely here. The thread of power runs through this chapter, beginning with oppression and the abuse of power, to competition and the pursuit of socio-economic power, and ending here with the delusion of the popularity that comes with political power. Some translators remove the Hebrew word translated “the second” in verse 15 and read the phrase as, “with the youth who replaced him (the old and foolish king).” This would mean there are only two characters and not three in this story. But since the text as it stands makes adequate sense, there is no need to tamper with it. In any case the message remains basically the same.<br /><br />The focus is on the transitoriness of the popularity of the wise young king who replaced the foolish old one. Being young was not a disadvantage because he was wise. His wisdom was first demonstrated in his ability to rise from prison to the throne even though he was born poor in the land he eventually ruled. So he was better than the former king, who though he had the advantage of age he no longer knew how to take advice (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 89). This young king was an unlikely candidate to kingship. For in premodern times the social status one was born with usually determined how far one could rise in the social ladder. So he would be admired. And when he also proved to be wise in ruling the people in contrast to his foolish predecessor, he was bound to be very popular. Thus he was a positive example of power and popularity. This aptly concludes this thread of discussion on the pursuit and use of power. For to be king is to be at the pinnacle of social advancement, and the positive example here would show us whether power is worth pursuing. The lesson here applies to all pursuits of self-advancement.<br /><br />Qoheleth observed that when this shining example of power and popularity was replaced, the people were with the next (youthful) king. The phrase, “to all those whom he led” (verse 16), in the Hebrew text reads, “to all before whom he was (stood).” The idea is that the wise young king was so popular that there was “no end” to the people before whom he stood “to acknowledge their allegiance” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 185). But when even he, who had such an inspiring success story behind him, was replaced, the people throng to the next king. Not only that. The future generations (“those who come later”) would not remember or celebrate his former greatness (“will not rejoice in him”). Past political leaders would understand what Qoheleth is saying here better than the rest of us.<br /><br />All power and popularity are transitory. When pursued for the fleeting glory associated with them as a means to find the meaning of life, they will disappoint. Though it is not spelled out in the text, when a king, or anyone in power, heeds Qoheleth's admonition on cooperation, his power and popularity could be used to serve others, and he would then find satisfaction and thus meaning in his work.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/observations-in-human-experiences-to.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/admonition-to-fear-god-51-7.html">next</a><br /></div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-4408072225608723977?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-12827124143005077762007-05-30T15:57:00.000+08:002007-06-15T23:32:40.416+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;">Qoheleth began his speech proper with recounting his past experiences to illustrate the reality that “All is vanity,” and to admonish that the most sensible response is to have enjoyment of life (1:12-2:26). His personal experiences do strike a responsive chord in the hearts of his audience. But they may not be able to identify fully with him. For no one was as wise, rich or powerful as he was, let alone had that many wives and concubines. The sharing of his own experiences was crucial to establishing his credibility to address convincingly the subject of vanity and his authority to admonish persuasively how then to respond. But to help his audience better identify with him he had to recount observations of vanity as experienced by the people. This is what he does in 4:1-5:17. Like his previous discussions on the vanity of life under the sun, this extended passage is followed by the admonition to enjoy life (5:18-6:9).<br /></div><br /><a name="b"></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153); font-weight: bold;">Oppressions in General (4:1-3)</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">4:1 And again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And look! </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The tears of the oppressed--but there is no one to comfort them. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And power from the hand of their oppressors--but there is no one to comfort them. </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">4:2 So I consider the dead, because they are already dead, more fortunate than the living, because they are still alive. 4:3 But better than both of them is one who has not yet existed and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth begins his series of observations with oppressions in general. The connective phrase “And again” signals some form of continuity with what precedes. In 4:1-5:17 he is moving beyond discussing the vanity of life as pictured by the poem of 3:1-8. He is going to consider specific observations of vanity. But he is still building on the effects of the poem. For we saw that in 3:16-21 he used injustice in the courts of law, which is oppression through the abuse of judicial power, to reinforce the feeling of the uncertainties of life that the poem evokes. And so by returning to the subject of oppression he is in effect sustaining the sense of vanity built up there. This enables his audience to see more clearly that the profitless pursuits he will soon recount are indeed vanity.<br /><br />Obviously, when he says, “I saw <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> the oppressions that are done under the sun,” we are not to take it literally. For it is impossible that he could have seen every oppression in this world. The meaning of the hyperbolic expression is that oppressions are prevalent under the sun. This implies the sad reality that the powerful are prone to oppress the powerless. This is widely observed.<br /><br />When people are oppressed and “there is no one to comfort them,” it is often because no one would help them due to fear, or everyone would side with the oppressor out of greed, or both. Oppressions can occur anywhere. It happens not only in a concentration camp, where victims can expect to be mistreated, but also in a court of law, where justice is expected to be upheld. And people in power may even oppress in the name of religion.<br /><br />Qoheleth’s interjection, “And look!,” transports us into the world of the oppressed to join him in looking at their plight. The terse descriptions, “tears of the oppressed” and “power from the hands of their oppressors,” together with the sympathetic repetition, “there is no one to comfort them (the oppressed),” impress upon us the evil of oppression. Still immersed in this pathetic world of the most unfortunate, Qoheleth makes a passing comment that the dead, because they have already died and are thus no longer in the clutch of oppression, are more fortunate than those who are still living under it. And better still are those not yet born, because they have not even “seen” or encountered the oppressions. The Hebrew word translated “seen,” just like its English equivalent, can mean “perceived” or “experienced,” or both, which is the case here (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#schoors2">Schoors</a> 2004: 62).<br /><br />When oppression is prevalent among us we can become oblivious to its horror. If we learn to identify with the oppressed, the passing comment can sensitize us to what it is like to be oppressed to the point of tears, and having no one to turn to. Apparently Qoheleth wants us to feel how horrible the experience can be. People actually commit suicide when they can no longer bear with it. So there is no better way for him to evoke that feeling of horror than to make the shocking comment that it is more fortunate to be dead than to remain alive. And better still to have never been born!<br /><br />So Qoheleth is not saying that just because oppressions exist in this world, it is better to be dead than alive. In fact, in a different context, he says it is definitely better to be alive than dead (9:3-6). He even affirms that it is good to be alive, with the qualification that only if we are able to enjoy life (11:7-8). It is therefore unfair to him to take his passing comment out of context and conclude that he is here expressing a pessimistic view of life. We must remember that he is giving a speech to persuade his audience, and not writing a treatise to present his views. He seeks to move our feeling and change our thinking, and not primarily to inform us of what he believes.<br /><br />Why then does he want us to see the evil, and feel the horror, of oppression? He is persuading us towards fearing God, and how we treat others is a reliable indication of how much we really fear Him. A common comment about this passage is that Qoheleth only complains about oppression but does nothing about it. If we make the effort to understand him on his terms we can see that not only in this passage, but throughout his speech, he is making a passionate plea to turn away from doing evil, and here he calls oppressions “the evil deeds that are done under the sun.”<br /></div><br /><a name="c"></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">Competition for Advancement (4:4-6)</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;">4:4 Then I saw that every toil and every skillful work spring from a man's rivalry with his neighbor. This also is vanity and a pursuit of wind.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">4:5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">4:6 Better is a handful with rest than two handfuls with toil and a pursuit of wind.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Qoheleth moves on to an observation of vanity which may appear to be totally unrelated to the previous one on oppression. People are driven to work hard (“toil”) and smart (“skillful work”) out of rivalry with their neighbors. This explains why today competition is such a powerful motivating force that causes capitalism to work so well. In fact, so well that it threatens the collapse of capitalism itself. At the heart of the problem is that we do not want to feel inferior to others. Unless tempered by the fear of God, we not only want to feel superior to others, we also want them to feel inferior to us. Given the opportunity, we may even do something to make them feel this way. This partly explains the tendency of people to oppress or mistreat those they have power over, even when there is no obvious personal gain involved. If the basic motivation behind our working hard and smart is to advance in society in terms of temporal things, so that we feel superior to others, it is indeed vanity and a pursuit of wind. For it serves no useful purpose and there is no end to it.<br /><br />In fact, it would be self-destructive, whether at the individual, national or even global level. According to the foremost sumerologist Samuel N. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#kramer">Kramer</a>, “one of the major motivating forces of Sumerian behavior [was] the drive for superiority and pre-eminence with its great stress on competition and success” (1963: 249). The Sumerian civilization flourished more than 4000 years ago. And just like today, “It is thus fairly obvious that the drive for superiority and prestige deeply colored the Sumerian outlook on life and played an important role in their education, politics and economics.” In the case of Sumeria, “sad to say, the passion for competition and superiority carried within it the seed of self-destruction and helped to trigger the bloody and disastrous wars between the city-states and to impede the unification of the country as a whole, thus exposing Sumer to the external attacks which finally overwhelmed it. All of which provides us with but another historic example of the poignant irony inherent in man and his fate” (267-68).<br /><br />At the other extreme is one who is not motivated to work at all. Qoheleth calls him “the fool [who] folds his hands,” a proverbial expression symbolizing idleness or laziness (Prov 6:10). As a result, “he consumes his own flesh,” that is, destroys himself through poverty (Prov 6:11). Qoheleth advocates work, with “rest,” that is, without rivalry or strive even if it means getting only “one handful” instead of “two handfuls,” and thus having less than our peers. This expresses the balance between the two extremes of complacency and the drive for supremacy. It is unfortunate that without an adequate fear of God, most people are not motivated to work hard and smart without competition. In light of the admonition to find satisfaction in our labor and the condition that only the God-fearing or the righteous person can have enjoyment, two other proverbs are instructive: “Better is a little with righteousness than a large income with injustice” (Prov 16:8); “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it” (Prov 15:16).<br /><br />An extreme example of self-destructive behavior driven by the competitive spirit is seen in the rich man in the next passage (4:7-8). He had no relative whatsoever to share or inherit his wealth. Yet there was no end to his toils. What seems exceptional in Qoheleth’s day is becoming common today.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/admonition-to-carefreeness-in-light-of.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/06/addiction-to-advancement-47-8.html">next</a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-1282712414300507776?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-66801375337282058982007-05-19T18:46:00.000+08:002007-10-31T16:28:32.334+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">3:22 So I saw that there is nothing good except that man should have enjoyment in (the fruits of) his labors, for that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will be after him?</span><br /><br />This is the third time <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Qoheleth</span> admonishes his audience to have enjoyment, and he will repeat it a few more times. Though it is always given in response to the vanity of life, each time the admonition occurs it is in a slightly different context. This enables us to have a more nuanced understanding of how enjoyment fits into the purpose or meaning of life. This time, the admonition is still in the larger context of God using the somber reality painted in the poem (the uncertainties of life and the certainty of death) to prod us to fear Him (3:10-15). But its immediate context is that of recognizing that ultimately we do not even have advantage over animals (3:16-21). And it is in this context that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Qoheleth</span> introduces the idea that enjoyment is actually our “lot” in life. We will take a close look at this idea and then its implications in its immediate as well as larger contexts.<br /><br />The Hebrew word translated “lot” occurs eight times in Ecclesiastes (2:10,21; 3:22, 5:18,19; 9:6,9; 11:2). It refers to what is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">allotted</span> or apportioned by someone or to someone. But the exact nuance of the word and specifically what the allotment consists of depend on the context. We must be careful not to assume that the same word always refers to the same thing in different contexts. Also, note that the idea of a “lot” implies that what is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">allotted</span> to us is all that we get. For instance, when receiving an inheritance, if one is told, “This is your lot (from your father’s estate),” it implies, “This is all you get (from your father’s estate).”<br /><br />The first time the word occurs in Ecclesiastes (2:10), it is in the context of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Qoheleth</span>’s pursuit of pleasure to see what was “good ... to do.” Pleasure then was his “lot” from all his labors, that is, pleasure (without satisfaction) was all that he got. He found the pleasure profitless as it did not satisfy him. So when he considered all his labors, he lamented that “all is vanity and a pursuit of wind” (2:11). The second time the word occurs, it refers to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Qoheleth</span>’s estate which would be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">allotted</span> to his heir as an inheritance. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Qoheleth</span> also found this to be vanity, but in a different sense: he had to leave behind everything he labored for with wisdom to one who may not have what it takes to make good use of it. These experiences led him to admonish us that there is nothing good except to have enjoyment, and not just raw pleasure.<br /><br />The third occurrence is in the verse here. It refers to what is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">allotted</span> to humanity. This meaning recurs three more times (5:18,19; 9:9), all in the context of the admonition to enjoy life. To better understand <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Qoheleth</span>’s admonition, we need to give adequate attention to the concept of “lot” as first introduced in this verse.<br /><br />When <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Qoheleth</span> admonishes us to enjoy life, he always uses the word “lot” to refer to the enjoyment of the fruit of human labor, except in 9:9. There he admonishes his audience to “enjoy life with the woman whom you love.” But even then, this enjoyment is said to be “your lot in life and <span style="font-style: italic;">in your labor</span>.” So it is still somehow connected to labor. The most obvious connection is that labor enables us to meet our material needs. Otherwise, lacking a proper shelter and without adequate food and clothing, it would be very difficult to have enjoyment of life with friends and family. That means the fruit of our labor is not only meant to be enjoyed in themselves but also to meet our basic needs so that we are set free to enjoy life as a whole. This teaching is particularly crucial in the present time when people live to work, instead of work to live.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Qoheleth</span>’s idea that enjoyment is our “lot” is here presented in the context that humans have no advantage over animals because in the end they die and leave this world empty-handed just like animals (3:18-21). But animals never owned anything! So in the light of death, it is as if we had owned nothing. Since we have no say over whether we could take with us what we have when we die, which can happen at any time and without prior notice, how can we say that we own the things we work for? We do not even own our very life! They are not allotted to us as such. What is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">allotted</span> is only the enjoyment these things can give us while we still “own” them. To appreciate this reality we need to view this world the way a child views a child-care center full of toys. What is “<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">allotted</span>” to him is the enjoyment of whatever toys he gets to “own” while he is there, but he cannot take any of them with him when he leaves. It would be foolish of the child to spend the few hours he has at the center busy looking out for and gathering his favorite toys, and then guarding them, as if he could bring them home, and in the process miss the opportunity to enjoy any of them.<br /><br />For this very reason <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Qoheleth</span> has been admonishing us that there is nothing good except to enjoy what we get to “own.” He will soon be talking about those who have the ability to enjoy their wealth (5:19). So he is not speaking against <span style="font-style: italic;">having</span> wealth but against <span style="font-style: italic;">pursuing</span> after it as a goal in life, and in the process we are not able to enjoy what we already have. