Whet the Edge

Ecclesiastes 10:10  If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.

I packed my weed eater across the creek, and up the hill before realizing I forgot the gas. Back down the hill I went, across the creek, grabbing the gas can, and back up the hill. I then spent the next several minutes  pulling the rope hopping to hear the thing start. After making another trek to my tools and a few adjustments, I did get it started, but not before enduring an existential crisis. Am I really going to have to go through this struggle for the rest of my life? How many more times am I going to have to pull on that rope hoping to hear the rumble of the motor? I set the weed eater down, whet to my computer and ordered a mowing scythe.  

As a boy, I worked on my Grandpa's apple orchard in Kentucky. He had us mow under the trees with scythes. The men hated mowing. I actually thought it was cool, swinging a giant blade around, chopping and hacking. The first time I tried, I grabbed a scythe and started swinging for the fences like Griffey, Jr. in a homerun derby. My Grandpa stopped me and said I was going to kill myself. He sharpened my blade then told me to let the scythe do all the work, that's what it's made for. He just barely moved the blade through the grass at his "grandpa pace" but then I realized how he cut the grass down like it was nothing. He took down a lot more grass in a lot shorter time than I had because used the tool and took time to prepare for the work.

Harkening back to simpler times, I took my scythe to the hill side this summer and went to town, forgetting everything I knew and started hacking at the grass and swinging for the fences. After the newness wore off and the soreness came in, I remembered the blade needs to be sharp, and the tool needs to do the work. If the blade isn't sharp, you can still cut some of the grass, but it won't' do a good job, and takes much more effort, and you'll tire out before you get very far. With a sharp blade, it takes less effort and you'll be able to do more work with less effort. No grass falls while you are sharpening, but in the long run, you'll get more done and with less effort if you stop ever few minutes to sharpen the blade.

There are countless applications, but I'll just take a few. Do you tire yourself in study and Bible reading without whetting the edge with prayer? Do you have so much to do, that you don't have time to pray? Do you take time in prayer before church, asking for wisdom? Perhaps you preach or teach Sunday School. Do you spend hours crafting a homeletically sound outline, but labored all week without prayer for the sermon?  Perhaps you have searched the commentaries and read the works of authors down through the centuries and you haven't seen your desk since Tuesday, since it's covered in a mountain of books. You've consulted the lexicons and diagrammed sentences, and still struggling with a message, but have you come to God in humble prayer? Have you talked to your children about a particular sin, and fussed and cried and pleaded for them to hear you and to listen and yet, you neglected to go the Lord in prayer for wisdom, strength, and that your words would be effectual? Wisdom is profitable to direct.

The Balanced Life - Ecclesiastes 2:3

There is a time and a season for everything under the sun, a time to blog and a time to cast away blogging, one could say. It's been six months since I wrote on Ecclesiastes, and plodding along as I am wont to do, here is the next installment. Click the link that says Ecclesiastes to the right, or click here, or...well, you can figure it out I'm sure. 

Ecclesiastes 2:3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

Solomon “sought” in his heart, so we are seeing  change. He is going to seek to or turn his heart to give himself to wine. Well, let’s not get crazy with all mirth -  or the wisdom. The problem, you see, was not that he carried on, but he carried on too much. Moderation, my dear chap. Nuance. Solomon is not going to live a life of a drunkard - he will mix wisdom and wine in moderation. He is looking for the chief joy and happiness for man and the meaning and purpose of life. Combining the best of both worlds, he might find the satisfaction of soul in the middle road. Too much learning and wisdom vexed his soul. But so did giving himself to mirth and laughter.

Some commentators believe this to be the beginning of Solomon’s fall, walking the middle way of moderation, neither hot nor cold, so to speak. I think this is rather the natural state of affairs for most people who try to reform themselves. They come out of a wild streak and realize such a zealous life of extremes will kill them, and they settle down to a more moderate and respectable life. It’s also the plight of someone who grew up in a conservative household, who thinks their parents were oppressive. Throw off the “fundamentalism” of the past and enjoy their liberty to the fullest.

What should men do all the days of their life? It's a good question to ask and I wish more people asked it. Asking what we are going to do this weekend  is hardly the foresight Solomon was considering. What is it that I should spend my time doing? I only have a limited amount of time on this Earth, what should I do with my time? If giving yourself over to mirth ends badly, maybe moderation in all things is the way to go.  Moderation may be good health advice but poor spiritual advice. This is not drinking advise. Solomon is trying to see if living a balanced life provides your best life. 

