Seek First the Kingdom of God: Life Lesson from Solomon

I am reading through Ecclesiastes, and a thought came to me that this book is an expanded discourse on a portion of the Sermon on the Mount.  In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus tells the people not to seek after the treasures of this world, because that treasure will not last and the effort leads you away from the Giver of all good things.  You serve the wrong master.  No longer are you trusting that the Almighty God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills to meet your need.  You worry about the lack and not remember what has been received, looking instead to make plans and expend effort improving your lot in life.  Jesus' solution for that problem is:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  (Matt 6:33)

Solomon, the wealthiest and most powerful man on earth, pursued all he could and wrote from experience on the vanity of chasing after what the Lord would warn against on that mountainside centuries later—wealth, goods, wisdom, and many other things that are considered important by the world and our flesh—in order to achieve happiness and contentment.  Solomon's advice is:

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.  Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.  For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.  (Eccl 5:18-20)

Notice the central theme of the two passages: God will give the desire of your heart if you stop chasing the wind and rest in His goodness.  Wealth and possessions are not the problem, the love of money is.  This malady is not restricted to an economic stratum.  Whatever one's income, there is a temptation to be more intent on gaining just a bit more in ignorance that the blessing of the Lord makes rich (Prov 10:22) and great gain comes from godliness with contentment (1 Tim 6:6).

Contentedness Is a Gift of God

"I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live" [Ec 3:12].  These words recapitulate everything we have already said.  If the right use of what had been divinely created in time defines the good for human life, it is the one joy born from good works which endures among other beautiful things.  Observance of the commandments now imparts joy to our good works through hope; then the enjoyment of good things enlivens those persons worthy to receive their eternal hope.  As the Lord says to those who have done good, "Come, blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you" [Mt 25:34].  As food and drink sustain the body, so the soul must look to the good, a true gift of God on which we have fixed our eyes.  For such is the meaning of "It is God's gift to man that every one should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil" [Ec 3:13].  Just as human nature obtains physical strength through eating and drinking, so the person who looks to the good (for the true good is He who is good alone) has the gift of God in all his labor.  This is nothing other than to always have our eyes fixed on the good which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power forever and ever.  Amen.

Gregory of Nyssa, Eighth Homily on Ecclesiastes

Well-Dressed Christians

If we properly understand the enemy's solid mass, we would see that it is time to make war.  No one would be courageous against the enemy's battle array without the Apostle's armor [Eph 6:14].  Indeed, everyone is familiar with that divine armor, an inflexible phalanx against our adversaries' weapons.  The Apostle divides the virtues into various kinds and fashions the proper armor from each one.  By faith he entwines righteousness and fortifies the breastplate with heavy armor to protect the soldier.  One piece of armor cannot be disjointed from another because the entire suit provides safety.  Neither can faith save without works of righteousness nor does righteousness provide salvation unless yoked to faith.  For this reason the armor about the heart is entwined with faith and righteousness for the soldier's protection; we understand the heart as this breastplate.  A valiant man arms his head with hope, signifying a sublime hope for the good soldier like a helmet crest held on high.  The shield covering the weapon is faith which arrows cannot penetrate; without a doubt, the arrows cast by our enemy are various assaults of the passions.  The defensive arms fortifying us against the brave enemy's right hand is the Holy Spirit who strikes fear into the adversary yet saves the person who puts him on.  The Gospel's entire teaching secures our feet, leaving no part of the body bare and susceptible to blows.

Gregory of Nyssa, Eighth Homily on Ecclesiastes

Take Heed Lest You Fall

The enemy examines your strength for seeing whether you are strong and ready or weak and lax.  If his sight does not make you sink nor slacken your resolution and if you shake him off by remaining free from passion, you immediately frighten the spy by acting like a phalanx of arms bristling with spears, I mean your thoughts prepared to confront the informant.  If this sight weakens sense perception and an image enters the mind through our eyes, then the mind or commander of our inner resources will be subdued since he not only lacked fortitude or was youthful, but was lazy and dissolute.  As a result, many traitors from the crowd, that is, our thoughts, will be summoned to assist the spy.  These traitors are the ones of whom the Lord says, "A man's foes shall be of his own household" [Mt 10:36].  He refers to the utterances of his heart which can defile him [Mt 15:18] as we clearly learn from the Gospel.  These words clarify our enemy's devices who sets an ambush to fall unexpectedly upon the travelers of the road of this life.  Those who assume the pretext of friendship and goodwill in order to persuasively debase a person and destroy him by lying at the roadside, extol pleasure and are first to lead the way to the theater.  They cloak evil with benevolence and imitate friends, calling themselves brothers and friends to utter destruction.  Of them it is written "Every man will surely supplant, and every friend will walk craftily" [Jer 9:4].

