As I rapidly move through my sixth decade of life, I have watched many people come and go, rise and fall, live and die. I have travelled to more than 20 countries on four continents, 25 U.S. states, lived in Europe, started businesses and ministries, been married for decades, raised four children, pastored a church for years, and written and published many writings. I have traversed, climbed and skied the mountains, hung from dizzying heights on ropes, swam in rivers, lakes and oceans, climbed 15 to 20 thousand trees, encountered demons, stared death in the face too many times to remember, and even been sprayed by a skunk. I have been loved as well as hated by those I thought were my friends. Much water has passed under the bridge called life, and now it is time to ponder it all.
Each of us has a story to tell, and as we grow older, we feel the need to share it, but why bother? Who will listen to it anyway? Most people are too wrapped in their own lives to care. Nevertheless, this all causes us to keep searching for meaning and purpose for our existence. And this compels me to return again and again to the Rock of Ages—the Bible, the Word of Elohim and to the source of the Truth that is above and way beyond each of us, for understanding and wisdom in order that I may more fully comprehend the complexities, that is, the whys and wherefores of life.
This all brings me to the book of Ecclesiastes (in Hebrew Kohelet meaning “the Preacher”) to hear from a wise man who had done it all. Here are my recent reflections on the wisdom found in this often overlooked and forgotten book of the Bible. Please enjoy and maybe something said will resonate and bless the reader. —Natan
Ecclesiastes 7
Ecclesiastes 7:1–15,Practical keys to lessening the vanity or emptiness of life. So far the Preacher has taught us that life’s endeavors ultimately amount to vanity or nothingness. In spite of this, he has also taught us how to find some meaningful, though temporal, enjoyment in this physical life although all humans are in the endless cycles of this earthly prison of time and space. Now the preacher gives us some more practical wisdom on how to squeeze some meaning out of an ultimately meaningless existence (if this physical life is all that there is).
Ecclesiastes 7:16–17,Do not be overly. Moderation in all things is a key to happiness and will help to prolong life.
Ecclesiastes 7:18, He who fears Elohim. The fear of Elohim is a recurring them in Ecclesiastes. It is as if the Preacher is toying with the reader to provoke him to look beyond the ultimately meaningless existence of this physical life. He seems to be teasing us with the proverbial carrot on a stick in front of the mule routine. Despite the ultimated meaninglessness of life on this earth, in the Preacher’s mind there must be some over-arching benefit to both acknowledging and fearing the Creator. Is this perhaps a key that unlocks the iron door to the prison called life and is the only means to escape the empty vanity and meaninglessness of it all?
Ecclesiastes 7:19–24, More practical keys to lessening the vanity or emptiness of life.
Ecclesiastes 7:27–29, Here is what I found. The Preacher sums up what he has found to this point in diligently seeking to find the meaning of life. The more he searches, the deeper he drills down to find the answer to this perennial and universal questions as to the meaning of life, the more the answer still eludes him.
Elohim made man upright. Man was initially created upright and righteous, but the serpent in the tree conned man into disobeying the Creator’s laws, and man has been scheming to circumvent them ever since.
Ecclesiastes 8
Ecclesiastes 8:1–17,More ponderings on the conundrums of life. In this chapter, the Preacher continues his musings trying to make sense of the injustices and ironies of life. But through it all he is certain of one thing: It will be well with those who fear Elohim, but it will not be well with the wicked (vv. 12–13). For certain, the Preacher knows that there is a wrong way and a right way to live one’s life, and that those who chose the path of good will be better off than those who do not. This may not seem like a stunning revelations, but a rather simple truth. But this truth escapes many people who blithely and thoughtlessly go about the business of life from day to day satiating the lust of the eyes and flesh and the pride of life and think nothing more about it.
So once again, the Preacher tosses into the mix a “God principle” to encourage us to take our eyes off of the mundaneness of the endless cycles life and begin to begin, if every so slightly, to fix our gaze heavenward.
