Ecclesiastes Chapter Five, The Sacrifice Of Fools

Ecclesiastes 5:1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

The preacher commends prudence when going to God’s house. His house, in this instance, is the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem, the seat of Jewish worship. Here Yahweh appeared in the Shekinah glory behind the veil in the Holiest of All, over the mercy seat and the Ark of the Covenant. The KJV renders the verse, “keep thy foot.” In short, like the NKJV version, the idea is to walk circumspectly, to be aware of where and why we’re going where we’re going.

Wrestling With Doubt

Oxford defines the word “doubt,” as a “feeling of uncertainty,” or to, “disbelieve or mistrust someone.” For the Christian, doubt is a serious offense; it is a faith-based four letter word, tantamount to blasphemy for any who dare to express its reality in our lives…or is it?

Is doubt really as awful as all of that? Can a saint experience doubt, and is it wrong to do so? What does the Bible say about doubt, and how does it impact our faith? Can faith exist in the presence of doubt? There are really so many questions that can be asked about this topic. To pursue answers, we shall turn our attention to the gospels.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four, Parables & Reality

Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. [14] For he comes out of prison to be king, although he was born poor in his kingdom. [15] I saw all the living who walk under the sun; they were with the second youth who stands in his place. [16] There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king; yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

It could be that the preacher is reflecting on himself in this passage as the old and foolish king that will no longer accept admonition, see 1 Kings 11:4-6, 10, 11. And indeed, God raised up not only enemies, but a successor in the form of Jeroboam who would lead away 10 of the tribes to northern Israel, which would later become Samaria.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four, Solidarity

Ecclesiastes 4:11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?

“Again,” signifies that the preacher wishes to return to the same topic, but to approach it from a different perspective. This time, rather than partnership he refers to the most intimate companion one may find: a spouse.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four, Falling Alone

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. [10] For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.

The Tanakh renders verse 9, “Two are better off than one, in that they have greater benefit from their earnings.” The NASB translates it, “they have a good return for their labor.” The HCSB reads, “They have a good reward for their efforts.” The idea here is one of professional companionship, or a business partner. A business partner must be like-minded, since their venture will make or break their prospects and fortune. We read in Amos, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four, Laboring For Nought

Ecclesiastes 4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: [8] There is one alone, without companion: he has neither son nor brother, yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune (lit. evil task).

As verse 6 began to touch upon the theme of the workaholic, the preacher focuses on this idea. He states that he returned and witnessed vanity or futility under the sun. Rather than an academic observation, we must assume that the preacher is bearing witness to a man whose lifestyle is summarized in this passage. Perhaps the preacher knows him well, or just in passing; but he knows of him well enough to define his life and pursuit.

Ecclesiastes Chapter 4, Work Ethic

Ecclesiastes 4:4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. [5] The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. [6] Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

There is a universal, horizontal theme to explore with this passage. Bereft of God’s presence providing purpose to human existence, man must find his own. Or in other words, since we cannot look vertically to the heavens, where the Creator defines objective reality and truth for us, we look horizontally to our fellow man, and inwardly to ourselves for meaning.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four, No Comforter

Ecclesiastes 4:1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter–on the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter.

This is in part a call back to Ecclesiastes 3:16, referring to those in power judging wickedly on behalf of those that can recompense them. We learn that the oppressed weep, but they have no one to comfort them for the injustices they suffer. Meanwhile those that enact oppression have power. The Hebrew word for “power” in this verse is, “kowach,” and means, “to be firm, vigor, or literally to use force in a good or bad way.”

The Peculiar War On Gender

In light of Mother’s Day being observed yesterday, I would like to focus on the peculiar effort, especially in our country, to dismantle the objective reality of gender. Since the creation of mankind there have been two genders, male and female. Why? Because together they can sexually cohabit and procreate, producing the next generation of mankind. In fact, it was the initial command of God to Adam and Eve (a biological man and woman) to, “be fruitful and multiply,” Genesis 1:28.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Three, What Comes After

Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? [22] So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

The preacher is asking a poignant question here. The NASB renders verse 21 thus: “Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?” It is an existential or philosophical question that has pricked the hearts of humanity since the dawn of our existence. Does man possess a soul? Does a person survive death? Do we, like the animals, simply fall asleep and return to the primordial dust?

Ecclesiastes Chapter Three, The Great Leveler

Ecclesiastes 3:18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” [19] For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them all: as one dies, so does the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. [20] All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

The word “tests,” in verse 18 is rendered “manifest” in the KJV. It is the Hebrew word “barar,” and it means “to clarify (i.e. to brighten), examine, or select.” It is used only 18 times in the Old Testament and is variously translated: choice, chosen, clean, clearly, manifest, bright, purge out, polished, purge, and purified.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Three, God Renders Judgment

Ecclesiastes 3:16 Moreover I saw under the sun: in the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. [17] I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

Escalating from verses 14 and 15, the preacher states that he observed an injustice under the sun. Instead of men in authority rendering judgment, there was wickedness, presumably due to the corruption of human judgment through covetousness. Sound judgment should walk hand in hand with righteousness, but rather than that, the preacher discovered iniquity, also meaning wickedness.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Three, Repetition Ad Infinitum

 Ecclesiastes 3:15 That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires [lit. seeks] an account of what is past.

Verse 15 reverts to the superficial nihilism that Ecclesiastes is replete with. Life under the sun is a circular one, with new faces performing the seemingly eternal tasks mankind is labored with, while progressing not at all.