I find the biblical book Ecclesiastes to be fascinating, and
rewarding.
Ecclesiastes is not exactly in the biblical “mainline”. It
doesn’t follow the flow of the Old Testament from Abraham and Moses through the
judges and kings. Nor does it thunder with the prophets saying, “Thus says Yhwh!”
Ecclesiastes is one of the Old Testament books known as
Wisdom Literature. (The classic Wisdom book is Proverbs.) Instead of saying, “God
says”, Wisdom literature says something like: “I’ve been around a while and
seen some things, and here are ways to live a happy and productive life under
the provenance of God.”
It’s important to remember that Wisdom writings are generally-true
observations, not promises or declarations of God’s intent. In fact Qoheleth
(the author of Ecclesiastes) will tell us that God’s intent is entirely unknown
to us, and unknowable.
You may be asking, How did such a book get into the same Bible
with the gospels, which claim to reveal the full intent of God in the person on
Jesus Christ? That’s a question you’ll just have to ask the Holy Spirit. The
fact is that it’s there. And because it is, we have the responsibility to
account for it and to take it seriously, even if we end up in a different place
from Qoheleth.
As I’m writing this blog I’m leading a Monday evening Bible study
on Ecclesiastes at FSU/TCC Wesley Foundation in Tallahassee. Our discussion
there will be fueling what I write here.
In preparation for that study I’m using both The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (NRSV) and The CEB Study Bible (CommonEnglish Bible). When
I quote from Ecclesiastes here I’ll be using Common English Bible, a relatively
new translation that I commend to you.
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