A Ravenous Appetite

What does it take to satisfy a physical appetite? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

In Ecclesiastes 6:7-9, we read this:

7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Why do people work? Ultimately, so that they can eat. You can say we do many other things, but the eating is often primary. If you can’t put food on the table, it doesn’t matter what else you can do.

In the West, especially America, we have an obesity epidemic. Think fast. When was the last time you heard a sermon about the sin of gluttony from the pulpit? I haven’t heard one. I have heard sermons about many other sins, but never about gluttony. Could it be the pastor knows that he will likely lose half his audience on that one? Could it be he might be one of the biggest violators? (No pun intended, but it works out.)

Part of our culture never being satisfied does center around food. We have more of it that most people can ever imagine. My former roommate grew up in a small town and when we moved to Charlotte together, he was absolutely stunned the first time he walked into a large grocery store. If it didn’t spoil, you could likely have enough food in a grocery store to care for many people the rest of their lives.

We often have so many fads for diet fixes and we want instant results, but the solution is often simple. Eat better and exercise more. For those interested, while I am actually underweight, I do get in at least 10,000 steps every day. Yes. I have apps that measure this.

The Teacher also tells us that it’s better to enjoy what we see right before us instead of having our appetites move about looking to find more. If we get something and then we want to move on to the next fix, then we have a problem. Our culture is often built around meeting our own desires and people are just a tool to bring that about.

I realize it’s not necessarily the most pressing issue, but the church does need to do better when it comes to issues of gluttony. Many people have a hard time listening to a pastor who has a weight problem telling them how they ought to live their lives. I do realize we’re all hypocrites to some extent, but any chance we can take to improve ourselves should be taken.

Yet in the end, what is the Teacher saying? Enjoy what is there before you right now. I have said that Ecclesiastes is not really a book about pessimism. In a way, it is actually a book about joy and embracing it here and now.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

The Problem Of Not Being Able To Enjoy Things

What if you can’t enjoy something? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Chapter 6 starts off with another great evil the Teacher has seen:

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?

As I wrote about it:

Ecclesiastes 6:1, starts with a case of a man who has great wealth but cannot enjoy it and strangers end up enjoying it. As Garrett says “Nothing is more pitiful than to be rich but unable to enjoy it; no amount of prosperity can make up for a life without joy.”[1] Garrett also says that the speaking of a hundred children and such a long life represents Hebrew hyperbole. The Teacher presents a man with everything he wants materially, children to ensure his name carries on, and a long life, but unless the man can enjoy his wealth and have a proper burial, a stillborn child has the better deal. A proper burial matters since in the ancient world, how one died and received burial spoke about how the community viewed their life such that if a man dies without an honorable burial, what profit does he have?

Yesterday, I wrote that the Teacher says it was good to enjoy life, but notice that he not only says that, but he says here it’s a tragedy if you can’t. Life is meant to be enjoyed. If you have 100 sons and have all the wealth, but you do not enjoy your life, what good is it?

Let’s take time to consider this people. This is in the Bible. This is the book that belongs to us that people usually think are stick-in-the-muds who just want to suck the fun out of everything. The Teacher commands us to enjoy life. If you have everything in the world and you have not enjoyed your life, it would have been better for you if you had been stillborn in the womb.

Ecclesiastes is often seen as a depressing book, but in many ways, it’s also a joyous book. It faces life realistically. In an odd way, Ecclesiastes is also a book about joy. It teaches us the importance of seeing the world as it is and then saying “How are you going to live in this fallen world?”

The Teacher recommends enjoying your life.

I’m inclined to agree.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

[1] Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (vol. 14; The New American Commentary; Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993), 315.

 

Life, Work, and Wealth are Good.

What can we enjoy? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

We wrap up Ecclesiastes 5 with another Carpe Diem passage:

18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

I wrote about the passage that:

Verse 5:18 has what is commonly considered a carpe diem passage. Enns sees these passages as a resignation of sorts in that God has given man wealth, but he will die anyway.[1] In contrast, Perry says that “if enjoyment comes from God this must include the very power to enjoy.”[2] Longman thinks that only those who God gives wealth can enjoy it.[3] My thinking goes with the latter two since the Teacher speaks of this as something good. In verse 12, the Teacher also describes the sleep of a laboring man as sweet, which could mean that God wants the average man to have a peaceful sleep and then when he has done his toil, to simply enjoy his life.

The simple message is to enjoy what you have. If you can eat and drink, enjoy it. If you have to work in your life, enjoy it. If you have wealth, enjoy it. It is interesting that we have to be told to enjoy our lives. Is this so difficult for us to do? Unfortunately, it often is.

