Solomon's World View

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 10:11 . . If the snake bites because no spell was uttered, no advantage is
gained by the trained charmer.

That continues the thought from verse 10: "Thus the advantage of a skill [depends
on the exercise of] prudence."

Trained snake charmers lose control over cobras when they fail to exercise the
snake charming skills they learned in training. Charmers can't just sit there and do
nothing. The snake might strike and end the show before the charmer gets any
money from his audience. That principle obviously applies in just about any area of
life where skills (and prudence) are required to produce results; like driving a car,
SCUBA diving, banking, typing, sewing, cooking, rock climbing, welding . .
whatever. Trainings and skills are only valuable when they're applied and put to
use.

● Ecc 10:12-14a . . A wise man's talk brings him favor, but a fool's lips are his
undoing. His talk begins as silliness and ends as disastrous madness. Yet the fool
talks and talks!

There are some talk shows on television that I simply cannot endure because the
hosts are so rude and disorderly. Those people continually interrupt each other and
hardly let the others complete a sentence before blurting out their own thoughts;
and many times all are talking at once with a din that reminds me of a chicken
house with all the birds clucking and squawking an incoherent cacophony.

For some people, every conversation is a venue for monologue: they do all the
talking. I used to work with a young man who not only talked very fast, but with a
pretty fair amount of animated arm waving and head tossing to go with it. He had a
maddening habit of never finishing one topic at a time. In mid sentence he would
branch off to another; leaving the first incomplete. His conversation was like that
continually and the effect was nerve jangling because your mind was constantly
shifting gears trying to keep up with each new train of his erratic thoughts.

People's words are like pools of water. Some are very deep; yet so clear that you
can see all the way down. Others are shallow, but alas, so murky that we cannot
see even one inch below the surface.

● Ecc 10:14b . . A man cannot know what will happen; who can tell him what the
future holds?

Well . . some people seem to know a little something about everything. No matter
what topic comes up in conversation, they have something to share about it as if
you were the student, and they the master; and they are prolific with rash
predictions about this and about that, e.g. "just you wait and see" and/or "mark my
words."

● Ecc 10:15 . . A fool's exertions tire him out, for he doesn't know how to get to a
town.

(chuckle) There's a modern colloquialism similar to that one: So and so is so dumb
that he doesn't know his right hand from his left. Or: He wouldn't be able to find his
nose if it wasn't attached to his face. That's the general impression bucket-mouths
make upon their victims.

"Sooner meet a bereaved she-bear than a fool with his nonsense." (Pro 17:12)

"A knowledgeable man is sparing with his words; a man of understanding is
reticent. Even a fool, if he keeps silent, is deemed wise-- intelligent, if he seals his
lips." (Pro 17:27-28)

It isn't necessary to be an aged wizard like Gandalf to be truly wise because
wisdom isn't really measured by a person's age. It's measured in good sense. Frodo
the Hobbit, although young and inexperienced, is wise in his own way. Some of his
friends are imbeciles. But not Frodo. Although he enjoys a good time as well as any
of his peers, Frodo is careful to avoid stupidity. Because he exercises a considerable
amount of self control, Frodo is the only inhabitant of Middle Earth who can be
trusted to bear the one ring that rules them all.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 10:16a . .Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad

It is a very sad time in a country's progress when the young are getting their own
way. Some see lowering the USA voting age to 18 as progress and a step in the
right direction. The Bible would see it as an evidence of America's decadence. God
is known for punishing Moses' people by saddling them with immature leadership.
For example:

"He will destroy all the nation's leaders-- the heroes, soldiers, judges, prophets,
diviners, elders, army officers, honorable citizens, advisers, skilled magicians, and
expert enchanters. Then he will appoint children to rule over them, and anarchy will
prevail. People will take advantage of each other-- man against man, neighbor
fighting neighbor. Young people will revolt against authority, and nobodies will
sneer at honorable people." (Isa 3:2-5)

Children's activities, like little league baseball and cub scouts, need adult
supervision. Kids, no matter how intelligent, just haven't the maturity to rule either
themselves or others. Management of lands and peoples requires a degree of
maturity, experience, and self discipline; which is why it's totally stupid to lower the
voting age instead of raising it especially when the new 21 in America is now
somewhere around 26, and where civil disobedience is thought to be patriotic, and
where parent-demeaning sitcoms rate high in television programming.

