Eclesiastes 2

Eclesiastes 2

Morris - Labor and Profit "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun" (Eccles. 2:11). One of the inequities of human life seems to be that there is no dependable relation between the diligence with which one labors and the reward he receives for that labor. Some men may work hard all their lives, yet live in poverty. The "idle rich," on the other hand, may inherit their wealth and see it multiply abundantly, simply on the interest received from investments. What sort of "profit" should be assigned to "labor," and who should receive that profit is a problem that perpetually vexes economists and has even led to violent revolutions. The trouble is that perfect equity can never be achieved in such matters while man's entire dominion is in bondage to sin and death, under God's curse (Gen. 2:17-19). As long as one's goals and motives in working are only "under the sun," there is bound to be "vanity and vexation of spirit," no matter what his current economic and social status may be. The accounts are not to be settled in the fallible ledgers kept here on earth, but in God's books. "Labor not for the meat which perisheth," said the Lord, "but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life" (John 6:27). It was to bondslaves he was speaking when Paul said, "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:23-24). It is important to remember that, when all accounts are settled at His Judgment seat, the "profit" we receive is not based on quantity, but quality, of services rendered. "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it... and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (1 Cor. 3:13). Not "how much," but "what sort"! There is little profit under the sun, but if we are "abounding in the work of the Lord... your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58). Painted Sticks (Ecclesiastes 2:11) One Sunday a preacher told how, while sitting in his garden, he had watched a caterpillar climb a painted stick that was for decoration. After reaching the top, the caterpillar reared itself, feeling this way and that for a juicy twig to feed on, or some way to further progress. Finding nothing, it slowly returned to the ground, crawled along till it reached another painted stick, and did the same thing all over again. The preacher said: “There are many painted sticks in the world—those of pleasure, wealth, and fame. All these call man and say, ‘Climb me to find the desire of your heart, fulfill the purpose of your existence, taste the fruit of success, and find satisfaction, but they are only painted sticks.’ “ Solomon tried to find the purpose of his life in the world’s “painted sticks.” He gave his heart to seek wisdom, but learned that it was “vanity and vexation of spirit” (Eccl. 1:15). He then turned to the pleasures of the world for meaning in life. He built great houses, and gardens, and pools. He had servants and maidens; in fact, he had all that a man could desire. Solomon’s comment on pleasure as a true source of happiness, however, was, “All was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Eccl. 2:11). After trying all that the world could offer, Solomon’s final decision was, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13). We All Admire The Guy Who “Makes It” We’re talking about that “Fortune 500” type who grabs the brass ring and makes things happen! Here’s the brief autobiography of one such man: “I built … “I made … “I bought … “I owned … “I amassed … “I acquired …” And finally: “I BECAME …” In other words, he arrived, having achieved affluence. Visibility. Status. Perhaps even respect. And then he indulged! “I denied myself nothing …” (Ecclesiastes 2:1–10) But here is the kicker: According to his autobiography: “When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11) How is this possible? Had he not achieved it all? The answer is, “No, he had not.” And the reason? • None of his achievements could fill his inner emptiness. As Pascal sagaciously observed, “Inside of every man there is a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill.” • Jesus Christ cautioned, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?