Day 27-30 "Lovey Dovey"

For the past week I have read through the New Testament (excluding 3/4 of the gospels) with my class. We watched, listened, and read through together and privately multiple books at a time, bringing each book to discussion. I found it to be an incredible experience. Because we were reading books continuously through, we started seeing the bigger picture connecting together through the New Testament, and themes that we never before picked up. So it came to reading Song of Songs, I simply couldn’t stop to blog after each couple chapters.

Honestly, reading through Song of Songs was quite mind-boggling. I read through the descriptions, bewildered at the extreme descriptions, debating whether there was a meaning to what I was reading, a purpose, a plot, a moral, or a theme. After talking to a couple friends and reading through a commentary book on Song of Songs, I found out that there are indeed many different perspectives on this book.

Song of Songs almost seems to be a random book, without really a message or even a mention of God. Some suggest that it should be read historically, as a portrayal of the main characters as it really was. Others hypothesize that it suggests the future, describing Jesus’ love relationship with the Church, “His Bride”, and also others suggest it describes the present, the relationship between man and woman. There are also some who hypothesize that Solomon actually did not write the book, it isn’t about him, or there is a love triangle between him, the Shulamite girl, and a shepherd boy. But regardless of all the theories, I think that it is important to appreciate the book for its poetic worth (though much of the play of words is not translated into English). It is a book that addresses themes of Love, physical attraction, intimacy, fear of loss, loneliness, loyalty, jealousy, and self-consciousness. Though slightly awkward to read, it is a great book appreciating the creation of God in the beauty of man and women, and the unification of two as one.

On a side track, In terms of my own feelings regarding this book, I found that it was quite a timely read. I previously watched many Korean dramas and love fairytales that explode butterflies in my tummy. Ups and downs, jealousy and tension, frustration and sadness, but love that conquers all. Often I have faced self-consciousness and slight envy. When will I get my love story? Almost 2 decades of my life, and I have not yet tasted romance. When I was a little girl, my grandmother always told me to pray for a good husband. I have always since then imagined that God was preparing a prince charming for me. But now I am reminded yet again that the perfect love story is already mine. Jesus is preparing Me for Him. I found it very interesting, that in my first few days of Bible School this term, one of my respected lecturers from my bible school told me he had prayed for me not to get a boyfriend yet, that I wouldn’t be distracted. I was honestly surprised; why would he pray for such a thing? Is he jinxing me? I found it completely random and slightly confusing. But weeks later I understood. Relationships can often become distracting, and take away your focus from God as first. God taught me many things I’d have never learnt if I had been impatient and did things my way. Physical attraction can be intoxicating, and can take your focus away from approaching the other person without wrong intention, genuinely seeking to understand him or her as a person of purity and character. Also, it distracts yourself from being a person of selfless character, emphasizing more on attracting others by charm.

So often our view of love today is tainted by the world. We are so desperate for relationship that sometimes we are willing to compromise. But love, although is chemistry to a certain degree, is also majorly learnt. We learn to be selfless, we learn to sacrifice; we learn to be loyal; we learn to understand; we learn to love. And I think it’s the same for any relationship, even our relationship with Jesus. How does this relate to Song of Songs? Not too sure, but I think it brought me back to yearning for romance, for one person to be passionately in love with. Romance, passion, beauty, was all designed by God our creator. Love is a blessing, a gift from God. Human beings are so beautifully designed, and man and woman were crafted to assist, unite, and complete each other in Christ, as seen when God created the first couple, Adam and Eve. But Christ is the ultimate perfection. With Him, we are complete. A quote I saw recently on my friend’s status update was “Imagine a man so focused on God that the only reason he looks up to see you is because he heard God say, “That’s her”. That struck something in me. If I try to attract someone with my own means, the only guy will be attracted to me for the wrong reasons, and I wouldn’t even want that! But if I focus on God and being the person that he wants me to be, then if a guy comes alongside my journey of seeking God, then yay! But as for now, I look down at the two rings on both my ring fingers, one with my baptism date (12-12-12) inside and the other representing my promise of purity. A commitment to patience. And I realize, that I have more than enough, because I have Jesus.