● Ecc 10:16b-17 . . and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O
land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time-- for
strength, and not for drunkenness.

The word translated "princes" means: a head person of any rank or class--
captains, chiefs, generals, governors, keepers, lords, taskmasters, monarchs,
kings, magnates, barons, czars, foremen, supervisors, etc.

A hearty breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and cereal wouldn't be considered feasting.
But a banquet, replete with alcohol, so early in the day, would have to be construed
as indulgence. Here in America, where we have so much, overeating is a big
problem. Many of us don't eat because we're hungry. No, we eat for recreation:
simply because we like food.

* Overeating isn't the same as gluttony. Real gluttony is where revelers stuff
themselves then regurgitate it so they can continue. But chronic overeating can be
evidence of the possible presence of other vices. There used to be an old saying
that chubby people are the happiest people. But we now know that over-eating is
often the result of psychological problems like depression and anxiety disorders. Is
that the kind of people we need in positions of leadership? I seriously doubt it.

● Ecc 10:18-19 . .Through slothfulness the ceiling sags, through lazy hands the
house caves in. They make a banquet for revelry; wine makes life merry, and
money answers every need.

People with vices often put a higher priority upon satisfying their appetites than
taking care of business. Drug addicts often lose their jobs for non-productivity and
tardiness. Some lose their friends, and their mental health. Gamblers risk the loss
of their homes, credit ratings, and bank accounts. Binge eaters risk heart attacks,
strokes, and hardening of the arteries. Smokers risk cancer, premature aging, and
high blood pressure. And addicts on meth risk losing their teeth, ergo: the best
time to break a bad habit is before it starts.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 10:20 . . Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in
your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the
wing may report what you say.

The Hebrew word translated "revile" basically means: to belittle, vilify, despise or
express contempt for someone. It can also mean to wish (either in your heart or
out loud) for someone's misfortune, or to hope they experience some sort of harm,
calamity, and/or injury.

Vilifying the rich is one thing; but vilifying those that employ you in their business is
quite another and can possibly lead to the loss of a promotion, or even your job.

Solomon's advice on this point is extremely valuable; and the practice of discretion
is an outstanding social skill. It never seems to fail, that when friends get together,
some begin airing petty grievances against their supervisors. Of course they
wouldn't dare do this if any of the supervisors' friends were around; but they make
the common mistake of assuming their friends are all loyal, and can keep a secret,
and protect them from scandal. But you just never know who among your friends
might be wearing two faces; and looking for an opportunity to curry favor with the
very person you just now ran into the ground.

Even the walls can quite literally have ears. One year, we were on vacation and
staying at a friend's home in the town where we were. Well, one evening as my
wife and I were planning our itinerary for the next day, I complained that the day
would be ruined if our host wanted to come with us. Guess what? Their home had
central heating and every room was equipped with a vent that connected to the
main ductwork; which quite effectively carried sounds to every room in the house
like a tubular telegraph system. Our host overheard everything we said.

Nowadays we pretty much have to assume that strange rooms, and even our
workplaces, are equipped with hidden microphones and tiny little video cameras.
Privacy is becoming scarcer and scarcer in the modern world and surveillance more
common.

● Ecc 11:1-2 . . Send your bread forth upon the waters; for after many days you
will find it. Distribute portions to seven or even to eight, for you cannot know what
misfortune may occur on earth.

In Solomon's opinion; a well-rounded person is charitable. Altruism is one of those
characteristics that should be included in everyone's social résumé; and makes us a
better person for it. Nowadays, college aspirants have to put in some time
benefiting their communities in some way because it looks good on an application.