Gregory of Nyssa, Eighth Homily on Ecclesiastes

A Time to Love, and a Time to Hate

When learning that [God's] nature is lovable, we tenderly embrace it and remain firm in our judgment about that which is beautiful and the consuming love directed to persons whom the great David admonished, "Oh sons of men, how long will your hearts be heavy?  Will you love vanity and seek falsehood" [Ps 4:2]?  We must love one thing alone, that which the law of the Decalogue speaks, "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, and mind" [Dt 6:5].  There is one object deserving of our hatred, the inventor of evil, the enemy our lives of whom the Law says, "You shall hate your enemy."  The love of God strengthens the person who loves, whereas a disposition towards evil brings destruction upon anyone who loves it.  Thus prophecy says "I will love you, Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my firm support, my refuge and my deliverer" [Ps 18:1-2].  On the other hand we read "He who loves iniquity hates his own soul.  [God] shall rain down snares upon sinners" [Ps 11:5-6].  Therefore the time to love God is one's whole life, and the time to be alienated from evil is also one's entire life.  Even a person who distances himself from loving God ever so slightly does not resemble him because he is separated from love.  The person outside God is necessarily outside the light because God is light [1 Jn 1.5]; he is not in the light, incorruptibility, and every good thought and deed belonging to God because the person not sharing these attributes partakes of their opposites and enters darkness, corruption, utter ruin, and death.

 Gregory of Nyssa, Eighth Homily on Ecclesiastes

You Are What You Eat: True Food and True Drink

A sweet fragrance becomes part of a person's mouth while nothing else can be worse than the bad odor of garlic.  Since every filth of sin is foul-smelling, the virtue of Christ on the other hand is a pleasant odor [2 Cor 2:15], for a loving disposition unites a person with the object of his love.  We become what we love, either a good or foul odor of Christ.  The person who loves beauty will become beautiful once he has been transformed by the good he received.  The ever-existing [God] desires to give himself to us as food in order to transform us into what he is.  "My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed" [Jn 6:55].  Thus the person who loves this flesh is not sensual, and he who is well disposed to this blood will be cleansed from physical blood.  The Word's flesh and the blood of the person in this flesh do not constitute one grace only; rather, it is sweet for whomever tastes it, yearned for by whomever desires it and lusted after by whoever loves it.

Gregory of Nyssa, Eighth Homily on Ecclesiastes

A Time to Keep Silence

When reason confronts that which transcends reason, it is time to be silent and marvel at his unutterable power which cannot be explained since it is hidden in one's consciousness.  It knows that the great prophets speak of God's works, not of God himself.  "Who can tell of the Lord's power?" [Ps 106:2]; "I will tell of all your works," [Ps 9:1] and "Generation after generation will praise your deeds" [Ps 145:4].  These words explain what our human voice can utter, but silence becomes the norm with regard to him who utterly transcends any conception.  We therefore say that "the glorious majesty of his holiness" [Ps 145:5] has no end.  Oh, how marvelous!  What reverence the text shows when contemplating the divine nature when it cannot comprehend such a transcendent wonder!  The text did not say that the divine essence is boundless and claimed to be so audacious as to comprehend it; rather, it marvels at God's glorious majesty.  Once again the text is unable to see the glory of God's essence but is struck dumb before the glory of his holiness.  Therefore God's nature is far removed from our curious inquiries, and even the loftiest of manifestations cannot admire it.  The text does not admire his sanctity nor the glory of his holiness but stresses only the glorious majesty of his holiness.  We cannot grasp the object of admiration, and so the psalm says that "the glorious majesty of his holiness" has no end.

Gregory of Nyssa, Seventh Homily on Ecclesiastes

God-Honoring Building Projects

A person who attends to himself truly adorns his own dwelling so that when God abides there, he has various kinds of material which contribute to this building.  I know that gold shines in such works when unearthed by insights from scripture and that purified silver represents divine eloquence whose splendor shines forth through the truth.  The splendor of the various stones adorning this temple's walls and pavement are the virtues, a true image of the beauty adorning this house.  Let self-control lay down the pavement since it does not allow the building's inhabitant to be troubled by the dust of earthly mindedness.  Let the hope for heaven adorn the roof.  The soul's eye does not gaze upon images fashioned by chisels; rather, it will see the archetypal beauty adorned with something of greater value than gold and silver.

