The Crook in the Lot
Ecclesiastes 7: 13-22

The crook in the lot DIG: What observations inspire the warnings in verses 15-18? What is meant by overly righteous or overly wicked? Would the Teacher say, “Nothing in excess, everything in moderation?” How does such a view square with genuine fear of the LORD? Is verse 20 a confession, an excuse, or an accusation? What light does it shed on verse 19? What is the danger of paying too much attention to gossip? What theme unites 7:19-22?

REFLECT: If God put a crook in your lot, would you try to make it straight? Would you get rid of your disability or disease? Would you change your job or your financial situation? Would you change your appearance, or your abilities, or your situation in life? Or would you trust God for all the crooked things in life and wait for Him to make them straight, even if you had to wait until the resurrection, just like Yeshua did when He died on the cross?

In His sovereignty over our suffering, God is at work to accomplish our spiritual good.
We are, therefore, called to trust Him, even when things seem to be crooked.

Maybe your life is so carefree that you have been untouched by human suffering. Then again, maybe not. Maybe you have had to deal with a lot of brokenness: chronic illness, depression, anxiety, personal betrayal, broken relationships, false allegations, destructive sins, bereavement and sorrow. When things like this happen to us or the ones we love, two things can happen. We can turn away from the Lord in pain and anger, or we can run to the Lord, believing in His sovereignty over our lives, seeking His help and comfort.

The sovereignty of God (7:13-14): Consider the work of God (7:13a). The command here is to consider – to make a careful observation of the way God works. Solomon noticed the world around him. He studied the seasons of life, learned when it was time for this and time for that. He watched the way people worked and played. He saw how they lived and how they died. Here, he invites us to join him by considering the work of ADONAI in the world. Then the Teacher asked a rhetorical question: Who can make straight what He has made crooked (7:13b)? The answer, of course, is no one. Things are the way God wants them to be; we do not have the ability to overrule the Almighty.

When the Teacher is talking about something crooked, he is talking about some trouble we have in life that we wish we could change, but cannot. It happens to all of us. We struggle with physical limitations. We suffer the breakdown of personal or family relationships. We have something that we wish we didn’t have, or don’t have something we wish we did. Sooner or later, there is something in life that we wish to God wasn’t there. According to Solomon, ADONAI has given each of us a different situation in life. This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them – for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth, possessions and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil – this is a gift of God (5:18-19). When some people here Solomon talk along these lines they assume he is a fatalist. Some things in life are straight, other things are crooked. But whether things are crooked or straight, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. It all comes down to fate, or predestination.

But there is another way to look at these verses. We need to see our situation in terms of the sovereign goodness of God. If there is a crook in our lot, it is the work of God, which it would be futile for us to try and change. One way to see the difference between despairing of our lot and hoping in YHVH is to compare Ecclesiastes 7:13 to what Solomon said back in Ecclesiastes 1:15. The wording in the earlier verse is almost identical: What is crooked can’t be straightened. Notice, however, that the first time the Teacher made this statement he left ADONAI out of the picture, giving us a clear, old picture of man’s life without God. But here in Chapter 7, Solomon brings God back into the picture. He looks at the world according to the LORD, and puts both the straight things and the crooked things under His divine care.

It is still true that there is nothing we can do to straighten out what is crooked. We cannot change what God has done unless, and until, He wants to change it. We do not have the power to edit God’s agenda. But far from driving us to despair, the sovereignty of YHVH gives us hope through all the trials of life. We do suffer the frustration of life in a fallen world. But the Bible promises us that God has a plan to set us free from all this futility, and that as He carries out the plan He is working all things together for our good (Rom 8:20, 28).

Trusting in the sovereign goodness of God helps us know how to respond to both the joys and trials of life. Whether we are having a good day or a bad day, there is always some way for us to glorify God. So the Teacher says: When things are going well, enjoy yourself; but when things are going badly, consider that God made the one alongside the other, so that people would learn nothing of their futures 7:14). This perspective puts today and every day under the sovereignty of God. Some days are full of prosperity. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and ll is right with the world. Every good day, every tasty meal, every financial windfall, every meaningful conversation, every single pleasure, every success in ministry – every blessing of any kind at all is a gift from God’s grace that calls us to joy.

Not all days are like that, of course. Some days are full of adversity rather than prosperity. The sun is not shining, the birds are not singing, and nothing seems right with the world. It looks like our trials will never end, and we wonder if we have even one friend in the world. Yet, this day also comes from the hand of Ha’Shem; it is under His sovereign care. The Teacher does not have the heart to be joyful on such a difficult day, but he does call us to consider the ways of YHVH. When adversity comes, we should recognize that this too is a day that the Lord has made.

We must entrust every day of our lives to the loving care of a sovereign God, then we will be ready for anything and everything that life throws at us. In his comments on this verse, Martin Luther advised, “Enjoy the things that are present in such a way that you do not base your confidence on them, as though they were going to last forever . . . but reserve part of your heart for God, so that with it, we can bear the day of adversity.” Whatever trials we have in this life, it helps to go through them with Yeshua at our side. If we are wise, we will offer whatever joys we experience back to God in thanksgiving. This is all part of what it means to consider the work of God (7:13a). Solomon is telling us to accept what ADONAI has done and surrender to His sovereign will, praising Him for all our prosperity and trusting in Him through every adversity.²⁹³

Two dangers that lead to destruction: If the Teacher’s perspective seems a little simplistic so far, a little too easy, then we can probably relate to what he says next. No sooner has he told us to consider the works of God than he struggles with God’s sovereignty. Remember, Solomon promised that he was totally committed to telling us the truth about life. What he tells us here is that sometimes life can be desperately unfair. In my pointless life, I’ve seen everything – from the righteous person perishing in spite of his uprightness to the wicked one who lives a long life in spite of continual wickedness (7:15). That is exactly the opposite of what most people expect. The righteous people ought to rejoice in their prosperity, while the wicked suffer adversity until they finally admit that God is in control. All too often, what we see instead is what Solomon saw: righteous people dying before their time while their enemies kept on living. Godly pastors are martyred for their faith, while their murderers live to terrorize the congregations of God another day. Innocent victims get cut down in the prime of their life, yet their attackers never get caught. It’s just not fair!

There are some crooked things in life that we wish we could straighten out. But since we can’t, the Teacher gives us some practical advice: So don’t be overly righteous or overly wise; why should you disappoint yourself? But don’t be overly wicked, and don’t be foolish; why should you die before your time (7:16-17)? Solomon is not being cynical here. If that was what he meant, then he would have had to be looking at life under the sun again, leaving God out of the picture, and thinking about good and evil the way that only an unbeliever can. No. When he tells us not to be overly righteous, he meant they should not depend on their own righteousness or wisdom to guarantee God’s blessing because they might be disappointed like ones whom Solomon had seen perishing in spite of their own supposed righteousness (7:15).

To help us avoid thinking of ourselves too highly, the Teacher warns us not to be – so to speak – too righteous. We should never think that we are too good to suffer, or that it would be unfair if someone likes us to have a crook in our lot. Yet, it is often tempting to say, “God, I don’t deserve this. Don’t you know who I am? And it’s only a short step from there to saying, “Who does God think He is anyway?”

That is not to say that we should be unrighteous, of course. Solomon warns against this mistake in verse 17, when he tells us not to be too wicked. His point here is not that it’s okay for us to be a-little-bit wicked, as if there could ever be such a thing. Rather, the Teacher’s point is that there is a danger in giving ourselves over to evil. It is one thing to sin from time to time, as everyone does. Solomon will say in verse 20, “For there isn’t a righteous person on earth who does only good and never sins.” Though he believed that complete righteousness is unattainable, and that some foolishness is unavoidable, he never advocated folly or wickedness. Instead, he advocated living life in light of God’s judgment (11:9 and 12:14). Though he had observed exceptions to the doctrine of retribution (7:15 and 8:10-11), he nevertheless believed that God would judge (3:11 and 17). Therefore, people should avoid foolishness and wickedness as much as possible and live wisely and as righteously as possible.

Thus, there are two dangers for us to avoid: self–righteousness and unrighteousness. Both errors will lead to destruction; they may even lead to an untimely death. But there is a way to avoid both dangers, and this is to live every day in the fear of God. Solomon says: Don’t grasp just one of these rules; take hold of the other as well; for he who is in fear of God will live by both of them (7:18). To fear God is to know that He is God and we are not. It is to hold Him in awe for His majestic beauty. It is to have respect for His mighty and awesome power. This helps us not to pretend to be something that we’re not. It also keeps us from living a wicked life, because when we understand God’s holiness, the last thing we will want to do is fall under Ha’Shem’s righteous judgment.²⁹⁴

Solomon gives wisdom high value. To a wise man wisdom is better protection than ten rulers in a city. Power from within is needed more than advice from without. Also, don’t take every word spoken seriously, such as when you hear your servant speaking badly of you; because often, as you yourself know, you have spoken badly of others (7:19 and 21-22). Our own experience is sufficient proof that vindictiveness arises from human sinfulness and is frequently inaccurate.²⁹⁵

Why God allows suffering: When we really fear Ha’Shem, it will help us to look beyond our present difficulties and see the work of God, accepting all the crooked things in our lives until He chooses to make them straight. But as with many who have suffered greatly, we ask why does God leave some things crooked, even when we pray for Him to make them straight? Let’s look at the four main reasons:

First, the cooked things in life are a test to help us determine whether we really are trusting in Messiah for our salvation. Think of Job, for example, who was afflicted with many painful trials in order to prove the genuineness of his faith. Our own sufferings may have the same purpose by the grace of God, they confirm that we are holding on to Messiah, and that He is still holding on to us (see the commentary on Jude, to see link click Bb – To Him Who is Able to Keep You from Stumbling).

Second, God carefully designs whatever crooks we have in our earthly lot to turn our hearts away from this pointless world and teach us to look for happiness in the world to come. Suffering is part of our preparation for eternity. Consider the Prodigal Son (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Hu – The Parable of the Lost Son and His Jealous Brother), who didn’t return to his father until he had lost everything he had. His sufferings were part of a pilgrimage that led him back home where he belonged. When something in life seems crooked, remember that a day is coming when God will make it straight.

Third, God uses the crooked things in life to convict us of our sins. The reason that anything is crooked at all is because there is sin in the world, including our own sin. The Spirit often takes the crooks in our lot and uses them to touch our conscience, reminding us of some particular sin that we need to confess. It would be a mistake to think, every time we suffer, that this must be because of our sins. But it would also be a mistake to miss the opportunity that every trial brings to repent for any unconfessed sin.

Fourth, God may use the crooked things in life to correct us for our sins. There are times when suffering serves as an instrument of God’s justice. So it was for David, after he had murdered Uriah. Ha’Shem justly decreed that the sword would never depart from his house (see the commentary on the Life of David Dd – Nathan Rebukes David). When we suffer it may be because, as a consequence for our sin, we are under discipline of God (see the commentary on Hebrews Cz – God Disciplines His Children).

These are not the only reasons why ADONAI makes some things crooked. Sometimes God allows us to suffer in order to keep us from committing sin, or else to uncover a sinful attitude of the heart so deep that it could only be revealed by suffering a painful trial. Or maybe – and this is the happiest reason of all – God puts a crook into our lot in order to display His grace through our godliness under trial. We are prone to “fits of spiritual laziness.” But when we have a crook in our lot, it rouses us from our spiritual slumber and produces many acts of faith, hope, love, self-denial, and other graces.

The Shepherd’s crook: The point in listing these possible reasons for our suffering is not to suggest that we can always figure out why ADONAI has put some particular crook in our lot. Rather, the point is that God knows why He has put it there. When something in life seems crooked, we are usually quick to tell YHVH how He should straighten it out. Instead, we should let the Lord straighten us out! In His sovereignty over our suffering, God is at work to accomplish our spiritual good. We are, therefore, called to trust Him, even when things seem to be crooked.

Whenever we have trouble believing that God knows what He is doing, we should consider the work of our Savior. Remember that our Good Shepherd once had a crook in His lot – a crook that came in the shape of a cross. In His prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane, Yeshua asked His Father if there were any way to make the cross straight instead of crooked. But there was no other way. As Yeshua considered the work of ADONAI, He could see that the only way to make atonement for our sin was to die in our place. So, Messiah suffered on the crooked cross that it was His God-given lot to bear. And He trusted His Father through His sufferings, waiting for Him to straighten things out when the time was right by raising Him up from the tomb on the third day.

If God can straighten out something as crooked as the cross, then surely we can trust Him to do something with the crook in our lot. This was the testimony that James Montgomery Boice gave the last time he spoke to his congregation at Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church. Dr. Boice had been diagnosed with a fatal and aggressive cancer; by the time he announced his illness, he had only weeks to live. This was the crook in his lot. So, in his farewell address Dr. Boice raised a serious question that was based on the sovereignty of God. “If God does something in your life,” he asked, “would you change it?” To say this in a way Solomon would have said, “If God put a crook in your lot, would you try to make it straight?”

Well, would you? Would you get rid of your disability or disease? Would you change your job or your financial situation? Would you change your appearance, or your abilities, or your situation in life? Or would you trust God for all the crooked things in life and wait for Him to make them straight, even if you had to wait until the resurrection, just like Yeshua did when He died for you on the cross?

Dr. Boise answered his rhetorical question by testifying to the goodness of God’s sovereign will. He said that if we tried to change what God has done, then it would not be as good; we would only make it worse. The Teacher who wrote Ecclesiastes said something similar. Consider the work of God, he said: Don’t try to straighten out what God has made crooked (7:13). Our Savior would say the same thing. “When you consider the work of God,” He would say, “remember most of all, My love for you through the crooked cross, and trust our Father to straighten everything out in His own good time.”²⁹⁶

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that Your love and presence is the most awesome reward that anyone could have. When we need someone to talk to for guidance or just for fellowship, people are often busy or gone, but You are always with those who love You. Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23). We can live with the comfort of knowing that You are always available to help us. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” so that with confidence we say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear” (Hebrews 13:5c-6). Thank You for being so wonderful. In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Interlude: More Reflections, Maxims and Home Truths
Ecclesiastes 7: 1-12

Interlude: More reflections, maxims and home truths DIG: How does the Teacher go about searching for answers to his question? “What is good?” Is anything absolutely good, or are there some things only relatively better? In each of the couplets in 7:1-4, which is the better thing and why? What is the reason behind the advice given in verses 5-7?

REFLECT: How sincere is your quest for the “good” things God provides in life? How do you recognize them? When are you confused, how do you decide who to listen to? How do you know when to advise? Rebuke? Praise? As compared to dwelling in the past or longing for the future, how much time do you live in the present? Do you enjoy it?

With a sure touch Solomon now brings in a stimulating change of style and approach. Instead of reflecting and arguing, he will bombard us with proverbs, with their strong impact and varied angles of attack. The opening ones are strikingly cheerless; the rest (for the most part) are provocatively cool but clever.

You might as well face the facts (7:1-6): A good name is better than perfumed oil, and the day of death better than the day of birth. Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for all are destined to be mourned; the living should take this to heart. Grief is better than laughter, for sadness can improve a person. The thoughts of the wise are in the house of mourning, but the thoughts of fools are in the house of pleasure. It is better to hear the rebukes of the wise than to listen to the songs of fools. For the laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot; this too is pointless.

Nothing in the first half of verse 1 prepares us for the body-blow of the second half. There is something like it in the previous chapter (6:1-6), but that was speaking of special cases. This saying is so sweeping and so contrary to our normal thinking that we must take a leap into the B’rit Chadashah, where Paul proclaims that: Life is Messiah, and death is gain (Philippians 1:21a). But the Solomon of Ecclesiastes has already refused the assumption that there is life after death (3:21). So, we must read on and hope for a clarification in the verses that follow.

And sure enough we find the answer spelled out most clearly at the end of the next verse, especially in the saying: the living should take this to heart. In other words, the day of our death has more to teach us than the day of our birth. Its lessons are more factual and ironically, more vital. On the day of our birth (and to draw on the next couple of verses, on all festive occasions) the general mood is excited and friendly. It is no time for dwelling on life’s shortness or on human limitations: we let our hopes and dreams get in the way. On the day of our death, on the other hand, the mood is thoughtful and the facts are plain. If we shrug them off, it is our fault. We shall have no better opportunity to face them.

The great psalm of human mortality puts it with majestic simplicity: Therefore teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise (Psalm 90:12). Like the psalm, the passage before us has a positive result in view, which is clear from its insistence on the word better, and especially from the last part of Ecclesiastes 7:3 which says: For sadness can improve a person. The thought of sadness not only being replaced with laughter but itself preparing us for the truest form of joy – unlike the hectic, empty cheerfulness of fools – can be most clearly seen in the analogy of childbirth, whose pains prepare the way for a special joy. When a woman is giving birth, she is in pain . . . but when the baby is born, she forgets the suffering out of joy that a child has come into the world (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Kw – Your Sorrow Will Turn to Joy).

You might as well be rational (7:7-12): But oppression can make a wise man stupid; also, a bribe can destroy understanding (7:7). The end of something is better than its beginning, so the patient is better than the proud (7:8). Don’t be quick to get angry, for only fools nurse anger (7:9). Don’t ask why the old days were better than now, because that’s a foolish question (7:10). Wisdom is good, along with possessions, an advantage to all who see the sun (7:11). For wisdom is a shelter, and money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps the one who has it alive (7:12).

There are almost as many moods and positions here as there are sayings, but a certain low-key approach to the subject marks most of them. Meeting the man of the world who lives under the sun, cutting God out of the picture, is not lofty ground. The Teacher points out that there are self-evident advantages in trying to make sense of life, instead of relapsing into cynicism and despair.

In verse 7, we can recognize the essence of a maxim which, in modern times, suggests that all power tends to corrupt. It is interesting that the implied appeal here is for one’s self-respect, for no-one willingly makes a real fool of himself – which is what the cruel or corrupt official is doing by definition, since he acts without reference to the merits of the case. His mind had been tampered with. It is now the tool of greed, not the servant of truth.

Taking verses 8 and 9 together, we are again shown the purely foolish side of attitudes which the believer would condemn on biblical principles, but principles which have little appeal to the worldly man. Whether or not we regard patience as a virtue and being aggressive as a vice, we can at least see the practical good sense of self-control; of following a matter through instead of dropping it at the first affront to our dignity. It is not the only kind of area in which doing the wrong thing can also be described as childish.

Verse 10 is even more crushing. To sigh for “the good old days” is really unrealistic. It is a substitute not only for action but clear thinking. The clear-eyed Solomon is the last person to be impressed by this golden haze of the past. He has already declared that one age is very much like another. What has been is what will be . . . and there is nothing new under the sun (1:9). All this, he now implies, is too obvious to be worth arguing. The Teacher only needs to ask us to talk more sensibly.

