THE BARNABAS LINK
ECCLESIASTES 2.20
` So my heart began to despair . . . '
For many Christians the Book of Ecclesiastes is largely ignored for it does not fit easily into our concept of theology. Apart from a few verses, some just to sing, some just to entertain the secular world, this Book is used incorrectly to display the despair of the ageing King Solomon giving out wisdom on the futility of man's efforts. It has been said that just as secular people reject the Book of Genesis because it does not fit in with man's reasoning, so this Book of Ecclesiastes is rejected by religious people because it does not fit in with theologians' reasoning! But as we look at one verse we need to remember that this Book is part of the closed Canon of Scripture and is an integral part of the Hebraic Scriptures - all God-breathed, as Paul reveals in his Letter to Timothy. It is therefore not for us to pick and chose what God has revealed in His wisdom.

The verse we are looking at is clearly speaking of a deep despair overcoming the person who is revealing his heart to those who gather to hear him speak. Yet in the midst of what appears to be utter despair the central message is one of certain hope, and as such, in these deepening, darkening days, it is a message for our contemporary times as surely as it was for those who gathered around Ecclesiastes, for he was to speak of God's Wisdom in a darkening situation. The title of the Book springs from the Latin Vulgate's translation of the Bible and has a meaning of `the Preacher', but to fully understand the Author's intent we need to use the Hebrew name of `Koheleth' in order to gain understanding of its message. Koheleth has a meaning of `Assembler or Convenor' and is a title rather than a proper name, and as such it can be applied to any person who calls together people to hear a message. The word is also of the feminine gender and is used here together with the word `wisdom' (also of the feminine gender) to give us understanding that the `Convenor' is so joined with `Wisdom' so as to become personalized Wisdom and has therefore been included in the closed canon of Scripture as God-breathed Wisdom.

To give further understanding of the assembly which the Koheleth had called, we turn to an ancient Chaldean Targum which expands on the opening verse of this Book. It says:

" These are the words of prophecy which Koheleth delivered when Solomon forsaw by the Spirit of Prophecy that the kingdom of Rehoboam his son would be divided by Jereboam, the son of Nebat. "

So often, reading Scripture can become an intellectual exercise far removed from a personal experience and concerning events which occurred centuries ago, and we need personal involvement, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to enter into the emotions and feelings of the people recorded in the narrative of Scripture so that it does indeed become a Living Word which speaks to us in our need. The people of those times would have known of the tensions that were being revealed in the household of the ageing King Solomon, and there would have been court gossip concerning Rehoboam and Jeroboam. As with any great national leader, as Solomon approached the end of his days tension and anxiety over the future would have been powerfully at work amongst the people, and so `in the midst of the despair' the Koheleth called an assembly to speak Wisdom to the people. The people gathered together in the Temple courtyard in Jerusalem would have known the Covenanted promises of God concerning Israel; they had enjoyed the wealth and prestige that had developed during the reign of Solomon, and yet they knew that those who would follow on from King Solomon were not of his stature. To add to that despair came the words of the Koheleth telling of the coming division of the kingdom after the death of the king who had forseen by the Spirit of Prophecy. Yet in the midst of what seemed to be a message of utter despair there came a message of certain hope . . . a total trust in God's Providence!

The Koheleth sets out the seeming paradox to the assembled people and speaks not of man's wisdom but as the Spiritually appointed Assembler he speaks of God's Wisdom. All of man's efforts to serve God will come to nothing . . all is vanity and will end in destruction and eventual despair - even the mighty kingdom of Solomon, so grand that the Queen of Sheba journied there to see for herself the splendour of the kingdom and to learn the wisdom the king was noted for. The Koheleth sets out his feelings over these things: (2:17)

" So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. "

The Koheleth speaks these words to the assembled people - not to bring them into the abyss of despair but to reveal the Wisdom of God, a trust in the knowledge of God's Providence in what appears to be a coming national disaster! Too often we use words without considering their depth of meaning and so once again we turn to our trusty dictionary, which records the meaning of `providence' as `timely care'. The Wisdom the Koheleth speaks of is the sure and certain knowledge that the people could trust in the Timely Care of God to outwork, through the coming destruction of Solomon's kingdom, His Covenanted promise for His people. The Wisdom he needed to convey to the people was the Timely Care of God who was working in their despair to bring forth a Kingdom that would be more glorious than anyone there could imagine! Verse 20 reveals the despair there would be if he stopped to consider his own efforts:

" So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labour under the sun. "

The Koheleth, however, does not stop there but moves on quickly to the Timely Care of God: (3:1)

" To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. "

There is an appointed time in God's Timely Care for His people, and a purpose for their appointed time. If we look closely at the works of man this will certainly lead to despair, for it is only in looking to the Word of God that our hearts are lifted beyond the uncertainty into our sure and certain hope, now fully revealed in His Son Jesus! God's Providence . . His Timely Care . . shows that there is a season and a time for every purpose! How we need to be reminded of that in these dark and difficult days which could, if we dwelt too long on considering them, lead us into despair. However, our Koheleth, the Holy Spirit, is today assembling His people to hear Spiritual Wisdom of trust in His Timely Care - no matter what the circumstances are that man's efforts have created!

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