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Qoheleth</span> points out that enjoyment is actually our “lot” to help us see more clearly that besides enjoyment, there is indeed <span style="font-style: italic;">nothing</span> good. For the implication is clear. If one does not enjoy life, he has not received what is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">allotted</span> to him, and he is thus left with <span style="font-style: italic;">nothing</span> good. And as if to further drive home this point, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Qoheleth</span> asks, “For who can bring him to see what will be after him?” Since “after him” means after his death (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Seow</span></a> 1997: 168), the rhetorical question affirms two things: our life in this world will end and we do not know what is in store after that. Can we then point to anything that is good except what is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">allotted</span> to us in this life?<br /><br />We must be reminded in this context that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Qoheleth</span> is not saying that enjoyment, let alone raw pleasure, is the goal of life. Enjoyment is not the highest, and certainly not the only, good in this life. As this admonition is always given in response to the vanity of life, the affirmation that there is “nothing good” except enjoyment must be understood with respect to what we can expect from the things that we work for under the sun. In fact, there is a higher good such as joy, a sublime form of good feeling which can be experienced apart from material things (Prov 21:15). It comes with a God-fearing disposition and way-of-life, which according to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Qoheleth</span> is also the prerequisite for the enjoyment of material things. So in practice when there is real enjoyment there is also joy, making the enjoyment blissful and more meaningful. Perhaps this explains why when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Qoheleth</span> gave his admonition for the first time he could say, “For who can eat or who can have <span style="font-style: italic;">enjoyment</span> apart from Him? For to a man who is good in His sight He has given wisdom, knowledge and <span style="font-style: italic;">joy</span>” (2:25-26).<br /><br />In <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Qoheleth's</span> thinking, the goal of life and the highest good is then the fear of God, and what this means in practical terms. He goes so far as to say that in everything He does in this world, “God so works that man should fear Him” (3:14). This brings us to look at the idea of enjoyment as our “lot” in the larger context of God using the somber reality embodied in the poem of 3:1-8 to goad us to fear Him.<br /><br />A major barrier to fearing God and living an upright life is the grip that temporal things have on the human heart. It is impractical to attempt to live a righteous life if we are still very much covetous at heart. It is in fact widely recognized that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. But God so works that we cannot escape from the reality that while death is certain life is uncertain. This causes us to see the vanity of everything that money can buy. If we take this reality to heart, it would help loosen the grip money has on us. But then, if we have not come to terms with this somber reality it could trigger a pessimistic response and cause us to be overwhelmed with a sense of meaninglessness.<br /><br />This is where <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Qoheleth</span>’s admonition, which teaches a realistic response to the vanity of life, comes in. As we just saw, the idea of enjoyment as our lot teaches us to view this world the way a child views a child-care center full of toys. This view enables us to look at temporal things, including what we already “own,” with a degree of detachment. The greater the degree of our detachment from temporal things, the more prepared we are to let go of them. And that means, to that same degree, we would be less bothered by the uncertainties of life and the certainty of death. As we thus learn to come to terms with this somber reality we are also loosening (further) the grip temporal things have on us. In other words, we are learning to overcome a major barrier that keeps people from acknowledging God and fearing Him. And that means the degree of our detachment from temporal things can be an indication of how much we really fear God.<br /><br />Consider the biblical Job, who feared God greatly and lived an exceptionally upright life. He was certainly at peace with the somber reality that while death is certain life is uncertain. For this was what he said when he lost not only all his wealth but also all his children: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).<br /><br /><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/04/observation-and-reflection-to-reinforce.html"><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/04/observation-and-reflection-to-reinforce.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/observations-in-human-experiences-to.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-6680137533728205898?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-5128935969457725762007-04-30T02:28:00.000+08:002008-01-25T10:02:01.882+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">3:16 Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there. 3:17 I said to myself, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for (judging) what is done there. 3:18 I said to myself concerning the children of man that God is testing them that they themselves may see that they are but animals. 3:19 For the fate of the children of man and the fate of animals are one and the same. As one dies, so dies the other. In fact they all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the animal, for all is vanity. 3:20 All go to one place. All are from dust, and all return to dust. 3:21 Who knows as for the breath of man, whether it goes up and for the breath of the animal, whether it goes down into the earth? </span><br /><br />The word “Furthermore” indicates that this passage builds on what precedes. What precedes is mainly about the uncertainties of life. Now <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Qoheleth</span> highlights that even in the courts of law, the very place where righteousness and justice are supposed to be guaranteed, wickedness may be present. There is no certainty even there. Thus he is going further to create a deeper and more graphic impression of the uncertainties of life. He is not saying there is no justice in the courts of law. We must not impose undue pessimism on him. He is simply saying he has seen unrighteousness and injustice even in the courts of law. Thus, there is no certainty that if we live a righteous life we will not suffer the fate of a criminal, and lose everything we have. This is simply realism. The purpose of this observation at this point of the speech is then to reinforce the sense of vanity evoked through the poem above. This explains the apparent pessimism in the reflection that follows.<br /><br />As he reflects on this troubling observation, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Qoheleth</span> first affirms that God would judge both the righteous and the wicked at the appropriate time. This is because “there is a time for every matter, and for judging what is done there (in the courts of law).” This statement thus “repeats the idea of 3:1, except that the focus here is limited to the time of judgment upon injustice” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox2">Fox</a> 1999: 216). It confirms that the purpose of this observation is to build on the effects of the poem (3:1-8). Since this verse echoes 3:1, where the “time for every matter” refers to events in this world, the judgment alluded to here takes place before death. How God does this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Qoheleth</span> does not yet explain here. Even <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Tremper</span> <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#longman"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Longman</span> III</a>, who considers <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Qoheleth</span> a pessimist, has to admit that in this text <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Qoheleth</span> “addressed the injustice found in the human law courts.... He reminds himself ... that, though human justice is a rare and fleeting quality, God will set things right.... The innocent and the guilty would get what they deserve from the hand of God” (1998: 127).<br /><br />It is only after having reminded himself, and reassuring us, of God’s own righteous judgment that he explains why God allows injustice even in the courts of law. Otherwise we will likely misinterpret his explanation as expressing pessimism. For he further reminds himself, and explains to us, that God is (only) “testing” humans to make them see for themselves that they are no different from animals. The Hebrew word translated “testing” basically means “to separate,” and can hence be translated, “choose, select, purify, [or] test,” depending on the context. In this context, “the word says something about God testing people” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Crenshaw</span></a> 1987: 103). What is the purpose of this testing? To purify character. In Daniel 11:35, this same word is used in the context, “to refine, <span style="font-style: italic;">purge</span>, and make pure” a group of Jews whom God allowed to suffer persecution. How then does injustice in the courts of law cause people to see that they are like animals? And how does this relate to testing them in order to refine or purify them?<br /><br />When a judge, sworn to uphold justice, perverts justice, especially when his inhuman treatment of an obviously innocent person brings about much suffering, he is not only treating his victim as sub-human, he himself is behaving like an animal, as if not having a conscience. In fact, when someone behaves inhumanly towards others we say, “You are an animal!” And we know that, given the right set of conditions, anyone is capable of such behavior. So when faced with this testing or trial we are inclined to see that human beings are like animals. This then causes us to see that we are indeed no different from animals, as we have the same “fate” (final outcome) as animals—return to dust (verses 18-20). <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Qoheleth's</span> comparison of humans with animals may sound unduly negative. But even <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#longman"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Longman</span></a> affirms that “he is not making a blanket comparison; he specifies one area of commonality--death” (1998: 128). <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Whybray</span></a> says the first word, “For,” in verse 19 “makes it clear ... that he is comparing man with the animals only in one aspect: their mortality” (1989: 79).<br /><br />Thus the statement, “man has no advantage over the animal,” must not be taken beyond this point of comparison and so misunderstand <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Qoheleth</span> as unorthodox. In fact the basis for this statement is given: “They all have the same breath.” As noted by <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Whybray</span></a>, “the view implied here, that God gives life to both men and animals by putting breath in them, and that when this breath is withdrawn they die is the common biblical understanding of the matter” (1989: 79). For instance, referring to both humans and animals, Psalm 104:29 says that when God “takes away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” Later, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Qoheleth</span> himself spells out that when we die, "the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it" (12:7). And he would have said the same about animals. For obviously, "the breath returns to God who gave it" is another way of saying "God takes away (that is, takes back) their breath," which applies to both humans and animals (cf. Job 34:14-15).<br /><br />Furthermore, the reason humans have no advantage over animals is also given: “for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from dust, and all return to dust.” That means, there is no advantage for humans only because there is no ultimate profit even to humans, as they also die. It is like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Qoheleth's</span> comparison between a wise man and a fool (2:13-16), where it is clear that though <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Qoheleth</span> affirms ultimate vanity for both because both die, he does not deny that the wise man has advantage over the fool. As a wise man, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Qoheleth</span> felt a deep of sense of vanity when he realized that ultimately he had no advantage over the fool because he had to leave behind whatever he gained through his wisdom. Similarly we would feel a deep sense of vanity when we realize that ultimately we have no advantage over animals. The seemingly pessimistic tone is to help recreate this feeling.<br /><br />Some people think <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Qoheleth</span> is skeptical that there is life after death. We will not dispute that he seems skeptical of the view that at death, “the breath of man goes up” while “the breath of the animal goes down” (verse 21). But we must not assume that the phrase “the breath of man goes up” refers to life after death, and so conclude that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Qoheleth</span> is skeptical about the next life. It is unwise to make this conclusion based on a verse we do not really understand. For even if we (wrongly) equate this phrase with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Qoheleth's</span> later affirmation that "the breath (of man) returns to God who gave it" (12:7), verse 21 is still not about whether humans have an afterlife (and animals do not). As just pointed out, the phrase in 12:7 simply means, at death, God takes back the breath, which also applies to animals. We would only be (needlessly) accusing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Qoheleth</span> of inconsistency--here being skeptical that the breath goes up, then later affirming it. We should give him the benefit of the doubt, as is expected in a court of law, lest we ourselves become guilty of injustice.<br /><br />Norbert <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#lohfink"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Lohfink</span></a> wisely says, “Verse 21 expresses skepticism concerning an otherwise unknown theory about the difference between human and animal death” (2003: 67). Roland <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#murphy">Murphy</a> adds, “It is useless to try and determine from this ... his specific view on Sheol [the netherworld] and the next life” (1992: 37). It is all the more useless when we recognize that in this context <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Qoheleth</span> has no need to say anything about the next life. When he affirms that humans have no ultimate advantage over animals because both die, he is only saying that when we die we leave everything behind. Whether there is an afterlife is irrelevant. For even if there is, since we cannot bring anything with us, there is still no advantage in this sense. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Qoheleth</span> thus has not said anything unorthodox.<br /><br />Through the observation of injustice in the courts of law and his reflection on human beings being no different from animals, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Qoheleth</span> is actually continuing the discussion on how God uses the sense of eternity coupled with the sense of vanity to lead people to fear Him. In this light, he is saying that God is testing people to make them see that they are like animals to evoke in them a deep sense of vanity, in order to prod them to acknowledge Him. We have already discussed how “God so works,” in appointing events in this world so as to evoke the sense of vanity, “that man should fear Him” (3:14). But how does this testing result in purifying character? Learning to acknowledge and hence fear God is by definition becoming conscientious and thus seeking to be righteous. In other words, character is being refined.<br /><br />When we experience or witness injustice even in the courts of law, we may become disillusioned with human institutions. We can actually become cynical about people. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Qoheleth</span> is implying that when we realize we cannot trust in people or human institutions, we should turn to God. In a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">premodern</span> world this would be a natural response. But today, this may no longer be the case. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Qoheleth</span>’s observation that in the very place where justice and righteousness are expected there may be wickedness can also be applied to organized religion. For injustice has been blatantly perpetrated in the name of God by some religious groups. Many people have thus become cynical about religion, if not about God.<br /><br />One reason injustice is not only blatantly but also widely perpetrated in the name of religion is because God no longer feels real. So even people who are outwardly “religious” may be inwardly lacking the fear of God. Craig <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#gay">Gay</a> has a book subtitled, “Why It’s Tempting to Live As If God <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Doesn</span>’t Exist” (1998). In the chapter “The Irrelevance of God in the Technological Society” he says, “it is not difficult to see why science and technology have had a secularizing effect on modern culture. Scientific explanations of the world have eliminated the instrumental value of their religious alternatives. We no longer need religion to explain such things as disease or natural calamities” (102). Summing up, “the impact of science and technology upon the modern imagination is such that it has effectively stripped us of the ability to apprehend the reality of any other meaning and any other purpose in the world save those which we managed to ‘engineer’ for ourselves” (100).<br /><br />To a large extent, Gay’s conclusions about science and technology having replaced religion to explain and experience reality are correct. But in our exposition of the previous passage we showed that science and technology and the “progress” they bring fail to help people come to terms with the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life and hence make sense of the totality of human experience. We still need to turn to God. Gay's conclusions on how modern people view this world may be final only if they do not come face to face with the somber reality concerning life and death embodied in the poem, elaborated and reflected on in this passage. And if they would hear <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Qoheleth</span> out, they could have an existential encounter with this sobering reality. They may then rediscover the ability to apprehend this world from a very different perspective.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/04/explanation-for-sense-of-vanity-and-its.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/admonition-to-carefreeness-in-light-of.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-512893596945772576?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-63978310964885392462007-04-14T15:09:00.000+08:002007-11-05T17:49:59.770+08:00<div align="justify"><em>continued from previous page</em><br /><br />In other words, “God so works that men should fear Him,” means God directs or permits appropriate events to happen at appropriate times so that we would acknowledge Him and seek to live a conscientious life. This applies to every person, whether he is outwardly “religious” or not. Qoheleth recognizes that human beings have a predisposition to fear God. It is usually most manifest during times of adversity and least manifest during times of prosperity, and can even be suppressed both at the individual and the societal level. Human nature is such that we recognize our need for God only as a last resort, and this usually happens in times of adversity. Qoheleth is thus saying that God appoints appropriate adversities at appropriate times so that we may feel the need to live a God-fearing way of life.<br /><br />But since human beings have the freedom to choose many have sought to evade this purpose of God, as in the case of people who practice divination and magic. This explains why Qoheleth has to remind us of the somber reality captured in the poem to unsettle our feelings and having done that, explain God’s purpose in the way He works in this world. By doing this he puts those who have not yet yielded to God’s purpose into the mood to reconsider their chosen path, as well as encourages those who have already done so. Knowing how difficult it is to get people to change their way of thinking and living, Qoheleth has crafted a speech with exceptional persuasive power. In this series of expositions we can only partially recreate this force as part of our attempt to recapture his rhetoric.