If we must describe the masonry, then let incorruptibility and impassibility mold the house which justice and freedom will adorn.  Let humility and patience shine in another part of the house along with piety befitting God.  Let love, the noble craftsman, fashion all these virtues in a marvelous way.  If you desire baths in your house for cleansing the stains of your soul, you can use that bath which the great David delighted in each night [Psalm 6].  Let the columns supporting the soul's courtyard not be of marble or porphyry but stability in every good which is far more precious.  This house forbids statues and pictures which are deceptive imitations of truth because it already has an abundance of images of the truth.  If you desire a place in which to walk about, you have the commandments.  Wisdom says, "I walk in the ways of righteousness and am conversant with the paths of judgment" [Prov 8:20].  How lovely it is when such [adornments] arouse the soul to carefully examine the commandments, to be trained in them, and make us return to the place from which we started!

Gregory of Nyssa, Third Homily on Ecclesiastes

Postmodernism and Ecclesiastes

My home church, Maranatha Bible Church, is studying world religions in the adult Sunday School.  This past Sunday, I taught the lesson on Unitarian Universalism, basically telling what it is, giving the historical roots, and explaining the beliefs.†  I enjoyed looking at the historical underpinnings yet more so the beliefs since they are quintessentially postmodern—question reality; discover your own existence.  From past experience postmodernism is a large force in modern culture, even affecting evangelicalism.

Part of my research was to find how best to reach those with this mindset with the gospel.  One that surprised me came from a D.Min. dissertation entitled Chasing the Wind: Ecclesiastes as a Resource for Postmodern Proclamation (Brent Isbell, 2002).  The average, pew-warming believer will not read Ecclesiastes in its entirety.  If someone should get to the end, that same person will generally come away from the experience dazed, confused, and even sullen.  This describes how I once reacted.  No more.  I figured that if all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable that the message and purpose must be elusive rather than nonexistent.  I now count it as one of my favorite books in the Bible, and here it is being touted as a tool for reaching the postmodern mind.  The author's premise is that any of the Wisdom Literature is profitable for the task since wisdom does the following according from Walter Brueggemann's In Man We Trust:

• Emphasizes life in the real world
• Affirms the authority of human experience
• Holds humans responsible for their future
• Believes in an orderly cosmos
• Celebrates the human creature

I am not inclined to follow Brueggemann headlong in this.  He is, after all, a postmodernist himself.  But my own interaction with Ecclesiastes caused me to at least consider the usefulness.

A bit more research revealed the following from the New Bible Commentary:

There are three features of Ecclesiastes that are worth mentioning: (i) It makes use of a division of reality into two realms, the heavenly and the earthly, referring to what is ‘under the sun’ or ‘under heaven’ and what is ‘on earth’, e.g. ‘God is in heaven and you are on earth’ (5:2). (ii) It distinguishes between observation and faith. The Teacher says ‘I have seen under the sun … ’ (1:14) but goes on to say ‘but I came to realize … ’ (2:14). When he uses the verb ‘see’ he points to life’s hardships. When he calls to joy it is not in connection with seeing but it is what he believes about God despite what he sees. (iii) It brings us to face the grimness of life and yet constantly urges us to faith and joy.

What then is the purpose and abiding message of Ecclesiastes?

It is a reply to the unrelieved pessimism of much ancient thought. Yet at the same time it does not envisage a superficial ‘faith’ which does not take adequate account of the fallenness of the world. It is thus both an evangelistic tract, calling secular people to face the implications of their secularism, and a call to realism, summoning faithful Israelites to take seriously the ‘futility’, the ‘enigma’ of life in this world. It forbids both secularism (living as though the existence of God has no practical usefulness for life in this world) and unrealistic optimism (expecting faith to cancel out life as it really is). Negatively, it warns us that ‘faith’ is always a contrast to ‘sight’ and does not provide us with a short cut fully to understand the ways of God. Positively, it calls us to a life of faith and joy. Summarizing Ecclesiastes, J. S. Wright (Ecclesiastes, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 5 [Zondervan, 1992]) used to say ‘God holds the key to all unknown—but he will not give it to you. Since you do not have the key you must trust Him to open the doors’.  (Michael Eaton, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, D. A. Carson et al, ed.).

It appears this book is useful in evangelism after all.  Secretly hoping this would be the case, it means either I am on to something or have fallen into a hermeneutical trap of my own design.  Hopefully, the former is true.  The discerning people reading this will set me straight if this is too far afield.

Since any one postmodernist is different from the next, there would need to be some discernment of where to begin with sharing God's word.  My plan might be to begin here, then move to the gospel of John to help the person see how the apostle writes with the idea of proving that Jesus is who he claimed to be—Son of God and worthy to be believed, not simply as an add-on to a pantheon of beliefs (prevalent in postmodernism) but as a unique person with exclusive claims and demands.

† Notes and PowerPoint slides are available.  The material is more introductory than comprehensive.  Much could have been added.