26 July

Bible In 365 Days                                                                       

Ecclesiastes 9-12

Ecclesiastes 9

In view of the evidences of the truth of the affirmation, "vanity . . . all is vanity," the preacher now turns to its effect on the mind of the man living "under the sun." He extols this worldly wisdom, which he has already inculcated, and then exemplifies this method. He defends this wisdom and extols it.

First of all, it is to be remembered that all things are in the hand of God. Of course, his doctrine of God is that already dealt with in the earlier part of the discourse. The fact now is that these things being in God's hand, men do not know them, nor can they. The only certain thing is that there is one event to all, righteous and wicked, clean and unclean, the worshiper and the man who fails in worship, the good and the sinner, the swearer and the man who fears an oath. All these are really evil, with madness in their heart in life, and move to death. There is some hope in life, and yet all life at last passes into the utter failure of death. Therefore there is nothing for it other than to enter into the present life, to eat and drink, and to dress, to enter into the experiences of the life of vanity, for there is nothing beyond it. Everything is to be done in the present moment, and for the present moment with might, because there is nothing beyond. Still further, there is very little advantage in the things which men count advantageous. Swiftness, and strength, and wisdom, and skill, of what value are they in view of the fact that as fishes and birds are snared unawares, so at any moment the end of all may come? Wisdom under the sun is granted to be of much relative value, but in the long issues it is of little worth.

Ecclesiastes 10

How, then, does worldly wisdom work? The preacher shows that its first manifestation is discretion based upon selfishness. This section is a series of brief sayings which are of the nature of proverbs, laying down axioms and enjoining habits. One sinner destroyeth much good. Dead flies spoil the ointment. Do not manifest your folly.

Do not fight against the ruler; yield to him. It is admitted that rulers are often foolish. Do not make the weapons of your own destruction. If your weapon is blunt, use strength, but be careful. Do not charm the serpent that has bitten you. Do not talk. Do not do too much. Be temperate. Be diligent. Be accommodating. Be cautious. This is a very condensed analysis of this section. The preacher had no idea of stating things so bluntly as this, but these are the thoughts underlying the more stately language of the discourse. They are plausible indeed, and there is an element of truth and value in them; but, taken as a whole, they are such things as men with no vision of the spiritual will accept. They constitute the essence of worldly wisdom. The inspiration of the whole of them is selfishness. All that is valuable in them might be otherwise inspired, but here they are the outcome of convictions already expressed, that in view of the vanity and emptiness of life man's only wise course is to enter into the present moment in all its fulness and abandon all attempt after deeper satisfaction.

Ecclesiastes 11

The method of worldly wisdom is not that of discretion only; it is, moreover, that of diligence, and this passage urges such diligence. Again, we have taken more than one text out of this passage to preach the truth of God, and therein we do not necessarily do wrong, for there are high spiritual applications of all these things. However, it must be remembered that here they are related to the outlook which has characterized the whole discourse. We have not yet reached, though we are fast approaching it, the point of correction. The whole of this may be summarized by saying that it teaches the necessity for diligence in the midst of the things of this life, "Cast thy bread upon the waters" is an injunction to the toiler that makes harvest possible. "Give a portion to seven" is advice to use all opportunity speculatively, because one does not know what calamities may be ahead, and because it is well to have provided beforehand for such contingencies. All this is followed by advice not to waste time in attempting to decide improbable things; and, finally the words of verses six and seven may be expressed in latter-day language as, "Get at it"; "Keep at it"; "Make hay while the sun shines." Almost weirdly this section, setting forth the value and method of worldly wisdom, ends in the same wail of disappointment which has characterized the whole of the discourse. "If a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity."

The last division of the Book begins with the ninth verse of this chapter. Its first word, like the first word of the Manifesto of the King in later days, indicates the true thought and desire of God for man: "Rejoice." A statement of life which includes all of truth recognized in the discourse, and yet which far transcends the whole of it, is first made. A man is to enter into life, his own life, and his present life, with avidity; and he is constantly to do so in the sight of God, remembering his relationship to God. Judgment here does not mean punishment but verdict. Everything is to be tested first by the supremacy of God. To attempt to find Him through the medium of our self-pleasing use of life is utterly to fail. To enthrone Him first, and then attempt to find life through Him, is to cancel forever the word "vanity."

Ecclesiastes 12

The preacher now proceeds in language full of poetic beauty to urge the young to remember their Creator. We then reach the epilogue of the sermon. It first repeats the theme as announced at the beginning, and tells how the preacher, through study and diligence, still attempted to teach the people knowledge; and, finally, in the concluding two verses, a great statement of truth is made, understanding and acting upon which the pessimistic views of life resulting from materialism will never be known. At the center is this statement: "This is the whole of man." The word "duty" has no real place in the sentence. What is the whole of man? "To fear God and keep His commandments." To do this is to find life not merely under the sun, but over it as well, to pass from the imperfect hemisphere into the whole sphere. To do this is to have light on the facts and problems of life which otherwise are dark and dismal.