vs 1
I'm not sure how to read "love and hatred". I mean, the auto-reader in me just reads, "Oh, that must just mean good and bad, and he's being hyperbolic." And that's easy enough to read there. But what if he really does mean love and hate? I mean, it can't mean that we don't know whether we will face God's love or hate, can it? Scripture would say no. The love and hate of other people is surely fickle, so it could mean that. I'm going to stick with good and bad and hyperbole, but it's a little uncomfortable this morning.
vs 2
The common destiny of death awaits all regardless of their life. It's interesting that this sort of talk exists in the OT, where we struggle to find a well formed doctrine of heaven and afterlife, but what he really is saying is that death itself is not much of a punishment for evil, since even the righteous die. Whether the author was aware or believed in something beyond that is beyond me, but it would seem to be something necessary from his argument, if God is to remain good and just.
vs 3
Now here comes a distinct shank into the side of some people's theology. Those who argue that Adam and Eve were always going to die (because death was a part of God's creation, rather than a consequence of the fall - usually people who come from the evolutionary perspective) will have a little difficulty explaining how death can be evil, and an enemy of God (a la 1 Corinthians 15). You can do what I did, uncomfortably, in verse 1, and just shave the edge off it, and say, "It's hyperbole, he just means it's bad," but even then, why is it bad if it's part of God's perfect plan in creation? Why is death something we fight, something to be overcome? I can't answer that. I must say that I do sometimes find the whole idea of an evolutionary ktisiology attractive, but this is the bit that stumbles me.
vs 4
This is, interestingly, the opposite of the attitude of Job, who thinks it's better to be stillborn than have to live in a world of pain and suffering. Of course, I think Qoheleth actually says that somewhere too.
vs 5
Death is the end, at least for a while, according to Qoheleth. It's the end of cognition, as far as he's concerned. No disembodied floating spirits for Qoheleth, apparently.
vs 6
Well, that's possibly a more full definition, although to me it still reads as a pretty complete end of cognition, rather than, say, the idea that death separates us from the body, and therefore from feelings of love, hate and jealousy. That's totally dualistic, and unbiblical.
vs 7
This is one of those classic conclusive verses in Qoheleth, bringing out the conclusive summary of his thoughts. But the idea that God has approved our actions is somewhat odd. It could be a passive approval in the form of allowance, in which case it could mean that you can do whatever you want. Or it could be saying that he approves of good actions, and so you will be able to eat and drink with joy and gladness. This fits more with what he has said previously, but the wording is difficult to me.
vs 8
Wearing white and being anointed with oil is a celebratory thing. It happened when you went to a wedding or to someone's house, for example. The white can obviously also mean cleanness, but I don't think that fits so well here.
vs 9
The pointlessness of this life means that all you can do, in the end, is enjoy it. There's no other option - if, that is, you are even given the option of enjoying it, which really only comes from God.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sermon: Parable of the Lost Sons
Prodigal Sons
The second son really isn't prodigal, in the sense that prodigal means lavish or excessive spending. But of course we tend to think of the prodigal son as running away from the father, so in that sense it probably fits.
Main point – God seeks and saves the lost.
- The prodigal lost must reach a point where they recognise their situation and repent
- The found must recognise that there is no injustice in God accepting repentant sinners
Application – if you're far away from God, recognise your situation and repent
- if you're in church, don't look down on people who have sinned
Words
(show movie clip from The Nugget?)
There are some things that, if you lose them, you will go to extraordinary lengths to get them back. In the Aussie movie, “The Nugget”, the character Lotto (the unluckiest man in the world) wins $100,000 on an instant lottery ticket. In his excitement, he accidentally drops the winning ticket down a drain. Does he shrug his shoulders and walk away? Not on your life. He calls his council work mates around and they try everything to get that drain grill off. They pry at it with crowbars, they try jackhammering around it, until someone spraying a hose washes the ticket further down the drain. Do they give up then? Never! They spend two days digging up the main street, cancelling the water to the shops on the street, and even bring in an excavator and telling the locals there's a gas leak, looking for the lost ticket. Of course, they never find it – he is the unluckiest man in the world, after all.
These days, it's hard for us to misplace something really valuable and to not be able to replace it. For many people, the days are gone when you are given a week's pay in an envelope that you can easily leave at a bus stop – it gets transferred into a bank account. Most of us keep money in the bank, so if you lose your keycard, you can just go to the bank and get another one. If you lose your keys, you can call a locksmith and get new keys cut. You can even replace an expensive train ticket if you keep the serial number. If we leave our laptop at the airport, it's probably insured, but you will lose all the information on it. So when we turn to Luke 15 and read about people losing a sheep, or losing a coin, it's a bit difficult for us to empathise. We don't measure our wealth in terms of animals that can wander off and get lost, but a shepherd who has 100 sheep and loses one loses 1% of his total wealth. We have ATM cards, but a woman with 10 silver coins has a day's wages in each coin, and coins are notorious for being able to roll across floors and find their way in behind couches. It can be hard for us to really empathise with the people in the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. You might “lose” money in an investment, but that's not like misplacing it - you're hardly going to search around and find it again.
Those parables were told by Jesus because he was surrounded by people who were obvious sinners, and Jesus wanted to show them that God rejoices when a sinner, like them, turns their life around and seeks him out, like a shepherd does when he loses a sheep, or a woman does when she loses a day's wage. He's showing them in these parables that God is actively seeking them out, looking for them, and will rejoice when he finds them ready to come home with him. We're talking about those people who the rest of society reject and marginalise. The kind of person who you'd feel ashamed to have in your house, because you wouldn't want the neighbours to see you hanging around with people like that. Back in those days, it was prostitutes, tax collectors, alcohol sellers and drunkards. Nowadays, tax collector is a legitimate profession, owning a pub is an attractive business enterprise, prostitution is a lifestyle choice for some, and alcoholic is synonymous with Australian. So when we think about obvious sinners, people whose sin is obvious and detestable in today's culture, you might think of drug dealers, wife beaters, dole bludgers, terrorists, paedophiles – anyone who 'A Current Affair' could make a story out of that would shock the average Aussie. These were the type of people who are covered under the term “sinners”.
Such “sinners” in fact clambered to see Jesus and to hear him speak. There was something attractive about what Jesus had to say to them. Jesus didn't reject them like the rest of polite society, he ate with them and talked to them.
Now, imagine what would happen if you were to have a known paedophile turn up at your door for a dinner party. What do you think would happen? Some people might make excuses and leave, or make awkward looks. Probably some people would mutter under their breath, “I thought the Weldons were respectable people. Why did they invite him? Why would they socialise with someone like that?” Well, that's pretty much what happened to Jesus – people like the Pharisees were looking at the people who surrounded Jesus and muttering, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” You can see that in verse 2 of chapter 15 of Luke's gospel.
So Jesus tells his two parables for the sake of those “sinners” around him – the parable of the lost sheep, and the parable of the lost coin. But he saves his most detailed parable on the subject for last. It has a message both for the “sinners” around Jesus, and the Pharisees who question him. We often call it the parable of the prodigal son, or the lost son. The video in the modern parable series is called “Prodigal Sons”, which a pedant like me can't help but point out isn't literally correct. Prodigal means, “wastefully extravagant spending” which obviously only refers to the one son in the parable. But the idea is to show that the parable is not just about one son, but two sons, and that's absolutely correct. Indeed, we could call this, “the parable of the lost sons” and probably be more correct.
You might be fairly familiar with the parable, but let me retell it quickly, and fill it in with some cultural commentary that we might not otherwise recognise. A younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance, which is the equivalent of saying, “I want you dead now, so I can cash in.” His share is 1/3, because the eldest son gets a double share of the inheritance, so if there's two sons, it's 2/3 to the older, 1/3 to the younger. His father agrees and gives it (which is of course crazy – what father would divide his inheritance between his sons before he dies?), and the son goes off and lavishly spends his money in wasteful extravagance.
This younger son is living the life of the sinner, and the sinners around Jesus would recognise it easily. We must remember that Jews grew up in a society that was all about God – they didn't question whether God existed or cared about them. They were Jews! Of course he did! So the sinner would recognise themselves in that son who wished his father was dead, so he could live his life the way he wanted. That's what they had done – they knew God was there, but they wished he wasn't, and so they lived as though he was dead. In Australia today, people don't grow up assuming God exists and cares for them. In fact, it's gone the other way - people don't question whether God exists. Today they just say, “I'm a 21st century rationalist humanist westerner! Of course God doesn't exist!” They assume he doesn't, so why live as though he did? That's the thing – if you look at the world knowing God exists, then you will see God revealed. But if you look at the world as if God doesn't exist, guess what you'll see? You'll see a world without God. It's not about starting from nothing and then trying to find God. It's about starting from God and seeing how everything then makes sense.
