Broken Wheel

- Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. - This verse does not seem that important at all does it? In fact, why in the world are we spending a post on just these fourteen words? Listen, I almost split this into two posts, so no complaining. Sometimes you, yes you mythical reader, sound a whole lot like the Israelites demanding quail in the desert. Here is the deal,...

- Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. - I have seen many people who read Ecclesiastes and take the eat and drink verses out of context. Ecclesiastes 9:7 should become your go to passage to understand them. In what way do they misinterpret them? Its hard to apply motive, but I think there is a subconscious desire within ever...

- Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. - Our verse today talks about what happens after we die. Solomon makes the argument like he has made many times throughout the book that this state removes us from the hope of this life. Today, I want to look to something different. Legacy and Heaven, the two thi...

- For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. - Hey folks, sorry for dropping off the face of the earth this past week. I know that can be a bit unnerving considering me and Katie’s current experience with infertility. In short, Katie had a surgery this Monday that I thought I would be able to write through....

- But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. - I’m writing this post on Easter Morning, and I can promise you nothing puts you more in the Easter mood than contemplating mortality. Also, there’s an owl just hooting up a storm (has been doing so for the past few hours), and I’m listening to the Moonlight Sonata on my iPhone speaker. You may feel...

- It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the childre...

- But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. - Hey, congrats everyone! We are officially two thirds through the whole book! That is right, we only have four more chapters. I know, like you I am worried about what we will do next, but seeing as I should be...

- then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. - Wait a minute! We’ve been lied to! Solomon said all the way at the beginning of the book that he had seen everything under the sun and now he is just telling us it is impossible...

- When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, - The meaning of the second half of verse 16 is a tad tricky to understand primarily because of the grammar. We may read this verse and think that those whose eye’s do not see sleep is referring to those that perform their business upon the earth. Now, in our...

- When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, - What does it mean to apply your heart to know wisdom? It’s not a phrase we typically use or parts of the body we think about being used together. We may at times refer to them to say, “My heart and my mind are at peace with this decision.” What exactly are w...

- There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through t...

- Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. - Okay, we’ve gone over the first part of these two verses and now we are onto the second half. I feel like that is a to...

- Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. - Okay, I apologize for the way I’ve broken up these verses, but I think this is the easiest way to see the two points b...

- Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. - Did you know that children with higher IQ’s lie when younger? I’m always amazed at the idea that children are inherently good. I’ve met plenty of infants, and none of them to me were remotely innocent. If anything, they were present . They didn’t have a concept of the f...

- Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily , the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. - Katie and I are working through reading the Bible together this year. We’ve both read it cover to cover, but not together. It’s a fun experience, as we get the chance to discuss the stories together, finding insights into God’s character and our own lives. The morning...

- Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. - Why do the wicked prosper? If God is in charge, shouldn’t they be punished and receive justice? Why would a good God allow good people to suffer by their hand? Starting in verse 10, Solomon begins to answer these questions. He may not jus...

- For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? - So - where have I been. The more astute readers may have put two and two together. Katie and I had another failed IVF transfer. We got the results on February the 5th. It has been a difficult couple of weeks. I didn’t have any posts in waiting, and I certainly didn’t feel like writing. Many times throughout this process,...

- All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt. - Remember how this chapter began? Right, it was in regards of how to act before a king or ruler. Who is the man who has power over another man to his hurt? It’s the king. If the king doesn’t like how you walked into his throne room, no one will stop him from punishing you. We...

- No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. - One of the earliest video games I played when I was a kid essentially had its plot inspired from this verse. It’s not to original. There was a really bad wizard who had magical powers over life and death. He wanted to (shock of shocks) li...

- For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? - I know what you’re thinking. Seriously, Hunter, haven’t we discussed this like a hundred times already? How are you going to write another post on this topic again? Hey! Calm down! There is something different this time! Stop stalling and get on with it! Right, Solomon has addressed this before. We cannot know what is to...

- For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. - You know, I get really frustrated with people who say we don’t have free will. My reaction is so immediate, I find it hard to even call it rational. Way to destroy my own argument there. I have listened to a lot of arguments regarding free will or our lack thereof. Many people are determined to convince all...

- Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. - We will deal with the first part of this verse quickly. Those who always do what they are told are naïve. Cannot a government go bad? Not to those who always listen and follows its commands. They learn to truly love big brother, despite all the conflicting demands. The wise heart wil...

- Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” - One piece of this puzzle we did not answer in the last post is a pretty important one. What do Americans pledge themselves to? Well, it is the country itself which is a democratic republic. What does t...

- I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him. - Hey now, what’s this bit about a king? I thought Jesus was an American and republican! Doesn’t anyone read the King James anymore?!? Alright, bad jokes out of the way, we still need to answer a question raised by these jests. What does this verse have to do with us (Americans) seeing as we don’t have one of those kings anymore? Mayb...

- Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. - Wisdom is a peculiar thing. At times, we like to pretend that wisdom is like knowledge, but in our modern day, it is something quite different. Perhaps at one point there was no dividing line; now it is useful to use both words to delineate between tw...