Thursday 3 September 2020

Ecclesiastes - Koheleth

                                                Introduction to Ecclesiastes – The Bruised Reed

It is interesting that many of us know the Bibilical book of Wisdom by it's Latin name (Ecclesiastes), rather than its Hebrew name Koheleth. This Hebrew term for Ecclesiastes implies someone who addresses a gathering of people - in some versions of the Bible he calls himself the 'Preacher.' 

"The words of Kohelet the son of David, king in Yerushalayim:" - Ecclesiastes 1:1 (Complete Jewish Bible)

Regardless of this little piece of trivia, we are still left with a deep sense of hopelessness coming from the writer of this book. The Preacher/Teacher asks some profound questions and may leave many of us waiting for a suitable answer or solution to his woes. One commentator writes:

"...if the lines of quest and perplexity which go out from Ecclesiastes are left broken and hanging in the void, the Christian gospel accepts the task of carrying them through to triumphant assurance." (Interpreter's Bible)

What this offers to us as the modern reader is this: 

All our longings, confusions, questions and perplexities are answered in the person of Jesus Christ. Our thoughts are deliberately directed to the person of Jesus and not the philosophy of any human mind. Our Quest for meaning in life can be solved by an encounter with the living Lord.

Well, that's what I think. How about you?

John 14:6 -  Yeshua said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

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