Reading for March 18th

Read Ecclesiastes 3.9-22. In verses 9-15: And yet. The punch line robs the reader of whatever comfort the poem has offered: While indeed all things may have their appointed times, human beings are unable to discern those times, much less use the information to their advantage. In verse 11: Sense of the past and future: Other possible translations are "sense of eternity, " "sense of the world." While humans have intimations of the cosmic dimensions of existence, their knowledge is limited. In verses 12-15: While this list of what the Teacher knows does not answer his problem, it counterbalnaces his sense of life's injustice. In verses 16-22: Injustice. If God determines the times for allthings, then God must set a time for judgment. Clearly, however, the righteous and the wicked have not yet received what they deserve (v. 17). In verse 19: Animals and humans are equal in that they die, they share the breath breathed into the human at creation (Gen 2). In verse 20 One place: Sheol, the realm of the dead (1 sam 2.6;Jon 2.2)). Early Israel had no concpt of the afterlife (either immortality or resurection), though these such ideas grew in popularity during the persian and Hellenistic periods, so that by the turn of the era the resurrection of the body was an article of belief for the Pharisees. In verse 21: Who knows? The question implies a negative answer: "No one knows." The possibility the the human spirit might survive cannot be verified empiricaly, so the Teacher returns to his conclusion: enjoy your work while you are alive (v. 22). Comments or Questions..