Author Topic: Solomon's World View (Read 1630 times)

Olde Tymer · « **Reply #52 on:** February 26, 2019, 08:51:50 am »

● Ecc 12:5c . . For the almond tree may blossom, the grasshopper be [gravid], and the caper bush may bud again; but man sets out for his eternal abode, with mourners all around in the street.

Nature isn't dismayed by the passing of a human being. Flowers continue to bloom, bugs continue to multiply, and fruit continues to appear on vines, bushes, and trees; and birds continue to migrate. When people drop dead, the world doesn't drop dead with them. Trees and flowers go right on budding and blooming, fish go on swimming, birds go on flying, bees go on buzzing, the Earth goes right on turning, and the Moon goes right on shining as usual just like nothing ever happened.

The world was doing just fine before any one of us came along, and it will go on doing just fine after we're all gone. When those 2,829 people died in the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, and another 200,000+ were killed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and another 169,752 were killed in the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, and yet another 25,000 killed and/or went missing in Japan's tsunami in 2011 --nature felt neither pity nor remorse; and the stars in their courses didn't even blink.

And funerals? What a joke. Standard funerals are anti-Green. The figures below represent chemicals and construction materials consumed on account of, and/or buried with, America's dead in just one calendar year.

• over 30,000,000 board feet of hardwoods

• over 100,000 tons of bronze, steel, and copper

• over 1,000,000 tons of concrete.

• over 1,000,000 gallons of formaldehyde

• over 2,000,000 acres of land have been clear-cut and made into cemeteries good for nothing else which have to be maintained with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and petro-chemical fertilizers which all eventually leach into the soil and into our water supplies.

We are literally killing the planet to honor our dead. And the irony of it all-- the sublime irony --is that the reason half of us go to funerals is to pay our respects to people we couldn't be bothered with when they were alive.

● Ecc 12:6 . . Before the silver cord snaps and the golden bowl crashes, the jar is shattered at the spring, and the jug is smashed at the cistern.

Well; you know what they say about Humpty Dumpty: All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty back together again.

People with money, like king Solomon, had fancy lighting in their homes. Chandeliers made of ornate bowls overlaid with gold, containing oil or candles, were suspended from the ceiling by metal contraptions made of silver. Ancient bowls, and jars, and jugs were fragile. Once broken, they weren't repaired, but discarded and replaced with a new unit. Man is like that-- just an expendable vessel; and death destroys him beyond repair like one of Solomon's terracotta dishes.

● Ecc 12:7a . . And the dust returns to the ground as it was,

Man's body is composed of mother nature's physical elements. She wants them back. But the power that makes things alive doesn't consist of mother nature's elements. The power of life is divine; and God (or the gods, whatever) wants it back after you're done with it.

● Ecc 12:7b. . and the life-breath returns to God [or the gods; whatever] who bestowed it.

In other words; man's life is a short-term loan.

● Ecc 12:8 . . Utter futility-- said Koheleth --all is meaningless!

Well, there you have it-- an objective evaluation of the human experience. It's fragile, brief, subject to termination without the benefit of even so much as a moment's notice, and punctuated with misery. Is it any wonder then that from the perspective of a man under the sun; the human experience is completely pointless?
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #53 on:** February 27, 2019, 08:07:56 am »

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● Ecc 12:9-10 . . A further word: Because Koheleth was a sage, he continued to instruct the people. He listened to and tested the soundness of many maxims. Koheleth sought to discover useful sayings and recorded genuinely truthful sayings.

Solomon's argument smacks of circular reasoning in that he regards his own personal philosophy as "genuinely truthful sayings" solely because he believes himself to be wise. That's hardly a novel approach. Many bright people are deeply offended when those of lesser IQ reject their (sage) opinions. However, we're inclined to give Solomon the benefit of the doubt and go along with his self-evaluation because we are, after all, Bible students who, for the most part, don't know any better anyway.

● Ecc 12:11a . .The words of wise men are like goads,

Goads were used by mule skinners and such who drive oxen and/or horses to pull plows and wagons. The device is a bit like the pointed tool that workers use to pick up trash along roadways: a long stick whittled to a sharp point at one end. A fancy goad might include an ornate metal prod at one end. When the skinners want an ox to get moving, they just poke its rump.

