Broken Wheel

- Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. - Well folks, we did it again. That’s another chapter in the rear-view mirror, and we are cruising onwards to Chapter 5. Let’s get started. The chapter begins with something more akin to the book of Proverbs than what we typically...

- There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind. - Today’s post is the final one for Chapter 4, and we are going to end along with it our discussion about the wise youth. Our last post outlined how the old king abandoned the ancient ideals of what a ruler was supposed to uphold. What ev...

- I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king’s place. - Hey, do you remember that post we did on what should rule ? It had that picture of a really cool chess piece? No…. That’s cool…. Your feelings are hurt…. Let me do a quick recap. A king, in ancient times, was something like a drama. He was to “act” out the divine principles that shoul...

- Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. - People need the ability to see and speak in generalities about the world. Treating everything as a single, nuanced “thing” is too time consuming. The Bible does this in many regards, telling us to not to kil...

- And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. - Let’s talk about power. It’s a strange word. It can have various meanings like physical strength, the effect of one’s speech, and even the ability to perform an action, either through bureaucracy or skill. If given the choice, we would take more power over less. There’s nuanc...

- For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone - Both of our verses speak to the idea of unknown future suffering. The first verse speaks about when our own flesh fails. Something causes us to stumble or perhaps our foolishness causes us to gaf...

- Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. - I’ve had the pleasure of people over the years coming to me for relationship advice. It’s left me scratching my head as I met my wife when I was fifteen. What in the world do I know about dating? I’ve been lucky more than I’ve been right. The strange part? Apparently, what I have to say helps because people keep coming ba...

- Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. - This should sound a bit familiar. Right, we’ve already begun to hit on this theme. Solomon uses the...

- Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. - This is a truly inspired verse. Apologies for repeating this again, but I think you are supposed to see verses 4, 5, and 6 as all having a conversation together. Verse 4 states that working too hard is done because we are jealous of what our neighbors have. Verse 5 says it’s foolish to laze around because y...

- The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. - If you remember our post from this past Tuesday, I asked you to consider these next three verses together. I believe they are connected to show us a balance: a golden mean for all you philosophy nerds out there. The last verse is an admonishment not to work too hard. Why? At some point you begin not working for the purpose of providing but for t...

- Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. - Everyone, I’m a huge fan of these next three verses. I even like the formatting! In my ESV Bible, each one is broken out into its own paragraph, emphasizing the idea contained within each sentence. What’s this mean for us? Allow the next three verses to speak to...

- But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. - And you guys thought the last post was dark. I feel like this is the Ecclesiastes version of the meme “hold my beer.” Okay, enough of that. Why in the world is this lovely thought in our Bible? Let’s consider this from Solomon’s perspective first. Wisest king to rule Israel, built the t...

- And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. - This is a dark saying. It’s hard to imagine how this verse could ever have been God-breathed. Given the seriousness of this topic, I find it terrifying to say anything, fearing I’ll do more harm than good. Let me start by making an affirmation, and then maybe you can give me the grace to expand on t...

- Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. - And you thought chapter 4 was going to start off on a cheery note! *Commences evil laughter with appropriate lighting*. Sorry, everyone; not entirely sure what came over m...

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe

An audio recording of the previous post of the same title. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brokenwheel.substack.com/subscribe