***

P.S.:  After seeing the picture on the blog page for the reading, my roommates and I started incorporating random dialogue from the book into our conversation, such as “the beautiful goats in your hair” or “lovey DOVEY EYES”.  We also thought it would be a funny and interesting activity to find all the descriptions of both the man and the woman in Song of Songs, and attempt to draw it out. Eyes that sparkle like doves beside springs of water, set in jewels, washed in milk, fawns, goats, young gazelles, fruit trees…. The list goes on. At the end of the day, we found that it helped us remember the book so much more, and with a humorous twist. So I hope you enjoy it too (sorry its black and white), and that you can decipher the references!

Day 26 "Meaningful"

3 Things I picked up in this reading :)

1. “If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength.” (Ecclesiastes 10:10)

I have often heard the story used in leadership training about the young man who was logging in the forest. Upon joining the crew, he worked hard, but within a week he was told by the foreman to leave the crew because his productivity was dropping by day. “We’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you’ve dropped from first place on Monday to last place today,” said the foreman. “But I’m a hard worker,” the young man objected. “I arrive first, leave last, and even have worked through my coffee breaks!” The foreman, sensing the young man’s integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you been sharpening your axe?”

The young man replied, “No sir, I’ve been working too hard to take time for that!”

I was surprised to find Koheleth (teacher who wrote ecclesiastes) dropping a line with the morale of this story! If you don’t sharpen your axe, you must exert more strength! Abraham Lincoln also said, “Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the axe.” How often I forget to spend time in the word of God, toiling after the jewels of the world. Ecclesiastes clearly points out that ineffective labour is meaningless! Wisdom is found in the Word of God. Time spent in God’s word is like sharpening the axe. How often have I thought that I was too busy doing things for God that I forget to do things in God, through God, and with God!

2. "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”. (12:1)

As I mentioned somewhere in the previous blogs, Ecclesiastes draws for me a picture of a hopeless old man grabbing on to a young boy in his last breaths, pouring out his life of regrets and volumes of wisdom, begging the boy to take heed. How meaningless life is, but also, how vitally precious is the time we have left!

Time fleets by out of my grasp, and I cannot stop it nor slow it down. All I can do is to live it n God’s will, delighting in Him and what He has given to me. In a few days short of a couple months, I would bid farewell my teenage years. For me and for many other university students, this is the prime of life, when we don’t have to fight for every gasp of air, or cringe in pain with every step. The world is in front of us and within our generation. So remember the most important source of life and delight, before youth passes. Don’t let time fleet away without notice, but spend it in the wisdom of God.

3. “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” (12: 13-14)

I often have to remind myself that time is ticking. The prime of life won’t last long. Life is unexpected and death approaches, morbid as it may sound. But aren’t supposed to live in fear. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” [2 Timothy 1:7] The more we spend time in the Word of God, the more we understand what God’s will for us is. Solomon had everything. Wealth, women, followers, authority… you name it. He also once was totally committed to worshipping God before he turned away from the source of his blessings to worship false gods. Through all the hopeless skepticism and apparent pessimism of his writing, the Koheleth concluded that we should fear God and obey Him. For He will hold us accountable to everything that we do on this earth. And that is why time on earth is so very valuable, even though it seems meaningless. Life, in fact, is packed with purpose and meaning, knit together before we were in our mother’s womb. Our God is sovereign, and although His ways are a mystery, the wisest thing we can ever do is to trust in Him, for after this brief life is over, we will be at His feet facing our judgment. For the moments so brief on earth plays a huge role in our span of timeless eternity. For what we do on this earth will determine our reward or judgment when the time comes.

Colossians 3:23-24

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

*It was interesting to note that just as i was writing up this post, a notification came through of my close friend's status update of the recent death of a famous actor, Paul Walker, best known for starring in Fast and Furious. His sudden tragic death was shocking to many, but also a reminder of the fragility of life. For death approaches like a thief in the night. Human lives are interconnected, we sorrow for the loss of life, for we were not created for goodbyes. It is difficult to address death, but it is a reality of life that everyone approaches. Thus, invest in the things that are truly important, right through to eternity.