Anyway; wise people are difficult to oppose without coming across as obtuse because everything they say makes sense to those of us with a lesser IQ. Even when the wise are wrong they sound right so there's nothing to gain by matching wits with them. they'll just keep sticking it to you.

● Ecc 12:11b . . and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails;

The word for "nails" is from masmerah (mas-mer-aw') which actually isn't a nail but a peg. Ecclesiastes is the only place in the entire Old Testament where masmerah is located. Small pegs can be used to build furniture. Large ones can be used as fence posts; and other sizes can be used to hold a tent in place. A husky peg on a tug boat can be used as a tow bit. So peg has lots of meanings and one that we can easily apply in this passage is that the person who takes the words of the wise seriously, supposedly becomes a solid, stable individual.

● Ecc 12:11c . .they are given by one shepherd.

If you asked twenty people to draw a crooked line; you would get twenty different-looking lines. Wisdom is like a straight line. If you asked those same twenty people to draw a straight line, all twenty lines would look the same. They might have different lengths, and they might be of different thickness, but they would all conform to the well known geometric axiom that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points.

Straight lines don't zig nor zag nor kink nor sag nor bow nor bend like a crooked line. All straight lines look the same because straight lines go in only one direction; viz: the words of the wise must be consistent if they're to be taken seriously. A wishy-washy philosopher is just a blow-hard.

● Ecc 12:12 . . But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

Back then I'd imagine that prolific authors wore themselves out what with no machines like typewriters to work with. In our day, writing is a snap with computerized word processing.

"My son" doesn't necessarily refer to Koheleth's kin; but can also refer to his students. The teacher then, is the student's father, in an academic sort of way. There's a number of incidents in the Old Testament where Bible students are called sons of the prophets. Compare 2Kings 2:12 where Elijah's apprentice Elisha, called his master "my father".
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Olde Tymer · « **Reply #54 on:** February 28, 2019, 10:03:25 am »

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● Ecc 12:13a . .The sum of the matter, when all is said and done:

Solomon has discussed how life is out of balance; viz: its unjust and unfair; cruel and punctuated with misery-- youth is only temporary, happiness is fragile, joy is fleeting, and entertainment provides only momentary relief.

Life traps us in circumstances beyond our control and we're often dominated by unscrupulous people. Life is pointless, much too brief, and everyone, both the good, the bad, and the ugly, are faced with old age and the inevitability of death. So . . since that is the case; what is the use of life anyway? If life is such a dead-end, a pointless pursuit, then why should we take it seriously; if at all?

● Ecc 12:13b-14 . . Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: that God will call every creature to account for everything unknown, be it good or bad.

Wouldn't it be sad if we only lived and died like insects and fungi? I mean, what would be the point of it all? What real advantage is it to have a beautiful mind if it's only going to die and stop working after many years of learning and experience? And what real value is it to the minds of the present to make the world a better place for the next generation of minds if the minds of the present don't live to see it?

By believing in a supreme being, your life means something after all. It counts in some way when there is a God; and it gives people a hope for the future after they're destroyed by old age and death. Wouldn't it be far better to perceive yourself part of a grand scheme instead of walking across the stage of your all too brief life as an insignificant speck in a pointless cosmos?

The Bible's God has another Genesis in the works for mankind. Yes, a whole new earth and a whole new universe minus all the negative aspects of the current one.

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." (Isa 65:17-25)

"According to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells." (2 Pet 3:13)

"I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away" (Rev 21:1-6)

As my wife and I decline and wax older and older, we feel sadness for the loss of our youth. There was a time when we were both bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and could get by with very little rest. The skin on our face, and under our chin, was tight, and our middles were lean and defined. Today we're sag-bottomed and flaccid.

The great cowboy artist Charles Russell once commented that time traded him wrinkles for teeth. Me too. I've lost teeth, some are capped, and my gums have receded. The teeth that remain have become so brittle that I have to be careful when eating my favorite hard candies.

Believing that there is a supreme being, and a future world, lifts our spirits and strengthens us to cope with aging and the onset of death. We have promise of a great, eternal future out ahead in a world where youth is the norm, and no one dies or gets sick.

