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Chapter 2:

Ecclesiastes

Is Right

The teacher often says things we don’t want to hear.

Ecclesiastes is ordinarily not one of the biblical books read for inspiration. It begins on quite a low note and never really seems to rise above its basic pessimism. The usual translation of verse two in chapter one is the teacher’s lament: Vanity of vanities — all is vanity. My preferred translation is: Meaninglessness! Meaninglessness! (TNIV). This unnamed teacher then begins a catalogue of the many ways he has sought meaning for his life, including: pleasure, wisdom, riches, and hard work. His discourse is filled with much of what we would term “negative thinking” ending with: “What difference does anything make anyway? We all have the same destiny — the grave.”

It is to be noted that, as one of the Wisdom books in the Hebrew Bible, Ecclesiastes does have much to offer. Who has not heard chapter three’s familiar opening verse: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens? Following his list, most are surprised by verse eleven: (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Another widely-known verse is found in the opening of chapter seven: A good name is better than fine perfume. There are also some excellent proverbs in this chapter as well as the call for moderation in all things: Do not be over-righteous, do not be over-wicked (3:16-17). A large piece of wisdom which remains highly controversial will be discussed in chapter fourteen (9:11).

Aside from some memorable phrasing, the Teacher’s conclusion has been the text for many sermons: Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of every human being. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (12:13-14). James Limburg gives this commentary:14

“The end of the matter,” says verse 13, and the book of Ecclesiastes comes to a close. As a good teacher…(he) summarizes the whole thing in just a few words, “while standing on one foot,” as the rabbis liked to say: “Revere God, and keep God’s commandments!”…And then says the Teacher, translating the Hebrew literally, “This is everything for humans.” (Mine: The CEV translates: “This is what life is all about.”)

There’s a great day coming.

I find verse 13 to be a key in bringing meaning and purpose to life: it is the word of judgment; it is the word of accountability. Most of us remember that when a High School teacher made a reading recommendation not on the required list, someone would always ask, “Will this be on the final?” If the answer was, “No,” the number who read the suggested book took a significant downturn. When we know we are accountable for everything then everything takes on new meaning. There is One who cares about what we do, about how we live. There is One to whom we are accountable. Our lives matter; we matter. Limburg informs us that Jewish tradition directs that in reading Ecclesiastes publicly, verse 13 should be repeated, so that everything ends on a positive note.15

You don’t read Ecclesiastes like you read the book of Romans.

A good rule of thumb is that before you begin reading anything in the Bible, you find out what kind of literature you will be encountering. I remember how helpful it was to hear in my Old Testament survey class at seminary that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are often referred to as “The Theological Prolegomena” to the Hebrew Scriptures. They contain the stories that set the stage and provide the context for the history of the Hebrew people that begins in chapter twelve. You immediately sense a change in the nature of the text when you read: Now God said to Abraham…. Thus begins the story of Abraham and his descendants which fills the next thirty-eight chapters of the book. You immediately notice the difference in the tone of the writing from what you encountered in the first eleven chapters.

Another quick illustration: you don’t read the book of Job the same way you read the book of Romans and you don’t read Romans the way you read Paul’s other letters. To begin with, rather than a typical piece of correspondence written to a congregation in order to address questions or specific problems, Romans is more or less a theological treatise. It is the most carefully crafted of Paul’s writings and is intended to be for congregations everywhere rather than just the church in Rome (which Paul had not visited). The book of Job, except for the brief Prologue and briefer Epilogue, is poetry. Most translations (except for a few like The Jerusalem Bible) do not reflect this in the way the text is laid out. This massive dose of poetry in a book labeled “wisdom literature” signals a different approach in reading and interpretation.

Biblical books in the category of “Wisdom Literature” include: Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs (sometimes listed as The Song of Solomon). These writings are about how to live in a world where challenges to faith abound and few signposts are provided. I give you a twist on something most of us have heard: “It’s a shame we’re not born with a set of instructions.” But then again, this might make us robots and that is certainly not what it means to have been created in the image of God.

