ECCLESIASTES How Do I Live Without Delusions?

ECCLESIASTES How do I live without delusions?

The more we are occupied with life, the less likely we are to relate to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is a step out of life to see it from the long view, to absorb its maddening aspects, and re-enter with practical applications. How do I live without delusions? Take the long view.

The Maddening The Practical 80 Years

1. Sum: “Who can straighten what He has made crooked?” 1. Sum: “Fear God and keep his commands” 2. All has been done before, ch 1-3 2. Eat, drink, enjoy your work as God’s gift to you, ch 2 3. “With much wisdom comes much sorrow”, ch 1 3. “Two are better than one” for survival, ch 4 4. We toil for pleasure which is like vapour, ch 2 4. “Go near to listen” before God, ch 5 5. Even the wise die like the fool, or animal ch 2-3, 9 5. Enjoy your prosperity, ch 6 6. Even the wise are forgotten, ch 2 6. “The living should take death to heart”, ch 7 7. “Everything is beautiful in its time”, ch 3 7. “Do not be over-righteous—why destroy yourself?”, ch 7 8. “Nothing can be added to” God’s work, ch 3 8. “Do not pay attention to every word people say”, ch 7 9. The oppressed have “no comforter”, ch 4 9. “Obey the king’s commands” for “no harm” ch 8 10. “His eyes were not content with his wealth”, ch 4 10. Punish quickly or more will scheme, ch 8 11. The king takes “profits from the field”, ch 5 11. “Whatever your hand finds, do it with all your might”, ch 9 12. We hoard but depart naked, ch 5 12. “Calmness can lay great offences to rest”, ch 10 13. Wisdom is “beyond me, far off, & most profound”, ch 7 13. “Money is the answer for everything”, ch 10 14. “The righteous get what the wicked deserve”, ch 8 14. Do not curse others in private, ch 10 15. “Time and chance” happen to all, not deserving, ch 9 15. Pursue optionality, ch 11 16. “Fools are put in high positions”, ch 10 16. “Be happy while you are young”, ch 11 17. With age you “find no pleasure” in life’s pleasures”, ch 12 17. “Banish anxiety from your heart”, ch 11 18. With age your bodies “trembles” and “fades”, ch 12 18. “Remember your Creator” in youth, ch 12

1. An Invitation: To him who has ears, let him ear. We can either learn from our own--painful--experience, or we can learn from others’--painful--experience. Solomon is trying to save us from some of the former. He’s done it.

2. A Conversation: Ecclesiastes may be thought of like conversation with your Grandfather--who has lived through more than you. You arrive in his living room where he is sitting in his familiar chair, and he begins to speak. He is not structuring his thought systematically and sometimes his mind seems to ﬂit to new subjects mid-thought but if you listen, you notice he keeps coming back to three major themes: Young man, don’t be deluded by all that glitters. Young man, the world works like this, even if this is a grievous pill to swallow. Young man, learn wisdom: revere God & keep His commandment, receive and treasure His gifts while you live, and remember your limitations.

3. The Dis-Illusioned Life: “The Dis-Illusioned Life” is the subject of Ecclesiastes, and He--Solomon, King of Israel, comfort, and accomplishment--should know. There is no person who has ever lived who is better positioned to tell us about the dis-illusioned life; he has the experience and is said to have been the wisest man who ever lived. Moreover, he’s a social scientist. He does not apply himself lightly to give us sophomoric reﬂections. Repeatedly he says, “I applied my heart” (and an unrealistic amount of resources) to “know the scheme of things.” Sit at his feet awhile and listen.

4. The Humbling is Preparation: Ecclesiastes is intended to humble. It is intended to remind us of our ﬁniteness. In many ways, Solomon says nothing that we don’t know. We know we’ll die. We know we’ll take nothing with us. We know we won’t be long remembered. He just reminds us of all these things in a single, sustained speech, in order to lead us beyond nihilism. To lead us to relationship. To lead us to treasuring Him to whom we will return when our lease on life comes to an end.

5. The Meaning of Meaninglessness: Ecclesiastes is a book of observations about the great facts of human existence. Solomon is kicking against the walls of our existence--the madness of meaninglessness, death, inequality and sufering. But the Lord has done this that we might prize Him. He has made the world intoxicating and yet, ultimately, unsatisfying. He has the made the world fascinating and study-able and yet, ultimately it slips beyond our attempts to create a “theory-of-everything”. He has made the heart passionate and yet, “restless until it ﬁnds its rest in Thee” (St. Augustine, Ecc 3:10-15).