Even if we are totally wrong in our belief, my wife and I are far better off than "the man under the sun" who has resigned himself to futility; to live out his pointless existence with no more importance than an alley cat or a feral dog; to die and be recycled back into the matrix from whence he came; the meanwhile suppressing a gnawing anxiety in the back of his mind that there just might be an afterlife after all.

"I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of truth that there is a future life . . . and yet . . .I am strongly inclined to expect one." (Mark Twain)

-- The End --

Bladerunner · « **Reply #55 on:** March 23, 2019, 02:34:28 am »

Quote from: Olde Tymer on February 28, 2019, 10:03:25 am

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● Ecc 12:13a . .The sum of the matter, when all is said and done:

Solomon has discussed how life is out of balance; viz: its unjust and unfair; cruel and punctuated with misery-- youth is only temporary, happiness is fragile, joy is fleeting, and entertainment provides only momentary relief.

Life traps us in circumstances beyond our control and we're often dominated by unscrupulous people. Life is pointless, much too brief, and everyone, both the good, the bad, and the ugly, are faced with old age and the inevitability of death. So . . since that is the case; what is the use of life anyway? If life is such a dead-end, a pointless pursuit, then why should we take it seriously; if at all?

● Ecc 12:13b-14 . . Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: that God will call every creature to account for everything unknown, be it good or bad.

Wouldn't it be sad if we only lived and died like insects and fungi? I mean, what would be the point of it all? What real advantage is it to have a beautiful mind if it's only going to die and stop working after many years of learning and experience? And what real value is it to the minds of the present to make the world a better place for the next generation of minds if the minds of the present don't live to see it?

By believing in a supreme being, your life means something after all. It counts in some way when there is a God; and it gives people a hope for the future after they're destroyed by old age and death. Wouldn't it be far better to perceive yourself part of a grand scheme instead of walking across the stage of your all too brief life as an insignificant speck in a pointless cosmos?

The Bible's God has another Genesis in the works for mankind. Yes, a whole new earth and a whole new universe minus all the negative aspects of the current one.

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." (Isa 65:17-25)

"According to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells." (2 Pet 3:13)

"I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away" (Rev 21:1-6)

As my wife and I decline and wax older and older, we feel sadness for the loss of our youth. There was a time when we were both bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and could get by with very little rest. The skin on our face, and under our chin, was tight, and our middles were lean and defined. Today we're sag-bottomed and flaccid.

The great cowboy artist Charles Russell once commented that time traded him wrinkles for teeth. Me too. I've lost teeth, some are capped, and my gums have receded. The teeth that remain have become so brittle that I have to be careful when eating my favorite hard candies.

Believing that there is a supreme being, and a future world, lifts our spirits and strengthens us to cope with aging and the onset of death. We have promise of a great, eternal future out ahead in a world where youth is the norm, and no one dies or gets sick.

Even if we are totally wrong in our belief, my wife and I are far better off than "the man under the sun" who has resigned himself to futility; to live out his pointless existence with no more importance than an alley cat or a feral dog; to die and be recycled back into the matrix from whence he came; the meanwhile suppressing a gnawing anxiety in the back of his mind that there just might be an afterlife after all.

"I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of truth that there is a future life . . . and yet . . .I am strongly inclined to expect one." (Mark Twain)

-- The End --

This is really good way to bring people to Christ...

]You said: "Even if we are totally wrong in our belief, my wife and I are far better off than "the man under the sun" who has resigned himself to futility; to live out his pointless existence with no more importance than an alley cat or a feral dog; to die and be recycled back into the matrix from whence he came; the meanwhile suppressing a gnawing anxiety in the back of his mind that there just might be an afterlife after all."

What they need to do is find Jesus Christ through His gospel (1 Cor 15:1-4). This mumbling about well maybe there is an afterlife, etc. is Ludicrous' and borders on herasey

Blade

patrick jane · « **Reply #56 on:** June 29, 2019, 10:56:28 am »

What would Solomon say today?

patrick jane · « **Reply #57 on:** July 11, 2019, 05:43:38 am »

Quote from: patrick jane on June 29, 2019, 10:56:28 am

What would Solomon say today?

Indeed.

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Author Topic: Solomon's World View (Read 1630 times)

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