<br /><br />We have seen how, after he has captured our attention with the forceful announcement that everything is vanity (1:2-3), he engages our imagination by using a poem to vivify the idea of vanity (1:4-11), and then speaks to our emotion through illustrations from his personal experience to recreate the sense of vanity (1:12-2:23). When we are thus ready to begin reconsidering how we should then live, he appeals to our intuition by admonishing that, in light of the reality that everything is vanity, the most meaningful thing to do is to have enjoyment of life (2:24-26). For otherwise life does not make sense. Now having amplified the sense of vanity through another poem (3:1-8), and in the context of explaining God’s overall purpose (3:10-15), Qoheleth returns to the subject of enjoyment (3:12-13). How does his admonition to have enjoyment relate to God’s purpose?<br /><br />In 2:24-26 Qoheleth affirmed that the ability to have enjoyment is “from the hand of God.” That means it is a gift of God, which He gives to those who are “good in His sight.” The meaning of 3:12-13 should be clear in light of our exposition on 2:24-26, as it says essentially the same thing. But some commentators refuse to understand the phrase, “and <em>to do good</em> in their lifetime,” according to its plain sense and usual meaning, as in 7:20 and elsewhere in the Old Testament. They argue that since the phrase is in the immediate context of enjoyment and “to see good” in one’s labor, and based on a similar Greek phrase, “to do good” must then mean something like “to experience good,” and not to do what is morally good (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#schoors2">Schoors</a> 2004: 37-38). They do not see the relevance of the plain meaning of the phrase here. But in 2:24-26 Qoheleth said that only the one who is “good in God’s sight” can have enjoyment and “see good” in his toils. And how can one be good in God’s sight without being morally good? Furthermore this phrase is embedded in the immediately larger context of explaining why we are “to fear God,” which is another way of saying, “to do (moral) good.”<br /><br />Qoheleth is then saying, if the most sensible thing to do in response to the vanity of life is to enjoy life, and to enjoy life one must be “good in God’s sight” (2:24-26), then the most sensible thing to do is to “fear Him” (3:14b) and thus seek to “to do good” in his lifetime (3:12). So to make sense of life in light of its vanity we need to fear God. This is one way “God so works” to goad us to acknowledge Him. Qoheleth has not yet explained how fearing God and doing good actually leads to the enjoyment of life. But our conscience would not argue with him since it is inconceivable that one who lacks the fear of God and thus habitually does what is unconscionable could be truly happy.<br /><br />Making sense of life through the enjoyment of what we do and have basically helps us to come to terms with the certainty of death. But we still need to come to terms with something else from which we also have no escape: the uncertainties of life. We have seen that it creates in us the desire to know and control the future. And that, since we cannot find out about the future nor do anything about it even if we could, this unpleasant reality evokes a deep-seated sense of insecurity. This feeling is heightened in bad times but forgotten in good times. To ensure that we are conscious of it so that he could address it, Qoheleth’s second poem reminds us that there are good as well as bad times. And until and unless we soothe this gnawing feeling, it will be hard to have real enjoyment of life (this idea will be elaborated when we consider 5:18-20). Instead, to numb the pain, we may be grievously preoccupied with pursuing pleasure or success.<br /><br />According to Qoheleth, God allows us to experience this sense of insecurity so that we would fear Him. This is another way “God so works” to help us feel the need for Him. For only the fear of God enables us to replace it with a deep-seated sense of security. In biblical thinking, to fear God involves acknowledging who He is. And here God is explicitly described as being in full control over everything that happens. And though He works through adversities, His purpose is for our well-being, enabling us to truly enjoy life. That means, God makes everything appropriate in its time to accomplish His good purpose for humanity. The technical term for this is “providence.” So a God-fearing person who recognizes God’s providence is one who believes that God is not only in control over both good and bad things but also has his welfare in mind. So no bad things can happen to him unless God allows it and, even then, He does so because it is needed to serve a good purpose. Even if Qoheleth’s assumptions about God are not true, this means of soothing our sense of insecurity is still more appealing than divination and magic.<br /><br />But many today would dismiss this belief in divine providence as “a crutch for the weak.” Throughout his speech, Qoheleth tries to help us see, by making us feel, that we are all weak and that we all need a reliable crutch. Every society has its crutches. In a premodern (and segments of a postmodern) society, the dominant crutch has been some form of divination and magic. Strictly speaking, divination is about gaining knowledge of the world through observing the workings of fate, the impersonal cosmic force that supposedly runs the world. Magic involves the use of techniques to manipulate this force to our benefit. Hence divination is the premodern counterpart to modern science and magic is the premodern counterpart to modern technology. And modern science and technology have confirmed Qoheleth’s view that divination and magic are sheer superstitions.<br /><br />In a modern society, the dominant crutch is the idea of “progress.” As a balm to soothe the deep-seated sense of insecurity “progress” promises not just material, but also emotional, comforts. The incredible material comforts brought about by modern science and technology lend credibility to this idea. But “progress” has failed miserably in terms of emotional comforts, which matter more than material comforts. So beginning with the second half of the twentieth century, even modern people began to consider the idea of “progress” a modern superstition. By the end of the century Oxford historian Felipe <a href="http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/millennium/frameset.20.exclude.html">Fernandez-Armesto</a> <http:>gave this report, which strikes a responsive chord in the hearts of many today:<br /><br />It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.<br />The 20th century produced more creativity, more effort, more technical resourcefulness, more planning, more freedom, more power for good than ever before in human history.<br />It was also the century of the most destructive wars, the most inhuman massacres, the most barbarous tyrannies, the worst extremes of wealth and poverty, the foulest environmental degradation, the most trash, the cruelest disillusionment.<br />It promised so much and betrayed so many. The big mystery of the 20th century is: Why did progress fail?<br /><br />This near poetic piece captures the sentiment of Qoheleth’s second poem well. Echoing and complementing this sentiment, prominent American writer Walker <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#percy">Percy</a> asks,<br /><br />Why does man feel so sad in the twentieth century?<br />Why does man feel so bad in the very age when, more than in any other age, he has succeeded in satisfying his needs and making over the world for his own use?<br />Why has man entered an orgy of war, murder, torture and self-destruction unparalleled in history and in the very century when he had hoped to see the dawn of universal peace and brotherhood? (1984: 3).<br /><br />Trust in “progress” is essentially trust in human potential to solve every human problem. As British historian David <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#bebbington">Bebbington</a> puts it, “Man, according to the idea of progress, has advanced not just in matters like technology and its improvement of material conditions. There has been progress also in the use of man’s intellect and, in many versions, in his moral capacity. Human history is therefore the account of the improvement of the human condition from barbarism to civilization” (1990: 68). In light of the deep-seated sense of insecurity, modern people need the assurance that things are getting better. But as the twenty-first century begins to unfold, the more knowledgeable and wiser one becomes, the more one despairs over whether the human race would survive another century.<br /><br />As if anticipating this faith in progress as a crutch to evade God’s purpose that we should fear Him, Qoheleth in the next breath says, “Whatever comes to be, has already been; that which will come to be, already has been; for God seeks what has gone by” (3:15). This verse reiterates the sub-theme, “there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). As we have seen, this idea is embodied in Qoheleth’s first poem (1:4-8), which began with this line: “a generation goes and a generation comes, yet the world (including humanity) remains as ever.” There has been no real progress in the human condition. But this does not imply that history has no progress in the sense that it is moving towards a goal. For that would mean history has no purpose and hence no meaning. Qoheleth’s belief in divine providence implies that history has meaning.<br /><br />It is pertinent here to note that, “the idea of progress, according to a widely accepted interpretation, represents a secularized version of the Christian belief in providence” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#lasch">Lasch</a> 1991: 40). And the Christian belief in providence is based on the biblical view of God as partially presented in 3:1-15. Now given the options based on modern science and technology, or their premodern counterparts, to come to terms with the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life, would it not be wise to listen carefully and without prejudice to what Qoheleth has to say to us? </http:></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/explanation-for-sense-of-vanity-and-its.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/04/observation-and-reflection-to-reinforce.html">next</a><span style="font-size:78%;"><em></em></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-6397831096488539246?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-64327847571788074772007-03-29T15:38:00.001+08:002010-03-09T19:33:00.794+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">3:10 I have seen the preoccupation that God has given to the children of man to be preoccupied with. 3:11 He makes everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out what God does from the beginning to the end. 3:12 I know that there is nothing good for them except to have enjoyment and to do good in their lifetime. 3:13 And in fact, (in the case of) every man who eats and drinks and sees good in all his toil, it is a gift of God. 3:14 I know that everything God does remains forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. For God so works that men should fear Him. 3:15 Whatever comes to be, has already been; that which will come to be, already has been; for God seeks what has gone by. </span><br /><br />The passage before us is one of the most important and perhaps the most profound in Ecclesiastes. It not only answers the vexing questions raised at the end of the last section. It also begins to give us a coherent picture of the meaning of life. As we now proceed to consider its message, let us be reminded of the caution explained at the beginning of the last section. That is, if we do not share Qoheleth’s assumptions about God, for the sake of understanding what he has to say, we need to accept them temporarily.<br /><br />And, as previously discussed, Qoheleth assumes that God has control over everything that happens and yet human beings have the freedom to choose. So to him, whatever happens in this world, including what human beings experience or "freely" choose to do, is the work of God. That means, when he uses phrases like "what God does" or "God so works," he is simply talking about what we experience or observe, without necessarily implying what we call a "supernatural intervention."<br /><br />What then does the "preoccupation" that "God have given to the children of man to be preoccupied with" here in 3:10 refer to? We saw in 1:13a that human beings have a God-given preoccupation to make sense of life. In that context this preoccupation was expressed in Qoheleth's intellectual investigation of the meaning of life. Similarly the preoccupation here refers to the human impulse to make sense of life. But we need to consider, in this context, how this preoccupation is expressed in human life.<br /><br />Note that this passage flows logically from the preceding one (3:1-9), and they form one inseparable thought unit. So the force of the rhetorical question, "What profit has the worker in all his toils" (3:9), which was asked in light of the somber reality embodied in the poem, must be carried over to the reading of this passage, especially 3:10. We can then infer that the preoccupation or impulse referred to in 3:10 is triggered by the sense of vanity evoked by that somber reality: the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life. For when it dawns on us that what we gain in this world will not only be left behind when we die but may also be lost even before we die, we need to come to terms with this realization in order to make sense of life.<br /><br />In the next verse, when Qoheleth says, "He makes everything appropriate in its time" (3:11), he is referring back to the fourteen pairs of opposite things listed in the poem, such as “a time for war, and a time for peace” (3:8). There he affirmed that each of these things happens according to its appointed time (3:1). Here he adds that it is God who appoints these times, and that He makes each of those things “appropriate in its time.” By this Qoheleth is saying that the triggering of the impulse to make sense of life is by God's design. In other words, God has made this world and sustains it in such a way that human beings are driven to seek for the meaning of life.<br /><br />We still have not yet considered, in this particular context, how this God-given preoccupation is expressed in our life. But Qoheleth is not yet finished with this subject. He continues in the same verse, saying that God "has also put eternity in their heart." Whatever “eternity” means here, the phrase “eternity in their heart” at least refers to the human ability to transcend the present to look back into the past as well as think about the future. The <span style="font-style: italic;">New Revised Standard Version</span> of the Bible even translates the clause as, “moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds.” This meaning makes perfect sense in light of what follows in the rest of the verse: “yet so that man will not find out what God does from the beginning to the end.” For since “what God does” means whatever happens, the verse as a whole is affirming this: God not only makes the opposite things listed in the poem “appropriate in its time,” thus evoking the sense of vanity, He has <span style="font-style: italic;">also</span> given us a sense of past and future, “yet so that” we will not find out what will happen in this world. This profound statement deserves special attention.<br /><br />The flow of thought is not immediately obvious. To capture it, we need to imagine what it is like to live in a world as pictured in the poem and have the ability to look backward and forward in time. As we look into the past we see that the poem is telling the truth--bad things do happen. So as we think of the future we worry about what might happen, and thus want to find out what will happen. Hence the sense of eternity in our heart aggravates the sense of vanity, and has the effect of prompting us to find out about future events. So in this context this is how the preoccupation to make sense of life is expressed. In fact, in the standard Jewish English translation of the Hebrew Bible, “He also puts eternity in their mind,” is paraphrased (in the margin) as, “He preoccupies man with the attempt to discover the times of future events” (The <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#jewish">Jewish</a> Publication Society 1988: 1446).<br /><br />But this is still not the whole story. The last clause, “yet so that man will not find out what God does from the beginning to the end,” asserts that we will not succeed in what we are being prompted to do, which is, “to find out what God does.” Hence Ecclesiastes teaches that it is God who caused us to desire to know about the future and yet He has also denied us the ability to do so. Why does He do this? How then should human beings respond? And how have human beings responded? As we continue to look at the passage we will answer these questions, but not necessarily in that order.<br /><br />According to 3:14a, even if we can somehow discover what will happen, we cannot avoid it, as “everything God does remains forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it,” meaning, it cannot be changed. Of course in certain circumstances if we knew what would happen we could do something about it. For instance if we discovered that a massive bomb would soon go off in our office building we could warn as many people as possible as we rush out of it. But by “everything God does” Qoheleth is referring to what actually happens, such as whether we managed to get out of the doomed building in time or not. We can change what could have happened but not what will actually happen.<br /><br />Why does Qoheleth point out something so obvious? People living in a premodern world practice divination and magic. They use divination to find out what is supposedly fated to happen. Fated events “will actually happen” and thus cannot be avoided by natural means. But they believe that ill-fated events could be nullified through magic, the supposed manipulation of supernatural forces. Qoheleth is here discrediting both divination and magic. His original audience would have understood what he was getting at.<br /><br />The widespread practice of divination and magic, or their equivalents, attests to the universal human impulse to come to terms with the certainty of death and uncertainties of life. Divination and magic are intended to satisfy our need to know about, and then to escape from, misfortunes that are supposedly fated to befall us. In this way, divination and magic soothe the deep-seated feeling of insecurity that the sense of eternity, coupled with the sense of vanity, evoke in us. This helps to give meaning to life. But Ecclesiastes teaches that this and other man-made means to soothe the sense of insecurity only replace it with a false sense of security. These are human attempts to evade God’s purpose in appointing the events represented in the poem and in putting eternity in our heart. Qoheleth spells out this purpose: “For God so works that men should fear Him” (3:14b).<br /><br />Before taking a closer look at this purpose, we need to consider what it means to “fear God.” The “fear” of God is not the same as the fear we feel towards criminals. We fear them because they are unjust and would harm us even when we have done no wrong. Mortal beings fear God because He is not only awesome and powerful but will also uphold justice (Job 37: 22-24). This fear is comparable to the fear a citizen should have towards the governing authorities (Prov 24:21). Just as the fear of the police is not felt unless we have committed a crime or are contemplating one, normally we do not feel the fear of God unless we have done wrong, or are considering doing it. For we do not feel the fear when we are already yielding to its intended effect. Like swimming in a stream, we do not feel the force of the flowing stream if we allow it to carry us downstream. Thus the fear of God is wholesome. It usually works through our God-given conscience to restrain us from doing evil and constraint us to do good (Rom 2:14-16). To “fear God” is to be conscientious and thus seek to live an upright life. Hence one need not be a “religious person” to fear God; and a “religious person” may not actually be God-fearing.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">exposition of this passage continues on the next page.</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/poem-to-amplify-sense-of-vanity-31-8.