Ecclesiastes - the meaning of life (42)
Qoheleth's is the main voice of this book. He believed that death was "the great equalizer" I find that true and remember Hamlet once again, "dust returns to dust." Here instead of wisdom being great, like what I read earlier, it is viewed as "emptiness" that is odd since wisdom is not a physical thing. I could see wealth and power and pleasure, but not wisdom. Qoheleth says it is the simple pleasures of life that bring true happiness -- SIMPLE.
1: I get the feeling about circular happenings from the beginning. "Nothing new under the sun" is a famous saying and I believe in it. All that has happened has already happened. We must learn from the past, that is why history use to be my favorite subject. I also believe that increased knowledge can bring increased sorrow, but with that can also come happiness. The truth gained from knowledge can set a person free. The intro to Eccles. says that the speaker never speaks as king. I think this helps us read it and understand/accept the teachings because we are on his level.
Job one of the few books I have read completely and actually remember. I love his devotion to God and his ability to be humble even when he has done nothing wrong.
1: He was the perfect father. I wonder if his kids ever got tired of him being so great. I know perfect people bug me because I'm not perfect. Power is given to Satan from God; therefore, he never had power to begin with like people think. Satan presents him before the Lord, showing supplication. This is not the Satan that we think of in modern terms.
It is so great this class and my life because ALL the time things relate to other things. Just recently, we wrote about suffering in Honors and I have been talking to friends about it and now in OT we talk about how to deal with suffering. I agree with the no talking to sufferers because if I were suffering, I would want to be alone and to figure stuff out or just to have a shoulder to cry on. I have never grieved, but 7 days does not seem like a long time....oooooo 7 days, a perfect number, guess it had to be that way.
40: Here is mostly God talking to Job. I'm not quite sure what God is trying to say except that Job is not as powerful as God...but the Behemoth seems interesting. The footnotes say something to the effect of a hippo. But it represents the freedom God has to do what He wants.
That is the end!!! Thank you so much for a wonderful class. I have learned so much and wish I could continue to study the OT all four years so that I could begin to understand what is going on. I hope to keep in touch with you because you bring wonderful insight to the discussion. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy :)
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