Homework 101 - Part 1
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with [Ecclesiastes 1:13].
There are many fine things in life, but there is not a universal consent as to what is on the list! For instance, some folks love football and hate baseball. Others love baseball and hate football. Some love both, and then there are the gainsayers who have no use for either.
Joe likes pizza and Ron likes cabbage (go figure). Sally prefers dresses while Nell won’t be caught dead in one. Ken enjoys a good read in Shakespeare but Barbie can only stomach Dickens. Then there are the folks who love any and all fields of study, as contrasted with those who hate learning anything intelligent! They can’t even be persuaded to lift a finger to turn the page in a book.
The quoted text which began this study contains a sharp contrast. Funny thing is only one person is involved. The one and the same person both loved and hated learning! And he didn’t have a split personality either. Behold the contrast:
1. I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven
2. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with
Point #1 depicts a lover of learning. This dude (aka Solomon, the teacher in Jerusalem) established as his goal to know everything there is to know about everything under heaven. Now that is a tall order! Indeed, it was a bit much to take on, I do believe.
The teacher learned this truth for himself. In Point #2 he confessed as much. He found his tall order to be “a grievous task”, one with which he felt “afflicted”. His task at hand was not merely difficult, nor annoying, neither frustrating. It was “grievous”. That word hints of burdens and oppression, even great pain and suffering. Does the idiom “to bite off more than I can chew” come to mind?
As we ponder Solomon’s words, let’s be sure to keep the context of the Book of Ecclesiastes in mind. He repeatedly states that what he records in Ecclesiastes is from the standpoint of things “under the sun”. The phrase denotes what occurs on earth as understood from earth’s perspective. This is not the Lord’s invisible spiritual insight. It is man’s visible material sight.
If I may be permitted to paraphrase a bit, Solomon essentially said, “I really wanted to learn everything there is to know about everything, so I put my mind to accomplish this. But alas, it wore me out in no time. I mean, no matter how much I learned, there was always so much more to know. I was always running behind, trying to catch up. O! my aching head! Grievous ‘tis.” Such were the efforts and the results of the teacher’s attempts at learning.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Learning is a wonderful thing for us. We cannot fill our time in a more profitable manner. However, it is what we learn that is important, not learning for the sake of learning. And yes, some folks do detest having to learn anything new, while others crave new knowledge. But in both cases it is an essential of life to learn throughout life. We must never graduate from learning.
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Solomon taught in Ecclesiastes how everything under the sun can only lead to boredom, ennui, lassitude, apathy. In the context of Ecclesiastes he is unqualifiedly correct. If we live for the things of the world (i.e., for created things), regardless of what they are, we cannot find any real and lasting fulfillment. This is what the teacher meant in today’s Bible verse.
Sorry. We’re out of time again. We will continue this topic in our next study. See you then. Enjoy time with the Lord now, okay?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
There are many fine things in life, but there is not a universal consent as to what is on the list! For instance, some folks love football and hate baseball. Others love baseball and hate football. Some love both, and then there are the gainsayers who have no use for either.
Joe likes pizza and Ron likes cabbage (go figure). Sally prefers dresses while Nell won’t be caught dead in one. Ken enjoys a good read in Shakespeare but Barbie can only stomach Dickens. Then there are the folks who love any and all fields of study, as contrasted with those who hate learning anything intelligent! They can’t even be persuaded to lift a finger to turn the page in a book.
The quoted text which began this study contains a sharp contrast. Funny thing is only one person is involved. The one and the same person both loved and hated learning! And he didn’t have a split personality either. Behold the contrast:
1. I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven
2. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with
Point #1 depicts a lover of learning. This dude (aka Solomon, the teacher in Jerusalem) established as his goal to know everything there is to know about everything under heaven. Now that is a tall order! Indeed, it was a bit much to take on, I do believe.
The teacher learned this truth for himself. In Point #2 he confessed as much. He found his tall order to be “a grievous task”, one with which he felt “afflicted”. His task at hand was not merely difficult, nor annoying, neither frustrating. It was “grievous”. That word hints of burdens and oppression, even great pain and suffering. Does the idiom “to bite off more than I can chew” come to mind?
As we ponder Solomon’s words, let’s be sure to keep the context of the Book of Ecclesiastes in mind. He repeatedly states that what he records in Ecclesiastes is from the standpoint of things “under the sun”. The phrase denotes what occurs on earth as understood from earth’s perspective. This is not the Lord’s invisible spiritual insight. It is man’s visible material sight.
If I may be permitted to paraphrase a bit, Solomon essentially said, “I really wanted to learn everything there is to know about everything, so I put my mind to accomplish this. But alas, it wore me out in no time. I mean, no matter how much I learned, there was always so much more to know. I was always running behind, trying to catch up. O! my aching head! Grievous ‘tis.” Such were the efforts and the results of the teacher’s attempts at learning.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Learning is a wonderful thing for us. We cannot fill our time in a more profitable manner. However, it is what we learn that is important, not learning for the sake of learning. And yes, some folks do detest having to learn anything new, while others crave new knowledge. But in both cases it is an essential of life to learn throughout life. We must never graduate from learning.
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Solomon taught in Ecclesiastes how everything under the sun can only lead to boredom, ennui, lassitude, apathy. In the context of Ecclesiastes he is unqualifiedly correct. If we live for the things of the world (i.e., for created things), regardless of what they are, we cannot find any real and lasting fulfillment. This is what the teacher meant in today’s Bible verse.
Sorry. We’re out of time again. We will continue this topic in our next study. See you then. Enjoy time with the Lord now, okay?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
No comments have been added yet.