Is that what we do? As we live our lives as Christians, do we live it on the first and primary basis that God exists and cares for us? Is that what our whole life is built on? Is that what undergirds your thinking? Does it affect how you act? Because that's not what schools teach. It's not what TV and movies show. It's not what parliament says, or newspapers, or the internet, or universities. But it is what the Bible teaches, and it's what Jesus says. If we're not living with our primary assumption in life that God exists and cares for us as revealed in the Bible, then how can we expect anyone else to?
Back to the parable. Tough times hit, a famine, and the younger son finds himself out of cash, and needing to work for a non-Jewish family, feeding their pigs. Just think – a Jew, one of God's chosen people, feeding pigs, an unclean animal! It's the lowest of the low. He's so hungry he wishes he could eat what the pigs are eating. He remembers how well-treated the hired hands on his father's farm are, and he thinks, “Why am I starving here? I know my father can't ever accept me back as a son after what I did, but if I ask forgiveness for my stupid actions, perhaps he will let me work as a hired hand on the farm.” So he turns around and returns home.
When we sin against God, it means we turn our back on him. To come back to him, we have to repent, which means turn our lives around, so that we're turning our back on that life of rebellion, and we come home to God. You can't return to God without realising that you need to make that change, and leave your old life behind you. Now, the sinners that were surrounding Jesus may not have made that change yet, but at least they'd accepted the first step – they knew that they had turned their back on God. So Jesus could then share with them this message – the need to take the next step, and return to God. We have to meet people where they are at – it's no good calling on people to repent, to turn their lives around, if they don't even realise they've turned their back on God in the first place. Of course, when they do realise that bad news, then we can give them the good news – that it's not too late to turn around and walk back home to God.
Of course, when the father sees his poor son walking down the track to the family homestead, he runs out and grabs him in a big hug. That's a big deal – back in those days, the patriarch of the family did not run. Children run. Women run. Fathers do not run. But this father did. The son starts on his spiel, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I'm not worthy to be called your son...” but before he can get any further, the father has asked for the servants to bring out the best cloak, the best shoes, and the family ring, and puts them on his son. Then he throws a party to celebrate the return of the son who was dead to him, but is now alive. The son wrote the father off as dead, but the father never forgot his son. And that is the good news that Jesus brings to those who recognise that they are sinners. God hasn't forgotten you. He lets you do your own thing, he lets you take your inheritance and spend it like an idiot, if that's what you want. But he hopes that you will realise what you've done, and if you turn around, he will come running.
But then the older son returns from his work in the field, and he finds that his father has spared no expense in throwing some huge party. He's even killed the fat calf – the best calf, which you would save for religious celebrations. One of the servants tells him why – because his free-loading brother has returned home – and so in a fit of anger, he refuses to join the celebrations. Not celebrating at a “welcome home” party is pretty much saying, “I wish you didn't come home” - it's dishonourable, it's rebelling against his father's will. So the father goes out and pleads with his older son to come and join the party. But the older son is angry with his father. He says, “I've done nothing but what you've asked, and yet you've never thrown me a party, even just to celebrate with friends. But then this son of yours goes and wastes your money on whores, and when he comes back you kill the fat calf?” You can just hear him say, “It's – not – fair!” And the thing is, there is a ring of truth to what he is saying. Anyone who has ever worked in the family business knows that the rules protecting employees from overwork and underpay do not extend to members of the family. When you're short staffed, or need someone to work a public holiday, or to fill in a dropped shift or to do jobs other people don't want, you can always rely on family to do it. And the idea is generally that they are contributing to something that will grow and eventually become theirs. So there's no special rewards for working in the family business – it's expected of you.
The same formula worked back in Judea – the sons would work for the father, and eventually would gain a share in the land that was their inheritance. That is what the older son has been doing – faithfully working the land and waiting for the appropriate time when he will inherit. But you can see his reaction – he sees the party as some sort of reward for his younger brother's irresponsibility, and as such he then compares it to the lack of reward he has received for doing his duty. The father is kind, but firm in his response to this attitude. “My son, you are always with me, and you will inherit everything in the due time. But we must celebrate, we are constrained to celebrate, because your brother was dead to us, but now he is alive again. He was lost to us, but now he is found!”
If ever a parable was going to be understandable to us in the 21st century, this parable is it. Although it involves some farming talk and a bit of cultural difference, I think we can all feel the tension when the younger son asks for his inheritance. We can all imagine the squandering on a wild lifestyle, and the hitting rock bottom that comes afterwards. And we all, especially the parents out there, can imagine the joy of seeing a child who you thought was dead return and ask forgiveness. It's the human element in this parable that makes it strike such a chord when you read it or hear it. And so this is the parable that Jesus leaves till last, the most powerful one. And this second message, involving the older son arguing with his father about accepting the younger back, is not included in the parables of the lost sheep or the lost coin, but here. So it is an important section. What is it about? Well, remember that Jesus is surrounded by sinners when he is telling these parables. But he actually tells them in response to put-down comments by the Pharisees about how he hangs out with sinners. Remember, they were muttering about how they couldn't believe Jesus would do such a thing as hang around with people who have obvious sin in their lives.
This section about the older son, who is so irate at the acceptance of the younger son, is a picture of the Pharisees. The older son in the parable could not understand that the celebrations of the father were necessary, because a son was found alive and returned to him. All he saw was his sinful brother getting a party that he didn't deserve, and he was jealous because to him it looked like a reward for being rebellious. But it wasn't about whether he deserved it or not. When children inherit money from their parents, it's because they're children, not because they are deserving of it. In fact, it was an act of grace in forgiving the son and welcoming him back joyfully. But the older son can't see grace, all he can see is a reward that he thinks he deserves but isn't getting.
This is a picture of how the Pharisees saw Jesus spending time with sinners, and it shows a fundamental flaw in their understanding of God. People with an attitude like the Pharisees fail to understand that the grace that God shows in accepting obvious or marginalised sinners into his kingdom is the same grace that God shows in accepting hidden or accepted sinners into his kingdom. Because that's all we are. We're not righteous. You don't have to be a paedophile or a terrorist to be a sinner. If you're not loving God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength, then you're a sinner. If you're not loving others as you love yourself, you're a sinner. Just because society thinks you're all right, that makes no difference. But after you've been in church a while, it can become easy to start thinking that you somehow deserve praise for the life you're leading, as if going to church and encouraging people and sending money overseas and helping people in need and sharing the gospel and praying for people was somehow your idea, when in reality those things are simply what is expected of a member of the Christian family. Those are the family business. It's as if the goodness you have is somehow something you have worked up and earned and is something special, rather than you being as totally reliant on the grace of God as someone who is an obvious sinner.
But that is not how it works in God's kingdom! Remember the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, just a few chapters ahead of this one, in Luke 18. "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." We as Christians can often try and pick who we want to share God's message with. Usually it's people that we feel comfortable around, people we already find it easy to relate to. People with a similar background. People who are already living a pretty good life, but just don't go to church. But God has shown time and time again that it is the marginalised, the rejected, the fringe dweller and the obvious sinner that responds with repentance.
I remember hearing the story of how the Betel ministry was started. A group of Christians went to Spain trying to spread God's message among businesspeople and the middle class. They had a good plan, they had dedicated people, they had some resources. But they made no progress amongst the businesspeople – they would just walk past and didn't see any need for help. The people who kept coming up to them and asking for help were heroin addicts – thin, emaciated, pale faced people with a syringe behind the ear like a pencil. The heroin addicts knew they had a problem, and yet no-one was prepared to help them turn their lives around. Many were dying of HIV from sharing needles. To the world they were a lost cause, worthless. They were prodigal sons who had squandered whatever they had, and had hit rock bottom. But to God, they are still sons, so they are still valuable. Betel is a thriving ministry now in 13 countries, including Australia, helping addicts turn their lives around for God and the kingdom. Some of them do more for God's kingdom in the 18 months between their conversion and their death from AIDS than we do in our whole normal, clean churchy lives. That's humbling to think about.