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/04/explanation-for-sense-of-vanity-and-its.html">next</a></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-6432784757178807477?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-15082427109661026852007-03-14T15:23:00.000+08:002007-10-31T16:25:22.455+08:00<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153); font-weight: bold;">Repetition of Theme: “What Profit is There?” (3:9)</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">3:1 There is a season for everything, and a time for every matter under the heavens:</span><br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;">3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die;<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">a time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted;<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal;<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">a time to tear down, and a time to build up;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">a time to mourn, and a time to dance;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">3:5 A time to cast stones, and a time to gather stones;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">3:6 A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">a time to keep, and a time to throw away;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">3:7 A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">a time for war, and a time for peace.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">3:9 What profit has the worker in all that he toils?</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At the end of the previous section, we noted that we could understand Qoheleth better if we would grant him his assumption concerning God. Now to understand this present passage and the rest of the speech, if we do not share his assumptions about God, we need to hear him out as if we do. After all, having understood his message on his terms, we can then reject it if we still have valid reasons to reject his assumptions. Otherwise we will not understand him, and if we reject what we <span style="font-style: italic;">think</span> he is saying, we will not know what it is that we are really rejecting. Mortimer <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#adler">Adler</a>, who was chairman of the editorial board of <span style="font-style: italic;">Encyclopaedia Britannica</span>, in his “classic guide to intelligent reading” warns us of two common mistakes in reading a piece of writing built on dogmatic principles:<br /><br />The first mistake is to refuse to accept, even temporarily, the articles of faith that are the first principles of the author. As a result, the reader continues to struggle with these first principles, never really paying attention to the book itself. The second mistake is to assume that, because the first principles are dogmatic, the arguments based on them, the reasoning they support, and the conclusions to which they lead to are all dogmatic in the same way (1972: 292).<br /><br />Qoheleth has presented an appropriate response to the vanity of life in the previous passage. He now returns to the theme of vanity (3:9). He sought to vivify the idea of vanity in our minds through the earlier poem (1:4-8). Using illustrations from his past experiences (1:12-2:23) he sought to recreate the sense of vanity in our hearts. Now through another poem he seeks to amplify this sense of vanity. Why do we say so? We know 3:1-8 is a poem about vanity from the rhetorical question of 3:9, which is basically the same as that of 1:3. Just as “Vanities of vanities; all is vanity” (1:2) is the expected answer to “What profit does man have ...?” (1:3), this poem is the answer to that same question expressed in 3:9. Thus the poem embodies the idea of “Vanities of vanities; all is vanity.” And poetry by design evokes imagination (as in 1:4-8) and most often (as in this case) emotion as well.<br /><br />This poem is not saying, as is commonly misunderstood, that there is a time permitted for us to do this or that thing listed in the poem. The Hebrew word translated “season” in verse 1 means appointed time (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 159), and the word translated “matter” has the root meaning of “desire” and in this context means “desired or purposed event” (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#vangemeren">VanGemeren</a> 1997, 2:233-4). The poem is saying that the nature and timing of everything that happens in this world, whether good or bad, such as what is listed in the poem, are appointed by God (3:11-15). He takes for granted that God has sovereign control over everything in this world, including human choices. So every “matter,” including human actions, is either directed or permitted by Him. This is not to say that Qoheleth had a fatalistic view of life, a view that everything is fated or predetermined so that we cannot be held responsible for whatever we do or fail to do.<br /><br />This passage follows immediately that which introduces for the first time God’s sovereignty (over who may have enjoyment). That very passage also highlights human responsibility (to be good in God’s sight as a condition to having enjoyment). Thus God’s sovereignty is not to the exclusion of human responsibility, which then implies human freedom of choice (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#rudman">Rudman</a> 2001: 33, 149). In fact Qoheleth later admonishes us to be prudent in light of life’s uncertainties (11:1-6). He assumes not only the biblical teaching concerning divine sovereignty but also human responsibility. But how can it be true that God has sovereign control over everything that happens and yet human beings have freedom to choose and thus be beheld responsible for their actions? We cannot understand it. But our inability to comprehend does not mean that it cannot be true. Scientists affirm that light is both wave and particle even though they cannot understand how it can be so. They have to accept the apparent contradictory nature of light to make sense of physical phenomena. The modernist assumption that the human mind can understand and explain everything in the universe has long been obsolete.<br /><br />Later, based on Qoheleth’s speech taken as a whole, we shall see why and how the paradoxical teaching of divine sovereignty and human responsibility is necessary for making sense of human experience. For now we take note that the sovereign God “makes everything [including misfortunes] appropriate in its time,” for a purpose (3:11). The purpose of misfortunes happening at “appropriate” times in the world or in our life involves evoking in us the sense of vanity. So by reminding us of the misfortunes of life Qoheleth is seeking to further evoke or amplify the sense of vanity in us. Let us now consider how this happens.<br /><br />The poem presents 14 pairs of opposite things that happen in this world. The first pair, “a time to be born, and a time to die,” affirms the certainty of death. The rest reminds us of the uncertainties of life. As poetry teases our imagination, what is named in the pairs may represent different events beyond the thing itself. For example, “a time to weep” refers not only to weeping itself, but also the different painful events that make us weep. And “a time to dance” does not mean just dancing, but also all sorts of events that cause us to rejoice. So the pairs taken together cover every conceivable event under the heavens (verse 1). The last pair, “a time for war, and a time for peace,” aptly summarizes the poem. The image of war helps us capture the range of the negative experiences represented. For when there is war, people get killed and die and there is weeping and mourning; clothes get torn apart, buildings get torn down; stones are cast and plants are uprooted, adding to the destruction; refugees throw their belongings away and there is no time to search for what is missing; when there is grief people keep silence, they refrain from embracing for cordiality, only for empathy; the war was nurtured by a lack of love, the war then breeds hatred all over.<br /><br />Qoheleth is saying that whatever fortunate event we experience between birth and death has an unfortunate counterpart that may or may not happen as well. If it happens, it cancels out the profit gained (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> 1987: 96). The intended effect of the poem is the sense that whatever profit we gain under the sun may be lost even before we die. The image of war is particularly effective in helping us capture the sense of suffering loss. And the certainty of death means that even if we do not lose everything before we die, we will lose them all eventually. So all is vanity and there is no profit under the sun. We have to come to terms not only with the certainty of death but also the uncertainties of life.<br /><br />The theme of the speech as expressed here is thus more nuanced than the outright declaration in 1:2-3. For it not only affirms, as in 1:2-3, that the <span style="font-style: italic;">ultimate</span> profitlessness of all temporal gains is certain, but also that the <span style="font-style: italic;">immediate</span> futility of all earthly pursuits is possible. This is unsettling even for people who smugly think and feel that they can live with the unpleasant reality that death will finally confiscate all that they have. Hence the sense of vanity evoked by this poem not only strengthens, but is stronger than, that evoked by the illustrations from Qoheleth’s personal experiences. Why does God appoint events such that we experience vanity even before we die? Why does Qoheleth use this reality to unsettle our feelings? As we continue to hear him out, we will find the answers to these vexing questions.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/02/admonition-to-carefreeness-in-light-of.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/explanation-for-sense-of-vanity-and-its.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-1508242710966102685?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-24448318934038069262007-02-28T00:00:00.001+08:002009-12-07T13:36:51.510+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">2:24 There is nothing good for a man (except) that he should eat and drink and let his soul see good in his labor. And this I have seen, that it is from the hand of God. 2:25 For who can eat or who can have enjoyment apart from Him? 2:26 For to a man who is good in His sight He has given wisdom, knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting in order to give to one who is good in God’s sight. This also is vanity and a pursuit of wind.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth’s expressions of despair and pessimism in the previous passage are in the context of recounting his past experiences, especially his experience with pursuing temporal success through laboring with wisdom. He is sharing with us how he felt when he evaluated those experiences and realized the vanity of them all. But does he still feel this way at the time of recounting them in the speech? We need to look at the purpose of this recounting.<br /><br />The passage before us introduces a major sub-theme of the speech. Qoheleth here admonishes us to have enjoyment in life. This admonition is repeated several times later in the speech (3:12-13, 22; 5:18; 8:15), with slight variations in expression. Then in 9:7-9, and finally in 11:7-10, the admonition takes the form of an outright instruction. He is in fact presenting it as the solution to the vanity of life. For every time this admonition occurs it is in the context of how we should respond to the vanity of life, whether in light of what he personally experienced, as is the case here, or in light of what he personally observed, or both. That means Qoheleth is recounting his past experiences as a personal testimony on how not to live in order to persuade us how then to live. So he must have learned from his past pessimism and departed from it. As we now take a closer look at the admonition, it will become clear that he has moved on to embrace a wholesome form of realism.<br /><br />Qoheleth pursued after pleasure to find out what was "good ... to do" (2:1-11). Even with his wisdom guiding him, he found the experience disappointing. For the pursuit could only give pleasure but not satisfaction. Even then, the things that gave pleasure, which were acquired through laboring with wisdom, would one day be taken away (2:12-23). So what then is good? Qoheleth presents his answer in the form of an admonition. "There is nothing good," he says, except to let our soul "see good" in our labor through the “enjoyment” of its fruit. In light of his disappointing experience with pleasure, by “enjoyment” Qoheleth does not mean just having pleasure, but also satisfaction. Unless we are satisfied with an experience, no matter how pleasurable, we cannot really say we enjoyed it. In fact this is implied in "let his soul see good in his labor." The soul is the seat of desire. For the soul to “see good,” the desire must be satisfied (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#schoors2">Schoors</a> 2004: 218-9). This idea will be elaborated when we look at 5:18-6:6, which contrasts those who have the ability to enjoy prosperity with those who do not.<br /><br />However this is not as if Qoheleth “were saying that enjoyment of food and possessions is the goal of life. In this context he is talking about how one should view life with respect to labor and the fruit of labor” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#garrett">Garrett</a> 1993: 296). In other words, if the laborious pursuits of pleasure and success, even when boosted by wisdom, are in reality profitless, how then should we live? What role should labor and its fruit play in our life? Qoheleth's answer is that we should enjoy the fruit of our labor and thus let our soul find satisfaction in it. Let us explore the implications of this answer.<br /><br />As we have discussed in our exposition of 2:1-11, we will have enjoyment and find satisfaction only if we are not trapped in pursuing after pleasure or the things that give pleasure. Most often people do not even realize this is what they are doing. So we must stop and evaluate our goals in life. This brings us back to the insight of psychiatrist Frankl that pleasure must not be made a goal in itself but instead remain a side-effect. What then is the goal of labor if it should not be pleasure, whether the pleasure associated with success or the luxury it brings? Qoheleth affirms that people pursue after pleasure, success and even wisdom in order to satisfy the need to make sense of life (see exposition on 1:13). And he presents his admonition not only as the solution to the vanity of life but also as the alternative to these pursuits, stressing that besides it, "there is nothing good." That means his admonition must in some ways address the basic question of the meaning of life. And it would also give a hint on the proper goal of labor.<br /><br />Qoheleth has testified to the vanity of wisdom, pleasure and success in such a way that when he says that there is nothing good except to have enjoyment and find satisfaction, our conscience will not argue with him. For knowingly or unknowingly, when we labor, it is in order to find satisfaction. So it does not make sense that all that our labor brings is pleasure that does not satisfy or possessions that do not last. Therefore the most realistic and sensible thing to do is to enjoy the fruit of our labor and thus find satisfaction in it. And how can life as a whole be meaningful if we are not doing the most sensible or meaningful thing in light of its vanity? In this way, enjoyment and satisfaction help us make sense of life, and thus contribute to the meaning of life. Qoheleth's response to the vanity of life at the time of the speech is thus realistic. But his is not a godless form of realism.<br /><br />For when Qoheleth presents his solution to the vanity of life (for the very first time!), he brings God into the picture. He spells out that the ability to have enjoyment and find satisfaction “is from the hand of God.” And God gives this ability only to those who “are good in His sight.” This may sound outrageous to contemporary ears. Here Qoheleth does not explain why this is so. But he will develop and defend this idea later on (especially in 5:18-6:9 and 11:7-10). Let us then give him the benefit of the doubt for now so that we can move on and see what he is trying to say. This is not difficult if we have been following his arguments and feeling his (past) frustrations. For we would then have realized that though we can pursue after pleasure and success, we cannot ensure that we enjoy life. It implies that we may need help beyond ourselves. Qoheleth’s ancient audience would have been rather receptive to this idea which we may find repulsive today. Even if we do not believe in God, we can still understand, “who can have enjoyment without Him,” as a metaphor to mean that the ability to find satisfaction in life is beyond self-determination.<br /><br />After all, this does not mean that this ability is beyond human initiative. Qoheleth says that God will allow us to enjoy life if we are “good in His sight,” a condition we can do something about. In other words, the ability to find satisfaction is a side-effect of being “good in His sight.” What then does it mean for a person to be “good in His sight”? We are told that such a person is given “knowledge, wisdom and joy.” In Old Testament wisdom teaching, the “fear of God” is the “beginning” of <span style="font-style: italic;">knowledge</span> (Prov 1:7) and of <span style="font-style: italic;">wisdom</span> (Prov 9:10). Here Qoheleth is merely hinting that we need to "fear God" to enjoy life but later in 3:14, he spells it out. We shall then see that one who “fears God” is basically a conscientious person with an upright heart. He would then have <span style="font-style: italic;">joy</span> because of his upright ways (Prov 12:20). Hence one who is “good in God’s sight” is one who seeks to live an upright life, and is here aptly contrasted with “the sinner,” or the wicked, whose self-destructive way of life betrays a lack of knowledge and wisdom, and whose joy is therefore only “momentary” (Job 20:5).<br /><br />Later Qoheleth acknowledges that the wicked may also become prosperous. Here he points out in advance that they would not be able to enjoy their prosperity (an idea elaborated in 6:1-6). They are “given the business of gathering and collecting (wealth) in order to give to one who is good in God’s sight.” With respect to the sinner, this "business" without doubt “also is vanity and a pursuit of wind.” But what does “in order to give to one who is good in God’s sight” mean? It could be understood in light of 6:2, where Qoheleth talks about a man who is not able to enjoy his wealth, but instead a “stranger” will enjoy it. So it means that those who are not upright can only be busy “gathering and collecting” wealth but not enjoy it. And that since they have to leave their wealth behind (2:12-17), it can benefit others. But since their heirs may not enjoy it because they may not have what it takes to handle the wealth (2:18-23), in the end, as the wealth scatters, it will only benefit “strangers” who are “good in God’s sight.” In this sense, the sinner is storing up wealth to be “given” to the upright (cf. Prov 13:22b). In a world in which the wicked may seem to get away with their ill-gotten wealth, this teaching helps us make sense of life as we see it.<br /><br />If, just for the sake of understanding Qoheleth better, we grant him that it is indeed a real and not a metaphorical God who gives the ability to enjoy life, what difference does it make? It will give us a transcendent purpose to labor and to the enjoyment of life. Labor enables us to meet our material needs, without which we cannot enjoy life. And when we recognize that it is God who enables us to enjoy the fruit of our labor, we can thank and praise Him wholeheartedly. This ability to thank and praise God then contributes to the meaning of life. For as C. S. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#lewis">Lewis</a> put it, “all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise ... and we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation ...; the delight is incomplete until it is expressed [in praise]. It is frustrating ... to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch.” (1958: 94-95). In other words, without a real God to thank, we can only “thank goodness,” and so even the enjoyment of an exceptionally good fortune serves no transcendent, and thus no deeply satisfying or truly meaningful, purpose.<br /><br /><br /><i></i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/02/vanity-of-success-212-23.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/poem-to-amplify-sense-of-vanity-31-8.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-2444831893403806926?