… A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Matthew 16:26; Luke 12:15) How tragic it would be to have climbed the ladder of success, only to realize too late (as did Solomon) that you had leaned it against the wrong wall. SO THE QUESTION IS: “Which wall is your ladder leaning against?” BOUNCING BALL Moments With You: Daily Connections for Couples - Page 90 I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity.ECCLESIASTES 2:11 There are seasons in life when our work requires more of us than it does at other times. Tax season for the accountant. Christmas season for the retailer. Whatever your line of work, it likely has a natural rhythm that spikes at certain times. But increasingly in our success-driven culture, busy seasons have run together into all seasons. We have allowed the pace to perpetuate itself, driving us at full throttle month after month, year after year. Things begin to come totally unraveled at home, in our marriage, in our relationship with our children. It can happen, seemingly, in a blink. This reminds me of a commencement address attributed to Brian Dyson, who held several senior management positions with Coca-Cola during his long career. He told a class of Georgia Tech graduates, “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air: work, family, health, friends and spirit. You’re keeping all of these in the air. “You soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. It will never be the same.” You may not get as many pats on the back for being at home to dry the dishes or settle a disagreement or help a child study for a test. You may not receive the same sense of affirmation you feel from accomplishing a work goal or achieving recognition among your peers. But you will be living proof that winning at home first is the key to winning anything of value. Marriages and families don’t bounce. They shatter. For generations. Ray Pritchard - Something New Under the Sun SO WHAT? Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:11NIV You would think Solomon would be happy. After all, he had it all—money, fame, power, a vast harem, an enormous kingdom, ships that brought him riches from foreign shores, a nation at peace, the respect and admiration of his fellow monarchs, a temple that was the wonder of his day, and the affection of a grateful nation. Really, what more could a man ask for? Good question. Evidently whatever he lacked wasn't in the material realm, because he quite simply had reached the top of the heap. There weren't any other mountains to climb. It is reminiscent of Alexander the Great who died at age thirty-three having conquered the known world. What had Solomon gained? In the end, nothing. It was all vanity, emptiness, and chasing after the wind. And that brought him back to God—which is where all of Solomon's journeys eventually ended up. We often say, "Jesus is all I need." But you will never know if Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. When Jesus is all you have, then you discover that Jesus is all you need. The more I think about that, the more profound it seems to me. For most of us, "Jesus is all I need" is little more than a Christian cliche—a bumper sticker slogan and nothing more. But recently I visited a friend who is dying of cancer. There is no hope for her recovery—a fact that is completely clear in her mind. With a wry smile she said, "Jesus has been so good to me. If He wants to take me home now, I'm ready to go. Whatever the Lord wants is all right with me." Where does that kind of faith come from? Ask the single moms; they know all about it. Ask the man who just lost his job; he knows about it. Ask the woman who is struggling with the shattering pain of divorce—she has learned the truth over and over again. Ask that young girl whose father died when she was fifteen. Or the man whose wife has Alzheimer's disease. Or the young couple who lost their first child. Gordon MacDonald said, "I have discovered that your theology is only as deep as your pain." Pity those who have an easy life. They never really know Jesus. If pain has any advantage, it is this: When we hurt, we find out if what we believe is really true. Many can testify through their tears: "When everything else was gone, I turned to Jesus and He was still there." Is Jesus all you need? Yes, but you'll never know for sure until Jesus is all you have. And when Jesus is all you have, to your utter surprise you'll discover that everything you always heard is true—Jesus is all you need. Lord of my life, may I never expect to find lasting happiness in the world, but only in You. Amen. SHINING THE LIGHT Why wasn't Solomon happy? Would you have been happy? How has God used pain to deepen your walk with Him? MORE LIGHT FROM GOD'S WORD Read Genesis 32:22-26; Proverbs 15:16-17; and Luke 18:18-30. Just How Lasting Are Your Investments? - Facts of the Matter - Daily Devotionals As an old man, Solomon agonized over the futility of his investments: “When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun … So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me … A chasing after the wind …” (Ecclesiastes 2:11, 17) Do your investments parallel Solomon’s? Or are you making the kind of investments that will outlive you, lasting for eternity? If you want: A one year return on your investment, plant grain. A ten year return on your investment, plant a tree. An eternal return on your investment, plant people. It is God’s intention to destroy everything physical, including your earthly investments: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away … and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10) Can