6. Two Types of Wisdom: Ecclesiastes is not the wisdom of Proverbs (which Solomon also wrote): practical advice to make life work on earth. Ecclesiastes is the wisdom of the soul: to make sense of life from a meta--not micro--perspective. Remarkably, for all their contrasts (despairing! vs. matter-of-fact), both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes unite under the same cosmic capstone: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7).

7. Wisdom Begins at the End: Wisdom begins by looking at death. This is the end of every man; the living should take this to heart (7:2). Death is the great un- masker! It strips away our shallowness. But if you can look death in the face and say, “This is my end. All that I do or learn or know or accomplish will be going with me in that box (cofn), now how shall I live?” Then--then--there is hope. There is hope of living life wisely while you yet live.

8. Nihilism: There are two typical responses to looking at our own death and--severe--ﬁniteness: 1) Nihilistic despair: All is meaningless! Leading to depression. 2) Nihilstic hedonism: Let’s drink! Let’s make the most of it! Leading to shallowness. The well-aged Solomon is trying to save us from both these extremes. Somehow he looks straight at death, processes it, digests it fully, and still moves beyond it. He afrms the truth of both these typical responses but adds this nuance: Don’t forget, these good things in life (work, wife, wine) are a gift of God, and you will give an account. Solomon understands nihilism, and he saves us from its exit-less pit.

9. Nihilism: There are two typical responses to looking at our own death and--severe--ﬁniteness: 1) Nihilistic despair: All is meaningless! Leading to depression. 2) Nihilstic hedonism: Let’s drink! Let’s make the most of it! Leading to shallowness. The well-aged Solomon is trying to save us from both these extremes. Somehow he looks straight at death, processes it, digests it fully, and still moves beyond it. He afrms the truth of both these typical responses but adds this nuance: Don’t forget, these good things in life (work, wife, wine) are a gift of God, and you will give an account. Solomon understands nihilism, and he saves us from its exit-less pit. 10. Adoration is Not Intellectual: Solomon is not aiming at intellectual assent. He does not intend us to read his life’s work and walk away with, “I should remember to fear God, even though that seems kind of strange or small or weird.” What does it mean to fear God? To treasure him, as you would your newly-wed wife. To revere him, as you would before a sultan or king at a dinner party. 11. The Secret of Contentment: By study and faith, Solomon sees something most of us do not. The ability to enjoy life is not wholly with man; it is a “gift” of God, “from the hand of God”, which He gives to those that please Him. How else could Solomon make sense of the madness of seeing one man with everything, enjoying nothing--or more personally, explain his own experience of satisfaction and emptiness. Only this made sense of his experience. 12. Discipling Our Values: Solomon is trying to change our value system through his own story. He’s trying to free us from serving money, He’s tried wealth, wisdom, and changing the world--vain! But, don’t under-value: relishing (work, wife, wine), remembering (Him to whom you’ll give an account), and revering (Him to whom you’ll return). 13. Valuing Work and Wife: If Solomon did not tell us, we would not value things as we ought. We would undervalue enjoying our work. We would undervalue enjoying our wife and good food. And, we'd overvalue things like changing the world, making a mark, serving our reputation, or reaching un-tenably toward increasing and increasing comfort. 14. Freedom is His Agenda: Solomon is trying to free us from serving money, knowledge, pleasure, or our fame. He's standing us directly before the One whom we are to serve, and fear. 15. Advocating Realism: Solomon is not naive, and he does not wish us to be either. He stacks life tragedy upon life tragedy. He paints the picture of a thousand wasted lives. He is sober, frank, and yet a man of faith. 16. For Meaning, Look This Way: Meaning is not found in making much of us--in living large larger. Few of us will ever surpass Solomon in this regard. It is found in living in right relationship. That is the lens Solomon is trying to give us on life. That is the lens available to all. 17. Ecclesiastes’ Structure: Structurally, Ecclesiastes begins and ends with “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” (1:2, 12:8) and its center points us to wisdom learned from death: “Better to go to the house of mourning than feasting, for death is the end of every man.” While the book ends with an extended metaphor about old age and death, there is a ﬁnal section (12:9-14) that acts as an Epilogue pulling together his application point: revere God & keep His commandments. In contrast to a life of self-indulgence (ch 2), Solomon commends a life of active, generous sowing of good works (ch 11).