That's Not Funny - Ecclesiastes 2:1

"…Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?" Ecclesiastes 2:1.

Solomon also wrote, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine… (Proverbs 17:22).” He wasn't a killjoy and laughter is not evil, it's a God given grace for our good and happiness and  praise God for it! Solomon gave himself over to mirth and pleasure because he thought that laughter was enough to satisfy his soul. He would anchor his soul and devote himself to mirth as the reason for living. He found it was ultimately vanity to live for laughter. I’ve read biographies of comedians and was surprised how angry, bitter, and unfulfilled they were. These men dedicated their life to making others laugh, saw the world as meaningless, just like Solomon said.

A good humorist sees the world as it is and points out little absurdities in life, or to think of inconsistencies in life or language. I considered writing a book on comedians, but it was too difficult, so I tried writing on paper instead. It’s funny to imagine someone using another person as a canvas instead of paper. The joke plays on the imprecision of language and thinking about someone doing something wrong. In the famous I Love Lucy episode, where Lucy and Ethel  take jobs at a chocolate factory (Google it kids), we laugh when the boss threatens to fire them if one piece of chocolate gets past them without the wrapping. Chocolates speed down the conveyor belt too fast for them to keep up. They try everything they can think of to not let the chocolates pass. It’s not funny to get fired or be in over your head. We have all been in some situation where life is coming at us so fast it’s all we can do to keep up. Lucy took a universal experience of stress and anxiety and then acts it out in a ridiculous, over the top scenario. It’s cathartic and funny to watch someone else in such a silly situation trying to crawl their way out. We laugh because of the absurdity of something being broken, but also because we can relate. Life's hard. Why did Solomon say it was vanity?

Mark Twain was a brilliant humorist, but an angry and bitter man. He said, “Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven.” Twain gave his life to wit and humor, devoting himself to mocking what is good. He lived as a scorner and mocker with no hope. God’s people are joyful in Christ, and can see the humor in life and rejoice in God's goodness, laugh at life's absurdities, and in humility remember we are all but dust. We can laugh because we know that our Lord will eventually set all things right. Without Christ, the broken things just aren't funny anymore.

Ecclesiastes 1:16-18

16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Solomon sits in his palace and thinks. He looks at the beautiful home the Lord gave him. He walks to the window and looks out over Jerusalem and mulls over the material blessings God provided. He has more than all those that came before him. Solomon experienced unprecedented wisdom and knowledge. He gave himself over to get and know wisdom, but also to know madness and folly. He wanted to know, to learn, to experience. From wisdom to foolish philosophy and madness. Solomon drank from all the founts of philosophy and “wisdom”. His learning vexed his spirit. Giving his heart to madness and folly, I believe, means he seriously investigated and tried various philosophies and ideas. 

Solomon would have been well beloved today, looking for the good in all religion and cultures. Of course, he would have soon been banned from all college campuses when he revealed this is utter rubbish and leads to despair and grief. Free speech! Market place of ideas! Unless of course you say something that doesn't toe the party line. It is thought that giving yourself over to new ideas and being open to every thought is noble, but how can madness and folly lead you to peace and thriving? Can 2+2=5 lead you to greater enlightenment and excellent bookkeeping? Will turning a screw counterclockwise lead you to tighter joints? Would feeding your chickens candy corn lead you to healthier eggs? Why imagine giving your mind to falsehood would lead you to spiritual peace and contentment?

Solomon tried the halls of learning to find soul satisfaction and instead of giving him peace it only increased his grief and sorrow. He gave his heart to know wisdom and madness. He searched out all the avenues of wisdom and wisdom falsely-so-called, and found it a vexation of spirit. Why? Knowledge and understanding without Christ, is a burden. Knowing true things and seeing true problems in a cursed world, but not having any ability to implement solutions for lasting change is a heartbreaking state of the soul. Note the political pundits and thinkers who, rightly can see many of the problems (fiscal and social) of our nation, and yet cannot see any solution (Christ Jesus the Lord). The more knowledge, the more sorrow. Some of the most depressing and toxic writers and thinkers I read are godless conservative political pundits. What good is there to see the social problems, but only have powerless solutions?

