Ep. 31 | The Painful Wisdom of Ecclesiastes

Speaker: Jesse Turkington

Summary: The Bible's Wisdom books are well aware of each other. And Ecclesiastes' contribution, in particular, is like a shepherd's goad poking and prodding its readers into a state of honest contemplation.

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Music created by Chad Hoffman
Artwork created by Anthony Kuenzi

Jesse’s Personal Notes:

The Painful Wisdom of Ecclesiastes

Opening

Hey! Welcome to Pickled Parables. My name’s Jesse. 

Today, I will be presenting a lesson on the book of Ecclesiastes. I’ve been studying this book for a couple of months just as a personal study and despite the amount of time that I’ve put into it, there is still so much that I could learn from this book and I plan on continuing my personal study.

But I want to share with you the things that I’ve learned so far and help you come to a better understanding of the Bible’s wisdom literature. 

At the end of this lesson, I will present a little bit more about Pickled Parable’s new direction. If you’ve been following along with this podcast, then you’ll remember that we’ve had a couple of guest speakers come share with us lessons from the Bible. And Pickled Parables is actively becoming a platform for Bible teachers to come share the Word of God with us. I’m really excited for this podcast’s future and I'll share a little bit more of what that future looks like at the end of this lesson. 

So, for now, let’s turn our attention to Ecclesiastes. 

Introduction

Ecclesiastes has had my attention for a long time. 

There might be parts of it that may be familiar to you. There's a lot of good quotes that people like to use from it, like probably the most famous one is, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” or another popular one, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”

 Now Ecclesiastes is a difficult book to work through, at least it is for me. It’s a product of its time, for sure, and it can be hard not to interpret it with a 21st century prescription lens (if you know what I mean). So first, as we approach this book, we need to be understanding and come with an awareness that this is a thoughtfully designed piece of literature. And it’s part of a specific genre of Biblical writing, it's called wisdom literature. 

 There are other books in the Bible that would also be included in this genre, like Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes and sometimes depending on your tradition certain parts of the Psalms would also be included as well. 

Now these wisdom books all exist with an awareness of each other. They were all written separately by groups of different people but each book wasn’t foreign to each of the authors. They were aware of what came before them. 

So, these books, when presented together, not only inform their individual content but together they present competing agendas.

 Like, for instance, Proverbs - which Hunter Hoover presented two episodes ago - Proverbs takes shape as a characterization of Wisdom and gives the perspective of a figurative teacher who offers her insight to any who will listen. 

A passage in Proverbs chapter one presents it pretty well. It says – 

Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
    in the markets she raises her voice;
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
    at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools hate knowledge?
If you turn at my reproof, 
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
    I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused to listen,
    have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
because you have ignored all my counsel
    and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
    I will mock when terror strikes you,
when terror strikes you like a storm
    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
    when distress and anguish come upon you.
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
    and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
would have none of my counsel
    and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
    and have their fill of their own devices.
For the simple are killed by their turning away,
    and the complacency of fools destroys them;
but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be at ease, without dread of disaster” (Proverbs 1:20-33 ESV). 

Proverbs presents the value of wisdom and it sits comfortably within a structured understanding of how the world works. It’s good to be wise. Those who pursue Lady Wisdom will live better lives. Those who despise Wisdom and reject her teachings will fall into disasters made by their own creation. The wisdom of God is valuable and by acquiring it your life will be better. 

That is the praise of Proverbs.

But in the book of Job, who Michael Rogers presented in the last episode, we find an instance where this structured understanding of how the world works … fall apart. 

Job, a righteous and upright man, who fears the LORD (which is the beginning of all wisdom) experiences devastating catastrophe. All of his children, the loves of his life, die suddenly. All of his profit, the proof of his labors, stolen. The wellbeing of his body slips into a painful sickness. This is the devastation of a blameless and upright man. 

And Job struggles to make sense of why this is happening. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why would God allow for such a thing to happen? What about the promise of Wisdom and having a better life with it? 

The majority of this book is a conversation between Job and his friends all trying to make sense of how this fits in their worldview.  

By the end of the book, Job’s understanding of the world and the fairness of life is in tatters. And then he’s challenged by the Creator of the Universe. In Job chapter forty it says –

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Dress for action like a man;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.
Will you even put me in the wrong?
    Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Have you an arm like God,
    and can you thunder with a voice like his (Job 40:6-9 ESV)?