What follows in verses 11 and 12 is an unusually mundane estimate of wisdom. It is clear that wisdom is being treated on much the same footing as money, for its utility value, as a comparable or added insurance against the risks of life. If so, it is hardly a flattering comparison for something whose true worth is incalculable: For wisdom is better than pearls; nothing you want can compare with her (Proverbs 8:11). Verse 12 may be claiming that wisdom, unlike money, is life-giving, but it would be in keeping with the modest aims of this passage if it had no more than its practical, protective value in mind. The phrase in 7:11b, an advantage to all who see the sun, may well be a double-edged remark, a reminder that there is a time-limit to the help that even wisdom, at this level of general good sense, can offer. It pays no dividends in the grave.²⁹²

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You have planned a wonderful future for those who love You. Living with our eyes on the present, even in the best of times, will never satisfy.

As we live praising You for all You have done for us, only then can we be satisfied with life. Satisfaction is an internal feeling of peace and joy. David found great satisfaction in the midst of a terrible time. He was fleeing and was in the wilderness of Judah, yet he made time to look up to You, and see your steadfast love, for which he rejoiced. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory. Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You . . . My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips, when I remember You upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for You have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy (Psalm 63:1-3 and 5-7). Thank You that no matter how hard our circumstances, Your love is always steadfast! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

A Second Summary: A backward glance over
Ecclesiastes 4:9 to 6:12

In our first summary (to see link click Cm – The First Summary: A Backward Glance Over Ecclesiastes 1:1 to 4:8), we were reminded how widely the opening chapters had ranged in search of a satisfying end to life. Then, for a while, the quest appeared to have been called off. From 4:9 to about 5:12 we could pause to look around and study the human scene with some detachment. The comments were as intense as ever, but the tone was cool, almost accepting. Yet this was irony, not acceptance. From 5:13 onwards we were no longer spared the concern that the world’s anomalies and tragedies should arouse us. We sampled its searing disappointments; the sudden ruin of a life’s work (5:13-17); the glittering achievements that brought us no happiness (6:1-6). There was a glimpse of better things at the close of Chapter 5, a token that Solomon would lead us to an answer in the end; but the relief was short-lived. Chapter 6, which started by exposing a few empty lives, went on to uncover our human anthill, endlessly and pointlessly busy (6:7-9), and finished by dismissing our fine speeches about progress (6:10-12). For all his talk, man on his own has no ability to change himself; no permanence. He is alone with no purpose under the sun, for cutting God out of the picture.²⁹¹

The Bitterness of Disappointment
Ecclesiastes 5:13 to 6:12

The bitterness of disappointment DIG: What is the grievous evil of 5:13-15? Of 5:16-17? How do “wealth hoarded” and “wealth lost” (5:13-14) fit into this observation? What is the evil in 6:1-2 and 3-6? What belief influences the Teacher’s conclusions in 6:6b?

REFLECT: What priority does the pursuit of wealth and work have in your life? Is this necessary? What are you expecting your life’s work will give you in the end? How much joy do you experience in your toil under the sun? What would help you enjoy work more?

For the past chapter-and-a-half of Ecclesiastes we have been more concerned with living sensibly in the world as we find it – and this included the world of our religious obligations – than with wondering whether we are getting anywhere. The question has been reflected twice in the comment: This too is pointless (4:14 and 5:10); now it is again the center of attention as Solomon names some of the bitter anomalies of life. He will end Chapter 6, and with it the first half of his book, by pressing the question he had earlier seemed to answer: Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

The crash (5:13-17): I have seen a grievous evil under the sun, cutting God out of the picture: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness,  with great frustration, affliction and anger.

A miniature case-history now brings us face to face with frustration – for Solomon prefers to show us samples from life rather than abstractions. Here, then, is a man who loses all his money in one-fell-swoop, leaving his family destitute. It might have made sense if he had made a bad business deal or gambling. However, in fact he worked very hard for his money, but now, as it turned out, it has ruined his life twice over . . . once for the getting and once for the losing. And if this case is an extreme one, we all will face something like it. For everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. Solomon’s own life was not as dramatic as the man in this example. The Teacher was merely pointing out what happens, not what ought to happen, in a fallen world. A grievous evil is perhaps the nearest expression for it. That is how he introduced the topic in verse 13, and he repeats it in verse 16. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind?²⁸⁷

A more excellent way (5:18-20): This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them – for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil – this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with joy in his heart.

The next three verses turn away from that which provides no meaning, wealth, to that which at least dulls the pain. These verses express a similar sentiment to what we have already encountered in 2:24-26, 3:12-14 and 3:22, and what we will find in 8:15 and 9:7-10. As there, we do not have a statement of almost boundless optimism, but of resignation to the limited best that life can offer. That is, in the light of the absence of a meaningful life under the sun, Solomon advocates a life pursuing small pleasures afforded by food, drink, and work. But not everyone can enjoy their reward in this life. One can feel his envy as he describes those to whom God has given riches and the ability to enjoy them. They are the ones, unlike himself as the speech continually testifies, who are able to take his advice and enjoy life now.²⁸⁸

The tease (6:1-6): I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind. God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that his heart (literally: soul) lacks nothing at all, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is pointless, a grievous evil. A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man – even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

Once again, Solomon supports his case that there is no ultimate meaning in wealth. He knows this, so in reality, it’s pointless. He has consistently maintained that pleasure is all there is during one’s earthly existence under the sun, so enjoy it now, if you can. So he describes the situation to follow as evil. There are some people who have it all – money, material blessings, and power – who cannot enjoy it. The Teacher blames God for this. After all, most people don’t even have wealth and power, and they live on the fantasy that having it would result in satisfaction. Supposedly a divine tease! Ha’Shem not only prohibits the rich from enjoying their wealth but also adds further insult because strangers enjoy the fruits of their labor instead. Thus, Solomon pronounces this predicament as pointless.

Next, the Teacher leaves the issue of wealth and takes up a similar issue with children and long life. He takes exception to the common biblical teaching that rejoices in large numbers of children (Psalm 127 and Proverbs 3:2). He finds it more than conceivable that a person may be blessed with abundant offspring and a long life but could still be utterly miserable. So unhappy, indeed, that a stillborn baby’s fate is much preferred to the life of one to whom God has given riches, long life and many children, but not the ability to enjoy it all. According to Solomon, both the stillborn’s fate and that of those who are not permitted to enjoy life are horrid. The advantage, however, goes to the stillborn because he lacks consciousness, and as a result, never experiences the hardships and misery of the present life under the sun.²⁸⁹

All this is extremely damaging to any rose picture of the world. Solomon is very far from giving that man rights which God ignores; it is rather that man has needs which God exposes. Some of these, as we have seen, are the kind that the world under the sun cannot begin to meet, since God has given human beings an awareness of eternity (3:11); others, more limited, are of a kind that the world can satisfy for a little while, but none with any certainty or depth. If this is a hardship that weighs heavily on mankind (6:1), it is also a useful thing. The world itself is made to say to us: Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy (Micah 2:10 NIV). But we are, for the moment, not encouraged to glean any wisdom from it, for in itself, the human rat race (to see link click Cl – The Rat Race) makes no sense at all. So the chapter will wind its way down to a depressing and uncertain finish, well suited to the state of man on his own.

Unanswered questions (6:7-12): The purpose of all toil is to fill the mouth, yet the appetite is never satisfied. What advantage do the wise have over fools? What do the poor gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before others? Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is pointless, a chasing after the wind. Whatever he is, he was named long ago, and it is known that he is merely human; moreover, he cannot defeat what is mightier than he [death]. There are many things that only add to futility, so how do humans benefit from them? For who knows what is good for someone during life, during the days of his pointless life spent like a shadow? Who can tell what will happen under the sun after a person is gone (6:7-12)? The thoughts and questions of the chapter’s final paragraph pick up some issues that have met us along the way, to substitute the motto of the book: Pointless, all is pointless!

The first of them, in verse 7, makes the point that is as real to the modern man in the rat race as it is to the primitive peasant scraping a bare living out of the soil: that he works to eat, for the strength to go on working to go on eating. Even if he enjoys his work and his food, the compulsion is still there. His mouth, not his mind, seems to be the master.

When we object that men have more in them than this, and better things to live for, verse 8 doesn’t let us pass without a challenge. Wisdom, for example, may be infinitely better than foolishness, as we saw earlier (2:13), but is the wise man better-off than the fool? Materially he may or may not be, though surely he deserves to be; and we have already seen that death will level the two of them with complete indifference (see Cg – Death Renders Wisdom and Folly Pointless). As for happiness, the wise man’s clarity of vision is not all joy. For in much wisdom is much grief; the more knowledge, the more suffering (1:18).

As if sensing that we may still be unconvinced, since we rate the quality of a man’s life higher than its comforts, Solomon asks the hard-headed question of 6:8b. What does a poor man, however well thought of, actually get for his pains? It’s a fair question. To quote a famous saying, “To arrive is, for most of us, better than to travel hopefully.” That is the force of 6:9a, and its common sense allows us no daydreams. The trouble is that to “arrive” is, in any ultimate and satisfying sense, beyond our power. Whatever we achieve under the sun will melt away as foolish as if chasing after the wind, whether it’s the poor man’s self-help or the rich man’s success.

Is this defeatism or realism? In terms of life under the sun it is entirely realistic, as the argument of the book has already shown. Whatever brave words we say about mankind, or against his Maker, verses 10 and 11 remind us that we shall not alter the way in which we and our world were made. These things are already named and known, which is another way of saying, with the rest of Scripture, that they owe their being to the command of God. And now this command includes the sentence passed at Adam’s fall. Naturally we find this quite disturbing and want to protest. The idea of disputing with the Almighty (6:10b-11) fascinated Job, who abandoned it only after much heart-searching; and Isaiah earned a classic rebuke when Ha’Shem said: Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a broken, discarded piece of pottery, or a potsherd, among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?” Does your work say, “He has no hands” (Isaiah 45:9)? Yet we still find it easier to dream about the way things ought to have been rather than face the truth of what they actually are.

But this truth, to be the whole truth, must include what we are becoming and what will become of us. Part of this, that we shall die, we know only too well; the rest, too little. So the chapter, at this mid-point in the book, ends with a string of unanswered questions. The secular man, heading for death, and being swept along by the currents of life under the sun can only ask who knows what is good . . . ? Who can tell what will happen after I am gone (6:12)? This is a double puzzle. He is left with no absolute values to live for (what is good); and no practical certainties (what will happen) to plan for.²⁹⁰

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You have planned a wonderful home of eternal peace and joy for those who love You. Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:3b-4).

Your home in heaven will be a place of peace, without shame, for all who love and worship You. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation. For the Scripture says: Whoever trusts in Him will not be put to shame (Romans 10:9-11).

We do not have to know all the answers to life, but what is important is to know and to love you! Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you . . . My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, (Psalms 63:3, 5). Your love satisfies and is the answer to why we live. It is a joy to love You and to look forward to spending eternity with You. In Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Interlude: Some Reflections, Maxims and Home Truths
Ecclesiastes 4:9 to 5:12

Interlude: Some reflections, maxims and home truths DIG: Why are two better than one? Why was the old king so unpopular? How does 5:7 summarize the message of pious talk? Of popular acclaim? What is the reason for the oppression in 5:8-9? Why should we not be surprised by this? Why do the three proverbs (5:10, 11, and 12) prove to be pointless?

REFLECT: How can you be a part of a three-stranded cord? When facing poor or evil leadership, when are you most patient? Most prayerful? Most pushy for change? Most “quick with your mouth?” How do you become part of the solution instead of part of the problem? What do you do when you make a hasty promise that you cannot keep?

Having looked at the poverty of the lonely miser, whatever his outward success, we now reflect on something better . . . and better will be the key word here (4:9 and 13, 5:1 and 5), as it very often is in the value-judgments of the Wisdom writers.

Companionship (4:9-12): Two are better than one, in that their cooperative efforts yield this advantage: if one of them falls, the other will help his partner up – woe to him who is alone when he falls and has no one to help him up. Again, if two people sleep together, they keep each other warm; but how can one person be warm by himself? The thoughts are simple and direct; they apply to many forms of partnership, not the least (though not explicitly) to marriage. With graceful conciseness they depict the profit, resilience, comfort and strength given to a true partnership; and these are worth the demands it takes to achieve it. Such demands are not clear here, but there would hardly be the need to explain the benefits of partnership if it involved no cost. It’s obvious price is the person’s independence because once we have a partner/companion we must take into consideration their interests, listen to their opinions, adjust to their pace and style of living, and generally have their back.

Moreover, an attacker may defeat someone who is alone, but two can resist him; and a three-stranded cord is not easily broken. An obvious example of this blessing, and famous among believers, is the strength brought to a marriage, or indeed any human companionship, when ADONAI is the Chief Strand makes it a three-stranded cord that is not easily broken. But perhaps it would be nearer Solomon’s thought to read this metaphor in purely human terms, so that if it were applied to marriage, the third strand would appropriately be the gift of children, with all that adds to the quality and strength of the original tie. Even so, we are probably being more specific than he intended.

Popular acclaim (4:13-16): Better a youth who is poor but wise than a king who is old but foolish, no longer willing to listen to advice. True, he rose from prison to be king; Yet, while ruling, he became poor. I observed that all who live and walk under the sun, cutting God out of the picture, took the side of the youth mentioned first who would rule in place of the king, and that no limit was set for the number of his subjects. Nevertheless, those who come afterwards will not regard him highly. This too is certainly pointless and feeding on wind. This paragraph describes the short-lived popularity of the rich and famous. It shows the faults of both sides, beginning with the stubbornness of the man who has been too long in the saddle – who is out of touch and out of sympathy with the times, forgetting what it was to be young as he once was. There is enough likeness to the earlier and later life of David for us to reflect that the finest of men can go this way and be the last to recognize it. But the portrait is not really designed to be historical.

So it may come to it that a better man comes after him, and he is better if he has the right qualities, whatever his lack of years or standing, as 4:13 points out. Solomon, with his way of bringing the scene vividly before us the teeming mass of men, all on the side of the newcomer, young as he is. Yet, he too will eventually go the way of the old king, not necessarily for his faults, but simply because he gets old and is no longer interesting. He had reached a pinnacle of human glory, only to be stranded there.

Pious talk (5:1-7): Watch your step when you go to the house of God. Offering to listen is better than fools offering sacrifices, because they don’t discern whether or not they are doing evil. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; so let your words be few. For nightmares come from worrying too much; and a fool, when he speaks, chatters too much. If you make a vow to God, don’t delay in discharging it. For God takes no pleasure in fools, so discharge your vow! Better not to make a vow than to make a vow and not discharge it. Don’t let your words make you guilty, and don’t tell the Temple official that you made the vow by mistake. Why give God reason to be angry at what you say and destroy what you have accomplished? For [this is what happens when there are too] many dreams, aimless activities and words. Instead, just fear God!

Continuing with his interlude of portraits, Solomon turns his observant eye on the worshiper. Like the prophets, he presses reality in his realm; though his tone is quiet, his words are razor-sharp. Whereas the prophets hurl their criticism against the hypocrites, the Teacher’s target is the well-meaning person who likes to “play church.” But who listens with half an ear, and never quite gets around to do what he has volunteered to do for God.

Such a man has forgotten where and who he is; above all, who ADONAI is. The repeated use of the word fool is scathing, for to be casual with YHVH is evil, a sin, and something that will not go unpunished. Lest we think that this is just a piece of limited harshness in the TaNaKh, the B’rit Chadashah is equally as harsh with its warnings against making pious words pointless or treating lightly that which is holy (see the commentary on First Corinthians, to see file click Cb – The Answer: Honor the Body). No amount of emphasis on grace can justify taking liberties with God, for the very concept of grace demands gratitude, which cannot be casual.

Going back over these verses in more detail, we are reminded by the opening words: Watch your step, of the pains Ha’Shem took to guard His earthly Tabernacle in earlier days, even by the threat of death (Leviticus 15:31). At one level this makes it clear to us both the cost of our admission to the heavenly Tabernacle, and the purity that is demanded of us (see the commentary on Hebrews Cg – Messiah’s Sacrifice Opens the Way to God), while at another level it brings home to us the regard we should have for the Church of God, the Living Temple (see First Corinthians Av – God’s Spirit Lives in God’s Temple).

The word listen in 5:1b has the double force in Hebrew which it sometimes has in English: to pay attention to and to obey. So this saying is close to the famous words of Samuel: to obey (literally to listen) is better than sacrifice (First Samuel 15:22). Here, however, the pointlessness of worship is unwitting; one’s sin is that of a fool rather than a reprobate, if that is any comfort! The Teacher would hardly encourage us to think so. His reminder that Ha’Shem takes no pleasure in fools is as quietly crushing a remark as any in the book.

Official predators (5:8-9): If you see the poor oppressed, rights violated and justice perverted in the province, don’t be surprised; for a high official has one higher watching him, and there are others above them. But the greatest advantage to the country is when the king makes himself a servant to the land.

So, reflections on coping realistically with life continue, with the Teacher now turning a watchful eye on bureaucracy. If the picture doesn’t claim to be universal, it is still familiar enough. We can see a mass of officials frustrating the citizen who presses for his rights. He is easily obstructed and defeated. As for moral responsibility, it can easily be side-stepped by blaming the system, while ultimate authorities wield their power at a distance far from the lives of the people they affect. Everyone at the top gets a pass no matter what they have done, then whatever justice is left over trickles down to the masses. Small wonder the citizens at the bottom of such a structure found justice hard to come by. True to the viewpoint of the book, the comment on all this is realistic. After all, if we are looking at a world under the sun, on its own terms of total secularism, we could not expect too high a moral tone, either from the system in place or any other. The Teacher pins no hope on any utopian scheme or revolution. He knows the true nature of mankind.

Money (5:10-12): The lover of money never has enough money; the lover of luxury never has enough income. This too is pointless. When the quantity of goods increases, so do those who consume them; so the only advantage to the owner is that he gets to watch them do it. The sleep of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the overfullness of the rich won’t let them sleep at all. The subject of money is one of the most compelling, as Yeshua implied when He warned us against making it a second god (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Dr – Store Up Treasures in Heaven, Where Thieves Do Not Break in and Steal). The three sayings above show money for what it is, by pointing out the craving it creates, the parasites it attracts, and the suffering which is its typical reward.

