Ecclesiastes 3 – 4
Verses 1:1 & 2 are simple yet profound:
Teacher: For everything that happens in life—there is a season, a right time for everything under heaven:
2 A time to be born, a time to die;
a time to plant, a time to collect the harvest;
We tend to want to fight the seasons and not roll with them. We tend to think of this pertaining to the uncontrolled events like the weather, but also life events which seem never to have a schedule. We too experience seasons with our lives and relationship to God. Spring is a renewing of our spirits, summer we live in the abundance of life, fall things tend to slow down and winter seems dark with separation from God. The key here is this is normal in life and not to fight it but to rejoice in it.
Solomon was considered “clinically depressed” when he wrote this, but as you read we can see hope in his words. The key is not getting caught up in the world with short lived gratification, but rather long term joy and happiness with God. So focus on Him and not the cesspool we live in!!
Verses 4:2 & 3 are morbid when you think about it:
2 It struck me that the dead are actually better off than the living who must go on living; 3 and, even better, are those who were never born in the first place. At least they have never had to witness all of the injustices that take place under the sun.
One can look at the horrible things happening in the world and understand why he would say this. Think about how Solomon could easily think this as he tried his hardest to make the world Godly and he failed. It would be depressing if all your works making things great and Hitler rose from that labor. The key is we are here and living, MAKE THE MOST OF THE LIFE WE HAVE.
Verse 4:4 talks about envy:
Then I saw yet another thing: envy fuels achievement. All the work and skills people develop come from their desire to be better than their neighbors. Even this is fleeting, like trying to embrace the wind.
“Thou shall not covet” is one of the top ten in Laws. If you think about it, this leads to murder, adultery, stealing and perjury. Now Solomon takes it a step further and says it drives achievement. Now when you think about it envy is not the same thing since “covet” is a step further since want to the point of seeking to own something that belongs to another person, “envy” is just the desire of something. “Envy” in a way drives “achievement” since if someone wants something they will do what it takes to get it.
Solomon’s point is this is not bad, just a waste of time since the car or house will eventually fall apart. That IS a given!! Now is envy bad? Now uncontrolled envy may lead to coveting, but if you want something in general it’s not bad, it is when it becomes specific to another person’s items. That is the key between the Commandment and what Solomon is talking about. We are made to not “envy” others stuff when in reality wanting a car LIKE theirs is ok and drives ambition. It’s when we want their car that stealing becomes a logical outcome. Same can go with another’s wife, that goes from LUST to COVETING and adultery ensues.
Key points are we can learn from Solomon’s depression, we just need to not get sucked into it!