They say charity begins at home. From there, it moves on out into the
neighborhood, and ultimately into the world: foreign aid for example. Some people
object to foreign aid because it drains American resources badly needed on the
home front. But drain or not, it's a good policy. Not only is it humanitarian, and
therefore morally right; but you just never know when America herself will be down
and out and the very people who were down on their luck that we assisted with
weapons, food, technology, and medicine, might one day reciprocate and help us
out in some way.

America is sometimes accused of buying friends with foreign aid, and no doubt
some of that is true. But not always. And even if it were 100% true; so what? You
don't need to love people to be charitable. It makes good sense to build yourself a
base of good will just in case you need a favor some day. People you have helped
are more inclined to help you back than those you ignored; and in this big bad
world, you need all the friends you can get.

"I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is
gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." (Luke 16:9)

Most of the time, guests wear out their welcome and sometimes are even asked to
leave. But "eternal dwellings" suggests that out of gratitude for your charity, your
host is likely to be favorably inclined to invite you to remain as long as you like.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 11:3-6 . . If the clouds are filled, they will pour down rain on the earth; and if
a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will stay where it falls. If one
watches the wind, he will never sow; and if one observes the clouds, he will never
reap.

. . Just as you do not know how the life-breath passes into the limbs within the
womb of the pregnant woman, so you cannot foresee the actions of God, who
causes all things to happen. Sow your seed in the morning, and don’t hold back
your hand in the evening, since you don’t know which is going to succeed, the one
or the other, or if both are equally good.

Just about any mention of a "God" in the book of Ecclesiastes is superficial rhetoric,
and has nothing to do with genuine faith.

Anyway; what Solomon seems to be saying is: If people waited until all the
conditions were just right before making a move, life would pass them by and many
opportunities would be missed. In other words: "Life is a risk; take it."

● Ecc 11:7-8 . . How sweet is the light, what a delight for the eyes to behold the
sun! Even if a man lives many years, let him enjoy himself in all of them,
remembering how many the days of darkness are going to be. The only future is
nothingness!

We know from the revealed portions of scripture that the afterlife is neither
darkness nor nothingness. But in the limited perception of the man under the sun,
one's existence on earth is all there is. Philosophically then, it's wasteful to
suppress one's potential in this life when the end of all opportunity is so inevitable.

● Ecc 11:9-10 . . Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be
pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart
and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all
these things. So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your
body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

I let my past go too fast,
No time to pause.
If I could slow it all down,
Like some captain whose ship runs aground,
I could wait until the tide comes around.
RUSH, Time Stand Still, 1987

Life can't be put on hold, nor can one pause and savor the moment because
moments are transient. The instant moments happen, they become fixed in the
frozen sea of the past. People who think to save themselves for marriage for
example, can do no such thing. One cannot save life as if it were possible to put life
in storage. No, life goes on. When people try to save themselves for later; they only
end up letting themselves go to waste because youth isn't static; no, youth is left
behind like the treads of a rope bridge crumbling off behind you for every step
taken as you cross over to the other side; ergo: the time to live life is while you
have it; not wait to live it later after you've gone to seed. That rope bridge steadily
gets to the point when there are no treads left to retrace your steps.

Young people should enjoy a young person's life to the fullest while they have the
chance; but of course not to excess because any reasonable sense of justice
expects a day when a supreme being will call everyone into account. But
nevertheless; there is a lot to life that can be fully enjoyed only while we are
young. Age takes the pleasure out of many things in life that were once fresh and
exciting.

Take Disneyland in Los Angeles for example. Walt's park was built in the 1950's,
completed just three years before I became a teen-ager. Oh; how I yearned to go
there and ride the Jungle Cruise, a boat ride on the rivers of the world-- and we
lived in San Diego, only a measly ninety miles from Anaheim. Well, my mom and
dad never did take us; and I didn't go on my own until I got out of the Army; but
by then the thrill was gone; it was more of a curiosity than a pleasure. You know
why? Because I wasn't a kid anymore. So don't let youth slip through your fingers.
Don't put off kid things till you are older; because when you are older, kid things
won't be near as much fun nor will they be nearly as interesting either.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 11:9-10 +

There was a time when I had 20-20 vision and could gaze at the stars with my
unaided eyes and see them all crisp and sharp, even the really tiny ones. Then one
day I started noticing birds with four wings. Astigmatism had crept up on me and
there was nothing I could do about it except start wearing glasses.