If you are an obvious sinner, rejected by society, then remember that God still loves you and accepts you. He can turn your life around and make you a part of the family again. That's Jesus' message to sinners. But those of us here today are far more likely to fall into the camp of the hidden, accepted sinners, like the Pharisees, than we are to be in the camp of obvious, rejected sinners that Jesus was also talking to, like the prostitutes and tax collectors. So listen to the message that Jesus has for us: God's grace is the only reason your life has any meaning. Don't forget that. Don't forget that it's the same grace that God uses to call the drug addict and the terrorist to himself that he uses to call you to the kingdom. You are a benefactor of that same grace. Jesus died as much for your sin as he did for theirs. We have to be humble and realise our position before God. Then perhaps we can start seeing sinners the way God seems them – as prodigal sons who need to come home, rather than as that person who should have known better than to throw his inheritance away.
Jesus' parable points out that a son can be just as lost from the father while still at home working the farm as he can going far away and living the wild life squandering his inheritance. It is actually easier to slip away from God in church, because you might not even notice you've done it. You're still doing the right things, still trying to live a good life, but it stops being for God, and starts being for yourself. Whereas if you go and squander your inheritance with heroin and prostitutes, you know you're doing the wrong thing, and you can easily identify your break with God.
Check yourself. Search your heart. Do you get angry with God when things go better for people who you don't think live as righteous a life as you? Do you get angry because you think you deserve a party for the good you've done? Do you do what God wants because that's what he wants, or because you think it will pay off, either with a good life here, or in heaven? When you see someone who does have obvious problems of sin in their life, do you look at them with mercy and love, or do you look down on them because if you can live a righteous life, why can't they? Those are marks of being lost. We all must recognise our constant need for God as sinners, and be humble before God, along with realising the loving grace of God and our sonship with Christ.
Don't be a wild younger son and squander what God has given you. But if you have, recognise where your life has led you, away from God, and turn back to him. Don't be a lost older son and do God's work for yourself, rather than for him. But if you are, recognise that while you might be living a good life, you're not living it for God, and turn back to him. God's kingdom is where we glorify God, not ourselves. Let that be the focus of our lives.
Let's pray.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Revelation talk for Oasis: People of God
So this is a talk that I prepared for giving at Oasis tonight. I really prepare everything I say when I speak, even things like, "Thanks for listening," otherwise I forget.
--------------------------------
WORDS
So you guys have been looking at the book of Revelation over the last few weeks. What have you looked at so far? I know my wife Penny talked to you about the general vibe of Revelation, and that it's a bit weird. Tonight we're going to look at what the book of Revelation has to say about the people of God. And then we'll look at what we should learn from this for ourselves.
In fact, I'm going to tell you right now what the book of Revelation has to say about the people of God. It says that they're chosen, that they suffer, that they are comforted, vindicated and saved. To each one of these topics I've given a Bible verse from Revelation. What I want you to think about is this: when I read the Bible verse, I want you to tell me whether you think John is talking about the people of God in the past, the people of the God during his time, the people of God now, or the people of God in the future, at the end of time. So before John, during John's time, during our time, or at the end of time.
We start off with the fact that God's people are chosen. There's obviously more than one verse in Revelation that makes this point, and all these points - that's what makes them important points. But I've chosen one that just highlights the point well. Rev 18:4-5. The context is important. Its telling of a great city called Babylon, which is being used to represent the wicked ways of this world - lusts, cravings, desires, addictions. The confusing thing is that the city is then also pictured as a woman. But just think about it for the moment as if God was talking about this city in the same way captains talk about their boats - like a woman. "She's a good ship," "She's a beautiful city," that sort of thing. So here's this city that represents all the sickness of humanity living apart from God, and John says, "Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes."
The point is here that God is calling out his people from this city of ungodly lifestyle. God doesn't call everyone out of the city - there are people who are going to get punished with plagues and so forth - all the stuff we know and love about Revelation. But some people are chosen by God to be called out, to not associate with the sin, to escape the punishment. So my question is: is this referring to the past before John, is it referring to John's time, is it referring to our time, or is it referring to the end of time?
The answer is that it is referring to all of them. God has always called and chosen a people for himself. He has always wanted them to be separate from the way the world does things. And at the end, when he punishes the sins of the world, his people will be stood apart from that. The people of John's time could be as encouraged by that thought as we can be now, because we are called to be his people in the same way - to separate ourselves from sin, so that we are separated from punishment, which will be the ultimate result at the end of time.
The second point is that God's people suffer. Again, lots of verses, but I've chosen this one, Revelation 13:6-8. The context, well. chapter 13 is all about the beasts coming out of the sea, so it's pretty weird. The main thing to know is that the beasts represents the enemies of God, both on earth and in the spiritual sense, so Satan. So when we get to verse 6, we find that the beast "opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb." The enemies of God make war against the people of God. And in war, people suffer. Do you guys know what celebrated its 60th anniversary on Wednesday? It was the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, which exist to protect the rights of people captured in war, people wounded in war, and civilians caught up in the middle of war. They exist because we know full well that in war, people suffer. There is a war between good and evil, and as people of good, God's people will suffer in that war, specifically because they are oon God's side. So, is John in Revelation talking about God's people suffering in the past, during his time, during our time, or at the end of time?
The answer is that God's people have always suffered. They suffered in Egypt and they suffered exile. In John's time, they suffered persecution, torture and death. And during our time, they suffer the same. More Christians are killed for their faith today, in modern times, than in any other time in history. So the answer is before, then and now. We have to take note of this - it shows just how seriously you should take being a Christian. Are you prepared to suffer for it? Because you will be called to suffer, to give things up, to go without. It can be painful.
The question is then, will God's people continue to suffer? John tell us in the book of Revelation that God's people will be comforted, they will be vindicated, and they will be saved. Revelation 21:4,6-8 say, God "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 6He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
The context of this verse is at the end - when John is being given a vision of the new heaven and new earth, where God's people will be with him forever. So when is he talking about? The past, his time, our time, or the end of time? The clear and obvious answer is that he's talking about the end of time - when his people have been saved from the punishment of sin, where his people will find eternal comfort after lives of suffering, and where they will be vindicated by God's judgement of those who made war against them for being his people. Don't get me wrong, the Bible makes it clear that when you become a Christian, you are saved, on the spot as it were. And during suffering, we can always look to God for comfort - we don't have to wait till heaven. But John's message in Revelation is all about sticking it out to the end, so he focuses on the end point for our final salvation, comfort and vindication in the face of judgement.
Because that's the lesson John is giving to the people of God who read this - both back then, and today as well. And it comes out right at the start of the book, in Revelation 1:9 "9I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus." He has lived the Christian life, he knows what it's about. It's about suffering, it's about the kingdom, and it's about patient endurance. We can't control the suffering - God's people will suffer, because the enemies of God will always make war against us. We can't make the kingdom come any faster - it will come, but in God's time. So our job, then, is to have patient endurance. In a way, the whole book of Revelation has that message - be patient, endure the hard times, and when you overcome, you will be rewarded.
It's easy to get angry when things go bad, and especially when things go bad for you when you're trying to do what's right by God. We've all been there. Once some Christian friends and I met this mentally disabled guy, about 19, who got kicked out of his parents' house and had nowhere to go. We gave him a place to sleep, and to repay us he smeared pooh everywhere and stole our rent money. Ouch. If you do things God's way, you will suffer. But we have to overcome with the patient endurance that God gives us, if we ask for it, and one day we will be rewarded.
Thanks for listening guys.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 8
vs 9
The alternate translation is not really helpful, changing the meaning totally as it does. The NASB does a great job of making the translation vague. Someone is getting hurt, at any rate, by the exercising of authority by one man over another.
vs 10
Now here the alternate translation is showing the real difference between the NIV tradition and the KJV tradition - where the NIV accepts what they think are the most accurate manuscripts, and the KJV tradition accepts whatever is in majority. Going with the NIV, we have the idea that the wicked went into the holy place, came out again, and receive praise. He died, but not because of entering the holy place. It's meaningless because he was wicked, received praise for it, then died and was buried.
vs 11
Think about what this is actually saying. It is saying that if you wait to punish people, they are more likely to do wrong. Well, God does not execute punishment quickly. He waits for a long time. Sometimes the person dies first. Are we then surprised that people continue to scheme and do wrong things, knowing that there punishment might be a long time coming?
vs 12
This is the whole truth - God gets them in the end. He lets them become fully wicked, to pass that point of no return. That sounds awful, but some people have a huge tolerance of what they think they can achieve and still be an okay person. I think we know as Christians that God is quite happy to let people steep themselves so deeply in sin that they realise they can't dig themselves out, and that only God can help them.