Ecclesiastes 3:1–8,There is a season. A major aspect of coping with and even finding some happiness in one’s life while, at the same time, a prisoner to this physical time-space continuum called life on earth is having an understanding of the right timing of things, that is, knowing when and when not to do something. Many activities in life may be acceptable to do at one time, but not at another time. The consequences of doing the right thing at the wrong time can blow-back disastrously on a person. Therefore, learning the difference between when and when not to act is essential to finding some happiness in this life and requires knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
There Is a Time…and There Is Not a Time
There is a time and season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1). This sounds like an innocuously bland and self-evident statement, but not really as we are about to discover.
There is a time do to things, as the wise preacher informs us in his famous Ecclesiastes three passage, which begins with the famous words, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die…” and so on.
But the more the years and decades slide past me and am not in the grandparenting season of my life, the more I realize that there is, perhaps, more importantly, a time not to do a lot of things that I might have done at an earlier time in my life. There are battles not to fight, things not to thing (for a Scripture declares elsewhere, “As a man thinketh, so is he”—a scary thought!) things not to do, and definitely things not to say. There are several reasons that immediately come to mind for not doing these things.
First, and, perhaps, most importantly, it’s about priorities. As one reaches the top of the hill of one’s life and begins the descent on the other side toward death, one can see more circumspectly one’s past life as well as that which remains whether it be a long or a short time. With the stark reality of one’s life in full view and the idealizations of past expectations unfulfilled gone like dust in the wind, that which remains in one’s life suddenly becomes as valued treasure. Add to this the unexpected deaths of loved ones and friends around you, which, to any young people reading this, occurs more frequently the older one gets, suddenly, every breath and heartbeat becomes a cherished gift from the Creator.
The second reason for not doing or saying many things that I might have in earlier years has to do with following the leading of the Set-Apart Spirit of Elohim more precisely instead of jumping unquestioningly in lockstep to the demanding impulses of my impatient, impetuous and sin-oriented flesh. This too has to do with priorities—desiring to be in the perfect will of the Almighty by seeking first the kingdom of Elohim as Yeshua instructed his disciples to do instead of seeking all those other carnal and earthly things.
The third reason for adding the negative adverb not to the statements in Solomon’s famous Ecclesiastes three passage is that the older one gets, one starts getting a little more tired if not physically, at least emotionally from chasing the wind and ending up with little or nothing to show for it. Many things become, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes definitively declares repeatedly, is vanity of vanities. Suddenly one wakes up and discovers the wisdom of working smarter, instead of harder. This is wisdom, which only comes with age and perspective. It’s wise to conserve energy and to save it for those things that are worth the time and effort, and for which there is a payoff especially in the next life. All else is little more than emptiness and chasing the wind.
Fourth, so much of what we do and say is an expression of human pride and vanity. We are all guilty, so raise your hand. I’ve got mine up! As I get older, I agree with the preacher’s words in Ecclesiastes verse two of chapter one, “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” When one gets brutally honest with oneself and analyses most of one’s words and actions, human pride and vanity is the pathetic though realistic label that must be applied to most of it. So what does the Almighty have to say about this? What reasons will we give to him on judgment day as to the motives behind most of what we have said and done? What legacy of value are we really leaving to the next generation? Will we be leaving behind a grandiose frozen-in-time, stone cold and lifeless monument to ourselves, or will we have sown seeds into the fertile ground of the lives of those around us that will hopefully bring forth fruit that will not only make the world a better place, but that will also serve to expand the kingdom of Elohim at the expense of the kingdom of darkness?
Make no mistake, every one of our thoughts, words and deeds is a pebble dropped into the vast ocean of our existence; the ripples go forth and touch many lives for good and for bad much more than we can know or imagine. We have no idea of this! The ripples travel beyond the horizon. So act and speak wisely on the front end, for who knows what the end consequences will be. This is another good reason not to do and say a lot of things.