In later years, I developed cataracts; which make it difficult to drive at night
because the headlights of oncoming cars are like looking at flares through an oily
window and make it really hard for me to see the white lines. Even in bright
daylight, cataracts prevented me from reading street signs till I was very close and
then of course too late to safely turn on the one I wanted. So I have artificial lenses
in both eyes to go along with the artificial joints that I have in both knees.

And now at 81+ I have end stage esophageal cancer. I've had all the appropriate
radiation and chemo plus a stent installed in my esophagus so I can get foods and
beverages down into my stomach past the cancer but have come to the point
where there are no more viable treatments for my condition and the doctors have
counseled me to be thinking about the end of life.

● Ecc 12:1 . . So appreciate your vigor in the days of your youth, before those days
of sorrow come and those years arrive of which you will say: I have no pleasure in
them.

Most people cope pretty well with middle age, and old age too-- as long as they're
in good health, their mind is sound and, they have the right attitude. But nobody
does good with advanced age.

Your bowels won't work right, you'll be incontinent and smell bad; diverticulitis
causes blood in your stools, your skin will be thin and easily torn, blue veins pop
out on your legs and on the backs of your hands, you won't see things unless
they're right under your nose, your sense of smell will be weak right along with
your sense of taste. Savory foods will taste like cardboard and your stomach can't
deal with them anyway.

No more hiking, no more bicycle rides, no more airplane trips, and very little travel.
Walking, if you're able to walk at all, will really be little more than a shuffle of slow,
flat footed, jerky little short steps rather than a brisk fluid stroll.

● Ecc 12:2 . . before sun and light and moon and stars grow dark, and the clouds
come back again after the rain:

Often, as people get older and their health begins to fail, friends will ask: Hey,
how's ol' so and so doing? And someone will say: Oh, he has his good days and he
has his bad days. Well, eventually ol' so and so will have only his bad days and no
good days ever again.

● Ecc 12:3a . .When the keepers of the house become shaky,

Keeping house requires the use of one's hands for mopping, dusting, and doing
laundry and dishes. Aged people's hands tremble. They can't hold anything steady.
In fact, they have so little strength and dexterity left in their hands that they can't
grasp anything securely; so they drop stuff a lot.

● Ecc 12:3b . . And the men of valor are bent,

Those in advanced age, even if they were once proud Olympic athletes, can't stand
up straight and keep their shoulders back anymore. Older people get bent and
hunched. They shrink too, and some practically curl over like a fish hook.

My mother-in-law really loved birds. But her back was so bent over that she
couldn't look up to see them, and unless they were only a few yards away, she
couldn't even lift her head high enough to see the ones down low on the ground. I
could've gotten her the finest Leica optics money can buy, but it would just be
throwing money out with the recycle. She couldn't use them on a birding trip, nor
could she even go on one. And if that weren't enough, she lost the use of one eye
because of glaucoma.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 12:3c . . the grinding ones stand idle because they are few,

Before the advent of dentures and professional dental care, people commonly lost
their teeth from decay and gum disease. As they got older, people lost more and
more teeth until the day came when there finally weren't enough teeth left in their
mouth to bite off food and chew it. Foods like grains, meats, and many crispy fresh
fruits and vegetables were simply out of the question; so they had to eat mushy
foods, foods that were overcooked; or that didn't require a lot of biting and
chewing. There's still a lot of that in third world countries.

● Ecc 12:3d . . and those that look through the windows grow dim,

Cataracts are a common ailment among the aged. It's a cruel condition because it
clouds the eye's lens thus preventing full passage of light to the retina. When I had
my own cataracts treated, I was amazed. Not only was the world a whole lot
brighter, but colors were more vivid too. But back in Solomon's day, there was no
treatment for cataracts; so people's eyesight just waxed worse and worse as time
went on to the point where they could no longer even get around on their own or
even so much as recognize familiar friends.