But there are still those who turn their back on God, and though they might have long lives and seem wealthy and even successful, Qoheleth is sure, in his wisdom, that those who fear God will get the better deal.
vs 13
He says this, knowing fully that wicked people do live for a long time sometimes. Sure, many times the life of the wicked person is one with the sword of Damocles hanging above, which can cut it short at any minute. But sometimes the sword never strikes. So we have to read an eternal context into this to make it more than just proverbial wisdom, which would ultimately be futile, even in Qoheleth's view.
vs 14
Everyone has seen this. It's not just that people get unjustly arrested while criminals get off scot free (a la Shawshank Redemption). It's that criminals get rich, famous and treated specially, while righteous people end up poor, sick, friendless etc. Scoundrels can be incredibly popular and successful. But note that this is meaningless.
vs 15
Qoheleth's solution to the futility of life is fairly simple. Enjoy what you have. He's repeated this several times now. Even the righteous person, in the face of total unfairness, can still enjoy whatever little they have, because they have the joy of God. Enjoyment is not something that comes easily, according to Qoheleth. Only God gives it. So the righteous are as likely to have it as not, regardless of their situation. Sure, wisdom and wealth help, and the author acknowledges that. But at the end of the day it's God who awards happiness, like he awards everything else.
vs 16
This is entirely a build up clause. I'm not actually sure how much work people could do at night. I suppose you had to burn lots of torches.
vs 17
It's just too much. I really have to learn to live by this statement. I would love to look at the world and compartmentalise everything and say, "Yes, this fits into my understanding. It's all gone on just as I thought it would, because I have such a great understanding of how the world works." But that's just bollocks. I don't even know how they make my shoes. More than that, though, my way of looking at the world is regularly disturbed by innacuracy.
Some people might say, "Ahh, but I have God's wisdom, so everything fits into my worldview perfectly, because it is correct." Best of luck to you on that, mate. But I'll bet that even God acts in ways that are surprising to you, and that don't fit into your systematic theology. I'm not saying that systematic theology is not a worthwhile pursuit, only that it will always be wrong.
The alternate translation is not really helpful, changing the meaning totally as it does. The NASB does a great job of making the translation vague. Someone is getting hurt, at any rate, by the exercising of authority by one man over another.
vs 10
Now here the alternate translation is showing the real difference between the NIV tradition and the KJV tradition - where the NIV accepts what they think are the most accurate manuscripts, and the KJV tradition accepts whatever is in majority. Going with the NIV, we have the idea that the wicked went into the holy place, came out again, and receive praise. He died, but not because of entering the holy place. It's meaningless because he was wicked, received praise for it, then died and was buried.
vs 11
Think about what this is actually saying. It is saying that if you wait to punish people, they are more likely to do wrong. Well, God does not execute punishment quickly. He waits for a long time. Sometimes the person dies first. Are we then surprised that people continue to scheme and do wrong things, knowing that there punishment might be a long time coming?
vs 12
This is the whole truth - God gets them in the end. He lets them become fully wicked, to pass that point of no return. That sounds awful, but some people have a huge tolerance of what they think they can achieve and still be an okay person. I think we know as Christians that God is quite happy to let people steep themselves so deeply in sin that they realise they can't dig themselves out, and that only God can help them.
But there are still those who turn their back on God, and though they might have long lives and seem wealthy and even successful, Qoheleth is sure, in his wisdom, that those who fear God will get the better deal.
vs 13
He says this, knowing fully that wicked people do live for a long time sometimes. Sure, many times the life of the wicked person is one with the sword of Damocles hanging above, which can cut it short at any minute. But sometimes the sword never strikes. So we have to read an eternal context into this to make it more than just proverbial wisdom, which would ultimately be futile, even in Qoheleth's view.
vs 14
Everyone has seen this. It's not just that people get unjustly arrested while criminals get off scot free (a la Shawshank Redemption). It's that criminals get rich, famous and treated specially, while righteous people end up poor, sick, friendless etc. Scoundrels can be incredibly popular and successful. But note that this is meaningless.
vs 15
Qoheleth's solution to the futility of life is fairly simple. Enjoy what you have. He's repeated this several times now. Even the righteous person, in the face of total unfairness, can still enjoy whatever little they have, because they have the joy of God. Enjoyment is not something that comes easily, according to Qoheleth. Only God gives it. So the righteous are as likely to have it as not, regardless of their situation. Sure, wisdom and wealth help, and the author acknowledges that. But at the end of the day it's God who awards happiness, like he awards everything else.
vs 16
This is entirely a build up clause. I'm not actually sure how much work people could do at night. I suppose you had to burn lots of torches.
vs 17
It's just too much. I really have to learn to live by this statement. I would love to look at the world and compartmentalise everything and say, "Yes, this fits into my understanding. It's all gone on just as I thought it would, because I have such a great understanding of how the world works." But that's just bollocks. I don't even know how they make my shoes. More than that, though, my way of looking at the world is regularly disturbed by innacuracy.
Some people might say, "Ahh, but I have God's wisdom, so everything fits into my worldview perfectly, because it is correct." Best of luck to you on that, mate. But I'll bet that even God acts in ways that are surprising to you, and that don't fit into your systematic theology. I'm not saying that systematic theology is not a worthwhile pursuit, only that it will always be wrong.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 8
vs 1
I wasn't aware that wisdom was a beauty treatment. I think the point of the first half of the verse is that you need to be wise to be... er, wise. Sometimes simple things need to be pointed out.
vs 2
If he's talking to Israelites, then I guess that's true. Reading this, though, doesn't it just seem odd that Solomon would have to say it? A mark in favour for psuedopygraphy, methinks.
vs 3
I'm not quite sure of the reasoning behind this advice on court ettiquette. I mean, I understand the advice itself. But why is it here? Because obeying the king is wise?
vs 4
Perhaps it is giving a picture of God? I mean, that's what a king is, ultimately.
vs 5
It could be just wise advice for those living under kings. Sometimes they go nuts, but disobeying them won't make you live any longer under a crazy king than obeying him.
vs 6
Hearkening back to chapter 3 a little here, I think.
vs 7
And that's the thing - you may as well follow the rules, even if you're in a bad position, or the king is nuts or whatever, because eventually things might work out for the best. And if they don't, well, you've already had the rest of the book tell you life sucks.
vs 8
I think wind sounds better than spirit, because it leaves a cool little wordplay, but keeps the window open on the metaphor. It's an interesting statement with regards to wickedness. It really is a trap. Baited with something tasty, but once it has you, it doesn't let go. Bastard.
I wasn't aware that wisdom was a beauty treatment. I think the point of the first half of the verse is that you need to be wise to be... er, wise. Sometimes simple things need to be pointed out.
vs 2
If he's talking to Israelites, then I guess that's true. Reading this, though, doesn't it just seem odd that Solomon would have to say it? A mark in favour for psuedopygraphy, methinks.
vs 3
I'm not quite sure of the reasoning behind this advice on court ettiquette. I mean, I understand the advice itself. But why is it here? Because obeying the king is wise?
vs 4
Perhaps it is giving a picture of God? I mean, that's what a king is, ultimately.
vs 5
It could be just wise advice for those living under kings. Sometimes they go nuts, but disobeying them won't make you live any longer under a crazy king than obeying him.
vs 6
Hearkening back to chapter 3 a little here, I think.
vs 7
And that's the thing - you may as well follow the rules, even if you're in a bad position, or the king is nuts or whatever, because eventually things might work out for the best. And if they don't, well, you've already had the rest of the book tell you life sucks.
vs 8
I think wind sounds better than spirit, because it leaves a cool little wordplay, but keeps the window open on the metaphor. It's an interesting statement with regards to wickedness. It really is a trap. Baited with something tasty, but once it has you, it doesn't let go. Bastard.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 7
vs 21
And why wouldn't you want to hear that? Such behaviour requires some sort of action, surely! A beating or somesuch.
vs 22
But in fact, we all say things like that sometimes. And hence we see the idea of not judging others, because not only will we be judged by the same measure, but we will be found guilty by that same measure.
vs 23
It's not that there isn't wisdom in what he has said so far. But the wisdom hasn't really led him to any enormous conclusions, and it certainly hasn't led him to break free of the cycle of meaninglessness.
