OPPRESSION AND FRIENDSHIP Qoheleth or Solomon touched on this theme "Oppression" in chapter 3 verse 13. He states that to find life futility is sad enough, but to taste its cruelty is bitter beyond words. He had a large soul (1 Kings 4:29), therefore in dealing the topic of "oppression," especially that occurred by those who are rich and have power, he was very tender concern the miserable and the afflicted. 1. Man's inhumanity to man 1-3. 2. Foolishness of searching after rest 4-6. 3. Foolishness of the unjust 7-8. 4. The remedy: mutual assistance 9-12. 5. Foolishness of searching after worldly glory 13-16. MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN [1-3] Qoheleth states that oppression characterizes all human activity [1]. The oppressed are helpless and their woes pierce his very heart. Reacting to this scene of injustice and inhumanity Eccl declares the one alive less fortunate than the one dead and praises the lot of him who has never been. "So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of {such as were} oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors {there was} power; but they had no comforter. (2) Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. (3) Yea, better {is he} than both they, which has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun" [1-3]. + And elsewhere the same Ecclesiastes affirmed that the child born dead was better off than the man of great age, because he did not see the evils that take place in this world, did not come into this darkness, nor walk in the vanity of the world, and so he who did not come into this life will have rest rather than he who came into it. Really, what good is there for a man in this life? He lives in darkness and cannot be satisfied in his desires. And if he is sated with riches, he loses the enjoyment of his rest, because he is forced to guard the possessions he has acquired through his wretched greed. Thus he possesses them in greater wretchedness, seeing that they can do him ho good. For what is more wretched than to be tormented with guarding them and derive no advantage from their abundance? St. Ambrose 1. Death as a Good, 2:4. (Fathers of the Church) 4:2 + Who could more justifiably be praised for his death than he who of his own free choice chooses to die for the sake of religion? Origen 1. Exhortation to Martyrdom, 22. 3 FOOLISHNESS OF SEEKING REST Because of injustice some prefer to be lazy and enjoy rest. Qoheleth asks believers to be moderate, ant not to go to extremes. He declares that although competition which is the motive of every endeavor and toil is vain and futility, man is compelled to work, for idleness proves the ruin of one's welfare and health. "Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This {is} also vanity and vexation of spirit" [4]. Labor and all achievements are vain unless done with God's blessing. "The fool folds his hands together, and eats his own flesh" [5]. " The foolish... eats his own flesh" [5]. This is a metaphorical expression implying starvation (cf. Amos 4:6). The person who does not work uses up all his substance until he has nothing left but his own person upon which to feed. Better {is} an handful {with} quietness, than both the hands full {with} travail and vexation of spirit" [6].A man should not go to extremes. Work brings some reward [2:10, 24], but too much work, can destroy this good. It is better to have a handful of earnings when they are gained with a restful mind, than to procure large gains by worry and vexing toil. St. Paul says the last word on this subject. "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, {therewith} to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" Phil. 4:11-13. 4:6 + And therefore it is better for us with unbroken continuance to aim at this very slender profit in the desert, from which no secular cares, no worldly distractions, no pride of vainglory and vanity can detract, and which the pressure of no daily wants can lessen (for "a small thing that the righteous has is better than great riches of the ungodly" rather than to pursue those larger profits which even if they are procured by the most valuable conversion of many, are yet absorbed by the claims of secular life and the daily leakage of distractions. For, as Solomon says, "better is a single handful with rest than both hands full with labor an vexation of mind." Hag 1:6. Abbot Abraham 1. Cassian, Conf. 24:13 FOOLISHNESS OF THE UNJUST Loving wealth often makes a man a miser, so that he withdraws from the company of others, sacrificing all to accumulate wealth. This then deprives him of one of the few joys that life can offer. "Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. (8) There is one {alone}, and {there is} not a second; yea, he has neither child nor brother: yet {is there} no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither {says he}, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This {is} also vanity, yea, it {is} a sore travail" [7-8]. THE REMEDY: MUTUAL ASSISTANCE In contrast with the short-comings and dangers of a self-centered life, Qoheleth praises the comfort and security of companionship and friendship. "Two {are} better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. (10) For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him {that is} alone when he falls; for {he has} not another to help him up" [9, 10]. A Jewish proverb from the Talmud declares, "Either companionship or death." [1. Talmud: Tannith 23a.] "Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm {alone}? (12) And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken" [11-12]. 4 The reference is probably to two travelers who sleep together for mutual warmth and comfort, especially in the winter season. Some apply this saying to the poor who have only one mantle which is also their only covering at night (cf. Exod. 22:26ff.) The threefold cord refers to the advantage of companionship, and means that if fellowship with two is good, then fellowship with three is better still. A cord with three strands will stand greater strain than one with only two. Qohelet is citing a popular saying that teamwork is better than working alone [9]. He continues in verse 11 that marriage is better than being single. Then he laughs it to scorn by saying that there is nothing more in it than that a team makes more money and that a married partner is a good bed-warmer. [1. The Collegeville Bible Commentary, p. 817.] FOOLISHNESS OF SEEKING WORLDLY GLORY Those who seek popularity as their chief goal will find that it brings no real satisfaction, for it is dependent on the fickleness of the people, and thus is insecure. "Better {is} a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. (14) For out of prison he comes to reign; whereas also {he that is} born in his kingdom becomes poor. (15) I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead. (16) {There is} no end of all the people, {even} of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also {is} vanity and vexation of spirit" [13- 16]. Advancement without God is another example of the futile of secularism. The king who himself was once poor, who arose out of prison to the throne, who caused the downfall of another, did not learn the chief lesson of his struggle - popular favor is uncertain and unpredictable. The prison here is probably his mother's womb, from which the king issues without possessions (cf. 5:14). 