Learning will not bring in happiness, peace, and prosperity. I certainly am not anti-education. I take education very seriously and hold it in high regard. I also hold it in its proper place. It is a tool for our use, not a god for our comfort. God gave us minds and we need to use them and cultivate them. God gave us language, and words, and Grammar (Jesus use of grammar to prove the resurrection in Mark 12:25–27).and we need to learn to use them for good. God gave us mathematics, and science, and history and we ought to take the talents God gives us and grow, learn, and discover for the glory of God and the love of our neighbor. But education is not the key to bring peace, joy, and happiness.

Crooked can't be made straight - Ecclesiastes 1:14-15

14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

Looking at the world, Solomon sees the problem he is dealing with everywhere. He is not just not having a bad week - the vanity of life is a universal problem. The vanity of life under the sun is a common human experience. Living life in this cursed earth is vanity and vexation. The world is bent and it cannot be straightened out by any means under the sun, or with human hands. The different ways life is difficult and vanity and vexation, the various ways that we are tried are so great, they can’t be numbered. 

Though hardly uplifting, this is true. Much better to hear and know the truth so we can deal with life honestly than live in a fantasy world sailing off into eternity. Much better to see reality and know that we cannot find satisfaction and eternal joy and peace through the works of our hands than to spend a life looking for something that is not there. 

This Sore Travail - Ecclesiastes 1:12-13

12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

I believe the Preacher is Solomon. He fits the bill. As we will see, the Preacher has unimaginable financial wealth. We also know that he is a wise man. He was King over Israel in Jerusalem. If we take Israel (all tribes, before the divide) as the nation, then there are only two options: Solomon and Rehoboam. Verse 1 says the Preacher is the son of David, and Solomon’s son, Rehoboam was King during the divide. Even if you take “Israel” to be the people of God in general and place him after the divide, that would only be 7 other good kings of Judah to choose from, and given Solomon's wealth and wisdom, and knowing that he wrote two other books of wisdom, I Solomon is the man. 

Speaking of wisdom, Solomon gave his heart to seek it and search it out concerning all the things under the sun. Life is hard and “this sore travail” is the common experience of man. Solomon wants to know why. What’s the point of it all? I think all men feel this despair. Some will bury these feelings. Most won’t ever think deeply about them. One way or the other, most people will attempt one of the methods Solomon searches out in the remainder of the book, to try and find some sort of meaning and purpose to life.

Solomon tells you what this sermon is about and how he set out to come to his conclusions. He tried, experienced and tested different theories and paths looking for meaning and happiness. It’s a social and spiritual experiment. He needed to know, so he set his mind to find out and wouldn’t rest until he got his answer. The great thing about this book, is we can see what works and what doesn’t without having to experience the pain of trial and error.

this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

The sore travail, or the hard and bitter ordeal of life is given to us by God so we can be humbled by it. Life in a cursed world is not going to be Eden. We lost that. No amount of work or labor or “redeeming the culture” is going to reverse the curse. This life is difficult. God ordains our steps and ordains our trials to exercise us and to try us. Life works as a refining fire in our sanctification.

Nothing New Under the Sun - Ecclesiastes 1:8-11

8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Not only does Solomon see vanity in the continual day in and day out of life, but he sees vanity in his work. Ultimately, his work doesn’t satisfy him. As one generation comes and goes, the new generation really isn’t doing anything that the past generation hasn’t already done.

There is no remembrance of former things. The great feats of history, the great battles of 100 years ago are forgotten today. How many Americans can tell you about World War I or give you a decent explanation of who the major players in the war were, and why the United States was engaged? That war shaped the United States and Great Britain culturally, spiritually, and economically so much the effects and ripples of that war are still felt today, and yet it is largely forgotten. Even the technological pioneers of the past are largely forgotten. Solomon considers that there won’t be any remembrance of what he does in a hundred years.

If all there was in this life, is what we do and live for in the “here and now” then yes, I would agree. What’s the point? As we have ended the first section, I want to point out that Solomon is correct. There isn’t any lasting, soul satisfying joy in the work that we do that can carry us to eternal happiness. We can give ourselves pep talks that our lives and our work will have meaning. But if we are honest with ourselves, we must see the vanity of our labor under the sun.

There must be something more. There must be more to life than the daily grind. We are just repeating what previous generations have done before and sometimes, we are not doing it as well. We might have technological advances, but this just means that we are doing the same things with different technologies. We laugh and are amused to see old movies with the telephone operators moving cables on the switch boards back and forth, and think how far advance we have become, that we don't’ use that old technology anymore. Then we call the call center for tech support on our phone and talk to one of the agents for assistance. Yes, the technology is more advanced, but I wonder how many more employees it takes now to make a phone call, than it did 100 years ago?