Another reason to say less is this: Did you every wonder why we have two ears and two eyes but only one mouth? One learns more by listening and observing than by talking. Some people never stop talking! You ask them a simple yes or no or a one sentence question expecting an equally short answer and you get an epistle. I’ve been guilty of this on more than one occasion! A mark of wisdom is to speak volumes with few words. Yeshua the Messiah was the master of this approach. His longest sermon was only three chapters long and only takes a few minutes to read, yet these few words have turned the world on its head!
Add to all these reasons why there is a time not to speak and do is this one: The older I get, the more I realize that most people don’t care what you have to say or think anyway. They’re too preoccupied with their own stuff and too self-absorbed to care beyond that. So why waste the time, energy and breath saying it if only to hear yourself talk? This too is vanity of vanities! Those who do care—who have ears to hear—will seek you out. You don’t have to have to go after them. I found this out the frustrating way after 18 years of pastoring a local congregation and more than 30 years in continuous ministry.
Finally, you learn more by being a receiver than a transmitter. Currently, my receiver is pointed heavenward. This means waiting patiently on Yehovah to transmit. The older I get, the more I realize how much I don’t know. To be sure, this is humbling. At the same time, the more I realize that others don’t know as well. Those who act like they have all the answers and know it all usually have something to sell you. Follow the money! Most of them, too, are fools (like the rest of us), but they’re too proud to admit it. This too is vanity of vanities.
Now that you’ve read this far, do you really want to really know what’s going on? It’s this. The world is currently in a state of hyper confusion induced by godless men under the spell of secular humanism and demonic antichrist concepts and agendas, which the Bible prophesied would occur prior to the second coming. We live in gross darkness, and there are no human spiritual leaders to guide us through this Satanic black hole cesspool. Where are they? Most are too busy making money and building their empires, and they’re clueless. It’s business as usual. That leaves the rest of us searching for answers and direction. We’ve never been this way before, for we are in the last days after all! There’s only one direction to look for guidance, and that’s up. We have only the Word of Elohim and his Set-Apart Spirit to guide us at this point, since we’re in uncharted territory. That means shutting up and listening. You can’t receive directions from heaven if you’re transmitting via your big yap and listening to yourself speak!
Let me leave you with these words of David,
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from YHVH, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. YHVH is your keeper; YHVH is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. YHVH shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. YHVH shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore. (Psalm 121:1–8)
Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to YHVH our Elohim, Until He has mercy on us. Have mercy on us, O YHVH, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud. (Psalm 123:1–4)
Ecclesiastes 3:11,Everything beautiful. Beauty and happiness can be found, even in this life of vanity resulting in emptiness and nothingness, if everything is done at the right time; therefore, finding the right timing is a major key to happiness.
Ecclesiastes 2:1–10,Come now. The Preacher, King Solomon, looked for a meaning and purpose to life in all of the usual ways that humans indulge themselves: mirth, pleasure or goodness (i.e. being a good person), laughter (merriment, comedy, fun entertainment), hedonism (fulfilling the sensual pleasures of the flesh), alcohol (or mind altering chemical substances), vast building projects including constructing houses, and exquisite gardens, procuring servants, along with the acquisition of herds of livestock, precious metals, special treasures gathered from around the world, and other great possessions. He also surrounded himself with gifted people to provide musical entertainment. While indulging himself in all of these, he kept his wits about him, so that through it all and afterwards, he could critically analyze the merits and demerits of it all.
Ecclesiastes 2:11,Vanity…grasping for the wind. No matter what grandiose adventures in life the Preacher pursued, regardless of his vast array of accomplishments, and his endless pursuit of satiating the lust of the flesh and its endless craving for pleasure, he found that it all leads to the same place: emptiness and nothingness—a grasping at the elusive wind, or like trying to scratch an itch that will not go away, or to satisfy and unquenchable thirst. He had eaten of all of the finest delicacies that life had to offer until he was gorged, yet he was still hungry. How maddeningly confusing and frustrating to indulge oneself with all these things and still come up empty handed. This is what most people spend their lives doing, yet they never figure out that in the end it leads nowhere—that the answer to the inner longings are not to be found in this physical existence. Rather, the answer is outside of it. He must look up! This is the message cryptic message of Ecclesiastes—of the whole Bible.