It could also be worthwhile in our day and age to realize that the Teacher says to enjoy both work and wealth. If you have to go to work every day, try to enjoy it. If you have wealth, enjoy it as well. (Please also do consider clicking the Patreon button and becoming a supporter of Deeper Waters.) When you have a meal regardless, enjoy that too.

It could be the antidote to the pessimism of death is to be busy enjoying your life so much that you cannot think about death. Or, it could mean that when the time comes, you will realize you had a good life. Of course, as an Israelite, the Teacher would include that this also means living according to the teachings of YHWH.

For our day and age, we need to consider wealth and work. Envy over a wealthy man does one no good. If someone has wealth and wants to enjoy it, let him. If you have a job, go to work and try to enjoy it. If you can improve matters for yourself, by all means do so, but enjoy your life in any case. It is a good gift from God to be received with thanksgiving.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

[1] Ibid., 73.

[2] Perry, 113.

[3] Longman, NICOT The Book of Ecclesiastes, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1998), 168.

 

A Waste of Riches

What happens when you lose it all? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Today, we’re looking at Ecclesiastes 5:13-17.

13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

As I wrote, the problem the Teacher sees is not what many people today would think it is.

In 5:13, The Teacher speaks about an evil under the sun in a rich person hoarding wealth. Critics of a modern capitalist society could read into this a condemnation of greed, but Enns disagrees. The Teacher does not have in mind greed, but rather pointlessness. A rich person goes and amasses all this wealth for himself and holds it close and then he dies and his wealth cannot benefit him The rich person could lose it all in a misfortune, much like Job did, and have nothing left for his children to inherit. As shown in chapter 2 eventually, the kids could inherit everything and waste it all anyway. In other words, why bother? The rich man did all the work and death becomes the great equalizer. Rich and poor will die the same way, taking nothing with them.[1]

[1] Enns, 72.

The Teacher is not condemning greed. He is condemning waste. This man had everything and he used it foolishly. Now he has nothing to give to his son. In the end, he still dies, but before he dies, he gets to live with the knowledge of how he has shamed his ancestors who came before him and what impact this will have on his son in the future.

What was the point? Why do all the work if you are not going to take the time to enjoy the benefits of your work? The laboring man spoken of before actually gets to sleep and enjoy rest at least. The foolish rich man who loses everything gets nothing.

Today, we can consider that while we should store up for our children and grandchildren, we should also take the time to enjoy what we have. Yes. We should use our money to serve others, but there is no sin if you also just enjoy some of what you have. God provides richly for our enjoyment. The rich man in this story did not do so. He was a fool when it came to the managing of his finances and when his time comes, he will have nothing positive to show for all that he did.

Next time, we will be more joyous.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

The Law of Diminishing Returns

Is there ever enough?

Let’s look at Ecclesiastes 5:10-12.

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

The things we want in life are usually good things. There is nothing evil about money, food, sex, wine, pleasure, etc. God made these things good for us to enjoy. The Teacher has written thousands of years ago a lesson that we need to learn more right now and we tend to think of it as the law of diminishing returns.

Basically, it’s like saying we’re looking for the next hit. We’re looking for something that will satisfy us because we do not so much want the thing itself, but we want the feeling or satisfaction that the thing gives us. The thing is often a means to an end.

In our culture of loose sexuality for instance, men especially jump around from girl to girl, not because they care about the girls they are with, but they hope that with a new lover, that they will get that high again that they desire. When the high starts to fade, the relationship fades. This can also happen in our relationships with the idea of “falling in love” where we think once the emotion fades away from the relationship, the relationship has died.

In the case of money, it’s the saying that has been attributed to Rockefeller when asked how much money was enough and was told just a little bit more. Again, the sin is not the money itself. A person can have a lot of money and not be in sin. It is when a lot of money has a person that the person is then in sin.

The Teacher instead praises the man who we look down on as not having anything. The man who simply does his job and rests has a sweet sleep. He has done his job. The man with the most goods can be concerned in insecurity. Does he have enough? What if someone takes what he has?

I think it was Chesterton who said that while there are many things to enjoy in this life, only two things can provide us with unending joy. Those are a person and a story. (Hence, my studies into video games and stories.) In an ideal marriage, it is eternally diving into the ocean of one person instead of the shallow pools of many waters that is meant to bring us constant joy.

That is also a pointer to the triune God that we are meant to eternally dive into one day. That is a being who there is no limit to what He can do to satisfy us and we will always be caught up in His story. Other things are good and we should enjoy them, but enjoy them as pointers to God.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Growing the Harvest

Can you find justice? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

In Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 we read:

8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.

It could strike us as interesting that the Teacher does not say to do anything about the matter. He says pretty much, “That’s life.” People in power have people in power over them and those have people in power over them. If this is Solomon saying this, is this also to some level a self-indictment? Did he realize his own failure to provide for his people at times? After all, the text tells us that silver was so common in Israel that it was considered worthless, but also that Solomon was a harsh ruler in having so many building projects that they wanted his successor to go easier on them.