Verse 10 is a little classic on the love of money, a fitting companion to the famous saying in First Timothy 6:9, “Those whose goal is to be rich fall into temptation; they get trapped in many foolish and hurtful ambitions which plunge them into ruin and destruction.” Here the interest is psychological, though the final remark: This too is pointless, drives home the ultimate lesson to be learned from it. The unappeased craving it creates is very obvious in the gambler, the tycoon, and the well paid businessman who never has enough – for the love of money grows by what it feeds on. But it may also show itself more subtly in a general discontent: a longing not necessarily for more money but for inward fulfillment. If anything is worse than the addiction money brings, it is the emptiness it leaves. Mankind, with eternity in his heart, needs better nourishment.²⁸⁴

The first half of verse 11 offers yet another proverb about the problems associated with wealth and perhaps gives us a reason why no one finds satisfaction in it. As one’s means increase, so do the “bills.” Whether those who consume them are creditors or extended family members, it makes no difference to the point of the verse. The second half of the verse draws out the implication of the first. The one who has the money seldom has the opportunity to really enjoy its fruits. The wealth that is pursued takes on a life of its own and starts to control the person pursuing it. All the owner can do is stand and watch as his problems gather momentum.²⁸⁵

In verse 12 we now read the third reason in as many verses why money is more of a problem than a blessing. The rich cannot sleep well because they overindulge themselves to the extreme and worry about losing their money. This is what happens when affluence and indulgence join hands. The irony is that the working man sleeps soundly even though his stomach is not as full.

Have you turned away from the weariness of money and every other good thing to find your joy in God? Anyone who doesn’t have joy in life must be looking in the wrong place. The way to find joy is to pray, “Lord, You know how empty I feel right now. Help me turn away from all the things I am using to fill the empty spaces in my life and fill me with your grace instead.” Solomon teaches us to depend on God’s many gifts. This is part of his answer to the problem of life’s pointlessness. The person who learns this lesson will seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with joy in his heart (5:20). When we learn to take pleasure in ADONAI we experience so much joy that life’s short pointless troubles are all but forgotten.²⁸⁶

The First Summary: A Backward Glance Over
Ecclesiastes 1:1 to 4:8

So far, in our survey of life under the sun, we have looked at what the world can offer at four or five different levels. We begin with an impression of its utter restlessness, the endless, inconclusive repetitions to be found in nature and in humanity (to see link click Cc – The Failure of Earthly Things). Then we sampled the satisfactions of different life-styles, rational and irrational, foolish and wise; pleasures of rest and work, of the moment and building for the future (see Cd – The Search for Satisfaction). If some of these had much to give, none survived the acid test of death. To find anything that time would not undo, who should have to look elsewhere. But in the meantime, God calls us to make the best use of every moment (see Cj – All in Good Time) because Messiah is the Master of time.

A more sinister note crept in at Ecclesiastes 3:16 with the theme of human injustice and wickedness. That bitter fact that can make death, even at its most hopeless, seem no longer the last enemy, as it was seen in Chapter 2 (see Cg – Death Renders Wisdom and Folly Pointless), but the hope of the resurrection (see Ck – Death and Injustice).

Finally, we contemplated not the losers in this human struggle, but the apparent winners and survivors; those who have supposedly come to terms with life. They have won the “so-called” prize, but can they keep it? The term, rat-race, sums up the weight of these verses: a frantic rivalry at one extreme, a disastrous surrender at the other, and for the successful few, a life devoted to acquiring prize after pointless prize.

After this merciless assessment, it will be a relief to turn for a while from our desperate search for something worthwhile under the sun, to matters close at hand. For life does go on while we are searching, and there are better and worse ways of living it. We can be wise at this level at least! For a start, we can be more sensible than the lonely, obsessive miser we were last considering (4:7-8). And a wiser pattern of life than his will be the first subject of the commentary on life that follows (see Cn – Interlude: Some Reflections, Maxims and Home Truths).²⁸³

The Rat Race
Ecclesiastes 4: 4-8

The rat race DIG: What is the meaning of each of the proverbs in verses 5-6? What do they imply is the Teacher’s view of labor and competition? What is the status of the man in verse 8? How materially successful is he? At what cost? Why does Solomon see wealth as pointless?

REFLECT: How much does someone’s wealth or status affect the way you treat them? Do you presently have “one handful” or “two?” For whom (yourself, God, others) do you toil in the different areas of your life (work, school, home)? How much satisfaction do you get?

The only answer to covetousness is to find our delight in ADONAI.

The rat race: Next I realized, indicates that Solomon turns to a new topic, that all effort and achievement stem from one person’s envy of another. That is, people take a look at their neighbors and work hard to keep ahead of them. That is the rat race. Solomon concludes that this cycle of envy leading to hard work can never be satisfied because it merely leads to ceaseless striving and despair. Once again, the old king implies that that kind of lifestyle is pointless, like chasing the wind (4:4).

This second little portrait shows the contrary extreme: the drop-out. He scorns the frantic rivalries of the rat race. But he is given his real name, the fool, for his apathy is just as foolish as the rat.²⁷⁴ Fools fold their arms together and eat their own flesh away (4:5). This brief, sarcastic image has several parallels in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 6:9-11, 10:4, 12:24; 19:15, 20:13, 24:30-34), and signals that the Teacher here quotes a proverb. The intention of the proverb is to ridicule the lazy fool. Those who fold their arms and refuse to work end up with nothing but their own flesh to eat. In essence, they become cannibals of themselves. The implication is that they will kill themselves by starvation. Of course, Solomon is being sarcastic and using hyperbole. He mocks the lazy. Since they don’t raise anything, they must eat their own flesh.²⁷⁵

To both of these unhappy ways of life verse 6 holds out the true alternative. Better an armload of tranquility than both arms full of effort and chasing the wind (4:6). The beautiful expression, an armload of tranquility, manages to convey the twofold thought of modest demands and inward peace: an attitude far removed from the scramble of the rat race and the fool’s laziness.

The lonely miser: Then I turned my attention to something else under the sun, cutting God out of the picture, that is pointless. The next two verses picture the compulsive money-maker as someone virtually dehumanized, for he has surrendered to a mere craving and to the endless process of feeding it. It is the story of a solitary man who has no friend, no business partner, and no wife. Furthermore, he had neither son nor brother, relatives who might benefit from his toil through inheritance. The Teacher pictures this individual working endlessly but never has enough wealth.²⁷⁶

Up to this point, Solomon referred to this lonely miser in the third person. Suddenly, he interjects the first person. He identifies himself with this man and enables us to do the same, by voicing for him the question, “For whom,” he should ask, “am I working so hard and denying myself pleasure?” These words come unannounced, as though to express what the man’s whole life is saying. This too is truly pointless, a sorry business (4:7-8).²⁷⁷

Do not covet: Earlier in his life Solomon had written: A tranquil heart gives life to the body, but envy (Hebrew: qin’a) rots the bones (Proverbs 14:30). Indeed, this is exactly the area about which the Teacher is talking about here. Envy is a most heinous attitude, since most envy of neighbors is due to covetousness.

The Torah teaches us: Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor (Deuteronomy 5:21). The climax of the Ten Words (to see link click Bk – The Ten Words) takes us to the heart of the matter, to the source of so much of what the previous mitzvot have prohibited, namely, human covetous desire. We should remember that the Ten Words is not a code of mitzvot in the legislative sense. They are never called “laws,” but words. They set the boundaries of required and prohibited behaviors for the covenant people as a matter of fundamental principle. The inclusion of coveting shows that covenant loyalty in Isra’el went far deeper than external conformity to statutes (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently) and ordinances (Hebrew: hammishpatim, meaning a judgment of the court). The God who claimed the people’s love also claimed the rest of their affections and desires. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen (First John 4:20).²⁷⁸

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor (Exodus 20:17).

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:1-3).

In some respects, the tenth and last mitzvah is the greatest of the last seven that are more horizontal and describe our relationship with one another. This last mitzvah gives the internal aspect because it focuses on the desires of the heart. If we keep this mitzvah, all the other mitzvot are more easily kept. No system of law has ever had a statute that deals with intent because there is no human way to enforce it. It goes beyond regulating outward acts to requiring us to control our inner thoughts. The apostle Paul said it this way: We demolish arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah (Second Corinthians 10:5 CJB).

We need victory over our thought life more than anything else. Covetousness makes people greedy and causes them to steal. Covetousness drives people to sacrifice the lives of others, even to kill, for what they want. Covetousness gives rise to that uncontrolled lust that plunges people into adultery. Covetousness endangers mutual trust and causes people to lie about themselves and each other to gain money, power, prestige or praise. In short, this mitzvah covers a multitude of sins.

So what does it mean to covet? Does it mean to desire something? Absolutely not. Desires are a normal and healthy part of human life. Our desire for food makes us hungry. That’s how we maintain our health. Our desire for sex is a vital part of love and marriage. This leads to the creation of life. We desire approval and respect. That’s what makes us bathe ourselves and brush our teeth. Another legitimate desire is to get along with others for common goals within society. Basically, without desires we wouldn’t have life.

So does coveting mean desiring something that we don’t have? Not exactly. For example, many people attend college because they desire an education, something they don’t have. But this is not coveting. Almost everything we call progress, improvement or civilization has come from a desire for something we don’t have. Desire is even important in spiritual matters. The Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians 12:31, eagerly desire the greater gifts. Yeshua also said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. No, coveting is not merely a desire for something, even something we don’t have.

Covetousness is a desire that runs rampant over the rights of others and even over one’s own reason. It is an out of control desire that will injure or destroy to get what it wants. It’s not wrong for a man to want a house, wife or a car. But it’s wrong for him to want his neighbor’s house, wife and car. This kind of desire is different because a desire for someone else’s belongings plants the seeds of a willingness to lie, steal or kill in order to fulfill that desire. When we feel this type of desire we may even destroy or injure ourselves to get what we want. Covetousness is a normal desire gone terribly wrong. It says, “I want this and I will get it whatever it costs me, whatever the consequences.” A practical substitute for the word covet might be greed. It’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it.²⁷⁹

Nathan the prophet saw it in King David (Second Samuel 12:1-13). ADONAI sent Nathan to King David after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, his neighbor, and murdered Uriah, her husband. But instead of confronting him with the actual crimes he had committed, he told him a story. There was a rich man who had a large amount of land with lots of sheep and cattle. One day one of his very best friends came to visit him and he wanted to have a great feast. But he didn’t go out and find one of his own sheep to slaughter, he took his sheep from a poor man who had only one little ewe lamb, a family pet. The rich man could have chosen a sheep from his vast herd, but he took the only lamb the poor man owned. Nathan pointed out that David was the rich man, and covetousness was David’s sin.

When Yeshua came He taught that the cure for covetousness was to surrender to the Lordship of Messiah. He wanted change from the inside out. He said that wrong ideas and wrong desires lead to wrong actions. No matter how pious our outer life may be, if we yield inwardly to covetousness, we are guilty of breaking the mitzvah. Only when we first seek the Kingdom and His righteousness will everything else be given to us (Luke 12:31). To accomplish this change we need a new birth, a conversion, a change of outlook and a change of values. Since covetousness is a sin of the inner life, our supreme need is to be set right within our hearts.

Are you master or slave to your desires? Sin always costs you more than you wanted to pay, and takes you further than you wanted to go. The only way to change, to become master, is to surrender to Yeshua Messiah. We must find a new Master who brings us peace so that we can agree with the apostle Paul and say: For to me, life is in the Messiah, and death is gain (Philippians 1:21). The only answer to covetousness is to find our delight in ADONAI. So, the B’rit Chadashah teaches us not to covet by being content in Yeshua Messiah.²⁸⁰

Yeshua summarized the Ten Words by condensing them into two. He said that the first and greatest mitzvah was to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). Then He went on to say that the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; Matt 22:39). He concluded by boldly claiming that all the Torah and the Prophets hang on these two mitzvot (Matthew 22:40). Messiah was saying essentially that love for ADONAI (that is, obeying the first four of the Ten Words) and love for neighbor (that is, obeying the last six of the Ten Words) form the basic teaching of the TaNaKh.

Messiah understood love, the most positive force in the universe, as the total intent and thrust of the Ten Words. Psychiatrist Karl Menninger once said much the same thing in his definition of love as “the medicine for the sickness of the world.” The combination of ingredients in God’s prescription for human happiness known as the Ten Words is guaranteed, if taken, to keep us spiritually strong and healthy. To obey His covenant stipulations is to receive His bountiful blessings.²⁸¹

At this point Solomon seems to pause in his search for what is lasting in life, and we can seize our chance of looking back over the stretch of country we have covered with him up to now.²⁸²

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that as we focus on Your love, we are filled with a peace and a sense of gratitude and with the joy of pleasing you. We do live with an urgency, but not the rat race urgency. Your children live an urgency of sharing your greatness with the world for you will be returning soon. As we look around at all that is happening in the world and how evil is now acceptable, the stage is set for Your return. What a joy to share that there is a reason for life on this earth – to prepare us for life in heaven. It is so important to make the choice to love and follow You now.

Though we don’t know when You will return, we want to be ready.  For this we tell you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall in no way precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the blast of God’s shofar, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left behind, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air – and so we shall always be with the Lord (First Thessalonians 4:15-17 and First Corinthians 15:51-52).

Living with You forever in heaven is a wonderful thought to live for. “Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). How wonderful to live where there will never be crying, dying, mourning nor pain. We look forward to praising You throughout eternity! In the holy name of Your Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

Death and Injustice
Ecclesiastes 3:16 to 4:3

Death and injustice DIG: What does this passage teach concerning the destiny of humans? Animals? Who are the “oppressed” in 4:1? The “oppressors?” Why does the Teacher say that the dead are happier than the living? Why did Solomon fall back down into a deep depression?

REFLECT: Do you fear death? How do you respond to those who act as if there is no God or final judgment? How does the promise of eternal life in John 5:24 help you deal with injustice? Are you really sure that after you die you will go to heaven and live with God?

Rather than getting angry and sad about the oppression we see in the world,
we can trust God to make things right in the end.

In his book Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes, Philip Ryken writes that few contemporary writers are more highly regarded than Julian Barnes, the English essayist and novelist who wrote Flaubert’s Parrot, The Sense of an Ending, and other prize winning books. In 2013 Barnes published Levels of Life, a poignant memoir that the author wrote after the death of his beloved wife. This followed an earlier memoir, in which he admitted that he was afraid to die. This confession was something of an embarrassment because, as an agnostic, Barnes honestly didn’t think that death was anything to be afraid of. If there was no good reason to believe in God, he reasoned, and also no such thing as life after death, then there is (to use the title of his memoir) Nothing to be Frightened Of.

Yet, in the memoir, Barnes frankly admitted that he was afraid to die – desperately afraid. The New York Times Book Review correctly diagnosed the author’s condition as thanatophobia, or the fear of death. Barnes admitted that he thinks about death every day and that sometimes in the night he is “roared awake” and “pitched from sleep into darkness, panic and a vicious awareness that this is a rented world.” Awake and utterly alone, he finds himself pounding his pillow with a fist and wailing, “Oh no, Oh No, OH NO!”

Julian’s dreams are even darker. Sometimes he is buried alive. Other times he is “chased, surrounded, and outnumbered.” He finds himself “held hostage, wrongly condemned to the firing squad, and informed that there is even less time than he thought he had. The usual stuff,” he calls it. And perhaps this is the usual stuff, because death is the sum of all our fears: of being alone, abandoned or condemned.²⁷¹

When you wake up in the middle of the night, what are you afraid of?

Man’s inhumanity to man: Ecclesiastes faces up to all our fears by asking the most difficult questions that anyone could ask about the meaning of the universe, the existence of God and the life to come. So far the Solomon of Ecclesiastes has tested the limits of human knowledge, attempted to do his moral duty, indulged in many pleasures and immersed himself in his work . . . trying anything and everything to make sense of his world. Now, at the end of Chapter 3, the Teacher deals with the most difficult question of death. He had been thinking of all the injustice in the world and about his longing for ADONAI to make things right. But dwelling on the Judgment Day naturally caused him to wonder what will happen when we die.

Try to follow Solomon’s reasoning: Another thing I observed under the sun, cutting God out of the picture. There, in the same place as justice, was wickedness; there, in the same place as righteousness, was wickedness (3:16). As we have seen before, the phrase under the sun may be taken to describe the futility and pointlessness of life lived only for self and the moment, without gratitude to or regard for God and His ways. What we see under the sun in this instance is rampant injustice – what the Scottish poet Robert Burns famously called, “man’s inhumanity to man.”

Here, Solomon sounds like one of the biblical prophets, crying out for justice. This is one of the deepest longings of the human heart – an end to all the unfairness. The specific problem in this case is that even the courts were unjust. The very place where people most need to receive justice turned out to be the site of unfairness. Innocent people were being convicted for crimes they never committed. People were lying, cheating and stealing; sometimes even getting away with murder. It was all so unfair. When the Teacher saw what was happening he longed for someone to comfort the oppressed and dry their tears. Even worse, there was nothing, he reasoned, that could be done about it. His frustration was that injustice was going unpunished. When the halls of justice become corridors of corruption, where can righteousness be found? Since God is good, why do so many bad things happen?

A time for justice: Solomon had a good answer to the problem of injustice. He affirmed that God would judge both the righteous and the wicked, but that this judgment would come only in His time, because there is a right time for every intention and for every action (3:17). But that judgment will come only in His time. The time of this judgment is ambiguous; it’s in the future and in God’s time, but the verse neither states nor implies that it will be in the afterlife. Solomon undoubtedly believed, along with the wisdom writers of his day, that the judgment would take place on the earth (Job 27:13-23, Psalms 37:2, 6, 11, 13, 15, 17-40, 73:18-20, and Proverbs 22:22-23).²⁷²

Here we see the Teacher applying one of his own sermons to his own heart. He takes a spiritual principle that he taught earlier and applied it to the issue of injustice. Since there is a right time for every intention under heaven (3:1), then there must be a time for justice. Consequently, rather than merely getting angry and sad about the oppression we see in the world, we can trust God to make things right in the end.

This doesn’t mean that there is never a time for us to pursue justice. Depending on our place in society – our position of privilege, our place of influence, and our God-given authority – it is our duty to fight against oppression in the Church and around the world. Yet, even our best interests will not bring an end to oppression. There will still be violence against women and children, structures of corruption in business, government, and even law enforcement. But in all the situations that we do not have the power, the authority or the wisdom to resolve, Ha’Shem will see to it that justice is done. Nobody is getting away with anything.

Dust to dust: Even if we believe that justice is coming, we may still wonder why it is delayed. To be sure, God will make everything right in the end, but why doesn’t He judge people right now? Why does He wait until the Day of Judgment? Solomon had a reasonable answer to this question as well: Concerning people, I said to myself, “God is testing them, so that they will see that by themselves they are, in one sense, just like animals (3:18). Our present existence is a proving ground. It is a test, not simply in the sense of something we pass or fail, but also in the sense of something that reveals our true character, our true relationship with ADONAI. This test is not for His benefit, as if there was anything about us that He doesn’t already know, but for our benefit, so that we recognize our own mortality. Will we learn to see ourselves for who we really are? This is the searching question that waiting for justice poses for every one of us.

