Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job

and they're all asking the question what does it mean to live well in this world

So we looked at proverbs who you could think of as a bright young teacher

She's all about pursuing wisdom an attribute of God that's woven into reality

and she's optimistic that if you use wisdom you will build a successful life

but then we come to Ecclesiastes who's more like the sharp middle-aged critic and he says

You think using wisdom will bring you success

You'd better think again because life here under the sun is meaningless

and that's a phrase you use a lot in this book

but to understand this book we have to realize first that we're hearing two voices

So first there's the teacher and we've been calling him the critic

He's the main voice in the book

but he is introduced to us by another figure the author

and he's the one who's collected the critics words

and then at the end of the book summarizes everything and gets the final word

So why does the author wants to hear from the critic?

He wants to turn your view of the world upside down

and he's gonna let the critic explore three really disturbing things about the world

and we should warn you these are pretty intense

Yeah! So the first is the march of time

whereas the critic says

Generations come and generations go

but the earth it's been here long before us and we'll be long after

No one remembers people from long ago and all the people yet to come

They too will be forgotten by those who come after them

and so on a cosmic scale, you and I, we are just ibilik

stars are born and then they die and form planets with orbit new stars

and those planets they change over time and eventually burnt up

And admits this cosmic backdrop, my entire existence is like a blink in time

which leads to the critic's second disturbing observation

that we are all going to die

Humans face the same fate as the animals

Death, all people, the righteous and the wicked

The good and the bad

Those who offer sacrifices to God and those who do not

They all share the same destiny

all this activity and madness then we all join the dead

Man! This book is depressing

and so is the final disturbing thing for the critic

and that is life's random nature

So in Proverbs, life isn't random

There's a clear cause-and-effect relationship between doing the right thing and being rewarded

But the fact is that life doesn't always work that way

The critic has observed a glitch in the system

He calls it, Chance, or in his words

The race doesn't always go to the Swift

nor the battle to the strong

nor does food always come to the wise

or wealth to the brilliant

or favor to the educated

time and chance happen to them all

So his point is that you can't really control anything in life

It's just way too unpredictable

so if i want to master life

then you're setting yourself up for a fall

Now throughout the book, the Critic uses a metaphor to tie together all of these disturbing ideas

Nearly 40 times he says that everything in life is "Hevel"

it's a Hebrew word that means smoke or vapor

Like smoke, life is beautiful and mysterious

It takes one shape and before you know it

It takes a new shape

and smoke look solid but try and grab it it will slip right through your fingers

and when you're stuck in the thick of it like fog, it's impossible to see clearly

Now our modern translations have lost the metaphor

and they usually translate "Hevel" as meaningless

but if you read closely the critic isn't saying that life has no meaning

but rather that its meaning is never clear

Like smoke, life is confusing

It's disorienting and uncontrollable

So what are we supposed to do with all of this?

Well! Surprisingly, the critic first of all acknowledges the perspective of Proverbs

He says it's a really good idea to learn wisdom and to live in the fear of the Lord

Really?! I mean he just said that doesn't guarantee success

but he knows it's the right thing to do

but secondly and more often he says that since you can't control your life

You should stop trying

Learn to hold things with an open hand because you really only have control over one thing

and that's your attitude towards the present moment

Stop worrying he says and choose to enjoy a good conversation with a friend

or the Sun on your face

or a good meal with people that you care about

The simple things in life

Yes and both the good things and the bad because both are rich gifts from God

and that's the surprising wisdom of ecclesiasticus

Listening to the critic is painful

and can lead you into some dark places

and that's why the author speaks up at the end of the book

He doesn't want you to lose hope

He wants to make you humble

Into someone who trusts that life has meaning even when you can't make sense of it

that one day God will clear the Hevel and bring his justice on all that we've done

and so he tells us that the proper response to all of this is to fear the lord

and keep his Commandments

and that's the book of Ecclesiastes

Now there's one more voice in the Bible's wisdom literature

and that's the book of Job

and he will bring us the final much-needed perspective on our journey into wisdom

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Their main ideas and their unique design

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