The wisdom books are intended for reflective and conversational reading. They are meant to be analyzed, discussed, and debated. They are not to be read in the same way you would read the historical portions of Scripture (which, of course, are always written from a faith perspective). Keep in mind: the rabbis taught that new meanings were to be discovered in Scripture for the current time in which it was being read. Their regard for the text is the same as mine: Scriptures are always deeper, richer, and more far-reaching than our current interpretations are able to deliver. In my re-reading of the Bible, I never cease to be amazed at how many new things I discover. It is the same text that has always been there, but I am not the same person I was at earlier readings.

Musings from Hither and Yon.

It does make sense after all.

In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long on their wickedness. Do not be over-righteous, neither be over-wise — why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool — why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. (Ecclesiastes 7:15-18).

Before you dismiss this idea, I ask if you can see any of this kind of moderation in the life and teaching of Jesus? The Pharisees were the super-righteous of their day and in their extremism missed the mercy and compassion that Jesus insisted were more important aspects of faith. It may be a little more difficult to mine the biblical wisdom in Ecclesiastes, but we should never lose sight of this: it is a part of Holy Scripture and it needs to be taken into account to receive a proper balance in our theology.

My broad readings often include a New York Times Bestseller simply because I want to be in touch with what a significant segment of the population is reading. One of those of a few years ago was The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer. My confession: I bought the book because of the subtitle: The journey beyond yourself. This is a large part of Jesus’ teaching, and we have always had a difficult time incorporating it into a healthy spirituality.

Here is an excerpt from Singer’s book in a chapter titled “The Secret of the Middle Way”:

No discussion of living life as a spiritual path is complete without addressing one of the deepest of all spiritual teachings, the Tao te Ching. It discusses that which is very difficult to discuss, that which is called “the Tao” (pronounced: dow). Literally translated, this means “the Way.”16

Those are the two extremes of the pendulum: the yin and the yang, expansion and contraction, non-doing and doing. Everything has two extremes. Everything has graduations of this pendulum swing. If you go to the extremes, you cannot survive.17

It’s not a teaching that is a mainstay of our culture.

Wendell Berry: “Don’t own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.”18

This subject is so serious that I felt we needed to begin with a little comic relief to lighten the load. One of Jesus’ clear teachings is that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions that can be accumulated. Warnings against depending on “stuff” to bring satisfaction and happiness shouldn’t need any further proof than the testimonies of those for whom they have produced a meaningless life - like the Teacher of Ecclesiastes:

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;

I refused my heart no pleasure.

My heart took delight in all my labor,

And this was the reward for all my toil.

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done

and what I had toiled to achieve,

everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;

nothing was gained under the sun (2:10-11).

Jesus never denigrated the wise use of possessions; many of his followers were people who were considered wealthy. Jesus taught never to equate bigger barns with bigger lives or with meaning and purpose. Our lives cannot be measured by the abundance of our possessions. I’ll leave this hot potato for you to consult the Gospels for further enlightenment.

We Are Just Passing Through.

There is an old gospel song with the line: “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.” The biblical description of who we are is repeatedly described as “pilgrim.” A recurring theme in Ecclesiastes is that not much really matters because, after all, we all end up in the grave. That is the darkest theme in the book and it only tells a portion of the story — but it is a portion we ignore at our peril. We often fail to see life as gift and our brief journey here as a time to make the most of every hour that is offered to us.

And there is another thing to learn from this brevity:

Why should anything that anyone says or does cause you to get disturbed? You’re just on a planet spinning around the middle of absolutely nowhere. You came here to visit for a handful of years and then you’re going to leave. How can you live all stressed-out over everything? Don’t do it.19

Brevity does not equal meaninglessness in the context of faith. We will address this issue more fully in the Conclusion, “Is This As Good As It Gets?”

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1 Have you spent much time reading Ecclesiastes or the other Wisdom books? Why do you think this is so?

2 Do you believe in living the middle way?

3 What have you found that brings satisfaction, meaning, and a sense of purpose?

14 James Limburg, Encountering Ecclesiastes: A Book for Our Time (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2008), 18.

15 Ibid.

16 Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul (Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2007), 165.

17 Ibid, 166.

18 Donald Altman, Clearing Emotional Clutter (New York: MJF Books, 2016), 1.

19 Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul, 135.