4:14 + "From the house of the prisoners he will go forth to be a king." Thus I am persuaded to die for the truth, this I readily despise what is called death. Bring wild beasts, bring crosses, bring fire, bring tortures. I know that as soon as I die, I come forth from the body, I come forth from the body, I rest with Christ. Origen 1. Dialogue with Hraclides, 166. 1 5:7 + Because of this vice there is "not a just man upon earth that do good and sin not;" because of this vice, "in God's sight shall no man living be justified." On account of this vice, "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." On account of this also, whatever progress we may have made, we must, "Forgive us our debts," alfthough all debts in word, deed, and thoughy were washed away in baptism. He, then, who sees aright, sees whence, and when, and where he must hope for that perfection to which nothing can be added. St. Augustine 1. Letter 167:15. 5:1-7 indicates that the author takes the Israelite worshiping community for granted. Howecer, he holds that what religion provides deserves no more enthusiasm or confidence than anything else under the sun. Religion is the means by which human beings acknowledge the reality of the God of eternity. But its word here under the sun is not more final than the word describing the vanity of life. [1. Interpreter's Concise Commentary, The Book of Ecclesiastes, Harvey H. Guthrie, p. 252.] Four pieces of advice are given: (1) Beacause God in so far above the human sphere, religion shljld not be attended by the busy activity that takes it too seriously (verse 1). (2) Because there is no possibility of direct correspondence between our words and the reality of God, not too many words should be uttered in prayer (verses 2-3). (3) Because of the realism the author always values, one must not be rash in making sacred vows (verses 4-5). (4) In no event should one put oneself in the position of having to make excuses before God's representative (verses 6-7). Messenger probably refers to a priest. [1. Interpreter's Concise Commentary, The Book of Ecclesiastes, Harvey H. Guthrie, p. 253.] 5:10-6:12. Maxims on the Possibility of Enjoying Life. The first half of the book ends with a weies of proverbs on paths to enjoyment. Some are brief, some more extended. The first four of these (5:10,11,12,13-17) have to do with wealth and goods. They are negative. [1. Interpreter's Concise Commentary, The Book of Ecclesiastes, Harvey H. Guthrie, p. 253.] 5:18-20 is positive. The author insists that the only enjoyment there is must be found in takig life honestly as it comes-not asking for more and not investing a given time with more significance than it has The ability to do this is the gift of God (verse 19). Again, the author does not dvocate a sheer hedonism. The point is that injoyment of life comes, not by what one can attain, but by a power over which one has no control. [1. Interpreter's Concise Commentary, The Book of Ecclesiastes, Harvey H. Guthrie, p. 253.] Eccl. 3: 1 + "To everything then is its season, and a time for everything under heaven," a time to gather the goodly pearls, and a time after their gathering to find the one precious pearl, when it is fitting for a man to go away and sell all that he has in order that he may buy that pearl. For as every man who is going to be wise in the words of truth must first be taught the rudiments, and further pass through the elementary instruction, and appreciate it highly but not abide in it, as one who, having honoured it at the beginning but passed over towards perfection, is grateful for the introduction because it was useful at the first; so the perfect apprehension of the law and the prophets is an elementary discipline for the perfect apprehension of the Gospel, and all the meaning in the words and deeds of Christ. Origen 1. Comm. on St. Matthew, book 2, 10. Eccl. 5: 5 + He shows, I think, by the relation of these elements to each other, or rather by their distance, how far the divine nature is above the speculations of human reason. For that nature which transcends all intelligence is 2 as high above earthly calculation as the stars are above the touch of our fingers; or rather, many times more than that. Knowing, then, how widely the Divine nature differs from our own, let us quietly remain within our proper limits. For it is both safer and move reverent to believe the majesty of God to be greater than we can understand, than, after circumscribing His glory by our misconceptions, to suppose there is nothing beyond our conception of it. St. Gregory of Nyssa 1. Anwer to Eunomius' second Book. Eccl 5 + For as the multitude of dreams is vain, so also the multitude of words. But the fear of God is man's salvation, though it is rarely found. St. Gregory Thaumaturgus 1. A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes. + And it is a great matter also not to be engrossed by such anxieties: for the poor man, even should he be a slave, and unable to fill his belly plentifully,enjoys at least the kind refreshment of sleep; but the lust of riches is attended by sleepless nights and anxieties of mind. and what could there be then more absurd, than with much anxiety and trouble to amass wealth, and keep it with jealous care, if all the while one is but maintaining the occasion of countless evils to himself? St. Gregory Thaumaturgus 1. A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Eccl 5 + For it is the gift of God, that a man should be able to reap with gladness of mind the fruits of his labors, receiving thus possessions bestowed by god, and not acquired by force. For neither is such a man afflicted with troubles, nor is he for the most part the slave of evil thoughts; but he measures out his life by good deeds, being of good heart in all things, and rejoicing in the gift of God. St. Gregory Thaumaturgus 1. A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes.
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