2016, July 31st ~ Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 & Colossians 3:1-11
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
Ecclesiastes was written by a person known in Hebrew as Qohelet (which means the “Gatherer” or “Teacher” or “Preacher”). Because the book contains Persian and Aramaic “loan-words,” the book is dated to the time of Persian rule of Judea (539 to 333 BCE). (Loan-words are words borrowed from one language to another; for example, “rendezvous” is a loan-word in English from French.) In verse 12, Qohelet assumes the persona of Solomon, the traditionally wise king who reigned from 968 to 928 BCE, but the book was written much later.
The Persian Period was one of great prosperity, but one in which the individual was an insignificant part of a large Empire. The over-arching themes in Ecclesiastes are that everything is “vanity” (the Hebrew word, hebel, is also translated as “vapor” or “breath”) and our lives are transient and insignificant. “Vanity” is used to describe all that is ephemeral, insubstantial, enigmatic, or absurd. Qohelet asserts that the fruit of one’s toil and one’s wisdom and knowledge cannot be taken with us when we die.
Colossians 3:1-11
Colossae was a town in what is now western Turkey. A Jesus Follower community was founded there by Paul’s associate, Epaphras (1:7). The letter is short and expresses concern about practices that are inconsistent with Paul’s understanding of being a Jesus Follower. Scholars debate whether it was written by Paul or his disciples in the decade after Paul’s death in 62 CE. In today’s reading, the author expresses his eschatological vision – not an end of the world, but an end of the world as the Colossians knew it. He urges the Colossians to put on a “new self” so that earthly distinctions such as Jew and Greek (i.e. Gentile) will no longer exist.