Ecclesiastes 2:12,Who succeeds the king. After having achieved and experienced more than any king before him, he asked himself, “What now?” What more can my son after me do that I have not already done? Is there an end to this madness? Does it lead anywhere, or ultimately accomplish anything of lasting value?
Ecclesiastes 2:13–16,Wisdom excels folly. The Preacher concludes that ignorance or folly (or foolishness) is not better then wisdom (or intelligence), even as darkness is not preferable to light. It is better to possess wisdom and intelligence than to go ignorantly and foolishly through life. Yet whether one is foolish or wise, all humans still end up in the same place at the end—dead. So again what is the point of it all? Whether wise or foolish, it all amounts to vanity or emptiness and nothingness—to a big zero—at the end. Therefore, the Preacher concludes, a wise man and a fool are equal in status. Even the wise man dies a fool, for he has not perceived that life is eventually meaningless and pointless (when this physical existence is all there is to hope for).
Ecclesiastes 2:17–23,Must leave it. What is the point of working hard, slaving away and heaping up wealth only to leave it all to someone else after one passes from the scene? It is unlikely that one’s heir will appreciate the tireless effort their parent spent building their estate, and will likely foolishly squander it all away. So what is the point of it all? There is none. So why kill oneself heaping up wealth and accomplishments? You cannot take it all with you. (None of this makes any sense, unless there is a higher purpose to it all beyond this physical existence—a supreme purpose which is revealed elsewhere in the pages of the Bible. The problem is that most people are too busy slaving away on the hamster wheel of life going nowhere, while satiating human ego and accumulating material stuff that they have little time to stop for even a moment to consider the deeper issues of life. This too is foolishness, vanity or emptiness and chasing the wind, since it all leads to the same place—death.)
Ecclesiastes 2:24–26,Nothing is better. If the only hope that a person has in their life is this life, then there is nothing better than to work hard, enjoy the fruits of one’s labors, cherish the simple things of life such as a job well done, and good food and drink, which are blessings from Elohim. The Creator has blessed each of us with the ability to find a certain measure of happiness and contentment in the work of one’s hands and enjoying the fruits of one’s hard work. In the process of it all, if one attempts to be a “good” person and to do right by others, then his earthly reward for good behavior, while a prisoner on this earth to the cosmic machine called time and space, will not be taken away. To be sure, this is a gift from heaven. But in the end, even though a person may find a certain amount of physical happiness, the end results are still the same: vanity or empty nothingness and grasping at the wind. One still dies without escaping the endless, cyclical treadmill of this physical existence of the time-space continuum in which man finds himself trapped.
As I rapidly move through my sixth decade of life, I have watched many people come and go, rise and fall, live and die. I have travelled to more than 20 countries on four continents, 25 U.S. states, lived in Europe, started businesses and ministries, been married for decades, raised four children, pastored a church for years, and written and published many writings. I have traversed, climbed and skied the mountains, hung from dizzying heights on ropes, swam in rivers, lakes and oceans, climbed 15 to 20 thousand trees, encountered demons, stared death in the face too many times to remember, and even been sprayed by a skunk. I have been loved as well as hated by those I thought were my friends. Much water has passed under the bridge called life, and now it is time to ponder it all.
Each of us has a story to tell, and as we grow older, we feel the need to share it, but why bother? Who will listen to it anyway? Most people are too wrapped in their own lives to care. Nevertheless, this all causes us to keep searching for meaning and purpose for our existence. And this compels me to return again and again to the Rock of Ages—the Bible, the Word of Elohim and to the source of the Truth that is above and way beyond each of us, for understanding and wisdom in order that I may more fully comprehend the complexities, that is, the whys and wherefores of life.