Day 25 "Between Extremities"

In China, more so in ancient days but also today, the wisdom of man is very highly valued. Older people are respected for their wisdom and experience.

Wise sayings of Confucius, LaoZi and many more circle around to this day. Confucius once said, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”

Yes, wisdom is valuable. Wisdom protects and preserves you from living a life of regrets. But Wisdom is nothing outside of God. what I guess Solomon was trying to say, was that even the wisest men will die, and every bit of knowledge gained and lives well lived will perish. What is the purpose of discovering all the secrets of life and the right arts of living when we are but a short wisp of breath? Without God, wisdom is like trying to climb, in your own strength, a vertical ladder to nowhere. No matter how high up the rungs you go, you still won’t get anywhere, because the only way to God, the very source of wisdom, is to trust Him to fly you there with the wings of eagles.

Many times Solomon mentioned the best way is to live and enjoy life and toil. I think that he doesn’t mean to chase after pleasures but rather to find delight in every thing that you do, be it work or play. Contentment in everything is the best balance. As Solomon put it, “to accept their lot and be happy in their toil - this is a gift of God”(Ecclesiastes 5:19).

“When times are good, be happy;
    but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
    as well as the other.”

(Ecclesiastes 7:14)

There is a quote along the lines of “Satan sends pairs of opposites into the world. Often we flee from one and cling to another.” Though debatable, there is somewhat truth in that statement. That isn’t to say that everything is relative and not absolute, but rather saying that extremities are not always beneficial. So many churches today divide because of disagreeing extremities. Rather than quarreling over meaningless words or style differences, we should be content, and seek always the childlike relationship with God. 

“In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

The righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?
It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes."
(Ecclesiastes 7:15-18)

Wisdom is precious and very valuable; but it should always begin, grow, and end 
in the Fear of God.

Day 29-30, The Song of Solomon 5-8: The persistence of love

In these last chapters we see the married couple interacting.

Chapter 5 seems to be dealing with some sort of marital conflict or difficulty - they are distant from each other, and when one looks for the other, they are not there - possibly considering an emotional distance rather than a physical distance. Yet the love persists, and overcomes the difficulty, though not without some searching.

Chapters 6 and 7 are another description of the beauty of the bride in marital intimacy - the garden and the vineyard seem to be metaphors of their intimacy and love.

Chapter 8 seems to go back to the idea of the preciousness of purity - the protection (walls) desired for the younger sister, and the wife mentioning the righteous walls she had up to guard her purity. We all need walls up in our lives. Men and women, both considering sexual purity and the whole realm of spiritual and intellectual purity -  not letting just anything in, but guarding the gates carefully.

Quoting some verses, which seem to summarise the thoughts in this section and tell much of the story themselves:

What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us? 

(Son 5:9)

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies. 

(Son 6:3)

How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights! 

(Son 7:6)

I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me. 

(Son 7:10)

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised. 

(Son 8:6-7)

A good way to end the Wisdom literature - considering the power and delight of love! And again, how much greater is the love God has shown to us, greater even than the gift of love expressed in marriage. He offered not the wealth of His house, but His life - the only offering that would not be despised.

Day 28, The Song of Solomon 3-4: Desiring each other

I don't have a lot to say about this passage. Partly because it is short and we are dealing with themes, and partly because I have no personal experience in marriage, so although I can recognise the feelings on the page, I can't respond in a similar vein without feeling like I am pretending, as there is no one I currently feel that way about.

[EDITED TO ADD]: Someone has made me aware this paragraph could be thought to mean something I did not intend, so I add a point of clarification. By 'I can't respond in a similar vein without feeling like I am pretending' I simply mean I am not going to write a love poem myself (which I did consider as part of my meditation on the passage) because I felt it would not fit properly, not having experienced those emotions in a human relationship. Though not married or in a relationship, the passage is certainly still very meaningful for me, and I learn a lot from it, both from understanding what a loving marriage relationship is, and the similarity that does exist with our relationship with God. The main reason I 'don't have a lot to say' is because the passage speaks for itself, and is quite short. Hope this clarifies things! All of God's Word is here for our enjoyment, instruction, and understanding. The first part of the blog considers the primary reading of the passage as a love song between two Godly people, and I apply it in the last paragraph to consider our relationship with God. 