● Ecc 12:4a . . And the doors to the street are shut--

The doors are shut because aged people get chilled easily by drafts. Riding on a city
transit bus once, in the dead of summer in San Diego, some senior citizens shut my
window because the air blowing in was making them cold even though the rest of
us on board were broiling in the heat.

● Ecc 12:4b . . with the noise of the hand mill growing fainter, and the song of the
bird growing feebler, and all the strains of music dying down;

My age to date is 81. I can hear people speak, but can't always tell what they're
saying, plus I've lost some hearing in the higher and lower frequencies which
makes it difficult for me to enjoy the full range of my favorite stereo music. That
thing about birds is so true. We were out in the woods with a young guide one year
and he was identifying birds by their chirps which I could not hear at all.

● Ecc 12:5a . .When one is afraid of heights

We can fall aplenty when we're young and get away with it. Our joints are tight and
strong, our ligaments are taught and springy, our bones are solid and tough, and
we can handle all the bumps and bruises life throws at us. But not so when we
reach advanced age. Falls, even little falls, are extremely hazardous; and can even
be fatal.

Every now and then the news runs a story of an aged person who stumbled and fell
at home and broke a hip; and couldn't even reach the telephone to call for help;
sometimes laying there for days until the landlord or relatives checked in on them.
I knew an aged lady who's broken hip actually caused her death. Her body was so
weak already from fighting cancer that the broken hip put it over the edge.

● Ecc 12:5b . . And there is fear on the road.

Back in Solomon's day, people didn't move about cocooned in the safety and
comfort of a climate-controlled shell of metal and glass like many of us do today in
modern motorized vehicles. Well; they didn't have inoculations for pneumonia back
then so the aged were always in danger of literally catching their death outdoors
due to exposure to wind, rain, cold, and dampness.

Back in 1966, I drove up to Oregon from San Diego all alone in a VW beetle and
slept in the car at night rather than pay for a motel. I was only 22 years old then
and totally unconcerned for my safety. Today I would not even think of such a
venture; too risky, any number of things could go wrong which, back then, I
wouldn't have given a second thought.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 12:5c . . The almond tree may blossom, the grasshopper be [gravid], and the
caper bush may bud again; but man sets out for his eternal abode, with mourners
all around in the street.

Nature isn't dismayed by the passing of a human life. Flowers continue to bloom,
bugs continue to multiply, and fruit continues to appear on vines, bushes, and
trees; and birds continue to migrate. When people drop dead, the world doesn't
drop dead with them. Trees and flowers go right on budding and blooming, fish go
on swimming, birds go on flying, bees go on buzzing, the Earth goes right on
turning, and the Moon goes right on shining as usual just like nothing ever
happened.

The world was doing just fine before any one of us came along, and it will go on
doing just fine after we're all gone. When those 2,829 people died in the 2001
terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, and another 200,000+ were killed in the
2010 Haiti earthquake, and another 169,752 were killed in the 2004 tsunami in
Indonesia, and yet another 25,000 killed and/or went missing in Japan's tsunami in
2011 --nature felt neither pity nor remorse; and the stars in their courses didn't
dim even the slightest.

Standard funerals here in the USA are actually harmful because they're anti green.
The figures below represent chemicals and construction materials consumed on
account of, and/or buried with, America's dead in just one calendar year.

» 30,000,000+ board feet of hardwoods

» 100,000+ tons of bronze, steel, and copper

» 1,000,000+ tons of concrete.

» 1,000,000+ gallons of formaldehyde

Not to mention the 2,000,000+ acres of land devoted to existing cemeteries
maintained with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and petro-chemical fertilizers
which all eventually leach into the soil and into our water sources.

We are literally killing the planet to honor our dead. And the irony of it all-- the
sublime irony --is that the reason half of us go to funerals is to pay our respects to
people we couldn't be bothered with when they were alive.

● Ecc 12:6 . . Yes, remember your creator now, before the silver cord snaps and
the bowl crashes, the jar is shattered at the spring, and the jug is smashed at the
cistern.