This ends the introduction to the book. There are answered to these questions and they will be answered by the end of the sermon.

The Sun Also Rises - Ecclesiastes 1:5-7

5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. 

The sun also rises and sets, then the night passes quickly and it happens all over again. The wind doesn’t blow off into space, but follow their wind patterns according to their wind belts. It’s a continue loop. The rivers are always moving, the water flowing downstream until they all verge in the sea. But does the ocean get full? According to the National Park Service “At New Orleans, the average flow rate [for the Mississippi River] is 600,000 cubic feet per second.” Yet, does the Gulf of Mexico fill up? No, the water levels stay the same, only changed by the tide. Water evaporates, it rains, it fills the rivers, and sends it back down again.

We might use the illustration of a hamster in his wheel or a man on a treadmill. Always busy, always moving, but never making any progress. Solomon sees life under the sun as life on a repeat loop. You wake, work, sleep, and do it all over again until you die. When you die, someone else will step in and take your place.

One Generation after the Other - Ecclesiastes 1:4

1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

The earth has not always been and the earth (as it now is) will not abide forever. Scripture is clear in both cases (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 21:1). But Solomon is thinking in terms of “under the sun” so from the perspective of a man without an eternal perspective, the earth was here when I was born, and when I die, they will bury me in it. I recently went to the cemetery and saw several generations of my family buried in the earth. One generation after another came and went, but the earth in which they did all their labor still remains.

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar.

Tennyson

What profit? - Ecclesiastes 1:3

 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

This verse provides a clue to interpretation of the book. The phrase “under the sun” tells us Solomon is not thinking in terms of an eternal perspective at this point. Everything “under the sun” is what we do on this earth, in this life. Solomon is considering life as if his was all there was. What profit is there in all our work, if this is all there is?

There is profit to our labor. Beside the financial purposes and the ability to provide, there are mental benefits with having work to do and accomplishing the job you set out to accomplish. There is profit for those you serve in your work and the general common good of the community. But there is not satisfaction to the soul. As the saying goes, no one on their deathbed wishes they spent more time at the office. What profit does all our work count for if we die and leave it all behind to be forgotten?

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Ozymandias By Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Preacher - Ecclesiastes #1

Ecclesiastes 1:1 "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem."

What's the point? Wake up Monday through Friday, go to work, do you job, get in the car and go back home. Eat the same dinner, watch the same show and go to bed and do it all over again. Open up your phone and see everyone having fun, going to places you can't afford to go, buying things that are too expensive to day dream about, and here you are, plodding along. What's the point of it all? If only you could retire. If only some TV producer would ask you to film your own hunting show and you would travel the country tracking big game. If only you could get discovered by a Nashville record executive. If only you could have a happy marriage. If you could just spice things up, then, life would be good. If you could have the desires of your heart you'd be happy. Or would you? Would you really be happy if you could have it all? This is an age old question and Solomon has the answer in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Ever wondered what the name Ecclesiastes means? Get ready…it’s a Latin word, transliterated from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word qoheleth, which is translated "the Preacher" as translated in the KJV. So the book of Ecclesiastes is a sermon and the preacher is examining the meaning of life. There are some dark themes presented and tensions brought out without immediate resolution. The Preacher has a plan in his sermon. He’s not rambling on about this at that and before he takes off, the Preacher knows where he is going to land (a good preacher will). There is a point and there will be a resolution, so you need to stick around for the exciting conclusion.

The Preacher is also the son of the king, a wise man who is going to counsel you in the right direction. To call Solomon a wealthy man would be an understatement. There was nothing that was available to him that he couldn’t obtain. We can only dream of having that power and wealth. When Solomon speaks about possessions, pleasure, ambition, family, this was more that philosophy and theory, I believe he put it to the test. Solomon found there is not lasting satisfaction in things “under the sun”. Whether it be knowledge, wealth, work, dignity, or honor, ultimately these things do not fulfill the person and leave you saying that it’s nothing. Solomon wants you to see that you will waste your life trying to find satisfaction in temporary things. If you could attain all your aspirations in this life, you would look at all that you accomplished and be disappointed. Solomon tried it, and his conclusion was that it was all "vanity and vexation of spirit". True happiness is found in God and satisfaction of the soul is found in Christ Jesus (Ecclesiastes 12:13).