under the heavens

February 22, 2016

The vanity of pleasure (Eccl 2:1-2:3)

“I said to myself.

‘Come now!

I will make a test of pleasure.

Enjoy yourself!’

But again,

This also was vanity.

I said of laughter.

‘It is mad.’

I said of pleasure.

‘What use is it?’

I searched with my mind

How to cheer my body with wine.

My mind was still guiding me with wisdom.

How am I am to lay hold of folly?

I wanted to see

What was good for mortals

To do under heaven

During the few days of their life.”

Qoheleth was once again talking to himself. He wanted to enjoy pleasure. However, he found that it too was useless and in vain. He laughed, but it was kind of a mad laughter. What was the use of all this pleasure? He tried to cheer his body with wine, even though he was able to maintain the wisdom in his mind. He wanted to enjoy folly and foolishness. What kind of things can mortals do during their short span of life under the heavens?

February 22, 2016

The foolish search (Eccl 1:13-1:14)

“I applied my mind

To seek

To search out

By wisdom

All that is done under heaven.

It is an unhappy business

That God has given to human beings

To be busy with.

I saw all the deeds

That are done under the sun.

See!

All is vanity.

All is a chasing after wind.”

Qoheleth applied his mind with wisdom. He wanted to seek and search out everything under the heavens. He wanted an encyclopedic mind, or as we would say a Wikipedia mind. However, he thought that this is an unhappy business that God allows humans to be involved with, the search for knowledge. Notice that throughout this work, God and not Yahweh is used. Qoheleth boasts that he has seen all the deeds that were done under the sun. His response is that it is all in vain. All is vanity, useless, or temporary. Once the wind came, it would be gone. Searching for knowledge was like chasing the wind. You would never catch it