This all brings me to the book of Ecclesiastes (in Hebrew Kohelet meaning “the Preacher”) to hear from a wise man who had done it all. Here are my recent reflections on the wisdom found in this often overlooked and forgotten book of the Bible. Please enjoy and maybe something said will resonate and bless the reader. —Natan
Ecclesiastes 1
The Preacher (Heb. Kohelet)
Ecclesiastes 1:2,Vanity of vanities. This phrase is repeated twice in this book: once here at the beginning and once at the end (12:8). The word vanity is a theme that runs through this book occurring 32 times and every chapter at least once except chapter 10. In the course of his varied life, the Preacher discovers that the soft and ugly underbelly and the raison d’etre of nearly every human endeavor that one can imagine is vanity and pride. Vanity is the Hebrew word hebel meaning “vapor, breath, wind” or figuratively, as the author of this book often uses it, “worthless, senseless, empty, futile or vacuous.” The root of the word hebel is the verb “to act emptily.” Thus, as this book reveals, the vast majority of human activities can be summed up as nothing more than being emptiness, meaningless and senseless.
The words vanity (Heb. hebel) and pride (Heb. room), as used in Scripture are different heads of the same evil monster of meaningless emptiness masquerading through the magician’s clever sleight of hand with the aid of smoke and mirrors as human exaltation. The former, as already noted, connotes “emptiness or meaninglessness,” while the latter means “to be high, rise up, extol, lift up, promote and to be haughty.”
Pride is one of the so-called seven deadly sins that YHVH hates and calls an abomination (Prov 6:16–17). Therefore, Scripture reveals that vanity and pride in all of their manifestations are black and detestable in the eyes of Elohim and is not to be found on the paint palette that composes the character portrait of the saint or his life’s activities. On the contrary, Yeshua declares in his famous beatitudes statement that “blessed are the poor [literally, crippled, helpless, down and out] in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:3). In fact, YHVH looks with great favor on those who have “a poor and contrite spirit” and who “tremble at my word” (Isa 66:2). Therefore, it should not be hard to see that vanity and pride are the antithetical character traits of those who are poor or helpless in spirit, and that Elohim disdains and hates the one and highly regards the other showering upon the latter priceless gifts including inclusion in his heavenly kingdom.
Ecclesiastes 1:4,One generation passes away…the earth abides forever. Man is a microscopic drop of water in a vast ocean of time, space and material existence.
Ecclesiastes 1:5–7,The sun rises…and …goes down. The physical creation consists of an endless series of cycles involving time and natural forces. It is akin to a monstrous clock with myriads of integrated gears and wheels of many sizes all clicking along in sync with each other, while man is trapped in the middle of it with no way to escape. He is like a hamster in a cage mindlessly burning enormous amounts of energy running on an exercise wheel yet going nowhere.
Ecclesiastes 1:8,Full of labor. Energy and labor keep this giant cosmic machine going round and round endlessly with man in the middle of it all. Despite the vastness, complexity, wonder of this giant machine called this physical existence, the human eyegate and eargate are never satisfied. Man perpetually yearns for something more, some new thrill, a new achievement, or a new “high” to satiate some deep, longing to be fulfilled, unsated craving deep in his soul, yet to no avail. The relentless craving persists unabated.
Ecclesiastes 1:9–10,That which has been will be. As this giant set of cosmic gears grinds inexorably on with miniscule man at its center, the cycles continue to repeat themselves endlessly. It is true that the actors, costumes, stage venue may change over the millennia, but the quintessential plot remains ever the same. When boiled down to its essential ingredients,reduced to its lowest common denominator, nothing has changed; therefore, there is nothing new under the sun. The nature of man is the same, the plot is the same. Life is still a burdensome task or a sore travail that can be summed up as vanity of vanities leading to emptiness and nothingness. (Actually there is a point to it all, and a way of escape, but that comes later in the book and that is the message of the rest of the Bible!)