 And Job’s mindset is reoriented as he considers the magnitude of God and he confesses in chapter forty-two:

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

“I know that you can do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ (That’s something God had asked him)
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
    but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
    and repent (or find comfort) in dust and ashes” (Job 42:21-6 ESV). 

Despite Jobs revelation, the questions are never answered. And this book stands in stark contrast to Proverbs with a seemingly single connection: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of all wisdom.

But what about everything else? What about all the good that’s talked about in Proverbs? How does that fit into this narrative? 

 Job’s worldview has just been shattered. Where does he go from here? God never answered his questions. He simply reminded Job of his inaptitude and then left him. 

Ecclesiastes

Then we come to Ecclesiastes. This book sits squarely in between Proverbs and Job as the teacher in this book contemplates the “what should be’s” verses the “what is.” 

“This is what world should be like, but this is what I observe in it and its contradictory.”

Why do the wise die and experience catastrophe while the wicked live long and rich lives? 

Why do we work and toil over profit just to die and leave it to someone who didn’t earn it? 

The speaker in this book sits in a similar situation to Job where he is holding his understanding with open hands as if it were broken pieces of pottery and he tries to make sense of life with every form of rationality.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad people appear to have better lives than good people? It’s not fair! It doesn’t make sense. 

Ecclesiastes presents the honest ponderings of a Biblically wise preacher. His opening statement is an exasperated - 

Vanity of vanities (utter futility), says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! (Everything,) All is vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV). 

Vanity is the oldest and probably the most widespread understanding of what this Preacher is lamenting about. It’s using the older understanding of the word like something similar to trite or worthless. Of course, as time goes on, people start to use words differently and “vanity” has come to be used to describe a narcissistic person filled with conceit or even a piece of furniture like a vanity desk. Kind of goes to show what the actual insult people originally meant was when they said someone had vanity. 

But here, the Hebrew word is literally Hevel and the old understanding of vanity fits decently to help convey its meaning into English. 

Vanity of vanities, a chasing of wind, a vapor of breath. Something short yet not really measurable, or something intangible yet there. Vanity of vanities, life is vanity. It’s meaningless. It’s futile. It’s incomprehensible. It’s absurd. It’s senseless. It’s paradoxical. 

That’s the opening statement of this preacher in Ecclesiastes. This speaker is siting in an upside-down upheaval of understanding. Things he thought were so are turning out not to be the case. He is lost among the pieces of his worldview to the point where he is unwilling to make a new commitment. It’s worthless! Life is vanity. It doesn’t make sense. 

Now, Proverbs sets out a general rule: live this way and this will likely be the outcome. 

But Ecclesiastes explores the exceptions. It doesn’t always work out that way. Look at the world we’re in. What should my expectations be? Because if I take what’s said in Proverbs as a guarantee I’m going to be very disapproved and experience a fractured mindset. 

Job sits in the same place as Ecclesiastes but aims its attention towards God. Who is God? And how does Heinteract with the world and the people of the world? Job helps us understand who God is.

Ecclesiastes focuses on how I should deal with the world right now in light of this (eh-fem-er-al) ephemeral, complicated existence.  

So that’s a quick overview of the Bible’s wisdom books. They each complement each other and poke at each other and bring about a cohesive meditation about fearing the Lord and the beginning of wisdom. 

Ultimately that’s what the Bible is, it’s meditation literature.

Now, I’ve titled this lesson, “The Painful Wisdom of Ecclesiastes.”

And that’s something right there in the text, that’s confessed at the end of the book. In chapter 12, it says: 

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.  (Ecclesiastes 12:11 ESV).

So right there, three verses before the end of the book, the writers confess that this is painful. It’s like goads, it’s like the pointy stick of a shepherd. Nobody wants to get poked with a pointy stick, it’s uncomfortable. But that’s what Ecclesiastes is about. It’s about sitting in the uncomfortable and being honest with yourself. 

The Preacher of this book takes his audience through a complete rollercoaster of emotions where everything is horrible, life doesn’t make sense, what’s the point of it all? And then he has moments where he gives incredible instruction and observation that makes you think, “Wow, this guy lived a long time ago and he came up with that?” 