Ecclesiastes helps us to clarify our identity by telling us that we are, in one sense, just like animals. This is not a comment on our biology, but on our destiny. Here is how the Teacher explains it: After all, the same things that happen to people happen to animals, the very same thing – just as the one dies, so does the other. Yes, their breath is the same; so that humans are no better than animals; since nothing matters, anyway. They all go to the same place; they all come from dust, and they all return to dust (3:19-20). This is one of the Bible’s strongest statements of the inevitability of death, which is the greatest equalizer of all. Animals are living creatures. Like us, they have been given life and breath by their Creator. But this life will not last forever. The day will come when we breathe our last. With our parting breath, each of us will go to the same place, returning to dust. By using this language the Teacher is reminding us of God’s curse against Adam’s sin: dust we are, and to dust we shall return (Genesis 3:19).

Not everyone responds to death in the same way. Some people laugh it off, like the American comedian Woody Allen, who famously said, “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens!” But many people are afraid, like Julian Barnes. They have terrors in the night and despair of ever finding any lasting hope or true meaning in life. Solomon was at that desperate point here, saying: everything is pointless.

Life after death: For a moment it seemed as if the Final Judgment would solve the problem of injustice. But as it turns out, the solution was only temporary at best. As the Teacher reflected further on the delay of divine justice and started thinking about the implications of his mortality, he ended up right back where he started. Here we go again: Pointless! – says the Teacher – everything is pointless (1:1-2)! Still, Solomon knew of one thing that could make a difference in the face of death. Even if our bodies return to the dust, maybe our souls will live forever. This would give us some reassurance that the wicked will come to justice.

The trouble was that he wasn’t quite sure if he believed in life after death. Who knows if the spirit of a human being goes upward and the spirit of an animal goes downward into the earth (3:21)? The Teacher had heard the conventional wisdom that when animals die, they just die, but when people die their spirits go to either Paradise (heaven) or sh’ol (hell). But, he was starting to have his doubts. So, he asked the agnostic question: Who knows? Can we really be sure that after we die we will go to heaven and live with God? This is the most basic question that we can ask about our destiny. We know that one day the time will come for us to die. The question is: Will we live again? Solomon was struggling to know for sure. Who knows? he said. As he wrestled with this doubt the Teachers first impulse was to throw himself back into his work: So, I concluded that there is nothing better for a person to do than to enjoy life, that that is his allotted portion; for who can enable him to see what will happen after him (3:22)? He just wanted to stay productive.

But unless we have the assurance of eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see the link click Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer), finding joy in our everyday work will never give us lasting satisfaction. And sure enough, Solomon spiraled back down into a black hole despair. I turned away and thought about all the acts of injustice being done under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed who cried out for help but they had no one to comfort them because of the irresistible power of their oppressors. They had no one to comfort them. Solomon considered the dead happier (because they were already dead) than the living, who must still live their lives; but happier than either of them, he thought, was the one who has not yet been born because he has not yet seen the evil things that are done under the sun because of injustice (4:1-3).

From dust to glory: By this point, it is clear that Ecclesiastes doesn’t have all the answers. This frustrates those who want a progression of thought from one section to another, and who claim that Solomon offers no satisfactory answers to any of the problems he poses. But at least the book asks the right questions. As well as anyone in history, the Teacher accurately identified the problems of human existence. One way to find the answer to life’s most difficult questions is by searching the Scriptures. In the final chapter of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher-king affirms that the dust returns to earth, as it was, and the spirit returns to God, who gave it (12:7)! Clearly, Solomon came to believe in life after death.

But the best answer of all is the one that ADONAI has given in Messiah. Anyone who wants to know what will happen after death should ask Yeshua, because He has been to the other side. When our Savior was brought to the place of justice, there was no justice for Him at all. There was no one to speak in His defense, no one to rescue Him from the deadly cross and no one to comfort Him as He was laid in the dust of death. But Yeshua did not stay dead. On the third day, He rose; His body and His spirit ascended from dust to glory. Now everyone who believes in Him can obtain a better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35). This is why we can be absolutely certain of eternal life. It is because Messiah brought eternal life out of a deadly grave. As the Bible says: He abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel (2 Timothy 2:10).

Have you claimed this promise by the death and resurrection of Yeshua Messiah, that when you go down to the dust of death, you will rise again to glory? If so, then you have resurrection comfort in all your sorrows. You can rejoice in whatever good work Messiah gives you to do as you wait for the Day of Judgment. You have faith and hope to persevere in the face of injustice and oppression. Yes, He is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13) after all our troubles and sorrows, He will raise us up to glory.²⁷³

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are Almighty – Sovereign over the world and Sovereign over death. Yeshua was victorious over death when he rose from the grave, defeating death and its hold on sinners. As the sacrificial Lamb of God He paid the penalty for our sins so we could have His righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21) and enter heaven. Praise You, God, for Your love for mankind to send Your one-and-only Son to die. Praise You for Your power to be victorious over death! That same power that You used to raise Yeshua Messiah from the dead, You will use to raise Your children. Therefore we were buried together with Him through immersion into death – in order that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become joined together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also will be joined together in His resurrection (Romans 6:4-5).

Praise You that those who love You can look forward to that moment when we are changed into incorruptible bodies. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last shofar. For the shofar will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed (First Corinthians 15:51c-52). Your children have no reason to fear death for death is swallowed up in victory. Because of Yeshua’s great sacrifice, we can ask: Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting (First Corinthians 15:54c-55)? We cannot thank You enough for Your painful conquering of death. We want to show our thanks and our love by following You in all we say and do and think! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

All in Good Time
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15

All in good time DIG: In the list of opposites (verses 1-8), is the Teacher describing what is, or suggesting what one should do? Why do you think so? What is “the task God has given humanity to keep us occupied” (verse 10)? How does God give us an awareness of eternity (verse 11)? What is meant by “God seeks out what people chase after” (verse 15)?

REFLECT: What “time” is it for you? At what “times” in verses 1-8 do you doubt that God is in control? Would you rather spend your time comprehending God’s work (verse 11), doing good (verse 12), or eating and drinking (verse 13)? Why? How do you differentiate enjoying yourself and going too far? Does belief in God’s sovereignty free you to enjoy life? How so?

Yeshua Messiah is the Lord of time; we must learn to ask Him what time it is.

After everything else he has said about the pointlessness of our existence, we probably expect the Solomon of Ecclesiastes to say something discouraging about time also. He might say that the time is short, for example, and thus we never have enough time to do all the things we want to do. Or he might talk about the tyranny of time – the way it controls our lives down to the last millisecond. Or he might say that time is fleeting and we are running out of time. Or he might say that lost time can never be recovered.

A time for this, a time for that: These are all things that the Teacher might have said, but he decided not to. Instead, under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, he celebrated the orderliness of ADONAI by writing the world’s most famous words about the subject of time. And long before 1965 when the Byrds, sang their hit single “Turn, Turn, Turn,” (to hear that song click here), Solomon’s lyrics had struck a responsive chord in the human heart:

For everything there is a season, a right time for every intention under heaven. To explain this, Solomon uses a merism, a figure of speech in which polar opposites are chosen to indicate a totality: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to discard, a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (3:1-8). Remember that Chapter 2 ended with a declaration of the enjoyment we find where God is present and we receive life’s blessings as a gift from Him. Notice as well the strong statement in verse 11: He has made everything appropriate in its time. Far from being a fatalist, the Teacher has come to praise God’s sovereignty over time and eternity as a thing of beauty.

Father time: Notice that the Teacher locates all the times of life under heaven, which is more positive than his usual phrase, under the sun, cutting God out of the picture. Everything in this time-bound universe is under the authority of God in heaven. The sovereign God rules over time and over what happens for every intention under heaven. Nothing happens outside the will of ADONAI.

Solomon’s words emphasize the scope of the LORD’s sovereignty with pairs of related opposites. Each pair forms a merism – a figure of speech in which two polar opposites make up a whole. Taken together, birth and death comprise the whole of human existence; weeping and laughing cover the full range of human emotion, and so on.

There is also something comprehensive about the entire list. There are fourteen pairs, which is twice the biblical number of perfection and completion (see the commentary on Genesis, to see the link click Ae – The Number Seven). Furthermore, the pairs themselves take in the whole sweep of human experience, from birth to death, from war to peace, and everything in between.

ADONAI rules all our moments and all our days, and there is a definite orderliness to what He does. His sovereignty has a chronology. In the divine economy there is a right time for every intention under heaven . . . a suitable occasion or an appropriate opportunity for everything that happens. There is a time to enroll and a time to graduate; a time to start a job and a time to retire; a time to stay and a time to go home. Such a perspective is far from fatalistic. The Teacher is not saying that there is nothing we can do about what happens. We still have choices, God has not taken away our free will. But Solomon’s point is that the Sovereign LORD does everything at just the right time.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the gift of time! You are so loving! You delight in giving great gifts to Your children. You gave a huge gift of rescuing sinners from sin’s shame and punishment (Romans 10:9-10), another gift of living within those who love and fear You (John 14:23). You have graciously given so many wonderful gifts! One gift is the gift of time that can be given back to You when we use our time wisely for You. It is a gift that can bring a reward. You will give for all eternity, a reward for a godly attitude when we use our gift of time to serve You. For no one can lay any other foundation than what is already laid – which is Yeshua the Messiah.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,  each one’s work will become clear. For the Day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work -what sort it is.  If anyone’s work built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward (First Corinthians 3:11-14). Thank You for giving the gift of time that we may give our time back to You from a loving heart! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

People usually think of the actions in Ecclesiastes 3 as things that people do, which, of course, they are. We could demonstrate this from the life of Solomon, who built great buildings, planted magnificent gardens and gathered many proverbs. But the activities listed in his words here are also things that God does. They are divine actions before they become human activities. Consider birth and death – to appointments that every person must keep. Both the cradle and the grave follow Ha’Shem’s timetable. A person’s days are fixed in advance, said Job, the number of his months is known to You, and You have fixed the limits of which he cannot pass (Job 14:5). The LORD of life has sovereign power over death. The whole of our earthly existence is under His divine authority.

Ecclesiastes 3 gives us the complete picture: to know God and to understand our place in His world we need to accept that both halves of each pair tell us the truth about His character. ADONAI makes a time for every intention under heaven because at the right time everything in his words are fully in keeping with who He is: birth and death, weeping and laughing; love and hate; a time to embrace and a time to refrain; war and peace.²⁶⁷

The Teacher continues to draw out the implications of what he has just said. The main point up to now has been that God has established periods, moments or times for a wide diversity of emotions and activities. Is the world a wonderfully ordered and varied place for us to enjoy? His initial reaction reveals that he would answer that question negatively. No. What does the worker gain from his efforts? But as we read on, we discover why. I have seen the task God has given humanity to keep us occupied. He has made everything appropriate in its time; also, he has given human beings an awareness of eternity. There may indeed be appropriate times for everything, and ADONAI knows these times, but in speaking in human terms, we can’t fully comprehend, from beginning to end, the things God does (3:9-11).²⁶⁸

Solomon reaches another conclusion based on his observation in verses 1-8, and he begins it again with the familiar I know. In essence the Teacher-king comments that whatever YHVH does, no one can change His mind. I know that whatever God does will last forever; there is nothing to add or subtract from it; and God has done it so that people will fear him. That which was here already; and that which will be has already been. The clamor of human activity is guaranteed and secure because ADONAI watches over it all each and every moment with divine concern (3:14-15).²⁶⁹

Perfect timing: The place where we see God’s timeliness most clearly is in the person and work of Yeshua Messiah, who is the Lord of time. And as we witness His life in the Gospels we see a Savior who always knew what time it was. There was a time for Him to be born – just at the right time, in fact. The Bible says that when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth His Son, born from a woman (Galatians 4:4). At just the right time – when the Gentiles were tired of serving the old pagan gods, when the Jews had corrupted the Torah into works righteousness, when the Greeks had given the world a common language, and when the Romans had established relatively safe travel across the Mediterranean Sea – Yeshua came with a message of salvation for the whole world.

There was also a day appointed for Yeshua to die. He died on Pesach, not the day before, or the day after. For years Pharisaic Judaism had plotted against Him, trying to kill Him as soon as they could; however, His hour had not yet come (John 7:30). When the hour did come, Messiah was crucified and suffered for the pointlessness of all our sin. The Scripture says: At the right time, Messiah died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6). He rose at the right time also; on the festival of First Fruits, on the third day, as the Scriptures had promised (Hosea 6:2; Luke 24:45-46; First Corinthians 15:4). From His birth to His death and then on to His resurrection, Yeshua did everything timely in His saving work. He was never late and never early, but always right on time.

Our times, God’s hands: Yeshua still knows what time it is. Do you believe that? He knows the time to love, showing mercy to needy sinners who ask Him to be their Savior. He knows the time to hate, standing against evil and injustice. He knows the time for war, as His Church does battle against Satan and the enemies of God. Soon it will be time for peace, when He will make wars cease to the end of the earth (Psalm 46:9), when He will set creation free from its bondage to the pointlessness of our sin (Romans 8:20-21) and we will never suffer again from the futility of life under the sun.

In the meantime, the Lord calls us to make the best use of every moment. His lordship over time is not just for the big events of world history, but also for our own everyday experiences. One of the best ways to avoid life’s frustration is by knowing what to do with our time. The way we spend our time is the way we spend our lives. Since we follow Yeshua Messiah, then we need to know what time it is, not measuring time merely in terms of hours and days but viewing it as an opportunity for the service of God and the use of our spiritual gifts. There are at least three practical ways to apply these verses to our lives.

First, wait for God’s time. Since it is true that our Savior has perfect timing, then we should trust Him to know the right time for everything. King David was able to bless ADONAI at all times (Psalm 34:1) because he knew that whatever time it was, God was still in control. Most of us would prefer to manage our own agenda, which makes us quick to criticize God’s timing. Instead of insisting on keeping our own timetable, we ought to hurry up and wait for God, as David did when he said: I trust in You, ADONAI; You are my God. My times are in Your hand (Psalm 31:14-15a).

Are you willing to put your time into God’s hand? Writing sometime in the fourth century after Messiah, Didymus the Blind used a vivid example why we should believe that God is in control. Didymus compared us to passengers on a large sailing vessel who have never met the captain, yet still believe that he is steering the ship. He wrote, “God Himself manages the cosmos and looks after it . . . when you see a ship that is piloted and holds its course, you perceive the idea of a helmsman even if he is not visible. Likewise, the Creator is known by His works and the order of His creation.”

Second, live your whole life knowing that there is a time for you to die. The Bible says: It’s appointed for people to die just once, and after that to face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27 CJB), which is also appointed by God. But believers never face judgment because Yeshua has paid for our sins on the cross (see the commentary on Revelation Cc – We Must All Appear Before the Bema Seat of Christ). Are you ready for eternity (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer)? When it comes to receiving the free gift of eternal life in Yeshua Messiah, there is no time like the present.

The Bible says that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (First Corinthians 15:3b-4). If you believe this? Nothing else matters.

Salvation = faith + nothing (not baptism, not good works, nothing means nothing). Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Now is the day of salvation (Heb 11:6 and Second Cor 6:2c).

Would you like to be saved right now?

Pray this simple prayer in faith. But before you do, I want you to remember that saying a prayer does not save you, trusting in Yeshua Messiah does. God, I admit that I have sinned. I believe Yeshua Messiah died for my sins and I want to trust Him to save me right now. Lord, please come into my heart and make me a new person. I accept your gift of salvation.

If you were to die right now, where would you go?

Why should God let you into His heaven?

That’s right, because Yeshua died to pay for your sins.

If you prayed that prayer in faith see my commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith.

Finally, make good use of whatever time you have. To use a memorable phrase from Paul, we should always be redeeming the time (Ephesians 5:16). As far as the Teacher was concerned, the best way to use time in that way was to get busy in God-honoring ways. So, in conclusion, he said: I know that there is nothing better for them to do than to be happy and to do good as long as they live. Still, the fact that everyone can eat and drink and enjoy the good that results from all his work, is a gift of God (3:12-13).

It’s not easy for us to use our time wisely. In this time-bound universe, where we are caught between time and eternity, the moments of our days are our most precious commodity. Time is the priceless currency that ADONAI has given for doing the work of His Kingdom. Time also happens to be one of the most difficult things for us to manage. We all have the same amount of time on a daily basis; the question is how we spend it . . . or waste it.

The best way to use our time is for the glory of God and the Kingdom of Yeshua Messiah. This always requires deep spiritual wisdom. Even though we cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end (3:11), we still have decisions to make every day. Later, the Teacher will say that the wise person is the one who knows the right time (8:5). There are different times to start something. But there are also times when something is supposed to come to an end – a project, a relationship, a ministry. Knowing the difference takes wisdom, because they are some of the hardest decisions in life.

If we want to have a heart of Yeshua we need to know when it is time to weep with those who weep or else rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15; John 16:20). We need wisdom for the timing of our relationships, knowing when it’s time to embrace someone and when it’s time to exclude them from our plans and our priorities. There are times when it’s important to speak up, saying a word in season (Proverbs 15:23; 25:11) or giving a reason for the hope that is in us (First Peter 3:15). But there are also times to shut up – times when silence is golden and it’s better to hold our tongues (Psalm 141:3; Proverbs 27:14; James 1:26).

Who is sufficient in all these things? If there’s a right time for every intention under heaven (3:1), then redeeming the time will require wise decision-making. We must learn to ask God what time it is. Lord, is this a time to break down or build up? Is this something You want me to love or to hate? Am I speaking because I want to say something, or because I really have something to say? Ask God for help, and He will give you the wisdom to know what time it is (James 1:5).

The Bible says that one day soon, Yeshua will come again – a second time (Hebrews 9:28). Indeed, Messiah will come at the right time, at the exact day and hour His Father has appointed (Matthew 24:36). Then, after the thousand year Messianic Kingdom is over (see the commentary on Revelation Fh – The Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom), time will be no more, and our deep longing for eternity will be satisfied. We will live with God forever and forever. But in the meantime, we are wise to pray the way Moshe prayed: Teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise (Psalm 90:12).²⁷⁰

The Life of Faith
Ecclesiastes 2: 24-26

The life of faith DIG: Who are you working for and why? Is our labor cursed because of Adam or Eve? Why? What does God have to do with the good results from your work? Who is the sinner? Why does God favor one over the other? Why is this portion of Ecclesiastes vital?

