ECCLESIASTES
The Book of Ecclesiastes is a weird fit. If the books of
the Bible were puzzle pieces, you would have a hard time figuring out where to
put Ecclesiastes—it's the kind of piece that needs to be jammed into place, or
one that you might be tempted to adjust with a pair of scissors. So
Ecclesiastes is definitely odd—Plenty of scholars and theologians agree that
Ecclesiastes just feels like it's coming from another planet, one
different from almost all the other books of the Bible (except maybe for Job). In fact,
many of the rabbis who were putting the Hebrew Bible together didn't want to
put Ecclesiastes in—but they were out-voted. Ecclesiastes was a definite
original. Some people suggest that Ecclesiastes is so different from everybody
else because he was influenced by Greek philosophers—like Epicurus, who was
also into talking about heavy subjects like death in a big way. But there isn't
any Greek influence on Ecclesiastes's language, which remains Hebrew, so this
all seems sort of unlikely. Ecclesiastes is just the Greek version of Koheleth,
which means "Gatherer" or "Assembler"—either because he
gathered all the sayings and observations that make up this book, or he used to
gather together people and teach them these sayings and observations, which led
to his English nickname of "Teacher" or "Preacher. For a long
time, Ecclesiastes was said to be the same as King Solomon, the wisest of
Israel's kings. But in reality, he lived about half-a-millennium after Solomon.
And speaking of wisdom, Koheleth challenges some of the basic points and
assumptions made by nearly all the other books in the Bible. Those other books
don't ever question the idea that life has a purpose, and that God is guiding
that purpose towards something that's ultimately good (again, with the possible
exception of Job). Yeah, human beings keep messing up, provoking God's wrath
and giving him the occasional panic attack—but the long arc of the Bible seems
to bend towards a final time of peace, when the Israelites and the rest of
humanity will be living righteously and without endless war. Not so for
Koheleth. Yet, despite how radically different the Book of Ecclesiastes is,
it's had a huge impact on world literature. The American writer Thomas
Wolfe said that it was "the greatest single piece of writing I have
ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound."
And the rock band The Byrds used an entire passage from Ecclesiastes as the
lyrics to their hippie-anthem, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" But to understand
the hype, you really need to dig into this often-disturbing masterpiece.
Why
Should I Care?
The word "wise" is
often thrown around like so many foam peanuts. For instance, "wise
guy" isn't usually a term for someone who's wise, at all—we apply it to a
cocky kid or a Goodfellas-style mobster much more regularly. People
even say "wise man" more sarcastically than seriously. But wisdom
literature was a popular style of writing in the ancient Middle East. You
needed wisdom because life was hard. Assyria could invade you. Babylon could
invade you. They could murder you, murder your family, pillage, and plunder. But
even now, in the present day, when you're a lot less likely to get stampeded to
death by a horde of Babylonian charioteers, you still stand the risk of dying
at some point. In fact, recent studies show that 100% of all human beings will,
eventually… die. It's science. So, death is inevitable—sorry. So, we're all
going to die. (Prepare your frown-face emoticons.) But this is also why
Ecclesiastes still has a lot to say. The author has done some hard livin'—he implies
he's been through it all. And after these experiences—from living an intense
life—Ecclesiastes has something to say. He has wisdom to impart; he wants to
give you the news. But is it good news? A fair amount of Ecclesiastes focuses
on death and the meaninglessness of life. It begins with the famous refrain,
"Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" and repeats it throughout the
book. Now, "vanity" here doesn't mean staring at your reflection and
hoping everyone thinks you're winsome and attractive. He's not saying the whole
world is just one giant Barbie Vanity Dream Playset by Mattel. Here, the word
translated as "vanity" is closely related to the Hebrew word for
"fog" or "mist"—the great Hebrew Bible scholar, Robert
Alter, translates it as "mere breath." It means the world is a place
where everything is always disappearing, dissolving, changing from one day to
the next. Things vanish just like the cold breath you breathe out on a winter
day. There's a sense of futility, absurdity, confusion, and meaninglessness all
mixed up in it too. Basically, he's saying that life is pretty insubstantial. So
is Ecclesiastes just a Debbie Downer? Is that all he has to say? Thankfully,
the answer is "Not really." Some people think Ecclesiastes is totally
pessimistic, but a good number also think he's got a lot more going on. He's
not just looking at life and saying, "This is total lame-sauce." He's
admitting that life seems meaningless—or, at least, that the plot of life isn't
immediately clear. Books like the Bible or the Teachings of the Buddha
or Plato's Dialogues try to show people what the plot is or might
be—and if you're looking at life without a guidebook, it might easily seem like
"vanity." Ecclesiastes is trying to give you the antidote to all this
vanity.
FRIDAY November 10
Ecclesiastes,
Chapter 5, Verse 6
Despite many
dreams, futilities, and a multitude of words, fear God!
Remember fear
of God means reverence and love. Our dreams if not connected to our Godly
purpose are unrewarding. Dreams and ambitions take hold more quickly when you
share them with someone you love. Our vainness is a result of excluding God
from our plans; and many words do not make a song of praise. It is not the
multitude of words but one’s sincerity that counts in the acknowledgment of
God’s sovereignty, especially through obedience and reverence. God does not fear to make men great; but for those who are made
great they must be responsible,
humble and fair for those in command are thoroughly judged by God. We must be of the mindset as spoken by
Charles Mayes: “Make sure the thing your living for is worth dying
for.” And as leaders we must make sure that when we send others into
harm’s way that it would be only if we ourselves would be willing to die to get
it done. As confirmed members of the body of Christ it is our duty; no, our
sacred honor to give meaning to the words of the psalmist:
“Defend the
lowly and fatherless; render justice to the afflicted and needy. Rescue the
lowly and poor; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Ps. 82:3-4)
Fitness
Friday-Hunting Workout
Recognizing that God the Father created man on Friday the 6th day
I propose in this blog to have an entry that shares on how to recreate and
renew yourself in strength; mind, soul and heart.
Elk hunting[2] (or indeed any rough-country hunt where drastic elevation
changes are a routine part of the hunt) requires a different kind of planning
and conditioning than your usual whitetail hunt. The most common problem
out-of-state hunters experience is not being in good enough physical condition
to handle constant up-and-down foot travel at high elevation - especially when
carrying a pack. The result is a physically exhausted hunter who is unable to
perform. Hours and days of precious hunting time are wasted due to need for
rest and recovery. Here’s a twelve-week plan that will prep you for the high
country. There are two main components to physical prep for rough-country
hunting: cardiovascular and muscular. Plan on exercising thirty to forty-five
minutes per weekday, alternating between cardio and muscular workouts. Be sure
to stretch and warm up gradually before workouts and cool off gradually
afterwards.
Week
One: Start out easy on yourself to lower
risk of hurting joints or tendons.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Go for a brisk 45-minute walk, preferably including up and down terrain.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: Spend 30 minutes climbing up and down the local bleacher stairs (or a nice steep hill). Take regular short rests.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Go for a brisk 45-minute walk, preferably including up and down terrain.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: Spend 30 minutes climbing up and down the local bleacher stairs (or a nice steep hill). Take regular short rests.
Week
Two: Step it up a little.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Add short stints of jogging to your walk.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: same 30-minute routine, just cut down on rest time.
Mon/Wed/Fri cardio: Add short stints of jogging to your walk.
Tues/Thurs/Sat muscular: same 30-minute routine, just cut down on rest time.
Next
Friday week 3…
Daily
Devotions
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