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-3598768861701929392007-02-14T23:54:00.000+08:002007-02-28T00:12:43.076+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">2:12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man who comes after the king do except what has already been done? 2:13 Then I saw that wisdom has advantage over folly, as light has advantage over darkness. 2:14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. But I also realized that one fate befalls both of them. 2:15 Then I said to myself, "As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. So why then have I been extremely wise?" Thus I said to myself that this also is vanity. 2:16 For there is ultimately no remembrance of the wise as with the fool, seeing that in the days to come both will have already been forgotten. And how the wise dies just like the fool! 2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a pursuit of wind.</span><br /><br />Having considered the truth about the pursuit of pleasure (“madness and folly”) Qoheleth now turns to consider (further) the truth about wisdom. He has already discovered that wisdom cannot solve the problem of the vanity of life (1:12-18). Now he evaluates wisdom in terms of its practical value--success in everyday life. He highlights this value by contrasting wisdom with “madness and folly” (verse 12). In this verse “madness and folly” no longer refers to the pursuit of pleasure (verses 1-11), but retains its more general meaning--the lack of practical wisdom in everyday life. To pursue pleasure is only one specific expression of “madness and folly,” that is, acting foolishly due to a lack of practical wisdom.<br /><br />He turns to consider the practical value of wisdom because “what can the man who comes after the king do except what has already been done?” He is reiterating a sub-theme of the speech first introduced in the poem in 1:4-11--there is nothing new under the sun. In this context there is nothing new in how people express the God-given “grievous preoccupation” (1:13) to seek after meaning. In other words, after having considered the philosophical value of wisdom (1:12-18) and the existential value of pleasure (2:1-11), by turning now to consider the practical value of wisdom, he would have considered all the categories of the means people tend to use to seek for the meaning of life. So his successor would have nothing to add to what he had already done.<br /><br />He recognizes that the wise person does have real advantage over the foolish one (verses 13-14). Wisdom cannot solve the problem of the vanity of life. But wisdom enables a person to do better in daily life. For a wise person (who “has eyes in his head”) is more able to avoid getting into trouble, and to advance in society easier, than a foolish one (who “walks in darkness”). One who sees clearly in the light certainly has distinct advantage over one who gropes cautiously in the dark. Thus wisdom has <span style="font-style: italic;">immediate</span> profit under the sun. Today, the pursuit of wisdom for the purpose of success takes the form of higher education. A university degree is seen as the passport to “the good life.” But no wise or educated person, no matter how successful, can avoid death. Thus they both have the same final outcome (“fate”). Hence <span style="font-style: italic;">ultimately</span> he is no different from a fool. So success is vanity because all that we gain from our successful endeavors is transitory.<br /><br />Qoheleth therefore questioned the point of being so wise. He was expressing the feeling that whatever profits he gained from acting wisely would all be left behind when he dies. And, again like the fool, even the remembrance of him and his success would not last. Realizing that “all is vanity and a pursuit of wind” is a reality that cannot be changed (1:14-15), the work done under the sun became grievous to him. It is painful to be toiling away when you are aware that it will one day amount to nothing, and nothing can be done about it. People suppress this awareness to avoid the pain, and this is one reason death is a taboo subject. But Qoheleth had to face it, and long enough, to evaluate what is worth living for. So he “hated” life. This expression of despair must be seen in the light that the more one has accumulated in terms of wealth and the higher one has attained in terms of prestige, the more grievous it is to realize that one has to leave this world empty-handed. Nonetheless, this reaction was pessimistic. But was he still pessimistic about life when he recounted this painful experience in this speech? We shall see.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2:18 And I hated all my wealth for which I toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 2:19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will have control over all my wealth for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 2:20 So I gave my heart to despair over all the wealth for which I toiled under the sun 2:21 For it happens that a man whose wealth (is acquired through toiling) with wisdom, knowledge and skill must leave his estate to one who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great affliction. 2:22 For what is there for a man for all his toiling and striving of his heart which he does under the sun? 2:23 For all his days are full of pain and his work is a vexation. Even at night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.</span><br /><br />Qoheleth “hated” life because life is such that he had to leave all his wealth behind to his heir. This led him to “hate” (verse 18) and despair over (verse 20) his wealth. The Hebrew word translated wealth here (and in 2:10-11) is <span style="font-style: italic;">`amal</span>, which basically means labor. In some contexts, as is clearly the case here, it means the fruit of labor (since it refers to something that could be inherited). In Qoheleth’s case, the fruit of his labor was wealth (2:4-8). Qoheleth acquired his wealth with wisdom but, as is unmistakable even in the English translation, it was not without toiling, the nature of which is described in verses 22-23: “striving of his heart” in the day and “even at night his heart does not rest.” His labor was mainly mental and emotional (in the Old Testament the heart refers not only to a person’s emotional but also his mental faculties). When we exert much mental effort and endure much emotional stress to acquire something, during somber moments, we ask whether it is all worth it. Qoheleth did not think it was worth it because he had to leave everything to his heir. He found it to be “vanity and a great affliction” (verse 21).<br /><br />But since his wealth would benefit his heir why did he consider leaving it to him as something so grievous that he would “hate” and despair over it? Qoheleth’s explanation: he had to give everything he gained through laboring wisely into the hands of an heir who may be foolish (verse 19) and who did not labor for it (verse 21). The implication is that he feared that this heir would not have what it takes to make good use of the inheritance. This is most obvious if the heir is foolish. He will simply squander the wealth away. Worse still, it is a common observation that wealth that falls on one’s lap, whether through inheritance or other means, often destroys the recipient in one way or another. Charles <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1G6XR3I3NJPJQ/ref=cm_cr_auth/102-9977518-9967312">KinCannon</a>, an estate planning attorney for over 15 years, attests: “I have seen wealth ruin families, create addictions for heirs and leave future generations without means to pursue dreams” (April 8, 2006). Not surprisingly then, it has been reported that, “about one in five American millionaires is limiting his children’s legacies to ‘middle-class’ levels,” giving the rest of the money to charity (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Straits Times</span>, March 11, 2002).<br /><br />Even if Qoheleth’s heir is wise, but because he did not labor for it, he may still lack what it takes to manage a level of wealth acquired through his father’s level of wisdom and experience. We translate the last clause of verse 21 as, “who did not toil <span style="font-style: italic;">for it</span>,” as do most translators and commentators, because it reads more smoothly in English. However, it is possible, in fact more plausible grammatically, to translate it as, “who did not toil <span style="font-style: italic;">with it</span>.” Graham <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#ogden">Ogden</a> and Lynell Zogbo (1998), in a translator’s handbook on Ecclesiastes, actually advocate this interpretation when commenting on this verse. The verse is then saying that Qoheleth toiled “<span style="font-style: italic;">with</span> wisdom and <span style="font-style: italic;">with</span> knowledge and <span style="font-style: italic;">with</span> skill” (literal translation of Hebrew) but had to leave everything to one who did not toil “<span style="font-style: italic;">with</span> it” (same Hebrew preposition), that is, with neither wisdom, knowledge, nor skill. To capture this meaning, the <span style="font-style: italic;">New American Standard Bible</span> translates the clause as, “who has not labored <span style="font-style: italic;">with them</span>.” This translation makes explicit Qoheleth’s fear that his heir may not have what it takes to handle the wealth he had acquired because his heir did not work “for it.”<br /><br />Qoheleth’s fear is not unfounded. According to an editorial in the <a href="http://www.hurun.net/showmagazineencontent142.aspx">Hurun Report</a>, “Wealth does not survive three generations, according to a Chinese proverb, and this is pretty much proven by statistics from the West too. A study in the US showed that a third of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation. Twelve percent will still be viable into the third generation, with three percent of all family businesses operating at the fourth-generation level and beyond, very much upholding the Chinese proverb.” So whether one’s heir is wise or foolish, the wealth that took such a toll on him to create will not likely last beyond the third generation. And it is even more tragic if in the process of transferring wealth across generations, families become ruined in one way or another. Humans are basically acquisitive. In an age of “economic progress” this acquisitiveness is unleashed in a manner unseen before. People are aware that they have to leave their acquisitions behind. But the idea that they can leave their wealth to their children may have given some an illusive purpose or meaning to their frantic pursuit of wealth. But Qoheleth’s warning is that, “This also is vanity and a great affliction”!<br /> <br /><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> is correct that verse 23 “is not a comment on the human condition in general” but only on the kind of person like Qoheleth himself, who “is possessed by a restless ambition to achieve something--whatever it may be--for himself ... and who puts this ‘business’ (work) above everything else” (1989: 62). But today, many people in affluent societies take for granted that this is the way to live. They do not question the wisdom--or lack of it--of living this way. If we are driven to live this way it is because our life lacks meaning and we are trying to fill the vacuum. But since we do not find the meaning of life in this way we may not realize that this is what we are actually after. And we may not welcome this realization as not many of us would admit even to ourselves that we are actually chasing after wind.<br /><br />The pursuit of pleasure and success is vanity. The pursuit of knowledge and wisdom to solve the problem of vanity is itself vanity. How then shall we live?<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/01/vanity-of-pleasure-21-11.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/02/admonition-to-carefreeness-in-light-of.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-359876886170192939?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1170176748344545522007-01-31T00:56:00.000+08:002007-02-15T00:19:57.286+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">2:1 I said to myself, "Come now, let me test you with pleasure and let you experience good things." But look!, this also is vanity. 2:2 I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?" </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2:3 I explored with my mind how to cheer my body with wine--my mind still guiding me with wisdom--and how to lay hold of folly, until I could see what is good for the children of man to do under the heavens during the few days of their life. 2:4 I enlarged my estate: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself. 2:5 I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 2:6 I made pools of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 2:7 I bought male and female slaves, and I had home-born slaves. I also had a great possession of cattle and sheep, more than anyone who was before me in Jerusalem. 2:8 I also accumulated for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got for myself male and female singers, and the pleasures of men--many concubines. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2:9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 2:10 And whatever my eyes asked for I did not withhold from them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure; rather my heart found pleasure from all my wealth, and this was my lot from all my toil. 2:11 Then I turned (to consider) all the activities that my hands had engaged in and the wealth that I had so labored to acquire; and oh!, all is vanity and a pursuit of wind, and there is no profit under the sun.</span><br /><br /><br />Qoheleth previously mentioned that “he set his heart to know (the truth about) wisdom and to know (the truth about) madness and folly” (1:17). This turns out to be his evaluation of his own experiences. He begins with what he would label as madness (verse 2) and folly (verse 3): the pursuit of pleasure. It is important to note that he did not consider pleasure in and by itself madness or folly, but only the pursuit of it. For he spells out that he was testing pleasure to see what it could accomplish, in order to see “what is good for the children of man to do under the heavens during the few days of their life” (verses 1-3). That means he was evaluating pleasure when pleasure is the focus of attention so as to find out whether it is “good ... to do,” that is, worth pursuing. Furthermore, very soon we will hear him admonishing us to see our labor as “good” through having enjoyment in life (2:24-26). So he could not be saying that pleasure in and of itself is madness and folly.<br /><br />Qoheleth tells us that throughout this evaluation, even when he was testing out the pleasure of wine, which is associated with drunkenness, his mind was still guiding him with wisdom (verse 3). Also, throughout the wealth-acquiring activities described in verses 4-8, which made him greater than others in Jerusalem, his wisdom “stood by him” (verse 9). This has two implications. Firstly, his pursuit of pleasure was not wanton and he avoided gross indulgence (having concubines was a “normal” royal practice, widely accepted in the ancient world). A wise man like him does not need to discover that gross indulgence is madness and folly. For it is obvious enough that it serves no purpose except self-destruction. The second implication is that, though his evaluation is experience based, it is philosophical in nature. We are thus reminded that this is part of the comprehensive philosophical investigation he talked about in 1:13-18. What exactly was he trying to do?<br /><br />Oliver <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#rankin">Rankin</a> answers succinctly,<br /><br />“Solomon” turns to the task of testing whether perchance pleasure may be a worthwhile object of human effort, the good which is completely satisfying. Wine, women, and song, the gathering of riches, the enjoyment of luxury, the acquisition of rare and special products and commodities derived from foreign rulers and countries through trade, gift or tribute, the prosperity fostered by successful projects of agriculture and afforestation, the magnificence of his buildings, of his gardens and parks and vineyards--all this “Solomon” briefly indicates in describing the means he used to find out by test and trial whether pleasure provided a soul-satisfying purpose of life (1956: 34; cited in <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#schoors2">Schoors</a> 2004: 365-6)<br /><br />Needless to say, Qoheleth’s evaluation of human effort in this particular context cannot be applied to people who are struggling just to “make ends meet.” He was testing out whether the pursuit of what we call “the good life” is worth it. Again, he is not evaluating “the good life” in and of itself, but only when it becomes “an object of human effort.” His conclusion is that it is also vanity. For his “lot,” or portion, from his pursuit of “the good life” was (just) pleasure (verse 10). A poignant way of putting it would be: “And that was all I got out of my wealth” (The <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#jewish">Jewish</a> Publication Society 1988: 1443). He got only pleasure but no satisfaction out of it. When pleasure fails to satisfy, it does not even have immediate profit. Thus when pleasure is pursued, whether through “wine, women and song,” or through the accumulation of wealth, or both, it is profitless. Psychiatrist <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#frankl2">Frankl</a> observed that, “pleasure is, and must remain, a side-effect or a by-product, and is destroyed and spoiled to the degree to which it is made a goal in itself” (1984: 145). In Qoheleth’s case, “the degree to which it is made a goal in itself,” can be seen from his tenacity in pursuing pleasure: “whatever my eyes asked for I did not withhold from them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure” (verse 10). No wonder he labeled it “madness and folly.”<br /><br />But why does pleasure not satisfy when it is pursued? We are given a clue since the pursuit of pleasure is part of Qoheleth’s quest for the meaning of life. People pursue pleasure to find happiness so as to experience the meaning of life. Happiness is the state of (well-)being characterized by an overall sense of satisfaction with life. And pleasure can contribute to happiness if it is satisfying. Without happiness life is often felt to be not worth living and thus lacks meaning and purpose. And people expect pleasure to meet this need. In fact when one feels that life is meaninglessness one is often driven to pursue after pleasure. But the effort to find meaning by pursuing pleasure is futile. Psychologists have discovered that the “feeling that one’s life has meaning, in the sense of purpose and value, is a centrally important aspect of happiness, seeming to affect one’s satisfaction with almost every aspect of life [and not just pleasure]” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#baumeister">Baumeister</a> 1991: 215). That means, pleasure does not satisfy and cannot contribute to happiness if one’s life already lacks meaning. Yet it is when life lacks meaning that one feels the need to pursue after pleasure. In other words, pleasure does not satisfy when it is pursued because it is pursued to meet an expectation that pleasure cannot satisfy.<br /><br />It is no accident that when Qoheleth sought to find what was worth doing in this fleeting life (that is, beyond meeting survival needs), he began with evaluating whether pleasure is worth pursuing (verse 3). For whether we realize it or not, the motivation behind virtually every human effort beyond making a living is to find happiness and the meaning of life through pleasure. Note that Qoheleth’s pursuit of pleasure included the accumulation of wealth, which is pleasurable, though we do not usually think of it as the pursuit of pleasure. So by evaluating the pursuit of pleasure, Qoheleth evaluates every human undertaking which is motivated (usually unconsciously) by the need to make sense of life, whether as part of work or leisure. Today this would cover most activities associated with the pursuit of “the good life.” His finding here begins to substantiate his overall conclusion about human activities already presented in 1:14: “all is vanity and a pursuit of wind, and there is no profit under the sun” (verse 11). Living for pleasure or “the good life” cannot be “a soul-satisfying purpose of life.” Because it does not heal, but only numb, the pain of meaninglessness, it can only cause one to become addicted to some form of pleasure, which could even be something as “innocent” as keeping up with what is in vogue.