vs 24
I think the idea of wisdom is still reflected in this verse, implicitly. The NIV put it in, but no-one else has. But it still reads that way. So it is wisdom that is far off and profound, outside of our discovery. Not all wisdom obviously, but all of wisdom.
vs 25
He might not be able to grasp everything, but he can know the general scheme of things (I guess this is what we call 'science' - in the loose sense that we are looking at the scheme of things, whether it be a biological scheme, a physical scheme, or a cultural one). He can also know how stupid foolishness, or a lack of wisdom, is.
vs 26
Snap. So much wisdom is about finding a good woman. We can't ignore the fact that marriage relationships (and no doubt other liaisons) were a part of life, and an important one, in ancient times. Such relations can obviously be sinful as well as good, and this is a description of one such. I actually think it's quite a good picture.
vs 27
So not doing anything super difficult - just adding ideas together.
vs 28
Now, I think we can choose how to read this. Either you can read it that there's a righteous man 1 in every 1000, and that women are worse than men, or you can see this as a somewhat poetic statement, where a,a+1, which is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry at all. So there are so few righteous people, men and women alike. I don't think he's really seeking to divide here, but to show that righteousness is not really the province of men or women. Sure, the way he's written it does slightly suggest women are a bit more troublesome. But in a maleocentric world, that's going to happen to be the case - not only that he is going to say it, but that it's going to be true.
vs 29
So we got a good start, but then we fudged it.
And why wouldn't you want to hear that? Such behaviour requires some sort of action, surely! A beating or somesuch.
vs 22
But in fact, we all say things like that sometimes. And hence we see the idea of not judging others, because not only will we be judged by the same measure, but we will be found guilty by that same measure.
vs 23
It's not that there isn't wisdom in what he has said so far. But the wisdom hasn't really led him to any enormous conclusions, and it certainly hasn't led him to break free of the cycle of meaninglessness.
vs 24
I think the idea of wisdom is still reflected in this verse, implicitly. The NIV put it in, but no-one else has. But it still reads that way. So it is wisdom that is far off and profound, outside of our discovery. Not all wisdom obviously, but all of wisdom.
vs 25
He might not be able to grasp everything, but he can know the general scheme of things (I guess this is what we call 'science' - in the loose sense that we are looking at the scheme of things, whether it be a biological scheme, a physical scheme, or a cultural one). He can also know how stupid foolishness, or a lack of wisdom, is.
vs 26
Snap. So much wisdom is about finding a good woman. We can't ignore the fact that marriage relationships (and no doubt other liaisons) were a part of life, and an important one, in ancient times. Such relations can obviously be sinful as well as good, and this is a description of one such. I actually think it's quite a good picture.
vs 27
So not doing anything super difficult - just adding ideas together.
vs 28
Now, I think we can choose how to read this. Either you can read it that there's a righteous man 1 in every 1000, and that women are worse than men, or you can see this as a somewhat poetic statement, where a,a+1, which is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry at all. So there are so few righteous people, men and women alike. I don't think he's really seeking to divide here, but to show that righteousness is not really the province of men or women. Sure, the way he's written it does slightly suggest women are a bit more troublesome. But in a maleocentric world, that's going to happen to be the case - not only that he is going to say it, but that it's going to be true.
vs 29
So we got a good start, but then we fudged it.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 7
vs 11
Which is sort of odd, because apparently inheritance is also a meaningless thing. But hey, that's just one more thing that it shares with wisdom. Just because something is meaningless in terms of life, death and eternity, though, doesn't mean it isn't useful. A life with plenty of wisdom and a bit of wealth is better than a life without either, but both are ultimately meaningless if that is all there is to them.
vs 12
And because death is the ultimate bringer of meaninglessness, then preserving life becomes worthwhile, if only for delaying the inevitable. Better alive and poor than rich and dead.
vs 13
I love this idea that God has made some things crooked. We can't fix what he's broken. It's not our job. When we look at broken things, we mourn, and perhaps rightly so. But we can't fix them. God made them (or more appropriately, broke them) that way.
vs 14
This I don't love so much, but it's absolutely true that God made both. It perhaps is wrong to label it 'bad' in that case, but it's certainly convenient for conveying the difference between the two. I'm not so sure about the 'therefore'. Or the whole discovering future thing. But especially how it relates to God being author of both the good and the bad. I suppose perhaps people look to good things to see what their future holds, because God is the author of those, but they deny the bad things? I remember talking to a guy who was the leader of a church, and he said to me, "Ben, when something bad happens in the life of a Christian community, are we more likely to interpret it as God telling us "Don't do that," or are we more likely to think it is the devil getting in the way of us doing good things for God?" The question (and answer, "The devil one") were in the context where that was really the only right answer. But this verse shows us the truth - that even if it is the devil who is causing ruckus, God has made the one as well as the other. He does take responsibility.
This is not denying our responsibility for the consequences and reactions of sin. But we have to remember too that sin doesn't always have direct consequences on our lives - that is not how God made it. It's not specific sin = lightning bolt. Sometimes it's not even specific sin = suffering (thank you Job). However, it is always within the will of God.
Still stuck on the discovering future thing. What it does do is make anything God tells us about the future that much more valuable.
vs 15
This is Job and anti-Job, taken to extremes. It happens every day that bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. That's reality. That's God's world.
vs 16
How does one read this verse? Is there such a thing as overrighteousness? I might be being pedantic, but I think that while someone can act in a way they think is righteous, if it isn't actually right, then it isn't actually righteous. So it is possible that someone can adopt a 'holier than thou' attitude, even towards God. But that doesn't make them righteous. Perhaps that is really the only connotation that can logically be taken from a word like 'overrighteous'?
So, with that in mind, being overrighteous is obviously wrong (which I find just a little ironic). Overwise could be said to be the same, but I think Qoheleth has actually made a case for too much wisdom being a bad thing in its own right.
vs 17
Interesting that there is a 'middle path' theology forming here. But what is 'overwickedness', and how is it different from just regular wickedness? Perhaps regular wickedness is that shared by all people, whereas overwickedness is that perpetrated by those who know it's bad but do it anyway, for the purpose of gain or pleasure?
vs 18
So in fearing God we come to him with righteousness as well as wickedness, with wisdom as well as foolishness? Tell me another way? I'm not saying I disagree with the idea that there is no-one who is righteous. But the fact is that everyone has done at least one righteous act. Surely. And everyone has acted like a fool at some point. Everyone accepts some sort of truth, too. So really, we must understand who we are and how we present before God.
But there's more to it, too. We have to understand who God is, and how he views these things. We can't just say, "This is me, God. Take it or leave it." We have to acknowledge that our wickedness and foolishness is bad before him, and that only he can change it.
vs 19
Knowledge is apparently power. However, 10 armies and a city do help.
vs 20
Bam. Qoheleth stitches it up here. This verse feels like the sorts of things I say - covering ass theologically. Go Qoheleth!
Which is sort of odd, because apparently inheritance is also a meaningless thing. But hey, that's just one more thing that it shares with wisdom. Just because something is meaningless in terms of life, death and eternity, though, doesn't mean it isn't useful. A life with plenty of wisdom and a bit of wealth is better than a life without either, but both are ultimately meaningless if that is all there is to them.
vs 12
And because death is the ultimate bringer of meaninglessness, then preserving life becomes worthwhile, if only for delaying the inevitable. Better alive and poor than rich and dead.
vs 13
I love this idea that God has made some things crooked. We can't fix what he's broken. It's not our job. When we look at broken things, we mourn, and perhaps rightly so. But we can't fix them. God made them (or more appropriately, broke them) that way.
vs 14
This I don't love so much, but it's absolutely true that God made both. It perhaps is wrong to label it 'bad' in that case, but it's certainly convenient for conveying the difference between the two. I'm not so sure about the 'therefore'. Or the whole discovering future thing. But especially how it relates to God being author of both the good and the bad. I suppose perhaps people look to good things to see what their future holds, because God is the author of those, but they deny the bad things? I remember talking to a guy who was the leader of a church, and he said to me, "Ben, when something bad happens in the life of a Christian community, are we more likely to interpret it as God telling us "Don't do that," or are we more likely to think it is the devil getting in the way of us doing good things for God?" The question (and answer, "The devil one") were in the context where that was really the only right answer. But this verse shows us the truth - that even if it is the devil who is causing ruckus, God has made the one as well as the other. He does take responsibility.
This is not denying our responsibility for the consequences and reactions of sin. But we have to remember too that sin doesn't always have direct consequences on our lives - that is not how God made it. It's not specific sin = lightning bolt. Sometimes it's not even specific sin = suffering (thank you Job). However, it is always within the will of God.