It’s like this Preacher marches us up to a cliff of depreciating value but then once we reach the top and instead of jumping off of it, he stops and goes, “Let’s not go any further. Let’s just look at the world from up here and then climb back down.” 

I don’t mean to misrepresent this incredible book but for the sake of explanation, it’s like an exercise in honest contemplation. There’s a lot of tension between his observations and his beliefs. Some of this Preacher’s ideas pull against each other in opposite directions. This Preacher has a lot of unusual things to say and as we read this, we need to remember that this is only one man’s view of the world, and all truths are partial, and all thinkers are inadequate. Undoubtably, this has a place within Scripture, but it is a single part of a large collection. So, we must not remove it from the complementary books that reside around it. 

Which is why I wanted to introduce this book with the other wisdom books near it. 

Conclusion

Again, everything in this book is coming from the perspective of someone whose worldview, their perception of the inner workings of life, their understanding of the world, has fallen apart. There’s a lot of tension and discomfort within the words of this book and it reminds me of a quote found in the New Testament.

In Mark chapter 9, a man comes to Jesus hoping He’ll heal his son from a demon who was possessing him. In verse 21:

Jesus asked (this) father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out  and said, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:21-24 ESV)!

I love this verse so much because it epitomizes the friction of faith, the tension of belief. “I believe; help my unbelief!” It’s there, I just often don’t acknowledge it. 

Ecclesiastes fits this declaration. Never once does the Preacher abandon his faith or question the God he believes in, but he is all over the place in trying to make heads or tails about the human experience. 

He comes to the conclusional thought of the lack of human control. He decides that there is a beauty, a gift really, and a goodness to things because he cannot control them, and they are not guaranteed to him. 

Enjoy whatever it is you get out of it. There is a beauty to things you can’t control. And with this appreciation, give your attempt of control to God and enjoy what you can with whatever He gives you. 

In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, the Preacher says through a poem:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV).

Later in chapter 7, the Preacher says:

 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:15-20 ESV).

This presents an honest look at the seasons of life and the condition of man throughout those seasons. Nothing is guaranteed to us in this life so we should genuinely appreciate and enjoy where we’re at and what we have. 

Whether it’s simply enjoying food or a drink, or our friends and family, or even money and things we have - Enjoy them! Rejoice in them and thank the Lord for them. 

Yet at the same time, don’t attempt to be overly righteous or overly wise. Don’t stake everything on your righteousness or on your perceived wisdom. For surely, there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Live in the fear of the Lord and in the acknowledged control of the Lord. That is the wisdom of Ecclesiastes (or really just a piece of it). 

 If you’re comfortable with what you think and believe about Christianity and life and God in the world, for goodness’ sake, don’t read Ecclesiastes. It is a pointy stick that will poke and prod you until you are thoroughly uncomfortable. 

But if you want to meditate on some honest wisdom, I would enthusiastically suggest reading through Ecclesiastes. This isn’t a book that you can read little paragraphs out of and then feel content after. This is something that needs to be considered in its entirety. 

And I confess that there is still so much that I myself am still learning in this book. I’m going to continue my studies here so if you would like to talk more about this book or wisdom literature in general, send me an email or a message on Instagram. I would love to talk about it with you. 

I have misunderstood these wisdom books for a long time. I considered Proverbs the peak, until I realized that Job and Ecclesiastes work to fortify and carry out the wisdom of Proverbs. Together these three books when presented together, not only inform their individual content but together present complementary and yet also competing agendas. They poke at each other and bring about a cohesive meditation about fearing the Lord and the beginning of wisdom.

So, again I would encourage you, read Ecclesiastes but don’t separate it from the herd. 

Outro

Thanks for joining me today for this overview of Ecclesiastes and the Bible’s wisdom books. It is a genre of the Bible that I really enjoy. 

I want to give you an update and let you know a little bit about what’s going on for the next month. Next week will be September here in Oregon, I assume it will be the same everywhere else, and we are going to continue releasing these episodes bi-weekly for that month. Starting in October we’re go back to an episode a week and continue that for the foreseeable future. 

In the next episode, Pastor Michael Tourtellotte from Emanuel Bible Church here in Pratum will be presenting a lesson on the Psalms and I’m very excited that you’ll be here for that. So until then, I’ll catch you later.