The Solomon Project Ecclesiastes 9:9-16

If you have been reading this blog for awhile this will sound redundant but for those who are new to it the rationale behind this blog is to attempt to find application in the ancient biblical book of Ecclesiastes to addiction and compulsivity. More directly to those who suffer from addiction and compulsivity. While I come at life from an evangelical point of view, the at application of this book attempts to make it applicable to all faiths. The wisdom of this book is applicable to those who will accept its message. I hope you find this blog helpful.

This week we are dealing with Ecclesiastes 9:9-16. This is a continuation of Solomon's resolute gladness in experiencing life. "Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun--all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun." (Ecc 9:9 NIV) This verse concludes the section from verse 7-9 that is very characteristic of Ancient Near Eastern Literature suggesting that there were shared pools of thought concerning wisdom and its applications during that time. The Hebrew word here "wife" is literally "woman." Some have taken this as a non marital relationship however his statement concerning women as snares (7:26)and the amassing of a harem (2:8)stand in stark contrast to the singular person here. The broader context of the Old Testament would seem to point to a singular woman who is the wife.
The injunction here is to enjoy your "wife" or for female readers your "husband." This is in the context of finding or doing things that are satisfying basic needs and nurturing psychologically. For sexually addictive and compulsive individuals this may appear to be some kind of a cruel joke. Their disorder or "disease" Causes them to find anything but enjoyment from a marital relationship. They are too involved in chasing the fantasy of the unreal relationship. It is significant that Solomon doesn't say that this relationship is a cure all but it is a source of enjoyment in the midst of meaninglessness. Solomon is not advocating that this relationship is toilsome labor although marriages do take work. He rather is referring to the meaninglessness and toilsomeness of life in its totality.

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." (Ecc 9:10 NIV) Can we comprehend what this verse is telling us? What does the author want to move us to do? The closer context of the book points us to living life skillfully and enjoying the fruits of that life,including our marital relationships. The broader context of the book would tell us that kindness to mankind, manging money well, and recognizing our place "under the sun" would all be included. But what of the phrase "Whatever your hand finds to do" Sometimes it's not about work or career although it may be. It may be the most subtle things that are before our very eyes that we can find to do. My desk at home seems to stay in a constant state of confusion. My desk in my office stays relatively organized. Why? I think because I have to use it all the time it has to stay organized. Our lives may be a little (or a lot) like that. There may be messes or clutter in our lives that needs to be cleaned up. We may not have to notice it all the time and we may not think it affects us--but it does. What clutter needs to be cleaned up in your life today? Perhaps it is an addictive behavior that has been denied for a long time, secreted away under the clutter. Maybe you have achieved sobriety and you are moving into recovery and there are amends that need to be attended to. What is our spiritual condition like? Are there resentments against others or our higher power-God? Do we look for opportunities to share our recovery strength and hope? It is time to clean out the clutter.

We come now to one of my favorite passages in the book: "I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all." (Ecc 9:11 NIV) The phrase "I have seen something else under the sun," tells us that we are looking at a new turn of events. The subject has now turned from death the great leveler of all and the enjoyment of life for whit it is to how does that life play out? What does it take to make the "cards" fall your way? Solomon says that time and chance happen to them all. We cannot know the future. The way things are "supposed" to happen doesn't always happen. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race. The strongest don't always win the battle, for example the Greco-Persian wars. The wise don't always have food, brilliance doesn't always translate in to wealth, for example some of the most intelligent people I know labor in careers that will never make them hugely wealthy but they chose those careers for self satisfaction and an impetus that God wants them to be in a certain profession. Favor doesn't always come to the learned. We will see in the upcoming verses Solomon's example of this.

This passage was comforting to me and I made my way through life to understand that Solomon knew even before I experienced these things in my life that they were true. I was smart, intelligent, wise, insightful but it hadn't translated into anything for me. I did not feel fulfilled. Step 1-3 in any twelve step program talk about turning our lives over to the care of God. First for the restoration of sanity and then committing out lives to His care. These enigmas drop away. Rather than a pointed spike in the side they become comforting revelations of life as it is.

Solomon now gives an example of "time and chance" "Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them." (Ecc 9:12 NIV) Random acts seemingly meaningless happen to us all. Archibald Hart, professor emeritus at Fuller Seminary tells the story of how he discovered quite by a random scan that he has high level of plaque in his arteries. Conversely his good friend Louis Smedes a teaching colleague at Fuller Seminary. Falls just a short way from a ladder onto his driveway and dies. Dr. Hart relates that he ends up in the same hospital as his friend and actually in the same bed. He lives and his friend dies. a seemingly cruel twist of fate. These kinds of stories can be recounted many times over. What is the author's point here? Unlike earlier i.e. 7:26 the author is not talking about being caught and held and perhaps deserving it. i.e. divine retribution. Nor is he talking about the conversion of divine retribution the righteous getting what the evil person deserves and the wicked getting what the righteous deserve. But this speaks of those who have done nothing to deserve entanglement and simply are caught up in the ramifications of a sinful world. poverty, bribery, hunger, emotional pain, abusive control. Those who suffer from addiction will many times find themselves in these kinds of situations. They are not exempt. The recovery key here is to sort out whether you bear any responsibility and make amends quickly. If not extract yourself as quickly as possible as wisely as possible from the net or snare you find yourself entangle in. These are the times when people who suffer from addictions may want to get angry at the world because it's not fair and act out. Realize that we live in a fallen sinful imperfect world in which we must live life skillfully.

Solomon goes on to give another example of this proverb: "I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded." (Ecc 9:13-16 NIV) This story is extensive and we will cover 4 verses of the chapter but I think it is helpful to see the illustration as a whole. The story is of a poor but wise man, which already flies in the face of contemporary thinking and I think ancient mentality as well--if he is wise why is he not rich? This sets up the illustration from the proverb laid out i.e. wealth doesn't not necessarily come to the brilliant. The small city is besieged by a powerful king. Through his wisdom the wise man saves the city. This again proves the point that the battle is not always to the strong. The powerful king was thwarted. However the wise poor man was forgotten. Archimedes the ancient Greek mathematician comes to mind here. The story is told of how he used the rays of the sun to torch enemy ships but died at the hands of a Roman soldier. The story appears to be fallacious but the example of a wise man not being honored for his learning certainly fits. The point Solomon is trying to make is that the effects of wisdom are short lived. When the crisis is over everyone forgets about the man with the wisdom.
Has this ever happened to you? You may have solved a problem, fixed what was broken, helped a friend only your wisdom was forgotten soon after? Wisdom has its limits. Success makes a short memory of pain. We want to be remembered for the "wise" things that we do but are usually long remembered for the pain we inflict. When we are not remembered for our wisdom, it sets up a potential situation for resentment to develop. Resentment will usually trigger acting out behaviors unless we can find another way to deal with the emotions. Today we must all ask our higher power to help us with wise actions in the face of others short term memories.

This section brings us back to the realization that human abilities and pursuits only have a finite and limited effect. Once again we must look to the one who created us, Our higher power for meaning in a meaningless world. Our time is up for today. Keep coming back it works if you work it and you're worth it.