This does not mean that we should not strive to do something seeing as we live in a different governmental system, but one point the Teacher does want to point out is that it is always a blessing when fields are cultivated. What this means is that as long as the average person can go out and still work the fields and provide for himself, it is still a blessing. That is the basics that are provided.

Note that it does not say that the government should cultivate the fields, but that he should insure that it gets done. Who does that? The king certainly does not go out there himself and work by the sweat of his brow in order to make sure there is food for the harvest. That is for the common people, the ones who the Teacher has just described as oppressed.

In our day and age, it is easy for many people to think that the government owes them XYZ. Instead, the Teacher here just points to the ability of the king to make sure that he is committed to seeing that there is sufficient food. The people are still the ones producing the food, but the king should not be their opponent in this but their ally. The more he can make it easier for the people and put less of a burden on them, the better that he is doing at his job. The people may not always be able to find justice, but hopefully, they can always find a meal.

For us today, we need to ask what is best for the people to provide for themselves. The danger we have is to ask “What is the most compassionate?” instead of asking “What is the most effective?” There are plenty of economic policies that sound kind to the poor, but in the long-term, do not help them. Before you go to the voting booth, make sure that you know what will really help instead of just what has good intentions.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

The Teacher on Vows

Do we keep promises today? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Today, we’re looking at Ecclesiastes 5:4-7.

4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

We have already spoken on dreams, but what about vows? In the past, people could say that their word was their bond. We make jokes about politicians making promises when they’re campaigning and breaking them when they get into office or not following through. If anyone thinks this is just one party, you’re not paying attention. Both of them do it.

The reason we have to write up contracts and work through third parties with them is because people are no longer trustworthy with their word. Once someone breaks their word, there can be cause to question them on everything else. Of course, there can be justifiable grounds at times, but usually, this is not the case.

Marriage is a big example in our society. While it is true that Christians seriously committed to Christianity and being regular church attendees can greatly reduce divorce, divorce is all too common still. I speak as one who has gone through it. I can understand a girl being concerned about dating me if she finds out I’m divorced. “What were the circumstances? What kind of man is he?” Fortunately, I have enough character witnesses as well that can attest to my being the innocent party in the divorce.

Still, this is a problem that we have. Marriage was meant to be a lifelong institution and changing the nature of marriage changed everything. The redefinition of marriage being supposedly between two people of the same sex was not the first major change. No-fault divorce was the first major change. Divorce should not be easy. Keep in mind I am not saying that divorce is never allowable, but I am saying even when it is allowable, it should not be something that can be done casually.

Personally also, this is one reason that I hesitate to make promises on anything. If someone asks me if I promise, I just tell them I will do my best. Anything can happen and I don’t want to have broken my word to someone. If I say I promise something, it is extremely serious at that point.

Also, it’s worth pointing out that while I think the Teacher gives a reductio ad absurdum in a sense in the book, he is not an atheist. He is still within the Israelite tradition as he indicates here. He is certainly right that it is better to make no vow than to make a vow and break it. Jesus said similar in the Sermon on the Mount. Be hesitant with your words before God. If you make a promise, He will hold you to account.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

 

Be Silent

Why are we silent? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Many of you know that one of my main problems with Christianity today is people have the idea that God regularly speaks to them and they need to listen for his voice. Sadly, some people think that’s what’s going on at the start of Ecclesiastes 5. Let’s look at the first three verses:

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

The idea is that you go to the house of God, church for us today, and you be silent. Why? Because God is going to speak to you and you are to draw near to listen.

This idea comes with a lot of assumptions.

For one thing, I take it as a very individualistic form of worship, practically the idea of going to church alone. No. When the ancients went to worship, they went with the community and they would hear the priest (Preacher for many of us) speak. The sacrifice of fools would likely then be speaking things out of ignorance.

Watch what you say before God. When we pray in our churches, I often wish we would watch what we say better. Consider someone who starts off a prayer praying and saying “Thank you for sending your Son for us.” Okay. That’s fine. Then just a few moments later they say, “Thank you for dying on the cross.”

If you were addressing Jesus, yes, but you just said “Thank you for sending your Son,” which means the Father. Then you said “Thank you for dying on the cross.” The Father did not die. The Son did. Some might consider this a minor quibble on my part, but we have churches full of people who have a poor idea of the doctrine of the Trinity and this does not help the problem.

Finally, the Teacher talks about dreams. Unfortunately, so do too many other Christians. Many of us can dream the strangest things. I wake up somedays remembers bits of a dream I had and wondering “What on Earth was going on in my head last night?’

