Ecclesiastes Pondering the meaning of life, existence, and grand purpose.


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12 Chapters of Philosophical Account, written by the genius of old -- King Solomon

A sharp, cynic account against attempts to upset the prevailing order. That order is stable, unchanging, and God known. For us, it is hard to find an advantage over animals, so let's love, eat, enjoy and be mrrry -- the wise and the dumb go the same. Physical assets are no help. Be good spirited as your life goes by. The word of the king of the Jews.

  • Kohelet 1: The Grand Admission that all that we know put together does not make sense.

    18 verses. King Solomon opens his book declaring that everything is cyclical, and not moving forward, that oblivion is the fate of all, and that search after the ultimate wisdom is a recipe for pain and frustration. He cites his credentials as the wisest of all men until his time, as an indefatigable researchers into matters of truth and reason, concluding implicitly that his realization of futility of reality, its doomed oblivion, and its ultimate cyclical nature are beyond challenge.

  • Kohelet 2: I built a wealth of material assets and creature comfort but it's all worthless

    26 verses. Kohelet tries to escape from the conclusion of meaninglessness by building real estate and enjoying the good life, but it is all in vain, nothing makes sense. Wisdom to stupidity is like light towards darkness, but the end of the wise and the stupid is the same, so wisdom is no edge.

  • Kohelet 3: Life is a canvass of things and their opposites, to be seen as beauty by humans, while the real secret and cause remains hidden.

    12 short verses. 8 of them are poetic phrases of contradiction: life, death; planting, tearing; killing and healing; breakup and construction; crying and laughing; obituaries and dances; throwing stones, gathering stones; hugging, refraining from hugs; to seek, to abandon; to keep, to throw away; to tear, to sew; to talk, to remain silent; to love, to hate; to make war, to make peace.

    And then (9): what is the man's advantage, cause -- his labor, his work! Following Kohelet shares from the heights of his wisdom: "I have seen the matter God gave people to ponder". God made everything to have beauty, if as the poetry above says, it is all fit in good time. And God gave the knowledge of the universe into man's heart, but it is encrypted, so to prevent humans from comprehending the divine plan in its entirety.