Still stuck on the discovering future thing. What it does do is make anything God tells us about the future that much more valuable.
vs 15
This is Job and anti-Job, taken to extremes. It happens every day that bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. That's reality. That's God's world.
vs 16
How does one read this verse? Is there such a thing as overrighteousness? I might be being pedantic, but I think that while someone can act in a way they think is righteous, if it isn't actually right, then it isn't actually righteous. So it is possible that someone can adopt a 'holier than thou' attitude, even towards God. But that doesn't make them righteous. Perhaps that is really the only connotation that can logically be taken from a word like 'overrighteous'?
So, with that in mind, being overrighteous is obviously wrong (which I find just a little ironic). Overwise could be said to be the same, but I think Qoheleth has actually made a case for too much wisdom being a bad thing in its own right.
vs 17
Interesting that there is a 'middle path' theology forming here. But what is 'overwickedness', and how is it different from just regular wickedness? Perhaps regular wickedness is that shared by all people, whereas overwickedness is that perpetrated by those who know it's bad but do it anyway, for the purpose of gain or pleasure?
vs 18
So in fearing God we come to him with righteousness as well as wickedness, with wisdom as well as foolishness? Tell me another way? I'm not saying I disagree with the idea that there is no-one who is righteous. But the fact is that everyone has done at least one righteous act. Surely. And everyone has acted like a fool at some point. Everyone accepts some sort of truth, too. So really, we must understand who we are and how we present before God.
But there's more to it, too. We have to understand who God is, and how he views these things. We can't just say, "This is me, God. Take it or leave it." We have to acknowledge that our wickedness and foolishness is bad before him, and that only he can change it.
vs 19
Knowledge is apparently power. However, 10 armies and a city do help.
vs 20
Bam. Qoheleth stitches it up here. This verse feels like the sorts of things I say - covering ass theologically. Go Qoheleth!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 7
vs 1
Some of this chapter, especially the first part, sounds awfully depressing. But it is the wisdom of one who looks through the whole of life and sees meaninglessness when everything is seen without God.
I think these first two sayings are almost held up on their own - the idea that good character will be more pleasing to those around you than you smelling nice is certainly just a little wise quip on its own. But they are together, like a proverb of a proverb - just as the first mini proverb is true, so is it true about death being better than life. As we will see when we read, the reason death is better is because it is the ultimate reality of life. You might have heard the saying, "Everyone dies; not everyone lives." This is sort of the Christian version, "Since death is certain, be sure to prepare for it."
vs 2
We have to be aware, and to an extent comfortable, or at least cognisant, about death and its reality, and its reality for us.
vs 3
This is perhaps one of the most jarring of the verses here - the idea that laughter is somehow bad or wrong. Note that this isn't what it is saying. What it's really saying is that suffering is unavoidable, so better your heart is exercised for it.
vs 4
Death should figure constantly into our thinking. Not morbidly, like goths or whatever. Soberly, like evolutionists or athiests. Or at least, how they are meant to. They think death is the end, though, and so most people who think that way tend to remove their mind as far from the house of mourning as they can - if life is fleeting, best to spend it in the house of pleasure as long as possible! Or so their thinking goes. But if athiests are all about what they say they are - that is, truth - then death should totally be their focus, because it is inevitable and incredibly close. Death is of course no less inevitable for the believer, but since it's something we more or less look forward too, it's not so big a deal.
vs 5
This little sub-proverb reminds us that wisdom and correctness are actually valuable, even in a life that is bookended by non-existence on one hand, and death on the other. More valuable than skylarking songs of foolishness that might take our minds off it. After all, if death were really the end, who cares about right or wrong? There is only life and then death, right? But no, there is still truth.
vs 6
I take it that thorns are useless, so you burn them under your pot to try and make something of them, and so they make noise. In the same way, fools make noise, which proves their uselessness. Quite harsh, really. We all laugh, of course, and it's not always foolish to laugh. But to live a life of laughter, I think, is what is foolish. And no, I'm not bagging out comedians either.
vs 7
Morality stuff now. See, if death is the only cert, then why is corruption or extortion wrong? Because we also have to remember judgment.
vs 8
I actually really like this proverb. In our society, we have big parties at the start of things now. We like to celebrate vision and direction and hope, and also parties are a good public relations exercise. But the celebrations of success are most often far smaller, more private affairs, that we don't often see. The 10th year of a business is not really a success thing now - it's more just a reason for another 5% off sale. Perhaps it's because people never really feel like they've "gotten there", to the end. Things need ends. It's healthy.
vs 9
My bad. I obviously sit in the fool's lap from time to time.
vs 10
Amen! In the context of Ecclesiastes, of course it's not wise - he's spent the whole book saying that things basically don't get better, and that they just continue in a cycle of weary meaningless fappery. A verse worth memorising.
Some of this chapter, especially the first part, sounds awfully depressing. But it is the wisdom of one who looks through the whole of life and sees meaninglessness when everything is seen without God.
I think these first two sayings are almost held up on their own - the idea that good character will be more pleasing to those around you than you smelling nice is certainly just a little wise quip on its own. But they are together, like a proverb of a proverb - just as the first mini proverb is true, so is it true about death being better than life. As we will see when we read, the reason death is better is because it is the ultimate reality of life. You might have heard the saying, "Everyone dies; not everyone lives." This is sort of the Christian version, "Since death is certain, be sure to prepare for it."
vs 2
We have to be aware, and to an extent comfortable, or at least cognisant, about death and its reality, and its reality for us.
vs 3
This is perhaps one of the most jarring of the verses here - the idea that laughter is somehow bad or wrong. Note that this isn't what it is saying. What it's really saying is that suffering is unavoidable, so better your heart is exercised for it.
vs 4
Death should figure constantly into our thinking. Not morbidly, like goths or whatever. Soberly, like evolutionists or athiests. Or at least, how they are meant to. They think death is the end, though, and so most people who think that way tend to remove their mind as far from the house of mourning as they can - if life is fleeting, best to spend it in the house of pleasure as long as possible! Or so their thinking goes. But if athiests are all about what they say they are - that is, truth - then death should totally be their focus, because it is inevitable and incredibly close. Death is of course no less inevitable for the believer, but since it's something we more or less look forward too, it's not so big a deal.
vs 5
This little sub-proverb reminds us that wisdom and correctness are actually valuable, even in a life that is bookended by non-existence on one hand, and death on the other. More valuable than skylarking songs of foolishness that might take our minds off it. After all, if death were really the end, who cares about right or wrong? There is only life and then death, right? But no, there is still truth.
vs 6
I take it that thorns are useless, so you burn them under your pot to try and make something of them, and so they make noise. In the same way, fools make noise, which proves their uselessness. Quite harsh, really. We all laugh, of course, and it's not always foolish to laugh. But to live a life of laughter, I think, is what is foolish. And no, I'm not bagging out comedians either.
vs 7
Morality stuff now. See, if death is the only cert, then why is corruption or extortion wrong? Because we also have to remember judgment.
vs 8
I actually really like this proverb. In our society, we have big parties at the start of things now. We like to celebrate vision and direction and hope, and also parties are a good public relations exercise. But the celebrations of success are most often far smaller, more private affairs, that we don't often see. The 10th year of a business is not really a success thing now - it's more just a reason for another 5% off sale. Perhaps it's because people never really feel like they've "gotten there", to the end. Things need ends. It's healthy.
vs 9
My bad. I obviously sit in the fool's lap from time to time.
vs 10
Amen! In the context of Ecclesiastes, of course it's not wise - he's spent the whole book saying that things basically don't get better, and that they just continue in a cycle of weary meaningless fappery. A verse worth memorising.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 6
vs 1
There certainly are lots of them. Surprising we get up in the morning at all, really.
vs 2
This is really an extension of chapter 5 and its dealings with toil and wealth. If there is a truth that exists in our culture today, it is this one - that we are given so much of everything we want, and yet cannot be satisfied with it or enjoy it.
vs 3
I'm not sure what makes a proper burial so important - perhaps a link to resting with your fathers? That would surely date this back a bit. But that, along with not being able to enjoy the prosperity that comes from wealth, makes for a life of meaninglessness. So much so that it's better to be born dead than live a life that ends that way.
vs 4
I assume this is a description of the stillborn child.