Well; you know what they say about Humpty Dumpty: All the king's horses and all
the king's men couldn't put Humpty back together again.

The silver cord and the golden bowl probably refers to a type of suspended light
source constructed of ornate terracotta containers filled with a flammable oil.

Well; those ancient bowls, jars, and jugs were fragile. Once broken, they weren't
repaired; they were discarded and replaced with new units. Man is like that-- just a
fragile vessel; and death destroys him beyond repair like a shattered clay pot.

● Ecc 12:7a . . And the dust returns to the ground as it was,

Man's body is composed of mother nature's physical elements. She wants them
back. But the power that makes things alive doesn't consist of mother nature's
elements. The power of life is divine; and God (or the gods, whatever) wants it
back after you're done with it.

● Ecc 12:7b . . and the life-breath returns to God [or the gods; whatever] who
bestowed it.

In other words; man's life is a short-term loan, so to speak.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 12:8 . . Utter futility-- said Koheleth --all is meaningless!

Well, there you have it-- an objective evaluation of the human experience. It's
fragile, brief, subject to termination without the benefit of even so much as a
moment's notice, and punctuated with misery. Is it any wonder then that from the
perspective of a man under the sun; the human experience is completely pointless?

When people reach what is commonly called the age of reasoning; some of their
very first questions are: Why am I here? Where did I come from? What is the
meaning of life, and is there a purpose for mine?

I think it's very normal (or at least very common) for people to seek a reason for
their existence; and without it, they can only conclude that the human experience
is futile; which can be roughly defined as serving no useful purpose; for example:

Nobel Prize winner, author of several best-selling books, and recipient of at least a
dozen honorary degrees, physicist Steven Weinberg (who views religion as an
enemy of science), in his book "The First Three Minutes" wrote: The more the
universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless. But if there is no
solace in the fruits of our research, there is at least some consolation in the
research itself . . . the effort to understand the universe is one of the very few
things that lifts human life a little above the level of a farce and gives it some of the
grace of tragedy.

What a dismal appraisal. In Mr. Weinberg's opinion, the human experience scarce
escapes the categories of farce and tragedy; its quest for knowledge seems the
only thing that gives humanity any excuse to exist at all. The universe? It's just a
meaningless void decorated with fascinating objects --a carnival side show of
cosmic curiosities, so to speak.

Wouldn't it be sad if we only lived and died like insects and fungi? I mean, what
would be the point of it all? They say a mind is a terrible thing to waste. What real
advantage is it to have something so useful as a human mind if it's only going to
die and stop working after many years of learning and experience? And what real
advantage is it for the mind of the present to make the world a better place for the
next generation of minds if the mind of the present doesn't live to see it? That's
really no more significant an existence than that of the individuals in a bee hive or a
termite colony.

● Ecc 12:9-10 . . A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to
instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundness of many maxims.
Koheleth sought to discover useful sayings and recorded genuinely truthful sayings.

Solomon's argument smacks of circular reasoning in that he regards his own
personal philosophy as "genuinely truthful sayings" while any and all second
opinions are misinformation solely because he honestly believes himself incapable
of error. That's hardly a novel attitude. Many bright people are deeply offended
when those of lesser IQ question their (sage) opinions. However, we're inclined to
give Solomon the benefit of the doubt and go along with his self-evaluation because
we are, after all, folks under the Sun who, for the most part, don't know any better
anyway.

● Ecc 12:11a . .The words of wise men are like goads,

Goads were used by mule skinners and such who drive oxen and/or horses to pull
plows and wagons. The device is a bit like the pointed tool that workers use to pick
up trash along roadways: a long stick whittled to a sharp point at one end. A fancy
goad might include an ornate metal prod at one end. When the skinners want an ox
to get moving, they just poke its rump.

