September 2

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 22:15

Yes!  I get to do a post on Ecclesiastes!  And, woohoo!, I'm doing another one in two days!  Yahoo!

I'm serious, people.  I have long wanted to do an in-depth study on Ecclesiastes.  That won't happen here (or today), but perhaps this post will be the final push for me to hunt down some commentaries and start researching.  

I've always been interested in this book.  Now, as I've established elsewhere and more than once, I love the Old Testament.  I love the history of it, the narratives, the faithfulness of God as he just keeps pursuing Israel.  I love the altar-building, the festivals, the questions and answers and songs that the nation uses to help it remember.  I love the various literary forms and watching for God to fulfill promises and prophecies.  Love, love, love the OT.

This book, specifically, catches my attention each year.  Part of the attraction is that I have a melancholic temperament (see this link if you're interested in more information, but take it with a grain of salt!), and this book with its questions and lack of optimism and searching sits easily in my soul.  Part of the attraction is that I've been a stay-at-home mom full-time for more than a dozen years, and every day/week often reflects the sameness, the ennui, that the Teacher describes in Ecclesiastes 1:5-10a.  I feel like the Teacher gets me, you know?  And part of the attraction is the thoughtfulness and intentionality of the Teacher as he explores the world around him.  He sees an area of inquiry, makes a plan, follows through, and reflects on the experience.  For a woman who has created traditions out of thin air, planned out a reading schedule a year in advance, and written a daily to-do list for years, this methodology speaks to me.  Lastly, I'm attracted to the hope that's inherent in this book.  Though he may grow discouraged, the Teacher time and time again remembers that life is good and that God is good.  Even though I'm a pessimist (see melancholic, above) about the minutiae of life, I have a long-term positive outlook because God is good, and God is in control.  I appreciate the reminders that Ecclesiastes brings.

Some of the many true things the Teacher says:

- "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief" (Ecc. 1:18).  The more invested I am in knowing and being known, the more observant I am of the world around me, the more pain and suffering I will be exposed to.  My husband and one of our sons are in Houston this weekend, and Eric says the outpouring of concern has been stupendous.  In conversation recently, we wondered if the tragedy of Katrina has made America more aware and, thus, more responsive.  We didn't know then, but we know now.

- "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work.  This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" (Ecc. 2:24-25). If we can find such elemental joy in our lives, are we not fully blessed?  How great a thing it is to be hungry, and to satisfy that hunger with food!  And food of all sorts and flavors - bacon and peanut butter with chocolate and tortilla chips and sourdough bread bowls filled with soup and fresh fruit pies!  Richness!  Clear, clean, cool water when you're thirsty?  Heaven.  Not to mention the delight of loving the work that one does, of finding meaning and value in the many hours we devote to our occupation.  What a true thing the Teacher concludes - and he'll conclude it multiple times throughout the book (see 3:12-13, for example).

- Though The Byrds may have made the lyrical section in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 into an anti-war ballad, the philosophical explanation of the movement of life is so, so beautiful.  The Teacher sees the ebb and flow of life, the turn of season and situation, and accepts the variations - variations that are, at the same time, constant and consistent.  

- My favorite of all: "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecc. 3:11).  Wow.  I mean, just wow.

I hope that you found both reality and beauty in our reading today.  I hope, too, that you found those same two truths present in your physical life today and in your experience of our God.  We live in the both/and of the time between the cross and the new kingdom, and Ecclesiastes gives a good voice to that world.

- Sarah Marsh

How did God speak to you in Scripture today? Click here to share your reflections on God's word or read past posts. We'd love to hear from you.