vs 5
The author accepts that there is a peace in death, at least there is for a stillborn child. The idea of a post-death judgement does seem a little far from the mind of Qoheleth in the book as a whole.
vs 6
The peace in death is not objective though - it is only in comparison with the life of a man who does not enjoy his prosperity. The reason is that both end up in the same final position, but the man also had to live a whole life of non-enjoyment beforehand, so his suffering is compounded.
vs 7
Another endless cycle of which Qoheleth bemoans.
vs 8
Although Qoheleth does answer these to some degree, the truth of his argument is that there is ultimately no great answer to separate them.
vs 9
Appetite I think can be understood in a broad sense here, not just the feeling of hunger for food. The message I think is that excessive imagining and contemplating brings mostly sorrow, when compared with simple accepting what is in front of you. If what you desire is only what you have, then there will be a lot less sorrowful than if your mind wanders to desiring all the things you don't and won't have. Of course, such contentment is pretty much out of reach of people, which is probably why it's a chasing after wind anyway.
vs 10
I will freely admit that I'm in floating territory here. No idea. My guess, and it's really not much more than a guess, is that the idea that all has been named is the idea that there is nothing new. The idea that humanity is known for what it is means that humanity itself is not a boundless mystery - we know what that is too. We also know that God is stronger than humanity, so humanity is not going to change, and neither is anything else on behalf of humanity. We are not agents of change, then. We simply strive for faster sameness.
vs 11
This sounds like a simple proverb. Either it means the more complex we make something, the less people can understand it (which is pretty logical and obvious), or that the more words someone uses to say something, the less meaningful it is (which also seems commonsense sometimes). Or it could mean something else.
vs 12
Ahh, I think now we get to the crux of the matter regarding the meaninglessness of many words. Regardless of how wise one might look with their many words, how many of their words can answer the questions posed in this verse? Not even Christians can say with certainty what happens when you die. We can't enumerate the stages of it. We can guess. The first question I would say is impossible for humanity to answer on its own - only by God's revelation can we know how to live.
There certainly are lots of them. Surprising we get up in the morning at all, really.
vs 2
This is really an extension of chapter 5 and its dealings with toil and wealth. If there is a truth that exists in our culture today, it is this one - that we are given so much of everything we want, and yet cannot be satisfied with it or enjoy it.
vs 3
I'm not sure what makes a proper burial so important - perhaps a link to resting with your fathers? That would surely date this back a bit. But that, along with not being able to enjoy the prosperity that comes from wealth, makes for a life of meaninglessness. So much so that it's better to be born dead than live a life that ends that way.
vs 4
I assume this is a description of the stillborn child.
vs 5
The author accepts that there is a peace in death, at least there is for a stillborn child. The idea of a post-death judgement does seem a little far from the mind of Qoheleth in the book as a whole.
vs 6
The peace in death is not objective though - it is only in comparison with the life of a man who does not enjoy his prosperity. The reason is that both end up in the same final position, but the man also had to live a whole life of non-enjoyment beforehand, so his suffering is compounded.
vs 7
Another endless cycle of which Qoheleth bemoans.
vs 8
Although Qoheleth does answer these to some degree, the truth of his argument is that there is ultimately no great answer to separate them.
vs 9
Appetite I think can be understood in a broad sense here, not just the feeling of hunger for food. The message I think is that excessive imagining and contemplating brings mostly sorrow, when compared with simple accepting what is in front of you. If what you desire is only what you have, then there will be a lot less sorrowful than if your mind wanders to desiring all the things you don't and won't have. Of course, such contentment is pretty much out of reach of people, which is probably why it's a chasing after wind anyway.
vs 10
I will freely admit that I'm in floating territory here. No idea. My guess, and it's really not much more than a guess, is that the idea that all has been named is the idea that there is nothing new. The idea that humanity is known for what it is means that humanity itself is not a boundless mystery - we know what that is too. We also know that God is stronger than humanity, so humanity is not going to change, and neither is anything else on behalf of humanity. We are not agents of change, then. We simply strive for faster sameness.
vs 11
This sounds like a simple proverb. Either it means the more complex we make something, the less people can understand it (which is pretty logical and obvious), or that the more words someone uses to say something, the less meaningful it is (which also seems commonsense sometimes). Or it could mean something else.
vs 12
Ahh, I think now we get to the crux of the matter regarding the meaninglessness of many words. Regardless of how wise one might look with their many words, how many of their words can answer the questions posed in this verse? Not even Christians can say with certainty what happens when you die. We can't enumerate the stages of it. We can guess. The first question I would say is impossible for humanity to answer on its own - only by God's revelation can we know how to live.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 5
vs 11
"Goods" is a pretty vague word. I'm guessing from the context it is talking about stuff beyond just simple food, housing etc. Trade goods, manufactured goods - the sort of stuff people can live without. And it's true - the more there are, the more people buy them. Probably partly to do with supply and demand - greater supply, price goes down; price goes down, demand goes up. And yet, as the writer says, all you do is stare at it. Meaning isn't going to be found there.
vs 12
Hard work obviously induces deep sleep. But those who are rich can rest easy - and it turns out, resting easy isn't so easy.We hit this later too, but it's almost like the ability to reflect deeply on circumstances is a curse, because it brings anxiety and realisation of meaninglessness.
vs 13
People don't often hoard poverty. But we live under the misapprehension, especially today, that more wealth brings more happiness. In fact, it just brings a different, more complex kind of misery. That can be worse, because if you believe that more money brings more happiness, you won't realise that it's actually part of the problem, so you can just keep compounding it.
vs 14
It's funny that inheriting great wealth is seen as meaningless, because you never worked for it, but now losing everything so that your kids get nothing is also a grevious evil. But as we will see, it's just a fact of how the world works.
vs 15
The idea of "taking it with you" implies that you are going somewhere. What we have in this life stays here. It is ephemeral. But we aren't.
vs 16
This does in fact seem far more grevious - we live and die, yes, and the ephemeral stuff around us is pretty much meaningless. But we are forced to toil hard for it while we're here! That just sucks!
vs 17
And who can blame them? Even just sitting and thinking about it for a minute makes God out to be a real bastard. He creates us and puts us in a situation where we have to work for things that are eternally meaningless, or else we suffer.
vs 18
It's not a perfect lot by any means. But the writer is not concerned, and we shouldn't be either. Because the attitude that I expressed (on purpose) up above is one that stems from the idea that God owes us something. In fact, he owes us nothing. Instead of thinking he's a bastard for putting us in a crappy situation, we should be thankful that he allows us to exist at all, and that he makes it so that we can enjoy anything at all, even if only for brief periods. I know the "it could be worse" argument isn't fabulous, but this one has a slight twist to it, "You don't necessarily deserve better."
vs 19
Not everyone actually enjoys wealth and possessions. For some lucky buggers, they are just there, and their real joy comes from God. For most, they just add to misery, even if it is in an invisible way. Those who get to have wealth and enjoy it are really blessed by God.
vs 20
Busyness in order to keep our minds from reflecting too much - this is what I was talking about earlier. Because as the author is showing, when you reflect on it a bit, you see an awful lot of meaninglessness around. Better to be kept busy by God, as a blessing, and to be glad for it.
"Goods" is a pretty vague word. I'm guessing from the context it is talking about stuff beyond just simple food, housing etc. Trade goods, manufactured goods - the sort of stuff people can live without. And it's true - the more there are, the more people buy them. Probably partly to do with supply and demand - greater supply, price goes down; price goes down, demand goes up. And yet, as the writer says, all you do is stare at it. Meaning isn't going to be found there.
vs 12
Hard work obviously induces deep sleep. But those who are rich can rest easy - and it turns out, resting easy isn't so easy.We hit this later too, but it's almost like the ability to reflect deeply on circumstances is a curse, because it brings anxiety and realisation of meaninglessness.
vs 13
People don't often hoard poverty. But we live under the misapprehension, especially today, that more wealth brings more happiness. In fact, it just brings a different, more complex kind of misery. That can be worse, because if you believe that more money brings more happiness, you won't realise that it's actually part of the problem, so you can just keep compounding it.
vs 14
It's funny that inheriting great wealth is seen as meaningless, because you never worked for it, but now losing everything so that your kids get nothing is also a grevious evil. But as we will see, it's just a fact of how the world works.
vs 15
The idea of "taking it with you" implies that you are going somewhere. What we have in this life stays here. It is ephemeral. But we aren't.
vs 16
This does in fact seem far more grevious - we live and die, yes, and the ephemeral stuff around us is pretty much meaningless. But we are forced to toil hard for it while we're here! That just sucks!
