Introducing Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 1-2

            The very first Bible study I ever taught was on the book of Ecclesiastes, when I was in high school. I can’t say it was the best Bible study I ever led; nor can I say that I fully understood it.  (Mr. Harks, our youth counselor, took me aside afterward and spent some time on the distinction between Law and Gospel.) The truth is the book appealed—and still does appeal—to my dark side. And read on a surface level, the book itself is pretty glum. Reduce it to a t-shirt and you have, “Life sucks and then you die.”

            Derek Kidner, a respected scholar of the wisdom literature, comments that there are two main options in interpreting the book. First, it could be Solomon’s own interior debate about the value and purpose of life, a “debate with himself, torn between what he cannot help seeing and what he still cannot help believing,” a struggle between faith and sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Second, it could be understood as a “challenge to the man of the world to think his own position through to its bitter end, with a view to seeking something less futile.” That is, it could be understood as a response to the nihilist, the atheist, the one who says this life is all there is. “If this life is all there is,” the Preacher seems to say, “you’ll have a pretty dismal time of it. Want to reconsider?”

            Under the first view, one of the more poignant verses in the book is 3:11, “He has made all beautiful in its time; moreover, He set eternity in man’s heart.” On the one hand, the author is aware of the beauty of the world; on the other, he is keenly aware of its trials, travails, and contradictions. Yet he knows that he is more than a beast: a beast wouldn’t even notice the tension; an animal doesn’t live in dread of its death or of its legacy. He senses there must be something more and can’t turn his heart from that confidence.

            On the second view, it is the believer who can look the futility, the nonsense, the contradictions of life full in the face. And he does so, to drive the unbeliever to the deciding point: either it is glum, depressing, and pointless … or there’s more—one who sets eternity in human hearts, who provides, who determines. Sometimes you have to push the argument to its bitterest conclusion to cause someone to draw back and create space for the Gospel.

            On either view, I find this a strangely, darkly compelling book—even if I can’t teach it with any more clarity than I mustered 25+ years ago.

            One more introductory technicality: nowhere does the author identify himself as Solomon. He identifies himself as the Preacher, a son of David, a king in Jerusalem. Frankly, those titles could make him any of a number of people from kings before the exiles to kings-in-name only after it. For myself, I see no reason to think the author is anyone but Solomon.

The Wife of Noble Character

Proverbs 30-31

            When reading about the wife of noble character, it is important to imagine life before the Industrial Revolution. In a pre-industrial world, the home was the center of life, the household the basic economic driver. In this context, the wife of noble character is not some little homemaker; she doesn’t engage in ‘crafts.’ No, she is an economic engine: she is diligent, rising early, working industriously. She buys land, expands opportunities, engages in trade. She turns the fruit of the earth (traditionally the purview of a man) into goods for sale and for the support of the family.

            How do we translate this into an industrial age? Many in our day long nostalgically for a day when wives stayed at home and raised the children. But in some ways, the picture of the wife of noble character is very modern. She has a career; she creates wealth for the household. Now, of course, in a pre-industrial age, that work happened at home; but so did the work of the father, who taught especially his sons to engage in the family’s work. In an agrarian age, fathers and mothers raised children. So, yeah, we haven’t figured out all the questions that industrialization has raised, especially around work and childrearing, but the wife of noble character suggests that our options aren’t quite as limited as we sometimes think.

The Rich and Rulers

Proverbs 28-29

            Jesus famously says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24 and parallels). Proverbs 28 also has some things to say about the rich and the poor. The poor are not to be oppressed (28:3, 8). It’s better to poor and righteous than rich and perverse (28:6). Relatedly, stinginess and greed produce strife. The implication is that this is more a problem of the rich, that those who have little are more likely to share it. That’s not universally the case, but it is a warning that wealth can be a snare to us, if ever we start to value maintaining wealth more than we value people.

            Luke’s telling of the story in which the saying from Jesus dwells is interesting. Not only is the man in dialogue with Jesus rich; he is also a ruler. Proverbs has some things to say to those who rule, too. He is not to oppress his people (28:3), presumably through high taxes or a lifestyle out of proportion to his people (28:16). Such a ruler runs roughshod over his people (28:15).

            Lessons: regarding wealth, wealth is a blessing from the Lord, but it is a blessing that can turn our heads. Jesus tells us to use it wisely (Luke 16). Such wise use includes generosity (Matthew 10:8; 2 Corinthians 9:6).

            Lessons: Not many of us are rulers in the sense of governing cities, counties, etc. But many of us do exercise power of some sort, either over our children or as supervisors at work or as business owners. Fair treatment and understanding are called for (Luke 18:1-7; Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 4:1).

Engaging Fools

Proverbs 26-27

            Proverbs 26:4-5 offer an interesting contrast; they would be contradictory if we didn’t know that they were proverbs (generally true, not ironclad guarantees). On the one hand, we are advised not to answer a fool in his folly or we risk stooping to his level. Sounds like the modern adage, “If you wrestle with a pig, you’ll only end up cover in dirt.” On the other hand, answer him in his folly in order to expose his folly. Sometimes bad behavior has to be named. Wisdom is found in knowing when each is called for. In which situations will addressing foolishness just result in everyone being reduced to folly? In which situations will addressing foolishness lead to folly’s exposure? As an example: I hate talking about politics. People are so sure of their own rightness that they can’t hear opposing viewpoints and everybody just ends up deeper in their own echo chamber. Still, politics is part of our life and if truth is really a thing, then sometimes you have to call untruth what it is.