we therefore grasp the fact that only God, His Word, and people are eternal? God: “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (2 Peter 3:8) (See Psalm 102:12; Ephesians 3:21) His Word: “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” (Psalm 119:89) (See Psalm 119:152, 160; Matthew 5:18; 24:34; 1 Peter 1:25) People: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2) (See Matthew 25:46; Romans 2:7, 8; 2 Thessalonians 1:5–9) Consequently, the only investments that will withstand the coming holocaust will be those made in the lives of people. Thus, God regularly places individuals in our path with whom He desires our investment: The person at the club. That neighbor across the street. A business associate. A relative. Someone in distress. QUESTIONS: As you encounter these people, are you blithely brushing past them to fulfill your agenda? Or are you viewing each one as a divine appointment? Are you responding to the prompting of the Spirit by graciously and determinedly investing in their lives for the purpose of bringing Christ to them? Or building Christ in them? Even when it means altering your predetermined schedule? I suppose the answers to these questions are determined by whether we are living for the temporal, or investing in the eternal. Greg Laurie - FAILING FORWARD - For Every Season Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11) Did you know that success can be a form of failure? Some may argue that success is the most important thing in life. After all, there is so much emphasis on it today. But is success the most important thing in life? That all depends on whose definition of success you choose. Many people achieve their goals, but my question is what did it cost to achieve them? Was it by using deception and betrayal? By abandoning their principles and sacrificing integrity? By neglecting their family and friends? By forgetting about, and in some cases, outright abandoning God?” If so, they may be successful by certain definitions, but ultimately, they’re failures. We can do worse than fail. We can succeed and be personally proud of our success. We can succeed and worship the accomplishment rather the One who helped us to reach it. We can succeed and forget whose hand it is that gives and withholds. Sometimes failure can be good, because we can learn from our mistakes. And failure can be good, even when we do something that is wrong … if we learn from it, that is, and if we learn to fail forward. By failing forward, I mean that after we have done something wrong and have tasted the bitter results of it, we say, “I really don’t want to do that again.” So we put safeguards around our lives and take precautionary steps to never fall into that same trap. If that is the case, then we have learned something from our failures. Painted Sticks (Ecclesiastes 2:11) - AMG Bible Illustrations One Sunday a preacher told how, while sitting in his garden, he had watched a caterpillar climb a painted stick that was for decoration. After reaching the top, the caterpillar reared itself, feeling this way and that for a juicy twig to feed on, or some way to further progress. Finding nothing, it slowly returned to the ground, crawled along till it reached another painted stick, and did the same thing all over again. The preacher said: “There are many painted sticks in the world—those of pleasure, wealth, and fame. All these call man and say, ‘Climb me to find the desire of your heart, fulfill the purpose of your existence, taste the fruit of success, and find satisfaction, but they are only painted sticks.’ “ Solomon tried to find the purpose of his life in the world’s “painted sticks.” He gave his heart to seek wisdom, but learned that it was “vanity and vexation of spirit” (Eccl. 1:15). He then turned to the pleasures of the world for meaning in life. He built great houses, and gardens, and pools. He had servants and maidens; in fact, he had all that a man could desire. Solomon’s comment on pleasure as a true source of happiness, however, was, “All was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Eccl. 2:11). After trying all that the world could offer, Solomon’s final decision was, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13). Ecclesiastes 2:12 So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? KJV Ecclesiastes 2:12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. BGT Ecclesiastes 2:12 καὶ ἐπέβλεψα ἐγὼ τοῦ ἰδεῖν σοφίαν καὶ περιφορὰν καὶ ἀφροσύνην ὅτι τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἐπελεύσεται ὀπίσω τῆς βουλῆς τὰ ὅσα ἐποίησεν αὐτήν LXE Ecclesiastes 2:12 Then I looked on to see wisdom, and madness, and folly: for who is the man who will follow after counsel, in all things where in he employs it? NET Ecclesiastes 2:12 Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king's successor do than what the king has already done? CSB Ecclesiastes 2:12 Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He will do what has already been done. ESV Ecclesiastes 2:12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. NIV Ecclesiastes 2:12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done? NLT Ecclesiastes 2:12 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?). YLT Ecclesiastes 2:12 And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what is the man who cometh after the king? that which is already -- they have done it! NJB Ecclesiastes 2:12 My reflections then turned to wisdom, stupidity and folly. For instance, what can the successor of a king do? What has been done already. NRS Ecclesiastes 2:12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. NAB Ecclesiastes 2:12 For what will the man do who is to come after the king? What men have already done! I went on to the consideration of wisdom, madness and folly. GWN Ecclesiastes 2:12 Then I turned my attention to experience wisdom, madness, and foolishness. For instance, what can the man who replaces the king do? Only what has already been done. BBE Ecclesiastes 2:12 And I went again in search of wisdom and of foolish ways. What may the man do who comes after the king? The thing which he has done before. RSV Ecclesiastes 2:12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what he has already done. NKJ Ecclesiastes 2:12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?-- Only what he has already done. I turned: Ec 1:17 7:25, even that which hath already been done, or, in those things which have been already done, Ec 2:25 Related Passages: Ecclesiastes 1:17+ And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. SOLOMON'S SEARCH SHIFTS TO WISDOM So I turned (looked again deliberately) to consider (observe, carelly analyze) wisdom (chokmah; Lxx - sophia), madness (Holeloth - rash, irrational actions) and folly (Kesiluth - moral and intellectual foolishness,) - NET - "Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas." Solomon now shifts from pleasure to wisdom, that practical attribute which gives one skill in living life. For what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done - NET - "For what more can the king's successor do than what the king has already done?" In other words: “What can anyone do that I haven’t already done?” He is in essence saying none of my predecessors can "top" me in my experiments to try to arrive at the meaning of life. He is saying that anyone who came after him would only be able to repeat what Solomon already tried. Solomon's description would include all the famous philosophers (Socrates, Aristotle, etc) and brilliant thinkers (Stephen Hawking, etc). Future philosophers, brilliant thinks, kings, etc, who find anything new under the sun that he has not already uncovered. Solomon is explaining that he has already tested the limits of earthly wisdom and pleasure, and no one after him will discover a different result by repeating the same experiment. His point reinforces the vanity of life "under the sun"—without God, all efforts eventually prove empty. NET NOTE - Throughout Ec 2:1–11, Qoheleth evaluated the merits of merrymaking (Ec 2:1–3), accomplishing grand things (Ec 2:4–6), amassing great wealth (Ec 2:7–8), and secular acquisitions and accomplishments (Ec 2:9–10). Now, he reflects on the benefit in life in living wisely and not giving oneself over to frivolous self-indulgence. Duane Garrett writes that "In context this line states that there is little chance that humans will behave with greater wisdom than their first ancestor, Adam, who came directly from the hand of God." (Borrow Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs page 294) Ecclesiastes uses the term "wisdom" and "wise" in a way that is different from the way in which it is used in Proverbs. Ecclesiastes is not talking about God's wisdom. This is wisdom "under the sun." This is the wisdom of the world. This is the wisdom of Albert Einstein and of Isaac Newton and of Plato and Aristotle and Carl Sagan and David Thoreau and Spinoza. Solomon had made it his life's ambition to be WISE. Wisdom in Proverbs Wisdom in Ecclesiastes The fear of the Lord is the beginning and foundation of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Wisdom is seen as natural intellect in looking at life "under the sun." Wisdom equals godliness. Only secular wisdom is in view. John Stevenson - Solomon realized that the same thing happens to the wise man that happens to the fool. It doesn't matter if you have an I.Q. of 60 or 160. In each case, you are born and you live and then you die. The fool doesn't live any longer than the wise man. Neither escapes death. And when you die, you are quickly forgotten. Before my own father died, I came across some old family pictures. There was one with the name inscribed on the back - Joel Armour Stevenson. I believe it to be my father's grandfather. But when I asked him about it, he couldn't