vs 17
And who can blame them? Even just sitting and thinking about it for a minute makes God out to be a real bastard. He creates us and puts us in a situation where we have to work for things that are eternally meaningless, or else we suffer.
vs 18
It's not a perfect lot by any means. But the writer is not concerned, and we shouldn't be either. Because the attitude that I expressed (on purpose) up above is one that stems from the idea that God owes us something. In fact, he owes us nothing. Instead of thinking he's a bastard for putting us in a crappy situation, we should be thankful that he allows us to exist at all, and that he makes it so that we can enjoy anything at all, even if only for brief periods. I know the "it could be worse" argument isn't fabulous, but this one has a slight twist to it, "You don't necessarily deserve better."
vs 19
Not everyone actually enjoys wealth and possessions. For some lucky buggers, they are just there, and their real joy comes from God. For most, they just add to misery, even if it is in an invisible way. Those who get to have wealth and enjoy it are really blessed by God.
vs 20
Busyness in order to keep our minds from reflecting too much - this is what I was talking about earlier. Because as the author is showing, when you reflect on it a bit, you see an awful lot of meaninglessness around. Better to be kept busy by God, as a blessing, and to be glad for it.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Ecclesiastes chapter 5
vs 1
So far I'm a pretty big fan of whoever did the verse numberings for Ecclesiastes. How often do you think he gets props?
As for the actual verse, well it's pretty harsh. It would seem that the author thinks that learning the wisdom of God from listening at the temple is more important than just making sacrifices because everyone else does, and not even recognising what they've done wrong to need to do the sacrifices.
vs 2
And not just because the STD charges are out of this world. In the same way that, when before someone of great majesty and importance you keep your words few, so it should be with God. I know I ramble at God a bit, but I always try and keep in my mind that he is Lord. I treat him as a friend, but I try not to overstep that boundary. It's like in Master and Commander - the captain and the doctor are good friends, but the captain is still the captain.
vs 3
I'm not sure if these two are linked or not. But it really reads like they are. I think that it's saying that a dream is fabricated, not reality, and you know you will have dreams when you have many cares. So many cares points to dreams, which are fabrications. In the same way, many words, especially to someone in authority like God, shows a fool at the end of them. While I think the words themselves are clearer, I actually think the idea of the passage is clearer in (dun dun DUN) the KJV.
vs 4
This whole idea of vows to God is something that's a little foreign to us. But this verse links on from the previous. Don't be a fool and yammer on to God about how you will fulfil the vow. Just do it.
vs 5
This could very well be the wisdom that Jesus drew on when he tells the story about the two sons - one who does what his father wants, even though he says he won't, and one who doesn't, even though he says he will.
vs 6
This verse is quite long. The first bit of it is a follow on from verse 5 - making a vow and not fulfilling it is sin. So don't let your mouth lead you into sin by making promises you aren't going to keep. Now it's interesting, as soon as I look at a vow like that, it makes things like baptism very much more powerful.
The second bit is about thinking that your vow to God was a mistake, and so going to the temple messenger (KJV 'angel') and saying as much. I'm pretty sure what it is saying is this: "You made the vow. If you don't fulfill it, God will get upset. It's actually less important how stupid the vow is, than you fulfilling it, because failing to fulfill a vow is sin. If you make a stupid vow, you still have to fulfil it - after all, God calls on you to fulfil it, and why would he angry with your vow and so make its completion worthless?"
vs 7
Dreams and words themselves are not meaningless. But too much of them is not a good thing, and can lead to a lack of fear of God. And fearing God is always a good thing. You can't do that enough.
vs 8
This doesn't make perfect, immediate sense. But what it is saying is that the system in the ancient world (which still exists in many ways and in many places) is that officials had to rely on taxation of the people for their income - they didn't get a wage as such from doing their job. And the officials above them don't get an wage - they get their income from the lower officials.
So because of this constant skimming, because of the system, but also because of the greed of those in the system, the poor (who have no-one from whom to extort money) end up oppressed.
vs 9
The way you can see this work ultimately is in the richness of the king. Kings don't get rich simply by being king. There's not someone above the king who pays him, as such. No, he is the head skimmer - he skims off the top of all the officials. But the place the wealth is created is the fields, the poor people. So the king is actually gaining from the fields just as much as the lowest level of official.
Government in Australia is somewhat different, because our tax collectors don't have to "add a little extra" so that they get paid. There's not really a middleman anymore. But if you want to bribe somebody, then be prepared to fork it out - because everyone involved in the system will want a piece of that pie, and no doubt this is how it is in places like Pakistan.
vs 10
And this is why this system that the writer has explained is so bad for the poor - because people are greedy, and so they keep increasing the burden on those below them. But as he points out, it's meaningless. There is no profit worth the greed. The greedy one is one who is never satisfied. That's pretty much the whole capitalist system - it is never satisfied.
So far I'm a pretty big fan of whoever did the verse numberings for Ecclesiastes. How often do you think he gets props?
As for the actual verse, well it's pretty harsh. It would seem that the author thinks that learning the wisdom of God from listening at the temple is more important than just making sacrifices because everyone else does, and not even recognising what they've done wrong to need to do the sacrifices.
vs 2
And not just because the STD charges are out of this world. In the same way that, when before someone of great majesty and importance you keep your words few, so it should be with God. I know I ramble at God a bit, but I always try and keep in my mind that he is Lord. I treat him as a friend, but I try not to overstep that boundary. It's like in Master and Commander - the captain and the doctor are good friends, but the captain is still the captain.
vs 3
I'm not sure if these two are linked or not. But it really reads like they are. I think that it's saying that a dream is fabricated, not reality, and you know you will have dreams when you have many cares. So many cares points to dreams, which are fabrications. In the same way, many words, especially to someone in authority like God, shows a fool at the end of them. While I think the words themselves are clearer, I actually think the idea of the passage is clearer in (dun dun DUN) the KJV.
vs 4
This whole idea of vows to God is something that's a little foreign to us. But this verse links on from the previous. Don't be a fool and yammer on to God about how you will fulfil the vow. Just do it.
vs 5
This could very well be the wisdom that Jesus drew on when he tells the story about the two sons - one who does what his father wants, even though he says he won't, and one who doesn't, even though he says he will.
vs 6
This verse is quite long. The first bit of it is a follow on from verse 5 - making a vow and not fulfilling it is sin. So don't let your mouth lead you into sin by making promises you aren't going to keep. Now it's interesting, as soon as I look at a vow like that, it makes things like baptism very much more powerful.
The second bit is about thinking that your vow to God was a mistake, and so going to the temple messenger (KJV 'angel') and saying as much. I'm pretty sure what it is saying is this: "You made the vow. If you don't fulfill it, God will get upset. It's actually less important how stupid the vow is, than you fulfilling it, because failing to fulfill a vow is sin. If you make a stupid vow, you still have to fulfil it - after all, God calls on you to fulfil it, and why would he angry with your vow and so make its completion worthless?"
vs 7
Dreams and words themselves are not meaningless. But too much of them is not a good thing, and can lead to a lack of fear of God. And fearing God is always a good thing. You can't do that enough.
vs 8
This doesn't make perfect, immediate sense. But what it is saying is that the system in the ancient world (which still exists in many ways and in many places) is that officials had to rely on taxation of the people for their income - they didn't get a wage as such from doing their job. And the officials above them don't get an wage - they get their income from the lower officials.
So because of this constant skimming, because of the system, but also because of the greed of those in the system, the poor (who have no-one from whom to extort money) end up oppressed.
vs 9
The way you can see this work ultimately is in the richness of the king. Kings don't get rich simply by being king. There's not someone above the king who pays him, as such. No, he is the head skimmer - he skims off the top of all the officials. But the place the wealth is created is the fields, the poor people. So the king is actually gaining from the fields just as much as the lowest level of official.
Government in Australia is somewhat different, because our tax collectors don't have to "add a little extra" so that they get paid. There's not really a middleman anymore. But if you want to bribe somebody, then be prepared to fork it out - because everyone involved in the system will want a piece of that pie, and no doubt this is how it is in places like Pakistan.
vs 10
And this is why this system that the writer has explained is so bad for the poor - because people are greedy, and so they keep increasing the burden on those below them. But as he points out, it's meaningless. There is no profit worth the greed. The greedy one is one who is never satisfied. That's pretty much the whole capitalist system - it is never satisfied.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)