Broken Wheel

- Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. - I’ve struggled with my weight for most of my life. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally started to get it under control. Then, I had to deal with the whole infertility thing and ice cream makes me feel WAY better. I’ve got to get my diet back under control again and trus...

- For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? - The first part of this verse may be familiar to you. This isn’t the first time Solomon has made this claim, but you may have forgotten since we discussed it about a year ago. I never claimed to be doing this fast. It’s a strange question, as daily we witness wi...

- All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. - Guys, I’m not going to lie. I’m so happy were not talking about stillborn children anymore. Let’s dive in =) Why do you work so hard? I know when I first started working and made my first $100, I was thrilled. It was more money than I knew what to do with, mainly because video games sold for $60 a pop. Do we work for thin...

- Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place? - This is our last verse comparing the stillborn to the rich man. Did you know that men’s brains don’t finish developing until around age 25? Can’t find a good guy? Perhaps you should date older men. While there is no doubt a myriad of things that change in our bodies throughout our lives, t...

- Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. - Rest is a funny idea, hard to tie down. It’s a common problem we experience in language: the inability to accurately explain the emotion we are experiencing when our most used words fail to do so completely . They require additional modifiers, such as an accompanying definition, tone, or look. One of my ESL...

- For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. - Jessie, Tyler, and Sam, my kids. One of the cruelties of dealing with infertility is you precisely know when and how you lose your children. Stillborn infants and miscarriages are tragic. A woman experiences pregnancy, the family gathers around her to rejoice, and then it’s gone. What leaves is hope, purpose, and...

- If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. - I told you chapter 6 was bleak. What defines a good life? I’m sure that ancient people, those from 150 years ago, and modern people have different answers. They wou...

- There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. - That’s five chapters down – onto the sixth! It may be slow going, but we’re chipping away =) Appre...

- Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” - Hunter! This is not Ecclesiastes! You tricked me! =) Hey, I know this is a bit of a detour. I’ve been studying John, in the same way I studied Ecclesiastes, and this verse seemed so pertinent, that I thought a post on it would be warranted. One thing that is crucial to remember when reading Ecclesias...

- For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. - One of my favorite chores is washing dishes. No, I’m not a masochist or in any other way deranged. I just like how the activity focuses me. The warm water, the simple decisions, the visual feedback of cleaning, all combines to create a sense of accomplishment and meditation. Okay, maybe I’m...

- Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. - If you live a middle-class life in America, it’s hard to argue that you don’t have wealth and possessions. I mean, some kings didn’t have plumbing. You’re doing great, practically royalty. We need to think about this verse though in the cont...

- Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. - Remember how we discussed that certain themes repeat in Ecclesiastes? Vanity and striving after wind are the main ones. This idea of what is good or the best we can hope for in our lives r...

- Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. - I’m not a very social person. Even as a young child, I would prefer getting a good night’s sleep than staying up late with my friends at sleepovers. In many ways, I enjoyed getting up before them all the next morning. It was my time, and I used it to play a video game, talk with an adult over breakfast, or read...

- As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? - At first, we may think this verse refers to the son referenced in our previous post. He has come into the world with nothing and now the...

- and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. - If you’ll remember my last post, the man in verse 13 has retained his riches to the detriment of his soul or physical harm. What’s the idea there? The man sacrificed something, knowingly or unknowingly, for his riches. This happens constantly in our lives even over the most mundane decisions...

- There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, - The language used in verse 13 might shock you. Solomon equates being hurt by one’s own wealth as a grievous evil? With all the pain and suffering, not to mention that of normal human existence, how could the injury of wealth ever compare? Why would anyone gather wealth? There are noble and foo...

- When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. - There is one part to verse 10 we did not discuss. The last little phrase almost seems trite when we are discussing money. Love of money is also vanity. Absolut...

- He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. - Money gets a bad rep. It’s easy to see why people get so confused! There’s a verse that calls the love of it the root of all evil, plus greed is one of the seven deadly sins. What’s interesting about all those critiques, is they have nothing to do with money. They have everything...

- But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields. - What should rule? That which pays attention, speaks the truth, and fears God. Hopefully old news to most of you. Why is a ruler, someone who inhabits those traits, applauded for the single action of cultivating fields? If you were posed our verse in the form of a question, what would be your answer? What is the mo...

- If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. - Have you guys noticed Ecclesiastes is filled with some strange verses? Imagine, before reading today’s verse, I told you the Bible teaches us to expect oppression? Yeah, I agree...

- For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. - What happens when you have multiple dreams? When we are born, we have something that immediately begins to deplete as we age. Potential. In that time, we are malleable. We can learn almost any language (even multiple), practice any sport without criticism, and try anything readily available to us....

- It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? - Why would anyone want to take a vow that they had no intention to pay? Doing so just discredits their word. Who wants to be known as untrustworthy? We...

- When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. - Words are trash. That’s why everybody asks for it in writing. We know we’re being lied to, so why not get the gotcha points later? Are the words trash because the person knows they’re lying? Most of the time, no. They’re scared, want it to be true, or are just rolling the dice, hoping they get...

- For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. - Let’s start with the last part of this verse. Does this mean that the smartest person in the world doesn’t speak? Maybe that’s true, but it’s not what the verse is saying. It’s speaking to the phenomenon we discussed last week. The fool runs his mouth and doesn’t say anything. I hate it when writers are self-referential,...

- Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. - You may have already put it together, but these first verses in Chapter 5 contain a similar theme. What are they looking at exactly? They are instructions, perhaps “expressions” is a better word, on how to fear God. Verse 2 is a comman...