REFLECT: Do you see your work as drudgery, as a gift from God, or both? Does that make you grateful, even for the drudgery, or hateful? Why? Has ADONAI been part of the solution or part of the problem in your life up to now? Does that need to change? How so?

We were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Nothing prepares us for what comes next, because suddenly Ecclesiastes takes a surprising turn. Without any warning Solomon says the first truly positive thing in the entire book. Up to this point he has sounded like a workaholic who hates his work and has nothing to show for it. We might even be tempted to think that he was a bitter skeptic, suspended over the abyss of despair. But suddenly the Teacher says: There is nothing better for a man to do than eat, drink and let himself enjoy the good that results from his work. I also realized that this is from God’s hand. For who will eat and who will enjoy except me (Ecc 2:24-25)? These verses are an oasis of optimism in a wilderness of despair. Thus, they mark a turning point in Ecclesiastes – not just on the subject of work, but for the entire argument of the book. Martin Luther called the end of Ecclesiastes 2 “a remarkable passage, one that explains everything preceding and following it.” It is “the principle conclusion,” Luther said, “ in fact the point of the whole book.”

Here, Solomon is not giving in to despair, but beginning to see the difference it makes to live with ADONAI at the center of life, above the sun. He is not seizing something for himself, but receiving it from God. As a result, his message is not simply pointlessness under the sun, cutting God out of the picture, but also, joy from the hand of YHVH. It is important not to make one of these claims the only message of the book and dismiss the other. The teacher insists on both, and often in the same passage. There is a bittersweet balance between the two. We live in a world that is cursed by sin, but it is also a world that God created good, that He has visited in the flesh and that He is working to redeem through a cross-bearing crucifixion and a life-giving resurrection. Thus, we experience both the agony and the ecstasy.

Notice carefully what brings joy. In verse 24, the Teacher embraces some of the very activities that he has already rejected for their failure to bring meaning to life. Earlier he concluded that work was a total drag. Not even the pleasures of food and drink could satisfy his soul. But now he eats and drinks and finds enjoyment in his toil.

What makes the difference? God makes the difference! Up to this point in Ecclesiastes, ADONAI has hardly been mentioned, and when He was, He has seemed to be part of the problem. Indeed, this was one of the Teacher’s greatest struggles. Inevitably Ha’Shem seemed to be responsible for his troubles. Solomon never gave up his faith in the power and sovereignty of God, but rather than making him feel better about things, the truth of the LORD’s existence sometimes made him feel worse. If our frustrations with life are also frustrations with the God who gave it to us in the first place, then what hope do we have that life will ever make sense? But here the presence of ADONAI makes all the difference! No one can ever find any true joy in anything apart from Him. So, if we are having trouble finding enjoyment in life, God must not be at the center of things for us. If we are deeply dissatisfied, this could be the reason: we have been taking good things and making them the ultimate things, when in fact they are God-given things.

By contrast, the eating and drinking that the Teacher enjoys in verse 24 come directly from the hand of God. Solomon had stopped trying to seize pleasure for himself and had started to savor it as a gracious gift. Here is a basic biblical principle that we can apply to many situations in life: For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because the Word of God and prayer make it holy (First Timothy 4:4-5).

Earthly pleasures are a gift from God. They have their limits, of course, so they will never give us eternal satisfaction. But the joy they bring encourages us in the worship of God. It is strange, but when we receive the good things in life as a gift rather than taking them as an entitlement, we experience genuine joy and true thanksgiving. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (First Cor 10:31).

Dear Heavenly Father, You are a joy to have as a wonderful, loving father! Even when things are going good, life sometimes does not measure up to what we had hoped or expected. Your love, wisdom and tender care are always more than we can comprehend! Trials will soon be over but Your love is now and lasts eternally! But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

We can have joy as we think of the future for we know for sure that those who love You (Romans 10:9-10) will go to heaven to live with You forever. But if Messiah is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.  And if the Ruach of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you (Romans 8:10-11). Loving You brings joy, peace and meaning to life! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Even work is a gift from YHVH when we receive it from His hand. This has been true since the very beginning. Sometimes we imagine that Adam and Eve had nothing to do in the Garden of Eden, when in fact Ha’Shem gave them good hard work to do (Genesis 1:28 and 2:15). Unfortunately, because of Adam’s sin our work is cursed (see the commentary on Romans, to see link click Bm – The Consequences of Adam), which turns our labor into toil and trouble. But there is still a basic goodness about work that comes from our Creator. We were made in the image of a working God, and when we work for Him, we feel His pleasure.

For the believer in Yeshua, our true Boss and ultimate Master is the Savior who gave His life for our sins. Whatever our job happens to be – whether we work as a teacher or a student, an office worker or a construction worker, in food services or financial services, we are working for Messiah and His Kingdom. To say it another way, we are working under the Son, not simply working under the sun. For we should work willingly at whatever we do, as though we were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give us an inheritance as our reward, and that the Master we are serving is Messiah (Colossians 3:23-24).²⁶⁴

The inheritance of a reward takes us back to an issue we considered previously: What does the worker gain from all his toil? The Teacher has started to wonder whether he would ever get anything at all under the sun. But when he brought God back into the picture, he found his reward: For to the man who is good from God’s viewpoint he gives wisdom, knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of collecting and accumulating things to leave to him who is good from God’s viewpoint. This too is pointless, like chasing the wind (2:26).

It is the sinner, especially, who finds work to be a total frustration. He refuses to receive the blessings of life as gifts from God. His only business is gathering and collecting. His motto of life is “whoever has the most toys wins.” In other words, his life is dominated by the acquisition and accumulation of consumer goods. But eventually, he will have to leave it all behind and this is pointless indeed. So, whatever you are involved in right now, and whatever you are planning to do with the rest of your life . . . are you busy with the great work of Yeshua Messiah? Each of us works in a different way, but it is all part of the same work, to the glory of God. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (First Cor 15:58).²⁶⁵

Two points need to be noted. First, Solomon stated that God’s disposition of wealth and the enjoyment of one’s labors and its fruits are based on whether a person is pleasing to God or is a sinner. As is clear from the words the man who is good from God’s viewpoint and the sinner elsewhere in Ecclesiastes 7:26 and 8:12, this implies that a person will be judged on the basis of their ethical behavior and faith in ADONAI or lack of it. Second, Solomon wrote that this judgment would take place in this life (not in a life after death) and would involve temporal, not eternal, rewards. These two points (enjoyment of life and judgment), which are brought together only here, are crucial in the development of the book. The enjoyment theme, mentioned at crucial times (3:12-13 and 22, 5:18-20, 8:15 and 9:7-10), is here specifically related to the theme of judgment (11:9 and 12:14), and to the advice of God to keep His commandments (12:13).²⁶⁶

Work is Pointless
Ecclesiastes 2: 18-23

Work is pointless DIG: Why do you work? When do you feel like not working? What is meaningful work for you? Are you working under the sun or above the sun?

REFLECT: What is the solution for not wasting your work under the sun? What kind of difference will I make with my life? Will I have anything to show for my hard work?

If you make work your life, it will leave you empty.

Remember Solomon’s quest. In headlong pursuit of the meaning of life, the Teacher indulged in all the pleasures of the flesh. Afterwards he reconsidered the advantages of wisdom as compared to folly. But no matter how hard he tried, his quest failed. Eventually, he ended up hating everything under the sun, cutting God out of the picture, and one of those things that he hated most of all was work. I hated all the things for which I had worked under the sun, because I saw that I would have to leave them to the man who will come after me (2:18). He works hard, then he dies. What happens to his wealth after his death? He couldn’t take it with him!²⁶⁰ On his own principles, the man who worked under the sun should hardly object to this, provided his money lasted his lifetime; yet he does mind, for he shares our inbuilt longing for what is permanent. The more he has toiled at his life’s work, the more galling will be the thought of its fruits falling into the hands of others – and as likely as not, into the wrong hands. This is another blow to the hope of finding fulfillment in hard work. His very success will accentuate the pointlessness of it all.²⁶¹

This verse continues and completes the thought of the previous verse. Expressing utter skepticism, the Teacher exclaimed: Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? I may work diligently and wisely through my whole life, but, when I die, a fool may take over the benefit of my labor. Yet this fool will have control over all the things I worked for and which demonstrated how wise I am under the sun. Solomon felt this loss deeply. The king used this rhetorical device to reveal that no one, especially himself, knows the answer to the question, and that frustrated him greatly. Contemplating that possibility led Solomon to once again conclude that life is pointless (2:19).²⁶²

Solomon was the world’s most successful businessman. But when the king died, he left all of his earnings to his oldest son, Rehoboam. The Teacher may not have known whether his successor would be wise, but we certainly do. Rehoboam was such a fool that he lost more than eighty percent of his father’s kingdom and divided the monarchy (to see the link click Dc – A House Divided). Thus, I came to despair over all the things I had worked for under the sun. Here is a man whose work is done with wisdom, knowledge and skill; yet he has to leave it to someone who has put no work into it. Solomon concludes with a punch by calling the situation described here as being evil. Showing his moral outrage over the unfairness of life, the king said: This is not only pointless, but a great evil (2:20-21). An abyss of despair results.

Leaving it all behind is bad enough, but there is another serious problem with work, and that is the work itself! The first problem is that our work will be someone else’s reward. The second problem is that our work itself is toil and trouble. For what does a person get in this life from all the work he does under the sun? When the Teacher talks about toiling under the sun, we imagine someone working long, hot hours out in the fields, sweating under the high humidity and burning heat. But no matter what kind of work we do it always takes its toll on us. His whole life is one of pain, and his work is full of stress; even at night his mind gets no rest. This too is pointless (2:22-23). The compulsive worker, overloading his days with toil and his nights with worry, has missed the simple joys that ADONAI is holding out to him. The real issue for him was not between work and rest, but, had he only known, between pointless work and meaningful work.²⁶³

For believers, meaningful work is work above the sun, looking to Messiah the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2a). For, whatever we do, we should do it from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others (Colossians 3:23 NAB). Joseph is a good example of this. He probably had more hardships than most of us. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, wrongfully put in prison and had to stay there much longer than he should have. But because he was faithful to work above the sun, he was able to save his family from starvation, save all of Egypt and most of the world also. Our successes may not be as dramatic, but they will be just as pleasing to ADONAI when we keep our eyes on Him.

Death Renders Wisdom and Folly Pointless
Ecclesiastes 2: 11-17

Death renders wisdom pointless DIG: Does either wisdom or foolishness have an answer to the search for something final? What paradox does the Teacher find in pleasure? What great projects does he undertake? What desires were they mean to satisfy? During these projects, what was the Teacher’s relation to wisdom? Was it under the sun or over the sun?

REFLECT: What is the most important project you have undertaken in the last year? How do you measure your success in that? Do you regard death as the final tragedy or the final triumph? Is the death of the fool different than the wise? How can you prepare yourslef for your death? How does this passage help you to focus on the truly important things in life?

Solomon recognized, at long last, that the only life worth living is a life above the sun.

With the characteristic phrase: I decided to look more carefully, the Teacher changes the subject. He turns from the topic of pleasure to the topic of wisdom and foolishness once again (to see link click Ce – Wisdom is Pointless). He claims that if he, the king, could not find meaning or significance in life under the sun, then no one could. For what can the man who succeeds the king do, except what has already been done (2:11-12)?

Solomon’s initial impression is not surprising for a Hebrew wisdom teacher: I saw that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness. This seems obvious, but the Teacher is setting his reader up for a surprising reversal that takes place in the verses that follow. The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness (2:13-14a). Wise people walk around with a clear head in a supposedly well-lit room; but fools walk around as if blind. The analogy is to life. Wise people can function in the world, but the fool keeps stumbling over obstacles.

The second half of the verse introduces a surprising reversal. So far, the Teacher has said nothing startling, but now he introduces the idea of a common destiny: Yet the same fate awaits them all (2:14b). That fate is death, and it comes to the wise and the fool alike, thus rendering wisdom pointless in the long run.²⁵⁴

The inevitability of death makes the quest for wisdom seem pointless, for death is the great leveler. So I said to myself, “If the same thing happens to the fool as to me, then what did I gain by being wise?” and I thought to myself, “This too is pointless (2:15). It is important to understand that the Teacher realized this after his pursuit for wisdom, not before. The grass looks greener from the other side of the fence.²⁵⁵ Thus, the comparison of wisdom and foolishness is simple, but the final assessement is shattering.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your great love that not only paid our penalty for sin, but also rewards those who love You with eternal joy and peace! With an attitude to glorify God in our life, all of life’s problems and trials can be seen as helping us being conformed into Your likeness. The problems of earth will soon be over and if we live for You God, loving You and desiring to please You in all we do, then soon will come the joy of an eternal home in heaven with You. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, as we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal (Second Corinthians 4:16-18). It is a joy to lift our eyes to You and focus on how to please You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

For the first time in the book, but by no means the last, the fact of death brings Solomon’s quest to a screeching halt. For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered, inasmuch as in the times to come, everything will long ago have been forgotten. The wise man, no less than the fool, must die” (2:16). Everything in our being may tell us that wisdom is not equal with folly, nor goodness with evil; but no matter. If death is the end of the road, the contention that there is nothing to choose between them will get the last word. The choices that we positively know to be significant will be brushed aside as finally irrelevant.²⁵⁶

The Teacher drew a tragic conclusion from what he had seen. So I hated life, suggesting that everyone’s life is worth hating. Solomon wasn’t the first person to express such despair in the TaNaKh (see 2 Samuel 17:23, and Ahithophel’s suicide). It should be noted that this section simply says that life is better than death, no one is suggesting that the king goes so far as to advocate suicide. But as he looked back on his life, Solomon concluded that the work done under the sun caused me only sorrow, everything seems so pointless.²⁵⁷ If, he concluded, it doesn’t ultimately make any difference how one lives and if there is nothing ultimately worthwhile to do, then all of life and its accomplishments are pointless, like chasing the wind (2:17).

At the end of his life, King Solomon realized that living life under the sun, cutting God out of the picture, in his own wisdom and in his foolishness, was utterly pointless. In a sense, it wasn’t really a life worth living, a life squandered chasing after the wind; because he recognized, at long last, that the only life worth living is a life over the sun. A life dedicated to ADONAI. And if Paul was going to be a fool, it would be a fool for the LORD.

Many people boast in a worldly way, under the sun, the way of human achievement, the way of power and prestige, and even spiritual experiences, in terms which do not take into account what is pleasing to God. It was because Paul’s opponents in Corinth had boasted in a worldly way, and because his converts had been won over by such boasting, that Paul felt it necessary to indulge in it also for their sakes, saying: I too will boast this way (2 Cor 11:18), even though he was painfully aware that such boasting was pure folly.²⁵⁸

If the Corinthians would not put up with Paul when he was wise and spoke according to the Lord, then, Paul scoffed, perhaps they would listen to him when he acted the fool and boasted in the same manner as the false apostles they so admired. Ironically he appealed to their extraordinary tolerance, saying: For since you yourselves are so wise, you gladly put up with fools (2 Cor 11:19)! That statement is similar to First Corinthians 4:10a, where he said: We are weak in Messiah, but you are strong! Things haven’t changed much in Corinth since Paul wrote those words. But neither had God’s response to the wisdom of the world. He will destroy the wisdom of the wise and make the wisdom of the world look foolish. Here, Paul destroys the so-called wisdom of the wise by embracing it himself and in that process, showing it to be the folly of a fool. But even after Paul descended to the level of his rivals in boasting, he transcended them. He would boast about visible things. What was visible, however, pointed to his weaknesses – part of the problem as far as the Corinthians were concerned. But, boasting in his weakness allowed him to talk about God’s grace.²⁵⁹

Though the grace of ADONAI is evident throughout our whole lives as believers, it is especially so when we come to die. Faith has its great work to do last, to help believers finish well, to die to the Lord, so as to honor Him, by patience, hope and joy – so as to leave a witness of the truth of God’s Word and the excellency of His ways behind us. God is glorified when His people leave this world with their flag flying at full mast. If anyone should die triumphantly it should be the believer. When the Ruach triumphs over the flesh, when this world is consciously and gladly left behind for heaven, when there’s anticipation in the soul and the glory in the eyes as we enter into the presence of the Lord – then we’re dying as pleasing unto Him.

Pleasure is Pointless
Ecclesiastes 2: 1-11

Pleasure is pointless DIG: What key phrases tell you about the perspective of his passage. What great projects did Solomon undertake? What desires were such projects meant to satisfy? Why is the Teacher so unhappy with what so many would call success? What could be the reason Ecclesiastes is in the Bible? Why isn’t the world enough to satisfy your needs?

REFLECT: What is the most important project you have undertaken in the last year? How do you measure your success in that? What pleasures are you tempted to take for yourself instead of seeking the pleasure of God? Do you see yourself as more led by your heart, or by your head? In what areas do you find yourself controlled more by your desires or wisdom?

If we were able to find lasting satisfaction in earthly pleasure,
then we would never see our need for God.

There are those in the world today who experience more pleasure than most people in the history of the world. Yet in spite of their prosperity – or maybe because of it – they still suffer from poverty of the soul. The taste of pleasure has grown their appetite for this world beyond satisfaction. Meanwhile, they are still desperately searching for meaning in life.

The pleasure test: Solomon first tried to think his way to the answer, using his mind to figure out the point of existence. But his quest for knowledge through human intellect ended in frustration and sorrow (to see link click Ce – Wisdom is Pointless). So, the Teacher decided to take another approach. He started talking to himself again – not about life changing like the grace and beauty of God, but about getting more out of life. I said to myself, “Come now, I (he used the word I almost 40 times in these verses) will test myself with pleasure and enjoy good things” (2:1a). Clearly, he was self-indulgent in the pursuit of self-centered pleasure.

But almost immediately the Teacher tells us that this new quest failed as spectacularly as the first one did. Pleasure did not satisfy his soul any more than wisdom. But this too was pointless (2:1b). Although it seemed to hold out the promise of purpose, pleasure vanished like the wind, leaving the Teacher empty handed. The pursuit of pleasure turned out to be nothing more than pointless self-gratification.

Lest we think that Solomon failed to give self-gratification a fair chance, he lists all the pleasures he sought after. First, he experimented with comedy. Some people deal with their insecurities by joking about something. When they get down on themselves, they make fun of other people. When they are bored, they look for something to give them a giggle, such as a funny clip on YouTube – anything to get a laugh. The Teacher tried this sort of thing too, yet it failed to bring him lasting fulfillment. Of laughter I said, “This is stupid,” and of pleasure, “What’s the use of it” (2:1a-2)? Solomon discovered that when it comes to the meaning of our existence, laughter is a useless pleasure.