Unfortunately, too many Christians seem to think that most every dream is somehow a message from God and they need to find out what that message is. While God could speak in a dream, there will be a context so that someone would know it was from Him. My ex-wife spent so much time trying to figure out what a dream went and I always told her, “If only you spent as much time trying to understand Scripture which you know comes from God as you do these dreams which could come for any other number of reasons.”

The basic lesson is really to come to the house of God in awe. Remember who He is. Remember who you are in comparison. Do not try to act rashly and impress him with a great vow. The more you speak, the more prone you are to say something foolish. Pastors also remember this for your sermons. Make sure you especially do not say foolish words as your congregation could take the statements that are foolish as if they were gospel.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

 

A Foolish King

What do you do about a foolish ruler? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

In Ecclesiastes 4:13-16, we read about a wise boy who goes from poverty to wealth and a foolish king who doesn’t take advice. As I wrote about this:

Verses 4:13-16 describes a boy who gets a following when a king refuses a warning, a possible hint at what happened in Solomon’s life if he thinks about how he refused to repent after his failure of having multiple wives and concubines. Goldingay thinks this is a parable, but it could have some historical referent.[1] The story also contains similarities to the story of Joseph in the sense of a young boy who gains the power of the throne. Either way, the Teacher says that all those born under the sun followed the king’s successor. Those who came after found no pleasure in the successor, which he describes also as meaningless and chasing after the wind.

[1] Goldingay, 252.

There are two figures that could fit. One could be Joseph who though he was wealthy with his father, when he got sold into slavery in Egypt, he was poor and wound up in prison. It was through his wisdom and his faithfulness to YHWH that he came to be second in command to Pharaoh, definitely a position of wealth and honor.

By contrast, we can look at bonehead Rehoboam, as I prefer to call him. Some could think that this writing could indicate a later writer than Solomon who has witnessed Rehoboam. I’m still inclined to think Solomon wrote this and it was just a tragedy that it happened in the life of his own son.

By contrast, Joseph was a constantly godly figure who suffered though largely innocent. ( I say largely because flaunting the position he had with his Dad and talking about his dreams with his brothers was probably not the wisest move on his part.) He was sold into slavery and from there, he went into prison. While one would think he would meet his end there, unbelievably, his next stop was being put second in command to Pharaoh.

Such a figure should be remembered forever in the land of Egypt!

Alas, Exodus tells us what happened. Eventually, a Pharaoh came around and the legacy of Joseph was not remembered by the Egyptians. While the Israelites were still present on the sands of Egypt, the sands of history had lost record of the great leader. Of course, God brought His people out of Egypt, but the point is Solomon knew that in the land that God had done so much for previously through Joseph, he was a forgotten figure.

In the end, the sad reality is that Rehoboam and Joseph are both known to students of Scripture for different things, but while one had an effect for good and the other had an effect for evil, both of them by the mainstream culture are largely forgotten about. This does not mean that their effects ceased to exist, but it does mean that their names like Ozymandius’s, can disappear.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

The Value of Friendship

Do friends make everything better?

Rarely does the Teacher praise and celebrate something. When he does, we need to pay attention. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, he does, and that something is friendship.

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

It has been said that you do not have to have friends to live. You will never go to a doctor who will prescribe you 10mg of friendship, for instance. However, while you do not have to have friends to live, it can be questioned if life is worth living without friends.

Often, family are people that we probably wouldn’t even care about at all if we were not related to them and then, they can become indispensable. Meanwhile, friends are people who come into your life and are in it because they choose to be in it for whatever reason. While you can form friendships on a utilitarian basis, such as reaching a common goal together, the best of friendships come with those who build one another up in character and aid them in difficult times.

When I started going through my divorce, having friends around was essential for me. I had people I knew who had walked down the path of divorce before and were there to guide me through it. I joined a support group for people walking through divorce.

I moved to a new campus in a new city and new state. Who do I have to rely on? Friends. There are things I cannot do for myself due to physical disability, namely having a steel rod on my spine. When I order packages with pet supplies for little Shiro, I have to have a friend bring them up the stairs to my apartment because I cannot lift them on my own. I also count on my friends to guide me in social situations.

I also treasure that many of the professors here on campus have become people I can call friends. I have one that has had me join him for trivia night at another location on a monthly basis and even came to his house to play Diplomacy with him and some other professors. I have another who really understands video games and we have connected through that. My boss and I now get along great.

Then, there’s the medium of the internet. Because of this, I have met people who I would not have any chance of ever meeting in real life most likely. I get together with an Aquinas group on Thursday nights via Zoom as one of the token Protestants to make sure they don’t fall into heresy and answer Bible questions. I have supporters who reach out to me and scholars and others I have met first through this medium.

The Teacher is right here. Friends make everything better. To those of you who are out there and I count as friends, thank you. I treasure you.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)