<br /><br />Though Qoheleth’s evaluation excludes illicit indulgence, we can extend the insights gained to evaluate it. For every act of indulgence, by the very nature of the impulse behind it, is an act of seeking pleasure as a goal in itself. That means we can expect indulgence, illicit or not, though pleasurable, to be not satisfying. The saying, “stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (Prov 9:17), which refers to illicit pleasure, particularly illicit sex, is true. But, it has been reported, “A University of Chicago survey of 3,432 Americans ages 18 through 59 found that monogamous married couples reported the highest sexual satisfaction, while singles and marrieds who have multiple partners registered the lowest” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#shalit">Shalit</a> 1999: 171). Numerous other studies could be cited to support this conclusion. Thus illicit sex may be more exciting in terms of sheer momentary pleasure but could yet be less satisfying as compared to marital sex. In fact, illicit sex often leaves one feeling empty, if not guilty as well. On the other hand, it is possible to “find pleasure from the wife of your youth.… Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be intoxicated always with her love(-making)” (Prov 5:18-19).<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/01/illustrations-from-personal-experience.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/02/vanity-of-success-212-23.html">next</a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-117017674834454552?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1168672955771427822007-01-13T15:14:00.000+08:002007-06-15T23:38:02.363+08:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Vanity of Wisdom (1:12-18) </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;">1:12 I, Qoheleth, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 1:13 I set my heart to inquire and to explore by wisdom everything that has been done under the heavens. It is a grievous preoccupation that God has given to the children of man with which to be preoccupied. 1:14 I observed all the deeds that have been done under the sun, and look!, all is vanity and a pursuit of wind.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1:15 What is made crooked cannot be straightened;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">what is lacking cannot be counted. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;">1:16 I said to myself, “Look! I have increased greatly in wisdom beyond everyone who was over Jerusalem before me.” Now my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge. 1:17 But when I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly I realized that even this is a pursuit of wind.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1:18 For in much wisdom is much vexation;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">and an increase in knowledge is an increase in pain. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Qoheleth now begins to speak conversationally in the first person. He reveals that he had committed himself (“set his heart”) to a comprehensive philosophical investigation into human experience in this world (“to inquire and explore with wisdom everything ... done under the heavens”). What was he trying to accomplish? What did he want to know about human experience under the heavens? Why did he make his investigation comprehensive? The goal of any comprehensive intellectual study of observable phenomena is not just to understand the parts but also to make coherent sense of the whole. That is how the human mind works. Qoheleth was thus seeking a comprehensive understanding of human experience to make coherent sense of human life. He was thus searching for the meaning of life.<br /><br />As we have seen, the most important ingredient of the meaning of life is a worthwhile overall purpose. For without such a purpose life does not make sense. But philosopher of religion Keith <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#ward">Ward</a> adds, “When people complain that life is meaningless, they often mean they cannot see how the events that happen to them fit into any overall pattern. To see the meaning of a human life would be to see how its various elements fit into a unique, complex, and integrated pattern” (2000: 22). Thus, to have a truly meaningful life we must not only have a worthwhile purpose to live for but we must also be able to see how the different aspects of our life, especially the painful ones, contribute to that overall purpose.<br /><br />Qoheleth’s comprehensive study covers both these ingredients of the meaning of life. He was trying to find meaning and purpose to different human experiences as well as to human life as a whole. He first made philosophical evaluations of his own personal experiences (1:12-2:26) as well as his personal observations (3:16-8:15). And based on these evaluations he made the philosophical conclusion that life as a whole is vanity (verse 14). As he recounts his findings in this speech he also seeks to show how this philosophical conclusion fits into a bigger coherent picture, one that presents the meaning of life. We will try to piece this picture together as we move along.<br /><br />In a sense the present passage is the actual beginning of the speech. Here Qoheleth begins to recount his experiences and later his observations, interspersed with evaluations and admonitions, that finally concludes in the exclamation, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” in 12:8. Thus the announcement of the theme (1:2-3) and the vivification of it (1:4-11) can be viewed as the conclusion of the deliberations that begin at 1:12 and go all the way to 12:7. This is why we did not hesitate to use in advance examples of vanity from the later parts of Qoheleth’s speech when we explicated the meaning of his philosophical conclusion, “all is vanity,” first announced in 1:2. He is not saying that this conclusion itself constitutes the meaning of life. But, as just pointed out, even as he is showing how he came to this conclusion, he also shows how this conclusion fits into a bigger coherent picture. He could do this, and quite early in the speech (3:1-15), because he has already announced and vivified the conclusion beforehand (1:2-11).<br /><br />The philosophical conclusion is simply an observable reality that would and should cause us, as it did Qoheleth, to search further for the meaning of life. For if everything is vanity, what is the point of living? How does this painful reality fit into the overall purpose of life? How then shall we live? But many today would just react to this reality with pessimism and conclude that life is meaningless. They would rather accept and endure this pessimism than to search further. Some do not even try because they do not want to consider or reconsider how they should then live, or they do not know where to begin. Others have tried before but found the attempt itself even more meaningless. Perhaps Qoheleth can help all of them. He speaks with such an authority that comes only with comprehensive investigation as well as incomparable wisdom and experience.<br /><br />When he announced “All is vanity” as the theme of his speech (1:2-3), he used a poem to vivify the idea of profitlessness (1:4-8). Now, as he illustrates various pursuits of vanity, he repeatedly vivifies the idea of futility (of the pursuits): every human endeavor under the sun is like pursuing or chasing after wind (verse 14; also, 2:11,17,26; 4:4,16; 6:9). He is out to persuade us. We may not grasp the far-reaching implication of the theme of his message unless we first grasp it vividly in our minds. Then Qoheleth builds on it by evoking the sense of vanity in our hearts. For if his message does not also move our emotion how can he move our volition?<br /><br />His illustrations of vanity from his own experience (1:12-2:23) start the ball rolling in speaking to our hearts as well. In this first illustration he confesses that the very intellectual effort that led him to recognize that everything is profitless is itself profitless! For having concluded that everything is vanity he also realized that human knowledge and wisdom could not do anything about it. Death will certainly confiscate whatever profits we may have gained under the sun. But in the mind of Qoheleth, death is not the only reason for the impermanence of human gains. He will soon highlight that our temporal profits can be lost even before we die (3:1-9). They may be lost immediately through calamities or crimes, if not through our own carelessness or foolishness. We live under the constant threat that whatever we value, including life itself, will not only be lost ultimately but may also be lost immediately. And this reality cannot be changed.<br /><br />Qoheleth was an exceptionally wise man (verse 16). Yet even he feels helpless. He captures this sentiment proverbially: “What is made crooked [qualitative deficiency] cannot be straightened; what is lacking [quantitative deficiency] cannot be counted” (verse 15). In other words, human experience cannot be reordered so as to remove the constant threat and the certain reality of suffering loss. It is again very difficult to argue with Qoheleth. To fault him we are required to show that human knowledge and wisdom are able to prevent aging and death as well as calamities and sicknesses. And also overcome the moral, social, economic and political problems in human society by removing the selfish and criminal inclinations that characterize humanity (7:29).<br /><br />The truly knowledgeable and wise will recognize more clearly the problem and realize more acutely the lack of solution. Thus, “in much wisdom is much vexation; and an increase in knowledge is an increase in pain” (verse 18). In other words, human wisdom does not even have immediate profit when it comes to solving the problem of the vanity of life. And this is true. It is in this sense that he declares in verse 17 that his intellectual effort “to know (the truth about) wisdom and to know (the truth about) madness and folly” is itself a pursuit of wind. What is expressed is again realism and not pessimism. This verse gives us a preview of Qoheleth’s investigation into his own experiences (cf. 2:12): the truth about wisdom in terms of the success it brings (2:13-23); and the truth about the pursuit of pleasure in terms of the satisfaction it fails to bring (2:1-11).<br /><br />The comprehensive philosophical investigation that Qoheleth undertook is said to be “a grievous preoccupation that God has given to the children of man with which to be preoccupied” (verse 13). But most people would not personally undertake such an investigation. How then could he say that this is a preoccupation given to human beings? We need to look at the ultimate goal of Qoheleth’s investigation rather than the specific means he used to accomplish it. In other words, his philosophical investigation is only a specific expression of a more basic “God-given” preoccupation: the “relentless quest for meaning” propelled by the innate drive to “make sense of the world” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#mcgrath">McGrath</a> 2002: 11, 13). In his book, The Unheard Cry for Meaning, psychiatrist Viktor <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#frankl">Frankl</a> attests, “Man is always reaching out for meaning, always setting out on his search for meaning” (1978: 31). His affirmation that, “Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life” (1984: 121), has in fact formed the basis of a whole new school of psychotherapy known as logotherapy.<br /><br />For most people, the means they use (often unconsciously) to express this preoccupation would be through the pursuit of pleasure and leisure (2:1-11), or of wealth and success (2:12-23), which may include power and popularity (4:13-16), or a combination of these. All these laborious pursuits are found to be profitless in terms of finding the meaning of life. No wonder Qoheleth declares that humanity’s search for meaning is a “grievous preoccupation.” No matter how one expresses this preoccupation, sooner or later he realizes the grievous reality about human existence and earthly experiences. He is forced to come to terms with the inevitability of vanity under the sun. How then should he proceed? In this speech Qoheleth shares with us an answer that he has found.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/12/poem-to-vivify-idea-of-vanity-14-11.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/01/vanity-of-pleasure-21-11.html">next</a><br /></div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116867295577142782?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1167456335416375162006-12-30T13:14:00.001+08:002010-09-04T10:38:58.570+08:00<span style="font-style: italic;">1:4 A generation goes and a generation comes,<br />Yet the world remains as ever.<br />1:5 The sun rises and the sun sets,<br />Panting to its place there it rises.<br />1:6 Blowing to the south, turning to the north,<br />Round and round the wind blows,<br />For the sake of its rounds the wind returns.<br />1:7 All the streams flow to the sea,<br />Yet the sea is never full.<br />To the place where the streams flow,<br />There they flow again.<br />1:8 All things are wearying,<br />A man in not able to speak,<br />An eye is not sated by seeing,<br />An ear is not filled by hearing.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">1:9 Whatever has come to be, that is what will come to be; whatever has been done, that is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. 1:10 There may be something of which one might say, “See this. It is new!” It has already happened in the ages which were before us.1:11 There is no remembrance of those that came before and also of those that will come later. There will be no remembrance of them among those who will come afterwards. </span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> Having forcefully announced the theme of his speech, Qoheleth recites a poem. Verses 4-8 present the poem proper. The conclusion in verse 9, “there is nothing new under the sun,” gives the meaning of the poem and verses 10-11 explain and defend why this conclusion is true. Hence the declaration in verses 2-3 that there is no net gain is immediately followed by a poem that embodies the idea that there is nothing new. How does “nothing new” relate to “no net gain”? The answer is found in the poem itself.<br /><br />The poem begins with the proclamation that though there is a continuous cycle of one generation of people being replaced by the next, the world remains the same (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 106). In other words, there is nothing new under the sun. Like most sweeping statements, this claim is not to be taken without qualifications. A basic principle behind linguistic communication is that the listener cooperates with the speaker. The listener is often expected to supply the qualifications, especially when the speaker is making a sweeping statement. If a newspaper headline reads, “History Repeats Itself,” a fair-minded reader would not find fault by highlighting exceptions that would falsify the statement. He would, as is expected of him, seek to determine from the context in what sense the statement is true.<br /><br />From the context of the speech we see that Qoheleth is not saying there is nothing new under the sun in terms of technological inventions. Specifically he is saying that what has happened will happen again and what has been done will be done again. This would cover both human activities and natural phenomena. This means humanity and the natural (as opposed to man-made) conditions in which humans live do not change. The result is that there is nothing new in what humans basically experience, and in how and why they typically act or react. Even new technological inventions are ultimately different means to meet the same old unchanging needs. A spaceship, as a means for transport, is not really new. A boat, whether made of steel or of reed, has been a means for transport since time immemorial. The difference is in degree (how fast and how far one can travel in it) and not in kind. Hence the world has not really changed. To interpret otherwise and find fault with Qoheleth is not being cooperative.<br /><br />The regularity of natural phenomena (as illustrated by the sun, the wind and the streams) is obvious. In the human realm, we observe that in our own capitalistic society people are motivated to toil and succeed through competition. As Qoheleth tells us later in the speech, he had observed that, “every toil and every skillful work spring from a man’s rivalry with his neighbor” (4:4). The form may be different but the essence is the same. That was more than 2000 years ago.<br /><br />Thus, despite the constant replacement of one generation by the next, human nature and human behavior have not improved. And despite undeniable economic and technological advancement many today are asking, “Why has progress failed?” To the rest who are still optimistic about “progress,” Christopher <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#lasch">Lasch</a> has written a scholarly book to answer a simple question: “How does it happen that serious people continue to believe in progress, in the face of massive evidence that might have been expected to refute the idea of progress once and for all?” (1991: 13). Therefore, despite constant movement there is no net gain, as there is nothing really new.<br /><br />So the poem stimulates our imagination in order to vivify the idea of vanity in our minds. It is significant that Qoheleth did not reverse the order to, “a generation comes and a generation goes.” He is thinking of a constant cycle of one generation being replaced by the next. And by highlighting the <span style="font-style: italic;">going</span> of the older generation Qoheleth, as already noted, provides the context for his sweeping claim that (in light of death) everything is (ultimately) profitless (1:2-3).<br /><br />The sun, the wind and the streams very vividly illustrate the idea that in this world there is no net gain, despite endless toils. Sunrise and sunset is depicted as the sun panting from the place it rises to the place it sets and then to the place from where it rises all over again. This conjures the image of constant tiresome activity with no net gain. Similarly, the wind is pictured as going in rounds. Whenever we feel the wind blowing, we are told that it is doing so simply for the sake of its endless rounds (thus <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#ellermeier">Ellermeier</a> 1967: 201-1, cited in <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> 1997: 108). As for the streams, though they keep on pouring water into the sea, the sea is never “full,” in the sense that “the sea can always take more water” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox2">Fox</a> 1999: 166). This is the most vivid depiction of endless toils with no net gain.<br /><br />“All things,” as illustrated by the endless activities of the sun, wind and streams, says verse 8, “are wearying,” both to them and to the observer. Qoheleth graphically describes the human response: “A man is not able to speak,” that is, it leaves us “speechless” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#whybray">Whybray</a> 1989: 44). In case we think that the “all things” exclude human phenomena, the eyes and ears are said to be constantly receiving stimuli and yet, like the sea, they are never sated or filled. And of course verse 4 has already set the stage that even the ultimate human phenomenon--one generation going and one generation coming--has no net gain.<br /><br />Verse 9 simply spells out what is implicit in the poem: there is nothing new, and thus no net gain, under the sun. What is left to be said in verses 10-11 is to answer possible objections to this conclusion. The most likely objection is that there are happenings that we can genuinely say are new because we have neither seen nor heard of them before. Qoheleth preempts this by insisting that they have happened before. He further insists that we are not aware of them because the remembrance of them and of those who committed them have not been passed down to us.<br /><br />It is difficult to argue with Qoheleth. Consider Karl Polanyi, an economic historian who claimed that the supply-and-demand price-fixing mechanism that characterizes our modern market economy is something new and did not operate in a premodern economy. This view is widely accepted even by those who have never read him. Economist Morris <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#silver">Silver</a> challenges Polanyi’s position “by confronting his factual assertions with available evidence” (1995: 95). For instance, Polanyi asserted that even the Assyrian trading station in Anatolia (ancient Turkey) carried on an ample international trade without price-making markets (96). Based mainly on the work of assyriologist K. R. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#veenhof">Veenhof </a>(1972; 1988), <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#silver">Silver</a> concludes,<br /><br />"The evidence on price formation at the Assyrian trading station in Anatolia is fully consistent with the operation of market forces of the usual kind. The thousands of business documents from the station refer to changes in the demand for the supply of the main import goods (tin and textiles) and to the effects of seasonality and emergency, and they record price changes. The price changes, including a change of more than 20 percent in the price of tin over a short period, are inconsistent with Polanyi’s position (1995: 98)."<br /><br />We are talking about international trade at about 1800 BC, more than 3000 years before the rise of our modern market society! Also, as pointed out by <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#silver">Silver</a> (1995: 99), the phrase “at the going (market) price” occurs frequently in Babylonian texts of about the same time.<br /><br />Polanyi claimed, “See this. It is new!” Silver counter-claims: “It has already happened in the ages which were before us.” Now those Assyrian and Babylonian documents were once lost and forgotten and were rediscovered by modern archaeology. This echoes eloquently, “There is no remembrance of those that came before and also of those that will come later. There will be no remembrance of them among those who will come afterwards.”<br /><br />Duane <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#garrett">Garrett</a> sums it up succinctly, “For us ..., as for our ancient predecessors, the sun rises and sets; the rivers run their courses; people continue their endless quest for fame, power, and happiness even as they move steadily toward death” (1993: 288). There is nothing new under the sun. All is vanity. Thus the first 11 verses of Ecclesiastes lead us to ask, What then is the point of living? What is the meaning of life?<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcement-of-theme-all-is-vanity-or_17.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/01/illustrations-from-personal-experience.html">next</a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116745633541637516?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1163749911021756072006-11-17T15:49:00.000+08:002008-01-02T12:04:35.369+08:00<a name="adler"></a>Adler, Mortimer J. &amp; Charles van Doren, 1972, <span style="font-style: italic;">How to Read a Book</span>, Revised and Updated, New York: Simon &amp; Schuster.<br /><br /><a name="baird"></a>Baird, Robert M., “Meaning in Life: Discovered or Created?,” <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Religion and Health</span>, Vol. 24, No. 2, Summer 1985.<br /><br /><a name="baumeister"></a>Baumeister, Roy F., 1991, <span style="font-style: italic;">Meanings of Life</span>, New York: The Guiford Press.<br /><br /><a name="bebbington"></a>Bebbington, David, 1990, <em>Patterns in History: A Christian Perspective on Historical Thought</em>, Leicester: Apollos.<br /><br /><a name="bellah"></a>Bellah, Robert N., Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler and Steven M. Tipton, 1996, <span style="font-style: italic;">Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, Undated With a New Introduction</span>, Berkeley: University of California Press.<br /><br /><a name="berger"></a>Berger, Peter L., 1999, “The Desecularization of the World: A Global Overview,” in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics</span>, ed. Peter L. Berger, pp. 1-18, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><a name="bridges"></a>Bridges, Charles, 1960 [1860], <span style="font-style: italic;">An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes</span>, London: Banner of Truth.<br /><br /><a name="brown"></a>Brown, William P., 1996, <span style="font-style: italic;">Character In Crisis: A Fresh Approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament</span>, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><a name="brown2"></a>------------, 2000, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes</span>, Interpretation, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.<br /><br /><a name="crenshaw"></a>Crenshaw, James L., 1987, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes: A Commentary, The Old Testament Library</span>, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.<br /><br /><a name="delitzsch"></a>Delitzsch, F., 1872 (reprinted 1980), <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon</span>, Translated by M. G. Easton, Volume VI, Commentary of the Old Testament in Ten Volumes by C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><a name="eaton"></a>Eaton, Michael A., 1983, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary</span>, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 16, Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press.<br /><br /><a name="edwards"></a>Edwards, Paul, 1967, “Life, Meaning and Value Of,” in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Encyclopedia of Philosophy</span>, ed. Paul Edwards, pp. 467-477, New York: Macmillan.<br /><br /><a name="ellermeier"></a>Ellermeier, F., 1967, <span style="font-style: italic;">Qohelet I/1, Untersuchungen zum Buche Qohelet</span>, Herzberg: Junger.<br /><br /><a name="fox"></a>Fox, Michael V., 1989, <span style="font-style: italic;">Qohelet and His Contradictions</span>, Sheffield: Almond Press.<br /><br /><a name="fox2"></a>------------, 1999, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Time to Tear Down and A Time to Build Up: A Rereading of Ecclesiastes</span>, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><a name="frankl"></a>Frankl, Viktor E., 1978, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Unheard Cry for Meaning: Psychotherapy and Humanism</span>, New York: Washington Square Press.<br /><br /><a name="frankl2"></a>------------, 1984, <span style="font-style: italic;">Man’s Search for Meaning, Revised and Updated</span>, New York: Washington Square Press.<br /><br /><a name="garrett"></a>Garrett, Duane A., 1993, <span style="font-style: italic;">Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture</span>, The New American Commentary 14, Nashville: Broadman Press.<br /><br /><a name="gay"></a>Gay, Craig M., 1998, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Way of the (Modern) World. Or Why It’s Tempting to Live As If God Doesn’t Exist</span>, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><a name="gordis"></a>Gordis, Robert, 1968, <span style="font-style: italic;">Koheleth--The Man and His World: A Study of Ecclesiastes</span>, Third Augmented Edition, New York: Schocken Books.<br /><br /><a name="jewish"></a>Jewish Publication Society, The, 1988, <span style="font-style: italic;">Tanakh--The Holy Scriptures: The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text</span>, Philadelphia.<br /><br /><a name="kaiser"></a>Kaiser, Walter C., 1979, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes: Total Life</span>, Everyman’s Bible Commentary, Chicago: Moody Press.<br /><br /><a name="kramer"></a>Kramer, Samuel Noah, 1963, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character</span>, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.<br /><br /><a name="lasch"></a>Lasch, Christopher, 1991, <span style="font-style: italic;">The True and Only Heaven: Progress and Its Critics</span>, New York: W. W. Norton &amp; Company.<br /><br /><a name="leupold"></a>Leupold, H.C., 1952 , <span style="font-style: italic;">Exposition of Ecclesiastes</span>, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House<br /><br /><a name="lewis"></a>Lewis. C. S., 1958, <span style="font-style: italic;">Reflections on the Psalms</span>, New York: Harvest Book / Harcourt, Inc.<br /><br /><a name="lohfink"></a>Lohfink, Norbert, 2003, <span style="font-style: italic;">Qoheleth</span>, A Continental Commentary, Minneapolis: Fortress Press.<br /><br /><a name="longman"></a>Longman III, Tremper, 1998, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Book of Ecclesiastes</span>, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><a name="mcgrath"></a>McGrath, Alister, 2002, <span style="font-style: italic;">Glimpsing the Face of God: The Search for Meaning in the Universe</span>, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><a name="murphy"></a>Murphy, Roland E., 1992, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes</span>, Word Biblical Commentary, Dallas: Word Books.<br /><br /><a name="nagel"></a>Nagel, Thomas, 1971, “The Absurd,” <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Philosophy</span> 68: 716-727.<br /><br /><a name="ogden"></a>Ogden, Graham and Lynell Zogbo, 1998, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Handbook on Ecclesiastes</span>, New York: United Bible Societies.<br /><br /><a name="owen"></a>Owen, John, 1949, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Glory of Christ</span>, Chicago: Moody Press.<br /><br /><a name="percy"></a>Percy, Walker, 1984, <em>The Message in the Bottle</em>, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.<br /><br /><a name="polkinghorne"></a>Polkinghorne, Donald E., 1988, <span style="font-style: italic;">Narrative Knowing and the Human Sciences</span>, Albany: State University of New York Press.<br /><br /><a name="pritchard"></a>Pritchard, James B. (ed.), 1969, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Third Edition with Supplement</span>, Princeton: Princeton University Press.<br /><br /><a name="rankin"></a>Rankin, Oliver. S., 1956, “The Book of Ecclesiastes,” pp. 3-88 in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Interpreter’s Bible</span> Volume V, (Nashville: Abingdon Press).<br /><br /><a name="rudman"></a>Rudman, Dominic, 2001, <span style="font-style: italic;">Determinism in the Book of Ecclesiastes</span>, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.<br /><br /><a name="sarna"></a>Sarna, Nahum M., 1993, <span style="font-style: italic;">Songs of the Heart: An Introduction to the Book of Psalms</span>, New York: Shocken Books<br /><br /><a name="schoors"></a>Schoors, A., 1992, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Preacher Sought to Find Pleasing Words: A Study of the Language of Qoheleth</span>, Louvain: Peeters Press.<br /><br /><a name="schoors2"></a>------------, 2004, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Preacher Sought to Find Pleasing Words: A Study of the Language of Qoheleth, Part II Vocabulary</span>, Louvain: Peeters Press.<br /><br /><a name="seow"></a>Seow, Choon-Leong, 1997, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, </span>The Anchor Bible, New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.<br /><br /><a name="shalit"></a>Shalit, Wendy, 1999, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Return To Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue</span>, New York: Simon &amp; Schuster.<br /><br /><a name="silver"></a>Silver, Morris, 1995, <span style="font-style: italic;">Economic Structures of Antiquity</span>, Westport: Greenwood Press.<br /><br /><a name="vangemeren"></a>VanGemeren, Willem A. (ed.), 1997, <span style="font-style: italic;">New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis</span>, 5 volumes, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.<br /><br /><a name="veenhof"></a>Veenhof, K. R., 1972, <span style="font-style: italic;">Aspects of Old Assyrian Trade and Its Terminology</span>, Leiden: Brill.<br /><br /><a name="veenhof2"></a>------------, 1988, “Prices and Trade: The Old Assyrian Evidence,” <span style="font-style: italic;">Altorientalische Forschungen</span> 15: 243-63<br /><br /><a name="ward"></a>Ward, Keith, 2000, “Religion and the Question of Meaning,” in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Meaning of Life in the World Religions</span>, ed. Joseph Runzo and Nancy M. Martin, pp. 11 - 30, Oxford: Oneworld Publications<br /><br /><a name="whybray"></a>Whybray, R.N., 1989, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiastes</span>, The New Century Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2008/01/postscript.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/12/open-invitation.html">home</a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116374991102175607?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1163749734726038602006-11-17T15:47:00.000+08:002006-12-30T13:28:19.573+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">continued from previous page</span><br /><br />Michael V. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox">Fox</a> (1989: 31) argues that in Ecclesiastes <span style="font-style: italic;">hebel</span> means absurd or absurdity, thus making the theme pessimistic. He summarizes his argument as follows: “In other words, ‘toil’ may be futile, but <span style="font-style: italic;">the fact that</span> toil is futile is absurd” (his own emphasis). So he himself recognizes that <span style="font-style: italic;">hebel </span>(when applied to toil) in and of itself does not mean “absurd,” but rather “futile.” But <span style="font-style: italic;">the fact that</span> toil is futile evokes the reaction that it is absurd. Why is there such a reaction? Because the reality that toil is futile is not acceptable. This happens, we acknowledge, in individuals whose expectations in life are sorely let down by the reality.<br /><br />Such individuals would include people who put their hopes in the things of this temporal world, who are then bound to pursue after them. In contemporary societies they would do so even to the detriment of their marriage, family and their own health. Thus they do not expect and cannot accept the reality that what they are doing is, in the final analysis, profitless. So it evokes in them the sense that everything is absurd or meaningless. So they react pessimistically to the reality that “all is vanity.” Given the unprecedented obsession with temporal success in recent history, it is not surprising that the world today is characterized by a prevalent sense of meaninglessness. This may explain why there is a tendency in recent years to translate “all is <span style="font-style: italic;">hebel</span>” as “everything is meaningless (or absurd).”<br /><br />According to William <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#brown">Brown</a>, the “notion of the absurd is forged not only from a collision between [a man’s] expectations and [realities in] the world, but also from a collision within himself” (1996: 132). Philosopher Thomas <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#nagel">Nagel</a> (1971: 720) explains why this internal collision occurs: “Humans have the special capacity to step back and survey themselves, and the lives to which they are committed, with that detached amazement which comes from watching an ant struggle up a heap of sand” (cited in <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#brown">Brown</a> 1996:132). The “detached amazement” becomes “attached disillusionment” when we realize that we are that ant, and its futile and senseless struggle up a heap of sand is a reflection of ours.<br /><br />As affirmed by even atheist philosopher Paul <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#edwards">Edwards</a> (1967) in his classic essay on the meaning and value of human life, our temporal life will make sense only if and when there is a worthwhile purpose to live for. Philosophers may have different <span style="font-style: italic;">theories</span> about what constitutes a worthwhile purpose. But given the painful realities of life under the sun, can a life that is given to the pursuit of vaporous things be <span style="font-style: italic;">experienced</span> as meaningful? According to renowned psychiatrist Viktor <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#frankl">Frankl</a> (1978: 21),<br /><br />For too long we have been dreaming a dream from which we are now waking up: the dream that if we just improve the socioeconomic situation of people, everything will be okay, people will become happy. The truth is that as the <span style="font-style: italic;">struggle for survival</span> has subsided, the question has emerged: <span style="font-style: italic;">survival for what</span>? Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.<br /><br />To substantiate, he reports that a former assistant of his at Harvard University could show that “among graduates of that university who went on to lead quite successful, ostensibly happy lives, a huge percentage complained of a deep sense of futility, asking themselves what all their success had been for.” He then asks, “Does this not suggest that what today is so often referred as ‘mid-life crisis’ is basically a crisis of meaning?”<br /><br />Thus many people do actually experience futility and meaninglessness. But Fox has wrongly assumed that every human being must have the same expectations. There are people, even if they are a minority in contemporary societies, who do not put their hopes in temporal things. Therefore they have different expectations. The reality that “all is futility” need not evoke in them the sense that everything is meaningless or absurd.<br /><br />These are people who have intellectually as well as emotionally come to terms with the reality that all is vanity. They know and accept that when they die they cannot take with them anything from the fruit of their labors. So the most sensible thing to do is to enjoy what they have when they still have them. They recognize that it is meaningless to crave after the “good things” of this world. For they know this will cause them to pursue after them in such a way that they cannot enjoy what they already have, whether marriage, family, or even material luxuries. Thus they respond realistically to the reality that everything is futility.<br /><br />As we shall see, this is actually Qoheleth’s own response and is a central teaching of Ecclesiastes. So neither Ecclesiastes the book nor Qoheleth the author is being pessimistic just because many people react to the theme of the speech pessimistically. It is true that the rhetorical question in 1:3 comes with a somber tone. It can easily be misinterpreted as conveying pessimism. But it is no more pessimistic than the somber rhetorical question that Jesus Christ asked, “What profits a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).<br /><br />We can now conclude what “all is <span style="font-style: italic;">hebel</span> (vanity)” means: In the light of death everything is transitory and is thus ultimately profitless and worthless even though items that come under this sweeping conclusion, such as wisdom and wealth, may have temporal profit and worth. This is realism and not pessimism. But to one who, for whatever reason, is not able or willing to come to terms with this reality, it is pessimism. But this is a listener’s response and not the speaker’s meaning. Since different listeners can respond differently to the speaker’s meaning any translation that reflects only one possible response is misleading. This includes, “everything is meaningless,” even though it strikes a responsive chord in the hearts of very many people today.<br /><br />Distinguishing Qoheleth’s intended meaning and the listener’s individual response is crucial not only to the understanding of the theme but also the rest of the speech. But is it really possible to recover Qoheleth’s intended meaning? This present writer believes that at least some, if not most, readers of this exposition are able to follow his trend of thoughts. Otherwise, why bother to write at all? He is thus confident that those who can make coherent sense of his exposition do recover at least the essence of his own intended meaning. On this basis he is assuming that if we could make coherent sense of Qoheleth’s speech <span style="font-style: italic;">as a whole</span> we would have recovered essentially not only the intended meaning of the speech, but also its persuasive force. After all, Qoheleth expects his audience to understand at least the essence of his speech and feel some of its persuasive force. For in 12:13 he summarily exhorts them to make a decision based on the speech.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcement-of-theme-all-is-vanity-or.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/12/poem-to-vivify-idea-of-vanity-14-11.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116374973472603860?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1163749627351879412006-11-17T15:46:00.000+08:002006-12-05T01:09:36.096+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says Qoheleth. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” </span><span style="font-style: italic;">1:3 What profit does man have in all his labor which he toils under the sun?