Themes and Phrases in Ecclesiastes, cont'd

           
The Immanence of Death.³⁵ Any advantage, wealth, or possessions that a person has gained in this life are rendered meaningless by death.  A person cannot influence the timing of his or her death (8:8), a death that is similar to a person’s entrance into life (5:15-16).  Qohelet viewed death as preferable to life for some (4:1-3; 6:3-5), with the sole exception that the dead will eventually be forgotten (9:4-5).³⁶ Yet Qohelet must not be regarded as a nihilist.  , Qohelet is underscoring the terrible oppression that he witnessed, concluding that it would have been better off never to have been born rather than exist in an oppressed condition.   Qohelet is discussing a discontented rich man.  If a man has all good things available and yet does not enjoy them (3:22), then the miscarried child is even better than he. Finally, one of Qohelet’s most important observations is the separation that death brings from earthly possessions (2:18; 5:15).  Thus man should spend life fearing God and obeying His commandments, all the while enjoying the fruit of his labor.

           
Wisdom.³⁷ Qohelet’s negative conclusions concerning wisdom are that it is transitory (4:13-16; 9:13-16), can bring much grief to a person (1:18), and does not prevent death (2:12).  Yet it is better to be poor and wise than rich and foolish (4:13), and can help to preserve one’s life (7:11-12).  Wisdom also provides success (10:10), gives strength (7:19; 9:16), and joy (8:1).  However, as with all earthly pursuits, Qohelet sees wisdom in and of itself as vanity (2:15). All the human wisdom under the sun cannot redeem us from our temporal predicament under the curse.  Wisdom cannot remove the difficulty of labor, and even if it prolongs one’s life, it cannot ultimately deliver us from death.

           
Fear of God.³⁸ Qohelet chose not to use God’s covenant name, Yahweh, instead opting to exclusively use Elohim.  Even with the omission of Yahweh, it is clear that the God of Israel is in view in Qohelet’s work.  He is called the Shepherd (), a term used elsewhere in the Old Testament to refer to God (Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Ps. 23:1; 28:9; 80:1).³⁹ God will indeed correct injustice in the future (; 8:12-13; 11:9; 12:14), for He is in total control (; 5:2; 7:14; 9:1).  In addition to fearing Him, mankind should seek to please God (2:26) and remember Him (12:1, 7).⁴⁰ “All these truths about God are consistent with the rest of Scripture, thus affirming the validity of the place of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.”⁴¹ When these statements about God are read in light of the message of the book and the author’s conclusion, one cannot doubt that a proper doctrine of God is presented by Qohelet.

           
These main phrases and themes masterfully merge together to unfold a profound picture of human life. All the seeming difficulties of interpretation surrounding Ecclesiastes actually serve to state its message more dramatically. The use of paradox, irony, hyperbole and pessimism combine to give a potent depiction of our human predicament. There is “an appointed time for everything…a time to search and a time to give up as lost.”  Yet as believers in God we must not give up as lost the search for meaning apart from wealth and pleasure.  We must recognize that we live both in the frustrated experience of vanity “under the sun” and yet also within the hope of joy and pleasure from a God who is good. Both must be considered and understood in order to gain true wisdom as to human life and its proper relation both to the world and to God.