The next pleasure Solomon tried was alcohol, another popular way to seek enjoyment in life – or else to escape your troubles. Knowing this, the Teacher-King said: I searched my mind for how to gratify my body with wine and, with my mind still guiding me with wisdom, how to pursue foolishness; my object was to find out what was the best thing for people to do. But what do we make of his comment that his mind was still guiding him with wisdom while drinking? In one of his famous proverbs, the Teacher declared: Wine is a mocker, strong liquor a rowdy; anyone led astray by it is unwise (Proverbs 20:1). But maybe Solomon’s wine-tasting was a controlled experiment. Maybe he was drinking in moderation and then soberly assessing his experience. Maybe he was not an alcoholic after all, but merely a connoisseur. But either way – whether his wine drinking was marked by sophistication or inebriation – the man was looking for pleasure while he still had time. So, Solomon introduced a prominent theme that he would use in the rest of the book: namely the brevity of life, during the short time we have to live under heaven (2:3).

The Solomon of Ecclesiastes grabbed for all the gusto he could, but still came up empty. There were many other pleasures in his life and Solomon was rich enough to try almost all of them. The scope of his achievement is indicated by the fact that the Teacher mentions everything in the plural: I worked on a grand scale – I built myself palaces, planted myself vineyards, and made myself gardens and parks; in them I planted all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the trees springing up in the forest (2:4-6). The best of all, it was all for him. His palace was paradise regained, a man-made Garden of Eden.

Given the vast scope of his building projects and the huge size of his property, Solomon needed a massive workforce. To that end he bought male and female slaves, and had many home-born slaves as well. And to feed them all he also had many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep across his royal ranch. More than anyone before him in Jerusalem (2:7). We see all of this in the life of King Solomon, who had countless servants waiting on him hand and foot (First Kings 10:4-8), and so many animals that every day the chefs in his royal kitchen prepared ten fattened oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks and fattened poultry (First Kings 4:23).

Needless to say, the Teacher-King also had a lot of money – some from taxing his own people and some from foreign tribute: I amassed silver and gold, the wealth of kings and provinces. He used some of his money to make beautiful music, both literally and figuratively: I acquired male and female singers, things that provide sensual delight. Music was a rare pleasure in those days, but Solomon could afford to bring it into his own home. Sex was more common, but few people have ever experienced it on the scale of King Solomon who had a thousand 700 wives and 500 concubines in his royal harem (Ecclesiastes 2:8; First Kings 11:3).²⁵²

Personal reflection: This is how the Teacher summarized his experiment with pleasure. So, I grew great, surpassing all who preceded me in Jerusalem . . . I denied my eyes nothing they wanted. I withheld no pleasure from myself; for I took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward for all my work (2:9-10). Rather than waiting for God to make him great, as He had promised (1 Kgs 1:37), the Solomon of Ecclesiastes made himself great. Whenever he saw something he wanted, he took it. Whenever he was tempted to indulge in a fleshly pleasure, he gave in. He denied himself nothing. Not really what God had in mind.

Foolish pleasure: On “the morning after,” while still suffering the after-effects of his pleasure trip, Solomon said: Then I looked at all that my hands had accomplished and at the work I had toiled at; and I saw that it was all pointless, like chasing the wind, and that there was nothing to be gained under the sun (2:11). The king was facing up to reality, looking at life the way it really is under the sun, cutting God out of the picture, and he wants us to know it isn’t pretty. Squeeze all the pleasure out of life that you can, and still there is nothing to be gained. Pleasure, pursued for its own sake, cannot satisfy our souls. We can learn this lesson from Ecclesiastes, or we can learn it from our own melancholy experience.

Longing for God: When we finally discover that all the pleasures we pursue under the sun cannot satisfy our souls, then maybe we will look beyond this world. Our unsatisfied longings are a spiritual clue that we were made to enjoy the pleasures of ADONAI. If we were able to find lasting satisfaction in earthly pleasure then we would never see our need for God. Our dissatisfaction should point us back to YHVH, not away from Him. Maybe this is why Ecclesiastes is in the Bible. It is here to convince us that satisfaction only comes from God Himself. The world is not enough. We were made for another world (Philppians 3:20a). There is a God in heaven who sent His Son to save us and then to satisfy us. In order to accomplish this saving purpose, Ha’Shem’s unselfish Son could not live to please Himself, but He had to live for His Father’s pleasure. Think of it this way, everything that Solomon pursued, Yeshua was tempted by, yet resisted. This makes Him the Savior of every dissatisfied sinner.

Holy pleasure: When we turn to ADONAI, something surprising happens: the very pleasures that failed to satisfy us do not help us to find even greater joy in the goodness of God. This is not true of foolish pleasures, of course – what the Bible calls the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25). However, this is such a thing as holy pleasure . . . pleasure that comes when we are in the presence of Yeshua Messiah.

Late in the fantasy Prince Caspian, from the Narnia Chronicles, C. S. Lewis portrays the sisters Lucy and Susan having “a romp” with Aslan. The great lion-king has returned to the Land of Narnia and awakened the forest. There is raucous dancing, with laughter and shouting, and a feast of luscious grapes that taste like wine. A wild boy is dancing there, dressed only in a faun-skin, with vine-leaves wreathed in his curly hair. Lucy and Susan’s brother Edmund looked a the boy and remarked, “Now, there’s a chap who might do anything – absolutely anything.” Later, the children figure out that the wild youth was Bacchus, also known as Dionysius – the god of wine. This prompted Susan to make a wise observation, “I wouldn’t have felt very safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we’d met them without Aslan. “I should think not,” replied Lucy.

This principle applies well to the life of a believer: pleasure is only safe for us when the LORD is there. This never happens when we take pleasure for ourselves, or make it our main passion in life. It only happens when we receive pleasure as a gift from ADONAI, the way David did when he said: In Your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

We taste God’s pleasure when we receive laughter as a gift from Him – not mocking other people or joking in a vulgar way, but laughing at ourselves and our limitations, knowing that one day we will enter our Master’s joy (Matthew 25:21).

We taste true pleasure when we receive wine as a gift from God, drinking it with a happy heart (Ecclesiastes 9:7) – not abusing it by making a mockery of ourselves by getting drunk.

We taste God’s pleasure when we design good homes or other beautiful buildings, providing that we build them for the glory of God and not our own grandeur.

We taste God’s pleasure when we stroll through a beautiful garden, feast our eyes on the colors of creation and see the beauty of the LORD.

There is beauty in everything that Solomon mentions: in rewarding work that is done for the glory of God (Colossians 3:23), in feasting at a banquet table with thanksgiving (First Timothy 4:3-4), in silver and gold that is invested in the Kingdom of God, with the guarantee of an eternal return (Matthew 6:19-21). There is pleasure in music that delights the ear and moves our emotions to the worship of ADONAI.

There is pleasure in sexual relations when they are shared as the Desiger intended. When sexual intimacy is given to someone else rather than taken for ourselves, and when it is shared exclusively between one man and one woman who are bound by a love covenant for life, then intercourse finds its greatest pleasure.

God is not a killjoy. He is not trying to take any pleasure from us . . . but to give us more. Once we learn how to find our satisfaction in God Himself, then all His gifts become the best and truest pleasures. The divine gifts of creation are meant to be enjoyed as matters of stewardship rather than possession. Happily, we don’t have to be as rich as Solomon to experience meaningful pleasures. We simply need to receive what is in the world around us as a gift from a loving God, and then give thanks to Him in the name of Yeshua Messiah.²⁵³

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You that the future joy of life in heaven, will be far greater than any time of pleasure on earth. There You will live among Your children in your perfect home in heaven where there will be no pain, no shame, no crying no dying! “Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).

When we set off to find happiness or joy on earth, we seldom find it. Instead, when we offer to serve others and give ourselves wholeheartedly to You, dear Lord, and Your work, it is then that we find what we most need. O Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17), I ask today that You give me a chance to serve You and others in a way which brings glory to You and to Your Kingdom. My heart rejoices in blessing You, for You are so wonderful, awesome and loving! In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Wisdom is Pointless
Ecclesiastes 1: 12-18

Wisdom is pointless DIG: Where has the Teacher searched for wisdom? What is the “burden” in verse 13? Why is God blamed for it? Why does wisdom bring sorrow and knowledge bring grief? How is chasing after the wind, like failing to grasp the meaning of life under the sun?

REFLECT: Sooner of later, most people who wrestle with the big questions in life end up getting discouraged or depressed. Where “under heaven” have you searched for meaning? Where have you found it? In what instances has knowledge caused you sorrow?

All our learning is pointless without God.

After introducing the author and stating the theme, Ecclesiastes offers a series of examples taken from nature and human experience to prove that all our efforts on this earth are fleeting and pointless (to see link click Cc – The Failure of Earthly Things). These verses come from someone who refers to the Teacher in the third person – perhaps the book’s final editor. Then, starting in verse 12, the Teacher speaks for himself and invites us on a spiritual and intellectual quest: I, the Teacher, have been king over Isra’el in Jerusalem.

I wisely applied myself to seek out and investigate everything done under heaven. What a bothersome task God has given humanity to keep us occupied (1:12-13)! Solomon’s quest was sincere. He devoted his heart and soul to knowing the truth, leaving nothing out. He wanted to investigate every area of human endeavor, everything done under heaven, a synonym for under the sun, cutting God out of the picture.

Understand that the kind of wisdom the king was pursuing was not godly wisdom, but human wisdom – the best that human beings have said or thought without special revelation from ADONAI. This is a worthy pursuit, as far as it goes. All truth is God’s truth, wherever it may be found. Because YHVH created the world and everything in it, any truth that we discover is a divine gift: ADONAI gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6). The question, however, still needs to be asked: how far will human wisdom take us? Will information bring transformation? Can it lead us to eternal life?

One way to answer these questions is to see the result of Solomon’s quest. What did he discover? The reality is that he came up empty. Verses 13 to 15 summarize Solomon’s unhappy efforts to understand the universe. His mood is unmistakably gloomy: What a burdensome task God has given humanity to keep us occupied (1:13)! Sooner or later most people end up feeling the same way. There are many burdensome things in life that make us feel unhappy: the bad relationship our parents have, the unkind comments people make about us, the things we do not have but wish we did, the recognition we deserve but never get – even the ordinary frustrations of daily life can make us feel unhappy.

When Solomon talks about the bothersome task, he has in mind his very quest to understand the meaning of life. The pursuit of knowledge itself is what turns out to be so pointless. The longer he looked for answers and the harder he tried to understand the meaning of life, the more frustrated he became with all of life’s unanswerable questions.²⁴⁴

Chasing after the wind: After going everywhere and looking at everything Solomon reached this conclusion: I have seen all the activities that are done under the sun, and it’s all pointless (Hebrew: hebel), like chasing after the wind (1:14). Just as one cannot grasp the wind, so one cannot grasp the meaning of life under the sun. Meaning may be there but it cannot be grasped – it is like chasing after the wind – and the enigmas cannot be reconciled.²⁴⁵

The Teacher-king now explains why he was so frustrated. So he concluded the first stage of his unhappy quest with a proverb: What is crooked can’t be straightened; what is not there can’t be counted (1:15). No matter how much he pondered the world’s problems under the sun, he could not straighten out life’s anomalies, nor reduce all that he saw into a neat, tidy system. Frustration and perplexity surrounded Solomon and all his wisdom, while it might help in some things, could not solve the fundamental problems of life.²⁴⁶ The thrust of the verse is that there is something fundamentally wrong with life under the sun, and since the world, as it is, has come about as a result of God’s will, there is absolutely nothing that humans can do about it.²⁴⁷

The quest continued: So, Solomon’s first test failed. Human wisdom could not provide an answer for the meaning of life. However, that didn’t mean he was ready to give up. He had a little heart-to-heart talk with himself, a running dialogue about what he had discovered. He said to himself, “Look, I have acquired much wisdom, more than anyone ruling Jerusalem before me.” Yes, I experienced a great deal of wisdom and knowledge (1:16). Still, the Solomon of Ecclesiastes had not yet considered the claims of morality, so his quest was incomplete. He had tried to learn everything he could, like someone who goes to college and reads all the great books. However, He had not yet fully investigated the difference between right and wrong, or tried to find meaning and purpose by becoming a better person. Solomon tells us that he studied both wisdom and knowledge and madness and folly without saying why he studied both. Perhaps he looked for meaning or pleasure in one or the other. Perhaps he studied both in order to differentiate wisdom from the crazy foolishness of disobedience to ADONAI. Or perhaps he was attempting to be truly objective, or to get the full picture since wisdom and foolishness are two sides of the same coin.²⁴⁸

What was the result of Solomon’s renewed quest? Did knowing the difference between right and wrong help him find purpose in life? Was he able to become a better person? Not at all. Traditional morality also failed to satisfy his soul. He said: I came to see that this too was merely chasing after the wind. Then he offered another proverb to summarize what he had discovered: For in much wisdom is much grief; the more knowledge, the more suffering (1:17-18). So long as wisdom is restricted to the realm of under the sun, it sees the throbbing clamor of creation, life scurrying around in its ever-repetitive circles, nothing more.²⁴⁹

A hopeful conclusion: As usual, reading Ecclesiastes quickly makes us feel even worse about life than we did before. At first, the Teacher’s honesty may seem refreshing, but the more we study the book, the more depressing it can become. This actually means Solomon is achieving his purpose. Remember that he is showing us the world from a merely earthly perspective – the best thinking that human beings can do on their own.²⁵⁰ Solomon believes in God, of course, and mentions Him by name in verse 13, but he made his spiritual quest essentially without God’s help. The Teacher did not pray or consult Scripture, which had been the cause of his downfall in the first place (see Bx – Solomon’s Wives). Instead, he was off and running on his own quest for meaning without stopping to consider His majesty. He was probing into matters by his unaided and unenlightened reason under the sun apart from any wisdom from God who dwells above the sun.

If we take a secular perspective and try to understand the world on our own terms rather than on God’s terms, we will never escape Ecclestiastes 1. Study all the philosophy, research all the religion and pursue all the personal improvement that you please – it will still end in frustration. Human reason can only take us so far. All our learning is pointless without God.

But, thank God that there is a God, and that He does not leave us in despair! The Solomon of Ecclesiastes shows us the need for a Savior. The Teacher didn’t know it yet, but at the end of all our questioning ADONAI will be waiting for us in the Person of His own Son. The Bible says that YHVH rewards people who truly seek Him. And without trusting, it is impossible to please God, because whoever approaches Him must trust that He does exist and that He becomes the Rewarder to those who seek Him out (Hebrews 11:6). And that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God and He will give it to us: Now if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives to all generously and without finding fault, and it will be given to you (James 1:5 NIV). Yeshua Messiah – He Himself, in His own Person – is the wisdom of God (First Corinthians 1:24).

We should not leave Ecclesiastes 1 without remembering that Yeshua entered into all the pointlessness and frustration of life under the sun to show us the wise way to live. If we follow Messiah and His wisdom we will not try to bend what is crooked back to our own purpose, but humbly submit to the way ADONAI wants things to be, just as Yeshua did when He went to the crooked cross and died for our sins (First Peter 2:21-24).

If we follow the wisdom of Messiah, eventually life will add up. It will never add up to something simple on this side of eternity. But if we leave the final calculations to Him, He will make sure that all the books are balanced in the end, including our personal account, which He has reconciled with His own blood. Our current frustration will not last forever, including all our struggles to understand the meaning of life. Soon, our sorrows will be over. We will be with Yeshua forever, and find the answers to all our questions in Him.²⁵¹

The Search for Satisfaction
1:12 to 2:26

The opening to Ecclesiastes has set the tone of the book by its motto-theme: Pointless! Pointless! – says the Teacher – everything is pointless (to see link click Cd – The Failure of Earthly Things), and by its picture of a world endlessly busy and hopelessly frustrating. Now the focus sharpens. We turn from analogies and impressions to what we can know directly from experience. We are to scan the great spread of human pursuits, to ask whether anything on earth can be found which has any lasting value. Solomon gets across to us the urgency of the search: we find ourselves involved in it. Along with the king, our search will be no restricted or tentative affair, but royal, exploring of whatever the world can offer to a man of unlimited wisdom and wealth.²⁴² After a brief reflection on his search, Solomon narrates how he looked for meaning in pleasure, wisdom, and folly, as well as in his work. Nonetheless, the specter of death hangs over his head, making his achievements and successes meaningless. At the end, he concludes that if this life offers anything at all, it is in the occasional moments of joy in the simple pleasures of life.²⁴³

The Failure of Earthly Things
Ecclesiastes 1: 1-11

The failure of worldly things DIG: What does the word Qoheleth mean? Is discipleship a destination or a journey for you? Why do you think so? What does the phrase “under the sun” mean? What is the difference between looking “under the sun” and “above the sun?”

REFLECT: How do you try to escape life’s monotony and futility? When you come to the end of your life, or even to the end of this year, what will you have to show for all your hard work? How can you put ADONAI in the middle of the mundane things in your life?

One way to gain a divine perspective on life is to take all the things that make life so wearisome and see what a difference it makes when we bring God back into the picture.

The words of Qoheleth the son of David, king in Jerusalem (1:1).

Our guide on this journey in Ecclesiastes is called Qoheleth, or as we know him in English, the Teacher. Before we go any further it is important to clarify this man’s identity. The Hebrew root of the word qoheleth literally means to gather or assemble. Some take this as a reference to the way the author collected wise sayings. But in the TaNaKh the verbal form of this word typically refers to gathering a community of people, especially for the worship of God. Think of Qoheleth as a teacher speaking wisdom to the people of God.²³⁷

The predominant opinion of the past has always been that in Ecclesiastes, an old and repentant Solomon looks back over his life, particularly the period after his apostasy from ADONAI (to see link click Bx –Solomon’s Wives). A surface reading of the text supports this identification. These words seem most naturally to point to Solomon, the biological son of King David, who was a king living in Jerusalem, and who ruled the kingdom after his father.

Pointless (see Ah – The Message of Ecclesiastes)! Pointless! – says the Teacher – everything is pointless (1:1-2)! Taken literally the word pointless (Hebrew: hevel) refers to a wisp of a vapor, a puff of wind, a mere breath – nothing you could get your hands on. The nearest thing to zero. That is the pointlessness that this book is all about.²³⁸ Life is like that: elusive, fleeting, pointless. It disappears as suddenly as it comes. We are here today and gone tomorrow. Thus, the Bible compares our mortal existence to a mere breath (Psalm 39:5), or to a mist that appears for a little while then disappears (James 4:14). The Teacher found that looking for the meaning of life was like chasing the wind. That frustrating image helps us understand Ecclesiastes. It is not that kind of book that we keep reading until we reach the end and get the answer, like a mystery. Instead, it is a book in which we keep struggling with the problems of life, as as we struggle, we learn to trust ADONAI with the questions even when we don’t have all the answers. This is how the life of a believer works: it is not just about what we get at the end, but also about the people we become along the way. Discipleship is a journey, not just a destination.