Anyway; wise people are difficult to oppose without coming across as obtuse
because everything they say makes sense to those of us with a lesser IQ. Even
when the wise are wrong they sound right so there's nothing to gain by matching
wits with them. they'll just keep sticking it to you.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Ecc 12:11b . . and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails;

The word for "nails" isn't actually a nail but a peg. Small pegs can be used as
dowels to build furniture. Large ones can be used as fence posts; and other sizes
can be used to hold a tent in place. A husky peg on a tug boat can be used as a tow
bit. So peg has lots of meanings and one that we can easily apply in this passage is
that the person who takes the words of the wise seriously, supposedly becomes a
solid, stable individual.

● Ecc 12:11c . .they are given by one shepherd.

If you asked twenty people to draw a crooked line; you would get twenty dissimilar
lines. Wisdom is like a straight line. If you asked those same twenty people to draw
a straight line, all twenty lines would look the same. They might have different
lengths, and they might be of different thickness, but they would all conform to the
well known geometric axiom that a straight line is the shortest distance between
two points.

Straight lines don't zig nor zag nor kink nor sag nor bow nor bend like a crooked
line. All straight lines look the same because straight lines go in only one direction;
viz: the words of the wise must be consistent if they're to be taken seriously. A
wishy-washy philosopher is just a blow-hard.

● Ecc 12:12 . . But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is
endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

Back then I'd imagine that prolific authors wore themselves out what with no
machines like typewriters to work with. In our day, writing is a snap with
computerized word processing.

"My son" doesn't necessarily refer to Koheleth's kin; but can also refer to his
students. The teacher then, is the student's father, in an academic sort of way.
There's a number of incidents in the Old Testament where Bible students are called
sons of the prophets. Compare 2Kings 2:12 where Elijah's apprentice Elisha, called
his master "my father". (cf. 2Tim 2:1)

● Ecc 12:13a . .The sum of the matter, when all is said and done:

Solomon has discussed how life is out of balance; viz: its unjust and unfair; cruel
and punctuated with misery-- youth is temporary, happiness is fragile, joy is
fleeting, and entertainment provides only momentary relief.

Life traps us in circumstances beyond our control and we're often dominated by
unscrupulous people. Life is pointless, much too brief, and everyone, both the good,
the bad, and the ugly, are faced with old age and the inevitability of death. So . .
since that is our situation; what is the use of life anyway? If life is such a dead-end,
a pointless pursuit, then why should we take it seriously; if at all?
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

.
● Ecc 12:13b-14 . . Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to
all mankind: that God will call every creature to account for everything unknown,
be it good or bad.

Wouldn't it be sad if we only lived and died like insects and fungi? I mean, what
would be the point of it all? What real advantage is it to have a beautiful mind if it's
only going to die and stop working after many years of learning and experience?
And what real value is it to the minds of the present to make the world a better
place for the next generation of minds if the minds of the present don't live to see
it?

Belief in a supreme being gives one's life meaning: it gives people a hope for the
future after they're destroyed by old age and death. Wouldn't it be far better to
perceive yourself part of a grand scheme instead of walking across the stage of
your all too brief life as an insignificant speck in a pointless cosmos?

As my wife and I decline and wax older and older, we feel sadness for the loss of
our youth. There was a time when we were both bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and
could get by with very little rest. The skin on our face, and under our chin, was
tight, and our middles were lean and defined. Today we're sag-bottomed, puffy,
and flaccid.

The great cowboy artist Charles Russell once commented that time traded him
wrinkles for teeth. Me too. I've lost teeth, some are capped, and my gums have
receded. The teeth that remain have become so brittle that I have to be careful
when eating my favorite hard candies.

Believing that there is a supreme being, and a future world, lifts our spirits and
strengthens us to cope with aging and the onset of death. We have promise of a
great, eternal future out ahead in a world where youth is the norm, and no one dies
or gets sick.

Even if our expectations are a totally fantasy, my wife and I are far better off than
the man under the sun-- the pragmatic man --who has resigned himself to futility;
to live out his pointless existence with no more importance than a rez dog or an
alley cat; to die and be recycled back into the matrix from whence he came; the
meanwhile suppressing a gnawing anxiety in the back of his mind that there just
might be an afterlife after all.

-- The End --