50...FUTILITY : THE NAME OF THE GAME
Based on the book of Ecclesiastes (Eccl) [1]...Read more there

Like its predecessor, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes is part of what we call 'Wisdom literature'. Ecclesiastes introduces us to Qoheleth, which means the 'President', or 'Preacher'. We're meant to recognize him as Solomon, but this is just a literary device to give credibility to the text by linking it to Solomon's (earlier) reputation for wisdom. In the form we know it the book dates from after the Babylonian exile (post 538 BC.) & maybe as late as the 3rd C. BC. 'Qoheleth' is not a person's name. It simply means the person who calls together the assembly, or presides over it, preaches to it [2]. The material would probably have been meant for & delivered at a coming together such as a synagogue. Later, whatever else it has since become, 'church' means essentially a coming together of those called to do so.

The main thrust of this rambling book is more or less the futility of anything & everything. Some translations still use the word 'vanity', spelled out as  'chasing the wind' (2:17) Whereas Job wrestles with the personal cost of bad things happening to people, good or bad, Eccl paints a pessimistic broader picture, asking, 'Is it all worthwhile? Is anything worthwhile?' A more positive note does also come through, though it's mainly limited to a kind of 'eat, drink for tomorrow we die' attitude (8:15). Passages such as 3:9+ & 7:13 are typical, & 9:10's warning (more or less, 'when you're dead you're dead!) is hardly encouraging. One important value of Eccl for us is to alert us to the undeveloped nature of Hebrew reflection on any after-life at this stage. Think of it as a stage in the development of Hebrew thought on an issue still unresolved in Jesus' day. The many thoughts expressed here are not always consistent, as they're seen through the eyes of 'Qoheleth' who has apparently incorporated many others' thoughts into his own along the way. Bear in mind, too, that though the book is unclear about God's role in things, whatever happens, God is, & God is there.

Ch.1 gives us a foretaste of what's to come, a kind of over-view. Ch.2 introduces the theme of 'seeing things are so unpredictable, why not enjoy yourself while you're alive to do so!' Ch.3 begins with a stand-out poem much quoted still in various settings [4]. You can't escape this cycle so why not enjoy it while you can! Ch.4 with its concern for the oppressed & down-trodden reflects a glimmer of what great Prophets have already said by now, but doesn't urge any steps to improve their lot. Ch.5 also touches on injustice, but simply sees this, too, as the way things are! So get on with your eating & drinking while you can! Ch.6 is a morbid reflection on the state of things, again without any recipe  for change - that would be futile, too, wouldn't it?! Ch.7 almost turns a corner into a more positive take on things, but rather spoils it with its typically patriarchal put-down of women. Ch.8 praises Wisdom but even that ends us as 'eating & drinking'! Ch.9 goes as far as saying love & hate are both futile, recommends Wisdom again, & laments that Wisdom coming from a 'poor' person will not be valued - again without any pointers to changing this state of affairs. Just get on with your eating & drinking! The latter has by now become a kind of response like that in a litany! Ch.10-12 are basically a collection of proverbs like those in the book that precedes this one. They are interesting but make no discernible challenge to those who read them. As if we didn't know it by now, 12:8 brings this section to an end exactly as the book has started with it's 'Sheer futility', Qoheleth says, 'everything is futile'. NJB says of Ch.12:13 that it sums up the apparent aim of the book quite positively: that we should stand in awe of God & keep his commandments. That's not unlike Jesus' 'two great commandments', is it?

The stories continue with, of all things, a collection of love poems...51:Song of Songs

Notes: [1] Not to be confused with Ecclesiasticus from the Apocrypha. [2] Our name for the book, Ecclesiastes comes from its Greek name that also gives us our 'ecclesiastic' & similar. [3] cf. IS 22:13, & 1COR:15:32, though both have a more positive context. [4] In the sixties Australian folk group The Seekers released a very successful version of this as 'Turn, Turn, Turn..'

 Q...As we go through 'seasons of life' do we have strategies in place for ourselves in our seasons & to share with others in theirs?