Ecclesiastes: The Last Word

“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Dueteronomy 10:12)

“Dear friends, let's cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit by becoming mature in our holy fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

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Ecclesiastes is a sobering book, but I think it's an important one as we try to navigate our way through life.

We have the opportunities to pursue the same hollow gods Solomon followed for a time.  Money, sex, power, fame - we can try them all if we want to.

There are plenty of pessimistic world views we can embrace during the times we feel that "all is vanity."  I've been there. I know what it's like to struggle to see meaning and purpose in them midst of pain and disillusionment.

"Fear and reverence God," said Solomon. "Let God’s commandments guide you through life. That’s the secret to life."

Ecclesiastes: "The Secret To Life"

 (Ecclesiastes 1: "What is the Good Life?")

(Ecclesiastes 2: "Hebel Happens")

(Ecclesiastes 3: "He Who Dies with the Most Hebel Wins")

(Ecclesiastes 4: "Fatalism, Flux, and Figs")

(Ecclesiastes 4 and 5: "If it makes you happy, why are you so sad?")

(Ecclesiastes 5 and 6: "Shadows that Cover the Land")
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  ECCLESIASTES 11

      Sorry I haven’t written in a while.  I tend not to write when life is good.  After I “gave up” last time, something settled inside me.  I recently realized there have been a couple cool changes in me.

    I don’t live in fear. I don’t understand the wind, but I still sail and do business on the seas.  I  prepare for the unexpected  - I send boats out 8 different directions so if storms sink one, the other still go on.

     I don’t know when it will rain, but I don’t stop planting.  I just plant at different times.    

     I don’t understand how babies are formed in the womb, but I still father children.

     I don’t understand how you work any better now than I did then, but that’s okay.  Wind, rain, and life are better in your hands than mine.

Ecclesiastes: "Shadows That Cover The Land"

(Ecclesiastes 1: "What is the Good Life?")

(Ecclesiastes 2: "Hebel Happens")

(Ecclesiastes 3: "He Who Dies with the Most Hebel Wins")

(Ecclesiastes 4: "Fatalism, Flux, and Figs")

(Ecclesiastes 4 and 5: "If it makes you happy, why are you so sad?")

 Ecclesiastes 5

     Wow. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by what I see and hear as king.  Clearly I was right: we are the problem.  It weighs on me, but it also gives me perspective. 

     I’ve seen evil people get away with a hundred atrocities and still live a long life.  That used to make me question your justice, but over time I have seen that the truly good life is reserved for those who fear you, and who aren’t ashamed to let people know. Evil people might live long, but that’s not the same as living well.  They fear things to – just not you – but that doesn’t make them better people at all.  Those who fear you build towering lives that cast a long shadow: people find shade and rest close to them. 

Ecclesiastes: "If It Makes You Happy, Why Are You So Sad?"

(Ecclesiastes 1: "What is the Good Life?")
(Ecclesiastes 2: "Hebel Happens")
(Ecclesiastes 3: "He Who Dies with the Most Hebel Wins")
(Ecclesiastes 4: "Fatalism, Flux, and Figs")

Ecclesiastes 4

    I heard a guy say recently, “All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the  appetite is not satisfied.”  I get that now.  I was feeling good about my new embrace of life, but… how do I know what’s good for me during this lifetime, during the few years of this vaporous life?   I mean REALLY, truly good for me?  I have seized day after day, I’ve tried to enjoy what you have allowed me to have, and I still feel empty.  I feel this overwhelming guilt like I am still wasting something that is already so fleeting. 

    God, I know you gave me something substantial – my life – and you gave me this new desire to maximize my days (whee!)…but I feel like I am wasting them because I don’t think I actually know what true enjoyment looks and feels like.  I am experiencing a shadow of the real thing.  I’m playing at the mud puddle when I should be at the ocean, but I don’t know where the ocean is.

Ecclesiastes: Fatalism, Flux, and Figs

(Introduction - "What is the Good Life?")

( Ecclesiastes 1 - "Hebel Happens")
(Ecclesiastes 2 - "He Who Dies with the Most Hebel Wins!")

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

     I think I have nailed the problem: Everything is in flux, everything changes, and it’s unpredictable.  And I can’t stand unpredictability.

   I understand we must have change: One day we are born, one day we die.  One day we kill, another day we heal. One day we celebrate, another day we watch Michigan football.  One day we make war, one day we find peace. One day we marry, the next day we begin to shop. 

     There is a season for everything.  Fine. Why can’t I know what season is coming up, or why I just had the season I did?  Is it too much to ask for a “heads up”?  I know my chariot has to break down….I know I’ll probably get sick from green figs…my wives and I will disagree…my son will one day want to be king…I just want to know when.  I want to be able to prepare. I WANT PREDICTABILITY!!!!!

   God, in my clearer moments, I know you plan the right seasons of life for the right time – that predictability I complained about in nature makes that possible.  I get it.  I just wonder why you can’t show us what you have planned from the beginning to the end. The seasons of the year are predictable; why not life?