remember. In the space of two generations, a man and his wife who had borne four children had been forgotten so that their own grandchildren couldn't even remember their names. Solomon's disillusionment turned to bitterness. He "hated life" (2:17). He found himself hating all of his accomplishments. They mocked him because he realized that they would not last. Go to Israel today and visit Jerusalem. Where is Solomon's Temple? Where are the magnificent palaces? Where are the rich stables? It has all been destroyed. Only some of the weathered foundation stones remain for the rummaging of grey-haired archaeologists. The Benefits of Wisdom The Futility of Wisdom Wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man sees where he is going while the fool walks in darkness. The same fate awaits both the wise and the fool. Both the wise and the fool are forgotten after their death. Death is the great equalizer. Eric Ortlund - Qohelet’s Three Searches (Ec 1:12–18; 2:1–11, 12–26) Excerpt from Themelios article Laboring in Hopeless Hope: Encouragement for Christians from Ecclesiastes Qohelet retreats even further in Ec 2:12–23, turning to investigate wisdom and folly. (We should not forget both the practical and the moral/theological dimensions of these words in OT wisdom literature.) (See further the fulsome description of wisdom and those possessing it in Bruce Waltke, Proverbs 1–15 NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004, 53–55, 94–107.) Qohelet’s conclusion is unambiguous and without qualification (Ec 2:13): wisdom is better than folly and sin. In fact, Qohelet uses the word יִתְרוֹן again to describe the contrast between the two, implying that there is a permanent gain in wisdom, as absolute as the difference between light and darkness. The sorts of reservations Qohelet registers against all human activity (Ec 1:12–15) and satisfying accomplishment in work (Ec 2:1–11) are not applied here. But that does not mean that wisdom provides an escape from vanity because the same fate befalls both foolish and wise and both are forgotten forever in the grave (Ec 2:15–16). Lives completely different in their moral character end in exactly the same way. However wise one is, one dies just like a fool. In this sense, pursuing wisdom is pursuing the wind (Ec 2:16). Qohelet tells us his reaction to his discovery of the vanity of wisdom in Ec 2:17–23: he came to hate life (Ec 2:17) and everything he worked for (Ec 2:18). The incongruity between Qohelet’s vast labor and his leaving it to another who may squander it after his death turns the labor into something hateful for Qohelet (Ec 2:18–21). He cannot believe he spent so many years working for something that passes out of his hands so quickly (Ec 2:22–23). Then, without warning, Qohelet goes on to tell us there is nothing better for us to do than eat and drink and enjoy our work as from the hand of God (Ec 2:24). Given what he has just said about hating life and despairing over his work, this verse feels abrupt. Has Qohelet given up? Is he being ironic? Or is Qohelet resignedly recommending pleasure because he is out of options, like a condemned man enjoying his last meal? Qohelet is counseling us not to identify the value of our work with permanent and stable results that we can secure. We are, at this point, at the center of the eye of the needle. In order to pass through, let us recall that Qohelet’s three searches are narrated to the reader as past events. Qohelet no longer hates life. He is telling us how he used to so that we can avoid his mistake. I cannot help but wonder if Qohelet demanded too much of life. After all, is giving your life’s work to another really a “great misfortune” (Ec 2:21)? Surely that is a bit of an overreaction. In Qohelet’s three searches, he seems to be putting infinite demands on finite things, asking them to satisfy him in ways they were never intended to. We are not much different: we expect some permanent gain under the sun for our work (Ec 1:3) and then are bitterly disappointed when life fails our expectations. Qohelet is counseling us not to identify the value of our work with permanent and stable results that we can secure. The value of our work is rather found in its status as a gift directly from God. Life under the sun is subject to incongruities and flagrant inconsistencies that we will never understand, much less untangle. But we should enjoy life under the sun anyway for no other reason than that God gives it to us (Ec 2:25–26). Qohelet is telling us to avoid his mistake and avoid trying to manipulate our הֶבֶל-existences to achieve permanent results. Just enjoy what God gives you. In a profound paradox, the “recognition of the absurdity of human life requires nothing less and nothing more than exhausting every present moment as God’s gift.” (William Brown, Character in Crisis: A Fresh Approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, 