Week 35 Ecclesiastes
A couple of days ago I started reading Ecclesiastes. Then yesterday I realized I’d already read it back in June-July. So…to read or not to read? Since my reading is on-track I’ll reread. I’ll start Matthew on September 1.
Reading Ecclesiastes again isn’t a bad idea since it’s a thorny book to read. For example today I read that: it is the same for all people. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked…As the good person is, so is the sinner…This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all people. Another version says ‘one destiny’ in place of ‘one fate’.
The problem with the paragraph is that it sounds like it doesn’t make any difference if I’m good or bad since good people and bad people have the same fate. The way I live my life has no effect on my destiny. Which seems like a bible anomaly.
Anyway as I kept reading I saw this: anyone who is among the living has hope – even a live dog is better than a dead lion. It occurred to me that maybe that’s the one fate we share – we all end up dead. Of course I can’t say for sure that death is the Common Fate. But for now it’s a relief to discover an alternate way to think about a problematic bit of text.
Note: quotes from Ecclesiastes 9:2-3 4 (NASB & NIV)