Saturday, September 17, 2022

Ecclesiastes 6:7-12


Question: What is our basic problem?

Answer: Enough is never enough. We always want more.

But there is a wisdom which can help us here. A wisdom which is particularly accessible to the poor (which is why "the wise" in parallel with "the poor"). The poor cannot gratify many of their desires because they lack the resources. This teaches them wisdom - wisdom to say No to wandering desires. The wise approach to life is to enjoy what we already have ("what the eyes sees"), and not yearn for what lies out of reach, which is truly "chasing after the wind" and utterly futile.  

God is sovereign, and we humans must recognize our God-given limitations. 

God has made things the way they are. Everything has been 'named'. That is, God has assigned everything its due place. In particular, it is 'known' what humans can accomplish and what lies beyond them. All attempts to resists these facts, whether verbally or in other ways are futile. It is not that God is unwilling to bless humans, but the blessing comes on God's terms. Disregarding His will in the pursuit of our own plans will only lead to futility.

How can we know anything? Who knows what is good? But this is The Teacher's method. He has not yet put all his cards on the table - at this stage he leaves issues unresolved because he wants to prod us into thinking hard about our lives.

Points which emphasis human limitations - life is brief; we do not know the right time for everything; we lack the full picture; the future is uncertain. He does not pick up other, more positive earlier statements (that certain things are clearly "good" or at least better) because he wants to challenge us - How we truly recognized our limitations? If so, what will our response be?  

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