148.) Let us try to sketch more concretely what living this paradox day by day actually looks like. We all enjoy things we do not deserve, and each one of us lacks things we might legitimately expect to have. This incongruity is inescapable. Qohelet’s counsel to us is not to try to figure out why this is so, as if from survivor’s guilt. We are rather to enjoy our lives as a gift from on high, almost—if you will excuse the phrase—as if they come out of nowhere. Enjoy your work or a vacation from it, and don’t look beyond it. Don’t try to understand how you might keep the life you have or how it may be taken from you. Accept it for what it is: a good, vain thing.13 God wants us to enjoy life without forgetting that such enjoyment is colored by הֶבֶל, remembering that our God-given enjoyment of life does not unlock life’s secret or give us a way out of הֶבֶל.14 Leave the results of your work with God and keep your eye on the plow in front of you. Since God has placed mastery outside of our reach, simply enjoy each good thing as it comes Furthermore, do not set your hopes on leaving a permanent mark on the world (or your denomination) through your work, or you will burn out. (Brown, Character in Crisis, 149.) Only God knows the end result of your work, not you. Just enjoy working on what is at hand.16 Minister to others with everything you have (Ec 9:10) without worrying about the end result or being envious (Ec 4:4) of the pastor down the road who has a bigger church and more money at his disposal and flashier services, but who is not very spiritually minded (this, too, is הֶבֶל). God has apportioned all manner of absurdities under the sun. Leave the results of your work with God and keep your eye on the plow in front of you. Since God has placed mastery outside of our reach, simply enjoy each good thing as it comes.17 It is our illusion of mastery—and our identification of the value of our work (and our lives) with this mastery—from which Qohelet seeks to deliver us. This is the path to true engagement with life colored by vanity. In Jacques Ellul’s striking words, “In order to be prepared to hope in what does not deceive, we must first lose hope in everything that deceives.”18 As a seminary professor with an incurably bookish bent, I personally find it deeply liberating to disconnect the value of my teaching and writing from visible results. It is a relief to me to admit that I cannot produce the results I want in my students; that is God’s work. With regard to publishing, it has been my observation that paradigms in OT studies last around 50 years; articles published in the 1960s and 1970s are already beginning to look like antiques. Soon my work will be an antique as well. If I set my hopes on making a visible impact on the state of professional biblical studies, I may very well become so frustrated that I start to hate the work. This is true even if I succeed, for (if I am honest) I will have to admit that my influence will fade quickly. Qohelet liberates me from that despair to enjoy each day of teaching, simply and as nothing else than a gift. And God’s word becomes rich and sharp in a way it never would if my only goal were to be an influential professional scholar. It would be easy to translate these reflections for someone pastoring full-time: instead of worrying about how big your church is compared to others or how impressive the services are or how many compliments you receive, enjoy the counseling appointment you have this afternoon or the half-hour you have carved out for sermon preparation. God himself is giving these gifts directly to you, and he does not give them to everyone. An additional aspect of Qohelet’s most paradoxical way of encouraging us is seen in Ec 9:7–10, a passage very similar to Ec 2:24–26. In this later passage, Qohelet again tells us to enjoy our lives and our work to the hilt, “for God has already approved of your work” (כִּי כְבָר רָצָה הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, v. 7). The word “already” is most striking. I take Qohelet to be saying that before we achieve what we want in our work (if we ever do), God is already smiling on us. God is pleased with us irrespective of what we do or do not accomplish. To use a somewhat different framework, God is pleased with our lives irrespective of our works. God simply smiles and gives us these gifts. That is the value of our work: the status as gifts according to grace, not visible results we can give back to God. Ecclesiastes 2:12ff Nest Eggs The rich get richer and the poor get poorer—and it seems that compound interest would virtually guarantee it! Not so, according to investment counselor David Dreman. Writing in Forbes magazine, Dreman noted that most large fortunes diminish and sometimes disappear in only two or three generations. He observed, “Why most nest eggs dissipate over time is a major problem...” (Today in the Word) Warren