Notice the vast scope of the Teacher’s claim: everything is pointless under the sun, cutting God out of the picture. Not one single aspect of our existence under the sun is free from frustration and being pointless. To prove his point, the Teacher takes things that people ordinarily give meaning to or to find satisfaction and then shows how empty and pointless they really are. He speaks from experience, because he had tried it all: money, pleasure, knowledge, and power – all the things that we try (or are tempted to try) in order to bring satisfaction into our lives.

Some people try to find meaning in what they know, but Ecclesiastes says that in much wisdom is grief; the more knowledge, the more suffering (1:18). Some people try to find satisfaction in all the pleasure that money can buy. The Teacher was rich enough to build or buy anything he wanted, but at the end of his life he concluded that there was nothing to be gained under the sun (2:11). So, he threw himself into his work, trying to accomplish something significant, but even that satisfaction was pointless.

Not even his great wisdom could save his desperate heart. Later in his book he will give us the testimony of a frustrated philosopher: When I applied myself to gain wisdom and to observe how people occupy themselves on earth, that people’s eyes don’t see sleep either by day or by night, then, on looking over all of God’s work, I realized that it is impossible to grasp all the activity taking place under the sun; because even if a person works hard at searching it out, he won’t grasp it; and even if a wise person thinks he knows it, he still won’t be able to grasp it (8:16-17). If we doubt the truth of this statement, all we need to do is ask the nearest professor and he or she will tell us the truth: Pointless! Pointless! – says the Teacher – everything is pointless (1:1-2)!²³⁹

Same old, same old: We begin to get a good sense of Ecclesiastes and its attitude about life from the question posed at the beginning of the book and the words that are offered by way of an answer: Here is the question: What does a person gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun (1:3)? Then comes the answer. The Teacher is making the case for the weary emptiness of our pointless, fleeting existence, and wondering why he should even bother.

In verses 4 through 7 he looks at the elementary things of nature – earth, air, fire and water – and sees no real change anywhere. Generations come, generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, the sun sets; then it speeds to its place and rises there. The wind blows south, then it turns north; the wind blows all around and keeps returning to its rounds. All the rivers flow to the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers flow, there they keep on flowing. The generations come and go, but the earth does not move. With weary monotony the sun rises and sets, rises and sets, rises and sets. The wind goes around and around in circles. The water flows forever into the sea. It is all the same as it ever was. The Teacher is tired of thinking about all of this. It’s as if he was saying, “All of life is far more boing than words could ever say.”

So why bother? That is the question. Why keep running on the treadmill of our existence? In verses 8 through 11, the Teacher moves from the natural world to human experience and sees the same thing that he saw with nature: things are done over and over again without any real profit or genuine progress. Everything is wearisome, more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, the ear not filled up with hearing. What has been is what will be, what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there something of which it is said: See, this is new? It already existed in the ages before us. No one remembers the people of long ago; and those to come will not be remembered by those who come after them. If the sun, the wind, and the mighty rivers have nothing to show for their constant motion, then what hope do we have of ever accomplishing anything in life?

Some people try to escape life’s monotony and futility by filling their senses with what they see and hear. Today, we see an endless procession of visual images (YouTube, Instagram, Netflix) and listen to an endless stream of sounds (Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music), but we are never satisfied. There is always one more show to watch, one more game to play, one more song to listen to. What Ecclesiastes says is still true: The eye is not satisfied with seeing, the ear not filled up with hearing (1:8). We’re insatiable in appetite. Even if we have seen before, we want to see more. But what do we really gain? What progress do we make in life, spiritually or otherwise?

We experience the same thing on the larger scale of human events: What has been is what will be, what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun (1:9). How is that for a philosophy of history – humanity on a hamster wheel? Future generations will suffer the same plight.

The Teacher makes such sweeping claims about future futility that we are tempted to try and think of a counter-example. Surely there must be at least one thing that is new under the sun. For a moment, the writer considers that possibility and asks: Is there something of which it is said: See, this is new? But just as quickly, he denies it. Whatever seems new has already existed in the ages before us (1:10).

The more things change, the more they stay the same. And if it ever seems like there really is something new under the sun, it is only because we have forgotten what happened before – the way people forget about us one day, when there is nothing left of us except a faded picture in a discarded scrapbook, or perhaps a digital image in a forgotten corner of cyberspace.²⁴⁰

All things new: Pointless! Pointless! – says the Teacher – everything is pointless! So why bother? This is the question that Ecclesiastes throws in our faces. We need to be careful because we could come to the conclusion that because everything in life is so pointless, so frustrating, that nothing really matters. Here today, gone tomorrow. We could conclude that it’s the only honest view of life. And that would be true if we only look at life under the sun. This phrase occurs dozens of times in Ecclesiastes, and is one of the key phrases to understanding the book. Under the sun expresses the extent of the problem. Where do we experience life’s futility and frustration? Everywhere the sun shines!

Yet, this phrase also opens up the possibility of a different perspective. To see things under the sun is to look at them from the ground level, taking a worldly viewpoint and leaving ADONAI out of the picture? If that is all we do, then we are bound to reach the conclusion that everything in life is so pointless, so frustrating, that nothing really matters. But, of course, that isn’t the right way to look at things. Why? Because there is a God who rules over the sun. So we are not limited to the terrestrial; we can also get outside our own solar system and see things from a celestial perspective.

Ecclesiastes begs us to do that. It shows us the weariness of our existence so that we will not expect to find meaning and satisfaction from earthly things, but only in God above. Money, sex, power, achievement – none of these things satisfy – only ADONAI does. This does not mean, of course, that as believers we stop feeling the frustrations of life under the sun. We do feel it. But Ecclesiastes shows our need for an “above the sun” perspective that brings joy and meaning to life. One way to gain this divine perspective is to take all of the things that make life so wearisome and see what a difference it makes when we bring God back into the picture. Ecclesiastes looks at earthly things and fails to see any progress. But the psalmist looks at the same old sun and says it comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy (Psalm 19:5). Whether the sun makes progress or not, it bears witness to the joy and strength of its Creator. Therefore, from sunrise until sunset ADONAI’s name is to be praised (Psalm 113:3).

Looking above the sun also gives us a different perspective on human experience. Is anything new? Maybe not under the sun, but the God who rules over the sun is always doing something new, especially in Yeshua. YHVH has made a New Covenant for us in the blood of Messiah (Luke 22:20). So if we ask the question, “Why bother?” the answer is that we have a Savior who looked at all the futility and frustration we suffer in this fallen world and chose to suffer it with us and for us so that He could actually do something about it.

Then there was a new life that came up from the empty tomb when Yeshua arose from the dead with the power of eternal salvation. There is the new heart that God gives to everyone who believes in the Savior (Ezeki’el 36:26). There is the new creation that comes when the Ruach Ha’Kodesh enters our minds and hearts (Second Corinthians 5:17). Once we give our lives to Yeshua Messiah it is never the same old, same old ever again. The living God sits on the throne of the universe and says: Look! I am making everything new. And one day, this great God will make a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1 and 5). In one of the earliest commentaries written on Ecclesiastes, Didymus the Blind wrote these enlightening words: A person who is enlightened by the “sun of righteousness” is not “under” it but “in” it. Thus, it is said in the Gospels, “The righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father, not under the sun.”

Almost every verse in Ecclesiastes shows how much we need a Savior to make everything new. So we need to remember this whenever we get frustrated, sad, angry or disappointed with everything in life that is getting broken, falling apart, and going wrong. Remember this when you feel overwhelmed and are tempted to wonder why you should even bother – with your work, with a relationship, with your faith. You were made for a new and better world. The very fact that you are weary of this life is pointing you to Yeshua as the only One who can satisfy your soul.²⁴¹

Dear Heavenly Father, You are eternal – no beginning and no ending. But ADONAI-Elohim is truth. He is the living God and eternal King. At His wrath the earth quakes and the nations cannot endure His indignation (Jeremiah 10:10). How important it is to focus our energy and our eyes on living for You and realize that only what’s done in Messiah will last!

May we be wiser than Solomon in that we focus our hearts on You dear Father, and live for pleasing You for all eternity. Knowing that the One who raised the Lord Yeshua will raise us also with Yeshua, and will bring us with you into His presence. . . For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  as we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal (Second Corinthians 4:14, 16-17). I love You God and will fix my heart on living for You now, as I focus on pleasing You for all eternity! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Ecclesiastes:
Finding Joy within the Frustrations of Life
1:1 to 12:14

In the main body of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher himself comes onto the stage, introduces himself and his quest for meaning, and then proceeds to scrutinize different aspects of life and experience to see if meaning is to be found. In the light of his independent search for this meaning, he keeps coming to the conclusion that all is pointless (to see link click Ah – The Message of Ecclesiastes). Regularly this conclusion is contrasted with the “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (Isaiah 22:13; First Corinthians 15:32)” passages, which call to mind the joyful appreciation of life that he had learned from his Jewish roots. The contradictory contrast that results from this opens up gaps in the reading, gaps that indicate the excruciating tension emerging from the Teacher’s journey of exploration. Breakthroughs occur in 5:1-7 and 7:23-29, but in both cases the breakthroughs, which illuminate the independent nature of the Teacher’s search for meaning, are followed by passages full of despair and struggle. Resolution comes in 12:1-7 through “remembering” and “rejoicing” . . . but not apart from the struggles of life itself.²³⁶

Solomon’s Death
First Kings 11:41-43 and
Second Chronicles 9:29-31

Solomon’s death DIG: What eptaph should we write for this great man, who began so well, yet made such a tragic mistake? As we come to the end of Solomon’s life, how should be evalutate his kingship? What epitaph should we write on his tombstone?

REFLECT: One day death will come to each of us, as it comes for everyone. If death does not come today, it will come on some tomorrow. When it comes, what will people write on your tombstone? What will they say about you when your time on earth is done? Thougts?

The fear of ADONAI is the beginning of wisdom.

Now we come to the last word on King Solomon, at least for this part of the Bible, bringing us to the end of his famous kingship. After forty years on the throne, Solomon’s life ended the same way anyone’s life ends. He died and was buried, leaving behind his earthly splendor. Other activities of Solomon, all he accomplished and his wisdom are recorded in the Annals of Solomon (First Kings 11:41).

The Chronicler added: From beginning to end, are written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah of Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat (Second Chronicles 9:29). In typical fashion, the Chronicler revealed his overarching assessment of Solomon’s reign. His burial and report mentions that Solomon was buried in the City of David. Therefore, Solomon was honored as one of Isra’el’s greatest kings. From beginning to end, the Chronicler presented Solomon as the royal ideal.²³⁴ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Isra’el for forty years. Then Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David his father, and Rehoboam his son became king in his place (First Kings 11:42-43; Second Chronicles 9:30-31). The royal line continued, as Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled in his place. But the glory days were over, as we shall soon see.

As we come to the end of Solomon’s life, how should be evalutate his kingship? What epitaph should we write on his tombstone? There are many good lines to choose from Solomon’s own writings. If we consider the way he began, by asking ADONAI for the wisdom to rule over Isra’el we might choose: The fear of ADONAI is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). If we look at the way the king lived, especially in his later days, we might choose this verse instead: Eat, drink and enjoy the good life . . . under the sun (Ecclesiastes 5:18). But Solomon learned how empty it is to live without God, so maybe we should choose this verse instead: Mysterious! — says the Teacher — everything is mysterious (Ecc 1:2). Or we might look at the way the king died, and quote his famous words: Everyone comes from dust, and they will return to dust (Ecc 3:20). Since we are hopeful about Solomon’s salvation, then we could draw an epitaph from the love song he wrote for his Savior: He brings me to the banquet hall; His banner over me is love (Song of Solomon 2:4).

Whatever epitaph we write for Solomon, the fact that he needs an epitaph at all is a reminder of his limitations. Praise God that we know the greater Solomon of a greater Kingdom, who still has grace for us. We know Yeshua Messiah – the King without an epitaph for His tombstone. No one wrote an inscription for His grave. They did not even have time to prepare His body for burial, let alone carve His Name into stone. Besides, what epitaph would you write for a man who would come back to life on the third day? “Be back soon?” “See you on Sunday?” Maybe the words of the angels would suffice: He is not here, but He has risen (Luke 24:6). Praise God for Yeshua Messiah, the risen King, the true and righteous Solomon of our salvation! By the power of His resurrection, we will be able to serve ADONAI to the end of our days, and afterward to offer our Savior an eternity of praise.²³⁵

Dear Heavenly Father, As life on earth comes to an end for everyone, rich or poor, male or female – may we keep our eyes focused on eternity and the short time we have to say thank You to You. When our bodies die, we want to stand before You and have prepared a big gift of love. It is so important when going to a wedding to bring a very nice gift to the wedding. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready, For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the kedoshim.” Then the angel tells me, “Write: How fortunate are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb!” He also tells me, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:7c-9). Our love, shown by our joyful obedience as we serve You, is our wedding gift for You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Prophecy of Ahijah
First Kings 11: 26-40

The prophecy of Ahijah DIG: How does the LORD show His grace and mercy in these verses? How did Jeroboam learn that he would be the king of the northern kingdom? What amazing offer did YHVH give to Jeroboam? What were the conditions of the offer? Did he obey?

REFLECT: When you think of ADONAI keeping His promises to Solomon, even though the king had a divided heart and committed spiritual adultery, how does that make you feel about your relationship with God? Who can you share that Good News with this week?

Judgment would last for a night, but mercy would come in the morning.

The rise of Jeroboam: The disintegration of Solomon’s empire came at the hand of his enemies, adversaries that Ha’Shem raised against him. Hadad attacked Solomon from Edom in the south, and Rezon the Syrian raided Isra’el from the north (to see link click By – The Fall of the House of David). But the worst enemy of all came from inside Solomon’s own kingdom. Also, Jeroboam the son of N’vat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against the king (First Kings 11:26) . The father’s name is not mentioned, he probably passed away. In 11:11, God said that part of the kingdom would be given to one of Solomon’s servants, and now Jeroboam is declared the servant of Solomon. He was from the tribe of Ephraim, a northern tribe. Thus, he could possibly muster a power base that could rival Solomon’s southern-based coalition. He would have been less of a threat if he were from the king’s own region.

This too was the will of God, for Jeroboam was given a direct prophecy of a future kingdom, which the Bible identifies as the reason he rebelled against the king. Solomon was building the Ophel, or the terraces to fortify the southern slope of the Temple compound, and closing the breach in the wall of the City of David. Now this Jeroboam seemed to have success written all over him, he was a strong (Hebrew: gibbor, meaning mighty or great), energetic young man. The word First Kings uses to describe his ability is the same word that the book of Ruth uses to describe Boaz (Ruth 2:1). He was a gifted leader, a man of wealth and influence. We might also compare him to Joseph, who always rose to the top of any organization. Jeroboam was such a hard worker, and did such excellent work, that despite his youth and inexperience, he was quickly promoted to management.²²⁶ And Solomon, seeing how industrious he was, made him supervisor over all the work being done by the tribe of Joseph (First Kings 11:27-28). His ties with the house of Joseph, the northern tribes, will become significant when the rebellion actually occurs. Ironically, Solomon promoted the man who would eventually divide his kingdom.²²⁷

The prophecy of Ahijah: The division of Solomon’s kingdom was the will of YHVH, as we know from the strange and dramatic prophecy that changed Jeroboam’s life. And, at that time, when Jeroboam had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh spotted him traveling. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in open country. Ahijah suddenly and unexpectedly appeared and did something that must have seemed very strange. Ahijah took hold of his brand-new cloak that he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. The prophets had a way of doing this sort of thing, which might be called a parable in action. Jeremiah did something like this when he smashed a clay jar in front of the people to show how broken they were (see the commentary of Jeremiah Cz – Judah is Like a Broken Jar).

The torn cloak was a sign of God’s judgment. Solomon’s kingdom would be torn apart. Something similar happened to King Sha’ul when he had his tragic downfall. The prophet Samuel told Sha’ul that Ha’Shem had rejected him as king. When the prophet turned to leave, Sha’ul desperately grabbed his cloak, tearing its hem. Samuel interpreted the tear as a sign of God’s judgment, saying to the king, “ADONAI has torn the kingdom of Isra’el from you this day” (First Samuel 15:28).

What Ahijah did with his cloak had a similar meaning: God was tearing away Solomon’s kingdom. This meaning is reinforced by the vocabulary of the passage. The Hebrew word for cloak (salma) is based on the same three consonants as the name Solomon (sholmoh) . . . almost as if the king himself would be divided. According to Ahijah, Solomon’s kingdom would be torn into twelve little pieces. This number is significant because each piece represented one of the twelve tribes of Isra’el, going back to the original twelve sons of Jacob.

In this case, Ahijah’s prophecy would change the course of history. Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself! For here is what ADONAI the God of Isra’el says: I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand, and I will give ten tribes to you” (First Kings 11:29-31). Up to this point, the twelve tribes of Isra’el had always been united – even when they were slaves in Egypt. But from this point forward, the kingdom would be divided, north and south. The ten northern tribes would be taken away from Solomon and given to Jeroboam, and thus they would leave the house of David. This was an act of divine judgment, in which Jeroboam served as the agent of God’s justice.²²⁸

The remnant of ADONAI: The Good News is that there is also one great promise in this passage, a promise of grace that triumphs over judgment. Contrary to what some people think, this is something we often see in the TaNaKh. The passages that threaten the most severe judgment also contain the clearest promise of saving mercy – like bright stars shining through the blackest night.

First Kings 11 is one of the saddest chapters in the entire Bible. The divided kingdom was a complete catastrophe. The painful consequences of that divinely ordained division lasted for centuries. Eventually the northern tribes were scattered among the nations. But God had not forgotten His promises. He never does! Therefore, even as He was judging His people for their sins, He was also working out their salvation. There were no lost tribes. When the spiritual adultery intensified under Jeroboam in the north, the righteous of the TaNaKh left and went south to Jerusalem and worshiped at the place appointed by ADONAI. The LORD always has a believing remnant, no matter the dispensation (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah).

