Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
Ecclesiastes – Are We Living the Problem
If We Are Living the Problem….
Four is not the answer as to how you spell “butter”. To make sense requires the answer being tied to the question. The epilogue (12:9-14) is not viewed as a holistic part of Ecclesiastes.This is because it is not seen as answering the problem presented.
Partly, this is due to the changing direction from the Teacher speaking in first person (1:1) to third person (12:9). So a different writer is involved.
And partly the epilogue is seen as a tonal correction to the theology of the Teacher. Not a correction, but a completion is the correct view to take. It’s akin to finding the answers to the math questions in the back of the book.
The reality is the epilogue is answering the question, but doesn’t change the problem. This is seen in both thought and word play.
Infamously, “all is vanity of vanities” (1:3). This Hebrew word means smoke or empty, either applying to meaningless in either purpose or length. This is life under the sun, another key phrase in Ecclesiastes.
Now notice how the epilogue finishes these connecting thoughts:
1. Life under the sun is life focused on this life only. But God will judge the lives of all (12:14). This implies life continuing above the sun in eternity.
2. If our acts are to be judged, then they have meaning. Emptiness is the incomplete view because ultimately we are not the judge. Our personal assessemnt and view is unfinished.
3. The phrase “whole of man” is the literal reading of Ecclesiastes 12:13 where some translations read “whole duty of man” or “applies to all humanity”. “Whole of man” fits “holistically” because mankind is empty inside without God’s direction found in His commands. Under the sun is emptiness while living in God is fullness.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-12:8 is presenting the problem. The epilogue is the answer and solution. Fear, revere, honor, respect, obey, and live for God by keeping his commands, because this makes us whole. Most people only live knowing their own personal problems and emptiness. If we are living the problem, don’t we want to know the answer?
Comments