Ecclesiastes 1:11,No remembrance. All is soon forgotten. The ripples made by the pebble dropped into the pond of life soon subside and are remembered no more as the pond to as it was before. Therefore, we are back where we started from—vanity, meaninglessness and nothingness.
Ecclesiastes 1:13,Burdensome task [sore travail, KJV]. Everything is a burdensome task or sore travail—an escapable hard labor prison camp of time and space and endless cycles to which man has been inextricably confined since the fall. (So what is the point of it all? The rest of the Bible contains the message of hope for the hopeless.)
Ecclesiastes 1:14,Vanity. Eventually, all of man’s works will come to nothing, nothingness is the definition of hebel, the Hebrew word for vanity. Everything that man does will come to nothing. All houses, buildings and monuments eventually deteriorate and become overrun with weeds and return to dirt from whence it came. Riches come and go, and no one can take it with them when they die. Memories of great people, events and ideas eventually fade away. Nothing physical is permanent.
Grasping for the wind [or vexation of spirit, KJV]. The physical pursuits, pleasures and acquisitions of man do not satiate the inner longings of the spirit of man that is connected to Elohim and to eternity—the spiritual and eternal realm. It is all grasping for the wind—elusive and unattainable.
Ecclesiastes 1:15,Crooked. Man is incurably crooked and Elohim is unwaveringly and immutably straight. The heart of man is especially crooked and cannot be made straight, for as Jeremiah declares, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked [i.e. incurable and sick]; who can know it?” (Jer 17:9). Each person has a giant log of pride wedged into his eye, and he views everyone and everything through the lens of his own strongholds of pride and his past hurts that involve fear, bitterness and unforgivingness. Dislodging that beam takes an act of God! This is because the disease called sin is incurable and terminal and everyone was born with it, and no one can cure himself because sin has too strong of a hold on each person’s heart and mind. Due to his sinful condition, man’s spiritual lack is incalculable.
Ecclesiastes 1:16–17,Look. When all is said and done, man’s condition and the life that he lives still remains the same: a grasping for the wind or seeking that which is unattainable.
When man walked away from Elohim in the garden by partaking of the forbidden fruit in his quest for forbidden knowledge, he bit the big one, so to speak, biting off way more than he could chew. What appeared to be appealing to the eyes, touch and taste quickly turned bitter in his gut, when the reality of the consequences of his actions punched him full force in the face. It was at this time that he had to go to work scraping out a living from the unforgiving weed and briar infested earth. Man was condemned to the hard labor penal colony of this earth to run endless circles on the hamster wheel of making a living day after tedious day before collapsing exhausted at the end of life. When the foolishness naivete of childhood and youth give way to the burdensome and demanding responsibilities of adulthood, only then do a few enlightened souls awaken to the brutal reality of this physical existence. The rest of humanity is too occupied attempting to self-medicate (via drugs, booze, sensual pleasure and entertainment, the acquisition of material good, the seeking of power and fame, etc.) against the pain and reality of a lifetime spent grasping for the wind to wake up to the truth that they need help from above if they are to break free from his life sentence due to his sin. (There is only one way of escape and Jacob dreamed of it when he saw the vision of the ladder to heaven in Genesis 28 and Yeshua interpreted the vision for us in John 1:51.)
Ecclesiastes 1:18,Much wisdom…much grief. It almost sounds as if the Preacher is affirming the idea that ignorance is bliss. In reality, ignorance is not bliss; it is still ignorance. Yet, sometimes two seemingly opposite propositions can be true at the same time. That is to say that too much wisdom and knowledge can lead to frustration, weariness and sorrow; therefore, it is perhaps advisable to know just enough to keep oneself on the straight path, but not so much that such knowledge ruins the little enjoyment that one can squeeze out of this prison camp called life.
My commentary on Ecclesiastes chapter two is coming soon…so stay tuned.