There are reminders of ADONAI’s saving grace throughout this passage. Almost every other verse in Ahijah’s prophecy contains a promise of God’s faithfulness to the house of David. The first reminder comes in verse 32, which stands as a kind of parenthesis. Yes, it is true that Jeroboam will get ten tribes. But God promised Solomon that he would keep one tribe (Benjamin, which was too small and insignificant to mention, was merged with Judah) for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the City I have chosen from all the tribes of Isra’el. I will do this because they have abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites and Molek the god of the Ammonites. They haven’t lived according to my ways, so that they could do what was right in my view and obey my regulations and rulings, as did David his father (First Kings 11:32-33). 

There is another gracious promise in verse 34. Even this act of judgment would not happen right away. Solomon would remain in power until the day of his death. It would only be after his lifetime that his kingdom would be divided. Notice why YHVH showed Solomon that favor; He did it for David’s sake. Nevertheless, I will not take the entire kingdom away from him; but I will make him prince as long as he lives, for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose, because he obeyed my statutes and ordinances. However, I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten tribes of it to you. ADONAI not only chose David, but He also chose Jerusalem. His purpose there was to glorify His Name through unified and committed worship at the Temple.²²⁹

The next promise is even more reassuring: To his son I will give one tribe, so that David my servant will always have a burning lamp before me in Jerusalem, the City I chose for Myself as the place to put My name (First Kings 11:34-36). God already said that Solomon would get one tribe, Judah (the tribe of Benjamin being so small it was considered to be one tribe with Judah), the tribe that the Messiah would come through. So here the promise is extended out into the future. Even after Solomon’s sin – the divided heart that divided the kingdom – ADONAI would not turn His back on the promise He made to David. The flame of David’s lamp would never be extinguished. In biblical times, the lamp was a symbol of life. To die was to have one’s lamp put out (Job 18:5-6; Proverbs 20:20); to live was to keep shining like a light on a lampstand (Second Samuel 21:17). When the LORD said that David would always have a burning lamp before Him, it meant that David’s kingdom would endure forever.

As for Jeroboam, YHVH shockingly promised him a kingdom, a dynasty as enduring as the one He had built for David! Jeroboam was not the legitimate heir to Isra’el’s throne. He did not belong to the house and line of David. Yet, God offered him the blessings of David nonetheless. He promised to be with Jeroboam and to establish his kingdom. I will take you, and you will rule over everything you want; you will be king over Isra’el. But notice how those blessings were contingent on Jeroboam’s obedience. Now if you will listen to all that I order you, live according to My ways and do what is right in My sight, so that you observe my regulations and mitzvot, as David my servant did. If only Jeroboam would be obedient, he would experience the full blessing of God in ruling over Isra’el. Then I will be with you, and I will build you a lasting dynasty, as I built for David; and I will give Isra’el to you. For this offense I will trouble David’s descendants, but not forever” (First Kings 11:37-39). Judgment would last for a night, but mercy would come in the morning.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being so merciful! Sometimes we get so caught up in enjoying Your great love for the world by Your Son being the sacrifice for the sins of those who love You (First Corinthians 5:21), that we lose sight of our responsibility to love You back and confessing Your name as our Savior, even when it is hard (Rom 10:9-10).

Obedience is Not an option to be done if convenient; rather obedience shows that our belief in You is real belief from our heart. You liken obedience to genuine love.  He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him (John 14:21).

Your Word says: Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves (James 1:22). Thank you for saving us by your grace thru our faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Please help us to remember that faith is not a mere mental thank You; but it is a heartfelt love that desires to obey You. So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself (James 2:17). How wonderful that my love for You opens the door of my heart for You to enter and live within me! Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23). I delight in loving You and obeying Your Word, for You are such a wonderful Father. In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

If Jeroboam had obeyed ADONAI the way he was told, there would have been two nations that followed YHVH, not just one: Isra’el in the north and Judah in the south. Yet, Jeroboam had little interest in serving God. He decided to serve his own interests instead, and soon he became king of false worship. If David served as the royal standard for kingship in Isra’el, then Jeroboam is consistently held up as the negative example: the king who decided not to follow God.²³⁰

Ahijah’s prominence in this story begins the prophet’s role as a major player in the history of Isra’el. Of course, earlier prophets impacted Isra’el’s story, such as Samuel and Nathan, but the prophetic movement now becomes even more significant. In the rest of First and Second Kings, the prophets speak for God as anointers of new kings, as miracle workers, and as Isra’el’s overall covenant conscience. It is difficult to conceive of an Israelite nation without them.²³¹

When Solomon heard about Ahijah’s prophecy, he did everything he could to stop it from ever coming true. Just as Sha’ul had once tried to kill David, Solomon tried to assassinate Jeroboam. But by then it was too late. Jeroboam then fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and stayed in Egypt until the death of Solomon (First Kings 11:40). He found refuge in Pharaoh Shishak’s court, a fact that alerts readers to changes in Egypt’s leadership. Shishak was not as friendly to Solomon as his predecessor had been. Perhaps this new Pharaoh resented paying Solomon’s tolls, or perhaps he attempted to build a new power base that would serve his own interests. Either way, the Davidic lineage was in trouble. Jeroboam had a following in Northern Isra’el, a significant foreign ally, and God’s promise to place him in power.²³² YHVH had spoken: the kingdom would be divided. So Jeroboam waited for the day when he would rule over Isra’el.

All these promises find their fulfillment in Yeshua Messiah, the greater Solomon of the kingdom of God. The reason God said that David’s son would have a tribe – and the reason He kept saying this over and over again – was that He had a plan for our salvation that depended on the house of David. One day He would send a Savior to be the King of His people forever. In order to keep that promise, God had to preserve the tribe of Judah until the coming of Yeshua Messiah, the Son of David. He is the light of the world (John 8:12) whose lamp still burns in the house of God (Revelation 1:12-13).²³³

The Fall of the House of David
First Kings 11: 9-25

The fall of the house of David DIG: Why is the story of Solomon such a tragedy? What choices did Solomon have in his own downfall? Why is the story of Hadad told in such detail? Likewise, why is the story of Rezon in the Bible? What was the only reason Solomon remained king?

REFLECT: Why do you think Solomon ended his reign so horribly? What was the root cause? Who are your adversaries? Are they attacking you because of your holy standards in this life? How did Yeshua turn our tragedy into a happy ending? Likewise, who can you help this week?

Yeshua turns our tragedy into a comedy – a story with a happy ending.

A genuine tragedy always results in pain and suffering. We see this in all the tragedies of Shakespeare, as well as the tragedies in the Bible. The tragic hero has made a tragic choice. Because of some particular flaw in his character, he had made a foolish and often sinful decision that can end only in disaster. As the tragedy unfolds, therefore, he suffers deeply for his decision. This is true even more so in the tragedy of Solomon the Wise. He had made his fateful choice. He had chosen to marry foreign women and to worship their many gods. The result was painful suffering for himself, his family, and his kingdom. The Bible tells us this story of Solomon’s tragedy so that we can avoid making the same mistakes that he made. The choices of sin are always tragic, and we are tempted to make them every day. If we are wise, therefore, we will let the Ruach Ha’Kodesh use Solomon’s example to teach us our own need for ADONAI’s saving grace.

The righteous anger of ADONAI: The first thing that we learn from Solomon’s tragic suffering is that Ha’Shem is angry because of our sin, and rightly so. The TaNaKh says very plainly: So, ADONAI grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from ADONAI the God of Isra’el (First Kings 11:9a). It was not simply that sin made God angry, as if somehow the sin could be separated from the sinner; it was the man who committed the sin, and who became the personal object of divine wrath. ADONAI was angry with Solomon. Most people don’t like to think about, talk about, or believe in the wrath of YHVH. Nevertheless, ADONAI is a holy and righteous God who cannot tolerate sin.

The truth is that Ha’Shem had every right to be angry with Solomon. The TaNaKh tells us exactly why the king fell under divine judgment. It was because his heart had turned away from ADONAI the God of Isra’el, who had appeared to him twice and given him orders concerning this matter that he should not follow other gods. But he didn’t obey ADONAI’s command (First Kings 11:9b-10). There is only one true living God. Yet Solomon had decided to worship false gods who could not save. He broke the first commandment by having other gods before God; he broke the second commandment by making idolatrous images; and this dishonored his father David, and therefore broke the fifth commandment. He also committed adultery which broke the seventh commandment. This is what happens when people turn away from God; by the time they are finished, they break every commandment in the Book. It is not enough to know the commandments, although that’s a good place to start. ADONAI demands that we do the commandments, and if we do not, He is right to be angry.²²¹

The consequences of Solomon’s sin: The anger of God has real consequences, both in this life and the life to come. If He is angry with people for their sin, then He will certainly punish them for it. This is part of sin’s tragedy: it leads to punishment. Because of Ha’Shem’s perfect justice, sinners are liable to suffer the consequences of their sin.

We see this clearly in the tragedy of King Solomon. In earlier days, God spoke to Solomon using the word “if” (First Kings 9:4). If Solomon walked with the LORD in holy obedience, then God would establish his throne. Otherwise, his kingdom would be lost. The blessings of his dynasty were conditional on keeping the commandments. But when ADONAI spoke to Solomon this time, He started with the word “since.” Since this is what has been in your practice, and you haven’t kept My covenant and my regulations which I ordered you to obey, I will tear the kingdom from you – the tragic downfall of the house of David – and give it to your servant (First Kings 11:11). This reminds us of First Samuel 13:13-14, where Sha’ul’s sin led the prophet Samuel to tell the king that his kingdom would not endure, for ADONAI has sought for Himself a man after His own heart . . . because you did not observe what ADONAI commanded you to do.

The only thing that would keep Solomon on the throne at all was the promise the LORD had made to his father David. However, for David your father’s sake I won’t do it while you are alive, but I will tear it away from your son. Further, for David’s sake his descendants will continue to rule a portion of the covenant nation. Even then, I won’t tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe (Benjamin, which was too small in numbers, was merged with Judah) to your son for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Yerushalayim, which I have chosen” (First Kings 11:12-13). Despite the concessions to David’s memory, however, the punishment is clear, irrevocable, and stunning. Solomon’s sin would soon cause the nation to crash from the heights it had achieved. His idolatry had led to the idolatry of the people. Isra’el had begun her long road to exile, though she didn’t know yet that her actions would result in such dire consequences.²²²

Just because ADONAI left Solomon on the throne did not mean that he would suffer no consequences. First Kings 11 tells the story of two adversaries. One came from Edom, in the south: Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. Ever since the days of Jacob and Esau, there had been bad blood between the Israelites and the Edomites. In Solomon’s day, there had been recent conflict between the two tribes. Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom (First Kings 11:14-16). Needless to say, that didn’t help relations any. Elsewhere, we read that David’s men killed almost twenty-thousand Edomites before subjecting them to slavery (Second Samuel 8:13-14; First Chronicles 8:12-13). The few Edomites that somehow managed to survive had vengeance on their minds.

This was especially true for the only member of Edom’s royal family who escaped with his life: But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. The Bible then tells how Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt. While living in Egypt, Hadad not only survived, but also thrived. He was welcomed as a prominent member of Pharaoh’s royal court, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food. Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpanhes, in marriage. The sister of Tahpanhes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpanhes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children (First Kings 11:17-20).

Yet for all the blessings he experienced in Egypt, Hada never forgot what Isra’el had done to the Edomites. He named his son Genubath, which means to steal (from the Hebrew verb ganab), possibly to serve as a constant reminder of the kingdom that had been taken away from him. He bided his time in Egypt – a bitter victim nursing a hateful grudge while he gathered his power and waited for the day of his revenge. And when the chance finally came, he seized it. While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab, the commander of the army, was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.” “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh, seemingly offended, asked. “Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but do let me go” (First Kings 11:21-22)! So Hadad persuaded Pharaoh to let him go, and from that time on, the Edomites began to harass Solomon on his southern border, chipping away at his empire.

But why does the Bible tell us this story in so much detail? To answer that question, it is important to notice how similar Hadad’s story sounds to the story of Isra’el in Egypt. A nation sojourns to Egypt, where it is given bread to eat and a place to live, and where some of its sons’ become princes At the end of his sojourn, the leader of that nation asks Pharaoh to let his people go – a request he initially refuses, before eventually granting. Does any of this sound familiar?

The story of Hadad follows the main plot lines of the exodus, in which Moshe and the children of Isra’el escaped from Egypt and returned to the Promised Land. Except that everything in Hadad’s story is backward. The nation coming out of Egypt is not Isra’el, but Edom. This turnabout is God’s doing – not for Isra’el’s benefit but this time for her detriment. The Bible clearly states that the LORD raised up Hadad as an adversary against Solomon (First Kings 11:14). The broader point is that this is what happens when our hearts turn away from God: His hand goes against us, and we suffer the consequences of our sin.

The story of Rezon makes a similar point. While Hadad was harassing Solomon from the south, Rezon was raiding him from the north. And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah (Second Samuel Chapters 3 to 8). When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. Rezon was Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So, Rezon ruled in Aram, or Syria, and was hostile toward Isra’el (First Kings 11:23-25).

This story has political relevance as up-to-date as the evening news. Isra’el and Syria are still fighting over the same territory today – such as the Golan Heights. We will see this conflict throughout First and Second Kings, in which the Syrians attack the Israelites again and again. Therefore, this episode has literary significance: it sets the stage for some of the stories that will follow.

But this story has spiritual significance in its own right. Rezon and his band of rebels were waging guerrilla warfare. In former times, this had been the role that David occupied. In the days before his royal dynasty, when Sha’ul was still the king of Isra’el, David had been the leader of a marauding band (First Samuel 27:8). But now everything is turned up-side-down. The house of David is not on the attack, but under attack. The roles were reversed, which was a clear sign that Solomon’s dynasty had fallen under the judgment of Ha’Shem.²²³

The consequences of our own sin: This is what happens when our hearts turn away from God: because of His justice, we are liable to suffer the tragic consequences of our sin. At one level, the stories of Hadad and Rezon are about the politics of war. But on a more fundamental level, they are about sin and judgment. Political and military conflict is never outside the sovereignty of God. In this particular case, the Bible tells us that Ha’Shem was raising up adversaries against Solomon because the king had committed the great sin of worshiping other gods. His sufferings were deserved; they were the tragic consequences of his own tragic choices.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that though You are very loving, You are also holy. As the Seraphim call out from God’s Temple in heaven: Holy, holy, holy, is ADONAI-Tzva’ot! The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3). The Parable of the Prodigal Son is such a wonderful picture of both a humble heart and God’s magnificent forgiveness. “And he got up and went to his own father. But while he was still far away, his father saw him and felt compassion. He ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your presence. I am no longer worthy to be called your son’ (Luke 15:20-21).

Having a contrite heart (Isaiah 57:15, 66:2) filled with remorse over one’s sin is the only way to come to God when asking forgiveness. How gracious the father was in the Prodigal Son parable to have the fatted calf killed for rejoicing with a party for the repentance of his son. But the father said to his slaves, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let’s celebrate with a feast!  For this son of mine was dead and has come back to life- he was lost and is found!” Then they began to celebrate (Luke 15:22-24).

How wonderful the joy in heaven over a repentant heart! I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over the ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance (Luke 15:7). Thank You for forgiving my sin when I come to You in humbleness with a repentant heart. I love to follow You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

ADONAI still operates the same way today. As a righteous Judge, He often brings sinners to judgment. Admittedly, we do not always know the purposes of God. Why does He allow this nation to triumph or those people to suffer? Yet by the sovereign justice of Ha’Shem people often suffer the consequences of their sins. Self-destructive choices lead to destruction, not simply because this is the way the universe operates, but because the universe is governed by a just and righteous God.

For anyone who belongs to ADONAI through faith in Yeshua Messiah, these judgments are never punitive, only corrective. In His fatherly love, ADONAI will use whatever consequences we suffer for our sins to do His good work in our lives (see the commentary on Hebrews, to see link click Cz – God Disciplines His Children ). Still, the judgments of God are a serious matter for self-examination. The moral choices we have make real consequences. What we do with our money, the way we handle sex, the exercise of power – we are responsible before God for each and every decision we make. Could it be that some of our present sufferings are the tragic result of our own sin? If so, then YHVH is correcting us with His justice.²²⁴

How tragedy becomes comedy: Is there any hope for us to receive mercy? There is always hope in Yeshua, even in the darkest hour. And we find such openness here in this passage as we do everywhere in the Bible. It is true that Ha’Shem is angry with us because of our sin and that we deserve to fall under His righteous judgment. But this is also true: ADONAI has saved us from judgment by sending His Son to be our Savior. We are objects of wrath who nonetheless have received mercy (Ephesians 2:1-7), because Messiah has taken all of God’s anger against our sin on the cross.

But at the same time that we see ADONAI acting injustice against Solomon for his sin, we also see God acting in mercy to save His people. Even as we witness the downfall of the house of David, we know that this cannot be the end of His royal line. For according to the promises of YHVH, Solomon was a beloved son who would not be lost forever. When he commits iniquity, God said: I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him (Second Samuel 7:14-15). Whatever judgment Solomon suffered would be corrective, not destructive, for the love of the LORD would never leave him or abandon him. Ha’Shem also promised David’s house, David’s kingdom, and David’s throne would last forever (Second Samuel 7:16). Therefore, God still preserved a remnant of his dynasty – enough to keep His promises. For the sake of those promises He would protect the royal line of Judah. And in the fullness of time, a Savior-King from the house of David would rise to God’s eternal throne.

Here is a promise for us to possess – a promise that finds its fulfillment in the house and line of David. If God had not preserved the tribe of Judah, then none of the promises for salvation would have ever come true. But ADONAI protected a remnant of the kingdom, preparing the way for our salvation. This is part of the story of Yeshua Messiah, as we know from the royal genealogies in the Gospels (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ai – The Genealogies of Joseph and Mary).

Yeshua is the royal Savior who alone can rescue us from the wrath that we deserve. He does this specifically through the cross where he was crucified. Some people say that the painful death of Yeshua was a tragic mistake, but strictly speaking, “tragic” is exactly the wrong word to use in describing the Messiah’s death. The hero in a tragedy is the victim of his own tragic mistakes, His own sinful flaws. Yet our Lord is perfectly flawless. He never committed even the smallest, most insignificant sin. Whatever suffering He endured was not deserved, therefore, but undeserved, and thus it could not be tragic in the proper sense of the word.

What then was the cause of the painful death that Yeshua died? It was not caused by His sin, but our own. This makes Messiah a new kind of hero, one who steps into our tragic story to take our place. We are the people with the tragic and sinful flaw. We are the ones who deserve to suffer the consequences of our sin. Yet, Yeshua has stepped in to suffer the wrath of God in our place. This is why the Gospels feel almost like tragedies; they lead to the cross. By dying in our place, Yeshua turns our tragedy into a comedy – a story with a happy ending. Therefore, we are saved from the wrath of God to live happily ever after.²²⁵