Reading for April 1st

Read Ecclesiastes 12.1-8. In 12.1-8: A vision of aging and death. God as creator: Job 38, Prov 20. In verses 2-5: A description of aging and the approach of death. One option is to read the images allegorically. Guards of the house are arms; strong men are legs; women who grind are teeth; daughters of song are birds; grasshopper is the image of one walking on crutches. In verses 6-7: Human death compared to items at the end of their usefulness; perhaps images of a well (cord, bowl, cistern). In verse 7: Breath returns: A contridiction or development beyond 3.21. In verse 8: The body of the book ends with the same phrase with which it began (1.2). Comments or Questions..