Proverbs in the New Testament, Again

Proverbs 24-25

            I mentioned about a week ago how I was seeing connections between Proverbs and the New Testament. There are two more of them in Proverbs 25.

            First, St. Paul directly quotes Proverbs 25:21-22 in Romans 12:20. This seems to be the original observation of “killing them with kindness.” On the surface, it seems a little strange, that the motivation for being kind to an enemy is their discomfort. On reflection, I’m not sure that’s quite where the proverb is headed, though. I think instead the heaping of coal’s refers to the enemy’s own sense of shame at realizing the other is not his enemy at all.

            The whole notion of enemies is troubling to me. In Romans 5, Paul states that Christ died for us while we were still enemies of God. If God so loved His enemies, how can we, His holy people, look at someone and name them an enemy? Unfortunately, when people hurt us, disappoint us, betray us, it’s very easy to name them enemies. How blessed it would be if we could see them as objects of the same mercy that we have received from God.

 

            The second example of a New Testament reference to Proverbs is 25:6-7 which rings of Jesus’ saying in Luke 14:7-11:

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The temptation is always to exalt ourselves, to speak of what we deserve, to seek our own honor. But the way of the kingdom, the way of wisdom, is to act humbly. The Lord will exalt in His due time. On this Jesus is completely in line with many proverbs.

Discipline, Drinking, Getting Older

Proverbs (18-21) 22-23

Proverbs 19:21—Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

            Here’s one of those proverbs that encourages true humility because it encourages true dependence on the Lord. No matter how careful, how thorough, our plans, we cannot account for everything. Sometimes the things we don’t account for don’t make any difference and things go our way; sometimes the things we don’t account for have outsized consequences and things fall apart. In either case, we do well to count on the Lord.

 

Proverbs 20:20—The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.

            My uncle used to have a plaque on his desk that read, “Old age and treachery will overcome youth and vigor.” There does come a time when our bodies fail us, when the vigor of youth gives way. When that happens, we do well to lean more on our brains. Just recently I had to move a couch. In younger days, I would have horsed that thing around. This time I called a friend. “Work smarter, not harder.”

 

            We had several sayings recently about raising children: Proverbs 22:6, 22:15, and 23:13-14. The first one says that if we raise a child in the way he should go then they will stay on that way even when they are old. Here’s one where it’s good to remember that the proverbs are general statements, not ironclad guarantees. It’s good to remember that because everyone of us knows someone whose children did not follow in their ways; maybe it even happened in our family. I’ve often had parents ask what they did wrong that their children chose different paths, and I’ve often said that parents ultimately aren’t responsible for their grown children’s choices; those children also have agency. The best we can do is set them on the right path and pray that the Lord will keep them in it.

            The next two sayings encourage the use of the ‘rod.’ In a modern world, that sounds really brutal. Spanking has fallen out of favor in our parenting tool kit. And I think, in general, rightly so. Sometimes corporal punishment is the right choice—when for example there has to be urgency to the discipline. But corporal punishment dare not be executed in an atmosphere of anger. It cannot be perceived as retaliatory. It cannot teach that violence is the right response when one is upset. There are so many ways that corporal punishment can spill over into abuse that we do well to consider whether it should be used at all.

            On the other hand, the proverbs still ring true without corporal punishment. There are many ways to raise children in a disciplined environment without it. We need a broader understanding of discipline. Discipline is not punishment but an ordered life. Discipline begins with structure and routine. From the time they were only a few months old, our children had a bedtime routine—pjs, brushing teeth, read a book, say prayers, lights out. We rarely had to fight about it because that is just what we did. Morning routines came with school. Household chores were on a schedule. Children thrive on structure, and we only rarely had to resort to punishment.

 

            Proverbs 20:1, 21:17, 23:19-21, and 23:29-35 all warn against the dangers of alcohol. Psalm 104 says that wind gladdens the heart, and that’s true But alcohol must be treated with care. Too much and we say and do things we will regret. So, a drink eases the heart, but too many drinks have potentially disastrous risks.

The Ways of God

Proverbs 16-17

            The first section of Proverbs 16 reminds me of a modern proverb: “Man proposes; the Lord disposes.” That is to say, there is a limitation to human plans. We can be careful, cover all our bases, think through contingencies, wrap the thing in prayer, but ultimately our success rises or falls on the will of the Lord. This calls for humility, a key aspect of wisdom. We can’t think of everything and we certainly can’t control all factors. Proverbs 16:18 suggests the consequences of abandoning that humility. “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” So, we work and plan and pray, and cast it on the Lord.

            A few others that stood out for me today:

            Proverbs 16:31: there was a time I fretted about my gray hairs. Anymore I see them as well-earned. It would be well if we didn’t try to feverishly to hold aging off. It would be well for our society if we weren’t so youth-obsessed. It would be well for us if we could regain a sense of honoring our elders.

            Proverbs 17:3: here’s one I don’t much like, but it’s still worth pondering. It is only by testing that we discover our mettle. People often (mis)quote 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God won’t let you be tested beyond what you can bear.” Here’s a think I note: only God really knows what our limits are; we only discover it in the fiery test. Consider Job, whose suffering was as much for his benefit as for anything, so that he could have his doubts burned off and be left with his absolute dependence on his God.