</span><br /><br />Without warning, Qoheleth grabs our attention with a disturbing declaration (verse 2) and then a haunting question (verse 3). These two verses are both saying the same thing in two different ways. The rhetorical question, “What profit does man have in all his labor? (None!),” is an emphatic way of saying, “All is vanity (profitless)!” Like “holy of holies” (the most holy), “vanity of vanities” is the Hebrew way of expressing the superlative. This superlative expression is uttered twice for emphasis. And we already know that these are the words of Qoheleth. So the phrase “says Qoheleth” is redundant in terms of adding information. But not so in terms of adding weight to the claim being made. All this gives the declaration “all is vanity” a force that no attentive audience can miss. It also increases the force of the sentiment implied in the rhetorical question: “There is no profit--<span style="font-style: italic;">whatsoever!</span>--under the sun.”<br /><br />These twin verses forcefully announce the theme of the speech. We know 1:2 expresses the theme because it is repeated verbatim at the end of the speech in 12:8. The only difference is that “vanity of vanities” is uttered only once there. Besides, the phrase “all is vanity” is repeated exactly several times in the speech (1:14; 2:11,17; 3:19). As James <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#crenshaw">Crenshaw</a> puts it, “this unforgettable refrain unifies the entire book: from first to last nothing profits those who walk under the sun” (1987: 35). Also, the alternative expression of the theme in 1:3 is repeated thrice in the same form, “What profit does man (or the laborer) have?” (3:9; 5:16; 6:11). It is repeated once plainly as, “There is no profit under the sun” (2:11). We have not even mentioned the many instances when a specific item, such as wealth, is labeled as “vanity.”<br /><br />What then is the meaning of the theme? Is it pessimistic, as assumed by most interpreters? The Hebrew word translated “vanity” is <span style="font-style: italic;">hebel</span>. Its basic meaning is breath (Isa 57:13). It can also refer to condensed breath, that is, the fleeting vapor that we see when someone breathes into cold air (Prov 21:6). It appears and disappears. Qoheleth is saying that everything we work for in this life is vaporous--fleeting! Why then do we translate <span style="font-style: italic;">hebel</span> as “vanity,” which carries the idea of profitlessness as well as worthlessness and futility?<br /><br />In some contexts in Ecclesiastes the word is best left translated as “fleeting.” The best examples are: “all the days of your <span style="font-style: italic;">fleeting</span> life” (9:9) and “the prime of life is <span style="font-style: italic;">fleeting</span>” (11:10). In these contexts, the brevity of the prime of life or of life itself is presented as a matter of fact. There is no implication that life or the prime of life is profitless simply because it is fleeting. The message is: make the most of life and, especially, the prime of life because it will soon be gone.<br /><br />In 1:2-3, however, “all is vaporous” answers the question, “What profit does man have in all his labor?” Thus “all is vaporous” here means “all is profitless.” Qoheleth is thus saying that everything is profitless because everything is transitory. How is this so?<br /><br />The Hebrew word <span style="font-style: italic;">yitron</span>, translated here as “profit,” is a term referring to net gain (cf. <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#fox2">Fox</a> 1999: 112-113). The root meaning of the word is “excess over.” When used in the context where two items are compared, that is, one has an “excess over” the other, the meaning is “(has) advantage or excel (over)” (2:13, 5:9; 7:12; 10:10,11). When no such comparison is made, as is the case here, the “excess over” refers simply to net gain or profit (also 2:11; 3:9; 5:16). Profit refers to the net gain over expenditures made over a period of time, often called the fiscal year. An organization may be recording a profit if it balances its accounts in the middle of the fiscal year. But it may be bankrupt by the end of it.<br /><br />Qoheleth has in mind a “fiscal year” that lasts from our birth all the way to our death when he asks, “What profit does man have?” This can be inferred from the very next verse (1:4): “a generation goes and a generation comes….” It is confirmed by 12:7, which explicitly puts death as the context for declaring (again) “Vanities of vanities, all is vanity” in 12:8. When we balance our accounts at our death, what will we have gained from all our labors since the day of our birth? Nothing. Thus in 5:15 Qoheleth reminds us that just as we all came into this world naked we will all go away naked. We will take with us nothing from the fruit of our labors. He asks, “So what is the profit to him who toils for the wind?” (5:16).<br /><br />Thus Qoheleth is not saying that there is no profit whatsoever to our labors. There is immediate (transitory) profit. Otherwise we will not labor at all. But in the light of death there is no ultimate (eternal) profit. For instance, in 2:13-14 and elsewhere in the speech (7:12,19; 8:1; 10:10), he acknowledges the value of wisdom and the advantage of laboring with wisdom. A wise man will do better in life than a foolish one. But the wise man must die like the fool and leave behind all the fruit of his labors. So he declares that even wisdom is (ultimately) profitless (2:14-17).<br /><br />The translation “labor” (or “toil”) captures the idea inherent in the Hebrew word `<span style="font-style: italic;">amal</span>: man’s work is physically or emotionally burdensome, or even both. In 2:22-23 a man’s “labor” is described as a “painful and grievous” task that he “strives” at; “even at night his mind does not rest.” If <span style="font-style: italic;">yitron</span> is the profit, `<span style="font-style: italic;">amal</span> is the “investment.” There is no ultimate profit to our burdensome investments!<br /><br />The phrase “under the sun” occurs 29 times in Ecclesiastes and nowhere else in the Old Testament. But it is adequately attested in other writings of the ancient biblical world. In the Babylonian <span style="font-style: italic;">Gilgamesh Epic</span> we find this statement: “Only the gods [live] forever under the sun. As for mankind, numbered are their days; whatever they achieve is but the wind” (<a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#pritchard">Pritchard</a> 1969: 79). In a Phoenician inscription there is a contrast between “the living under the sun” and the dead who are “with the shades” (662). This phrase thus refers to the realm of human life and activities in this world as opposed to the hereafter.<br /><br />There is no reason to suppose that Qoheleth uses this phrase differently. This is rather clear when he describes the living as “those who move about <span style="font-style: italic;">under the sun</span>” (4:15) and the dead as those who “will no longer have a share in all that is done <span style="font-style: italic;">under the sun</span>” (9:6). <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> (1997: 104-105) is undoubtedly correct when he argues that this phrase does not have the exact same meaning as “under the heavens,” which is very common in the Old Testament but occurs only 3 times in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 3:1). Both phrases mean “this world.” But “under the sun” refers to “this (temporal) world,” as opposed to the netherworld, whereas “under the heavens” refers to “this (geographical) world,” with no reference to the hereafter.<br /><br />Thus “under the sun” does not just indicate the realm (of the living) in which everything is ultimately profitless. It also makes reference to the transitoriness of human life in this world. Qoheleth’s distinct preference for this phrase over “under the heavens” is surely not accidental. Thus “under the sun” further clarifies that Qoheleth has death and ultimate profit in mind when he asks rhetorically, “What profit does man have?” How then do we feel about our burdensome investments (`<span style="font-style: italic;">amal</span>) under the sun? The rhetorical question of 1:3 prods us to ask whether the transitory profits we <span style="font-style: italic;">laboriously</span> pursue after in <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> world is really worth it. But we tend to evade this unpleasant question. In this speech Qoheleth wants us face it honestly for our own good.<br /><br />We can now see that translating “all is <span style="font-style: italic;">hebel</span>” as “all is vanity (profitless)” is most appropriate here and in similar (but not all) contexts in the speech. It forcefully sounds out the warning that everything under the sun is ultimately worthless, and so living for the things of this world is futility. Hence the theme of Ecclesiastes in and by itself is not pessimistic. For to say that all our labors are profitless, in the sense that we take nothing with us when we die, is not being pessimistic but simply realistic.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">exposition on this section continues on next page<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/identification-of-speaker-11.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcement-of-theme-all-is-vanity-or_17.html">next</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116374962735187941?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1163749499720682402006-11-17T15:42:00.000+08:002007-01-13T15:44:03.810+08:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">1:1 The words of Qoheleth, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:</span><br /><br />The speaker is identified (in Hebrew) as “Qoheleth.” This is not a personal name. The Hebrew word most likely means someone who convenes and speaks in a meeting. It has been translated as “the Preacher” or “the Teacher.” He is “the son of David.” In the Old Testament this phrase most often (but not always) refers to Solomon. But it can refer to any male descendant of King David. This male descendant of David was also a king. Like all Davidic kings he reigned in Jerusalem. Who is Qoheleth?<br /><br />Qoheleth has to be King Solomon. He is the most obvious choice. In 1:12 the speaker says, “I, Qoheleth, have been king over Israel.” Though all Davidic kings reigned in Jerusalem, only Solomon reigned over Israel. Israel was divided into Judah and Israel after Solomon died and thus all subsequent Davidic kings reigned over Judah only. A descendant of David who reigned over Israel must then be Solomon. Thus Qoheleth could not be anyone else except Solomon. Also, the rest of the autobiographical description in 1:12-2:23 matches Solomon perfectly.<br /><br />That means, as is traditionally believed, Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes. But based on some technical reasons, most (but not all) scholars today reject the idea that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes. This present writer finds the evidence against the traditional view inconclusive and the arguments unconvincing. If we are willing to give the traditional view the benefit of the doubt as in a court of law, we have no good reason to reject it. But for our purpose, it does not matter whether Solomon actually wrote Ecclesiastes. So we will not get bogged down here.<br /><br />Even scholars who deny that Solomon wrote the book claim that someone impersonated him. For instance, Choon-Leong <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html#seow">Seow</a> denies that the author is Solomon but affirms, “clearly the author intends to equate himself with Solomon” (1997: 119). We can then liken the author to a ghostwriter who has written a rather personal speech for a well-known figure who would deliver it as his own. This figure is so well known and his speech so personal that his identity is unmistakable even though he is not explicitly named.<br /><br />So for all practical purposes we can assume that the speech comes from Solomon, here referred to as Qoheleth. This is important. No one else has the kind of credibility and authority that he has to say the things he says in the speech. In fact, if Solomon was not the author, this would be the most plausible explanation why anybody would write this particular speech and attribute it to him. For no other human being was (and is) so blessed with temporal blessings like Solomon. He was powerful as king of Israel at her political peak. He was world famous because of his outstanding and incomparable wisdom. He was extremely wealthy. And on top of it all, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. When someone who has had what he had and says what he says in the next two verses and in the rest of the speech, we listen. We had better!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/introduction.html">previous</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcement-of-theme-all-is-vanity-or.html">next</a><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116374949972068240?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37648496.post-1163747506488765312006-11-17T15:10:00.001+08:002008-04-14T15:36:02.258+08:00<p style="text-align: justify;">The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes is essentially a speech. More specifically, it is a persuasive speech. We are told that the words of the speaker are like goads (12:11). They provoke us in order to persuade us. The speaker is helping us to make sense of life by prodding us to come to terms with the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life. What follows is a section-by-section translation of the original Hebrew text accompanied by an exposition. The exposition attempts to recapture the meaning of the ancient speech as well as recreate its persuasive force.</p><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/12/open-invitation.html">home</a> | <a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/identification-of-speaker-11.html">next</a><br /></p><br /><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/identification-of-speaker-11.html">Identification of Speaker (1:1)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcement-of-theme-all-is-vanity-or.html">Announcement of Theme: “All is Vanity” or “What Profit is There?” (1:2-3)</a><br /><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcement-of-theme-all-is-vanity-or.html">Part 1</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">------------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcement-of-theme-all-is-vanity-or_17.html">Part 2</a><br /></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/12/poem-to-vivify-idea-of-vanity-14-11.html">Poem to Vivify Idea of Vanity (1:4-11)</a><br /></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/01/illustrations-from-personal-experience.html">Illustrations from Personal Experience to Evoke Sense of Vanity (1:12-2:23)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/01/illustrations-from-personal-experience.html">Vanity of Wisdom (1:12-18)</a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/01/vanity-of-pleasure-21-11.html">Vanity of Pleasure (2:1-11)</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/02/vanity-of-success-212-23.html">Vanity of Success (2:12-23)</a><br /></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/02/admonition-to-carefreeness-in-light-of.html">Admonition to Carefreeness in Light of Vanity (2:24-26)</a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/poem-to-amplify-sense-of-vanity-31-8.html">Poem to Amplify Sense of Vanity (3:1-8)</a><br /></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/poem-to-amplify-sense-of-vanity-31-8.html">Repetition of Theme: “What Profit is There?” (3:9)</a><br /></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/explanation-for-sense-of-vanity-and-its.html">Explanation for Sense of Vanity and Its Aggravation by Sense of Eternity (3:10-15)</a><br /><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/03/explanation-for-sense-of-vanity-and-its.html">Part 1</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">------------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/04/explanation-for-sense-of-vanity-and-its.html">Part 2</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/04/observation-and-reflection-to-reinforce.html">Observation and Reflection to Reinforce Sense of Vanity (3:16-21)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/admonition-to-carefreeness-in-light-of.html">Admonition to Carefreeness in Light of Vanity (3:22)</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><br /></span><br /><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/observations-in-human-experiences-to.html">Observations in Human Experiences to Sustain Sense of Vanity (4:1-5:14)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/observations-in-human-experiences-to.html#b">Oppression in General (4:1-3)</a><br /></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/05/observations-in-human-experiences-to.html#c">Competition for Advancement (4:4-6)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/06/addiction-to-advancement-47-8.html">Addiction to Advancement (4:7-8)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/06/addiction-to-advancement-47-8.html#b"><span style="font-style: italic;">Admonition to Cooperation (4:9-12)</span></a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/06/addiction-to-advancement-47-8.html#c">Delusion of Power and Popularity (4:13-16)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/admonition-to-fear-god-51-7.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Admonition to Fear God (5:1-7)</span></a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/oppression-in-high-places-58-9.html">Oppression in High Places (5:8-9)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/oppression-in-high-places-58-9.html#b">Addiction to Money (5:10-14)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/07/oppression-in-high-places-58-9.html#c">Repetition of Theme: “What Profit is There?” (5:15-17)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/08/elaboration-on-carefreeness-518-69.html">Elaboration on Carefreeness (5:18-6:9)</a></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/08/elaboration-on-carefreeness-518-69.html">Enjoyment of Prosperity (5:18-20)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/08/non-enjoyment-of-prosperity-61-9.html">Non-Enjoyment of Prosperity (6:1-9)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/09/recapitulation-of-theme-and-sub-themes.html">Recapitulation of Theme and Sub-themes (6:10-12)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/09/deliberations-in-light-of-uncertainties.html">Deliberations in Light of Uncertainties of Life (7:1-11:6)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/09/deliberations-in-light-of-uncertainties.html#b">Proverbial Wisdom in Light of Uncertainties of Life (7:1-14)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/admonitions-in-light-of-human.html">Admonitions in Light of Human Wickedness (7:15-8:15)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">----------------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/admonitions-in-light-of-human.html">Fear God and Be Moderate (7:15-29)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">----------------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/fear-god-and-be-carefree-81-15.html">Fear God and Be Carefree (8:1-15)</a><br /></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/elaboration-on-uncertainties-of-life.html">Elaboration on Uncertainties of Life (8:16-9:6)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/10/elaboration-on-uncertainties-of-life.html#b">Admonition to Carefreeness (9:7-9)</a></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefulness-910-116.html">Admonition to Carefulness (9:10-11:6)</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">--------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefulness-910-116.html">Part 1</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">------------</span><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefulness-910-116-contd.html">Part 2</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefreeness-117-127.html">Admonition to Carefreeness (11:7-12:7)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/11/admonition-to-carefreeness-117-127.html#b">Encapsulation of Theme: “All is Vanity!” (12:8)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/12/elaboration-on-speaker-and-his-teaching.html">Elaboration on Speaker and His Teaching (12:9-12)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2007/12/elaboration-on-speaker-and-his-teaching.html#b">Conclusion and Call to Decision (12:13-14)</a></p><p><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2008/01/postscript.html">Postscript</a><br /><br /><a href="http://ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com/2006/11/references.html">References</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/37648496-116374750648876531?l=ourreasonforbeing.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>tfleonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00709725417092455076noreply@blogger.com5