There were a few points I noticed while reading through though, that I mused over for a bit.

First, considering the theme, chapter three seems probably just before the wedding, the bride has a dream where she searches for her husband and can't find him. Back in reality, she sees him approaching in finery on (presumably) the wedding day, and rejoices to see him.
Chapter four is a song of love from the bridegroom to his bride and about his bride after they are married. He rejoices in her beauty, finding no fault in her. He is not content to just call her beautiful, but insists on describing in full detail all he loves about her, comparing her features to the best things in the world.



We see one statement from earlier: Songs 3:5 "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please."(KJV)
As I was writing this, I realise again the slight problems with translations, and their usefulness when comparing between different translations the different meanings possible. In this case, the ESV translates it "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases."
The Hebrew doesn't have a word for 'it', instead using either he or she, as nouns have gender also. So the 'til he please' seems correct, and in English it justifies adding the 'my' before love since she must be talking about a person, but if it is not a person, but the feeling of love that she is talking about, it has a different meaning. Either could be correct, and I don't have time to figure it all out, but it is a good example of how comparing translations is helpful.

If the first, the verse shows concern for her fiancee - if the second, she is providing advice about the appropriateness of not fanning the flames of desire too early - without working towards marriage - because to leave that desire wanting more which can only be fulfilled after marriage leads one to feel 'sick with love'.



The other thing I noticed, was that we have the picture of a fountain and spring introduced in Chapter 4 - thinking about his analogy in light of Proverbs 5 (Solomon authored both), and the advice given there. Rejoicing in the purity and exclusive nature of the relationship with one another.


Beautiful language, beautiful gift of God that He has given us! And yet our relationship with God is both stronger and fuller than any earthly pairing - though we cannot see Him physically, how close He is to us, and how close we are to Him - and we will be yet closer in the life to come when we leave this sin-stained body behind and rejoice with Him separate from the presence of sin - the greatest gift of all being that righteousness He has purchased for us!

Day 27, Song of Songs 1-2

The Song of Songs has been a controversial book throughout much of Christian history. Its sensual elements lead to two or three errors that I think stem from this element of the Song.

• Some think it is too sensuous to be part of the Holy Scripture.
• Some love the sensuosity and arguably use it to support actions that are not in agreement with Scripture.
• Some are perhaps intimidated, and this may be one factor that has lead to a purely allegorical interpretation.

It seems to me that as it is a part of the Holy Scripture given to us by God, there is no sexual element in the book that should be considered perverse. The reasoning should proceed from 'It is Gods Word' therefore ' It is pure' rather than 'It is impure' therefore 'it is not Gods Word'. The issue is more complicated than this, as a legitimate argument for a book to be included in the Bible is that the book is in agreement with Biblical ethics and theology. But the key thing here is to question your own understanding before you question the Bible, and before we question whether a book should be in the Bible we should question whether our dislike of the book is due to our own misunderstanding of ethics and theology rather than errors in the Bible. It may be that we are too slow to admit the purity of the sexual union of a married man and woman, due to sin being a problem for all of us.

I believe in an interpretation of the Song which could possibly be called the 'typological' approach. This approach respects the most obvious reading of the Song, that it is in the first place about the love of two people for each other, but this approach goes beyond this, as it is clear from reading the Bible that there is no greater love than the love of God, and imperfect human affections are incapable of being close to the power and depths of the love of God. Added to this are the frequent allusions throughout the Bible of God being like a husband to Israel, such as in Ephesians 5 and the book of Hosea.

So when reading the Song I interpret it first in its most obvious way, the love between a man and a woman. But I remind myself that there is no relationship more fulfilling than the one we have with God. The human sexual relationship is a temporary one, which will last at most from some time after ones birth, to the time of ones death; but this relationship is not guaranteed to anyone. Some are incapable of this relationship due to social, mental, or physical constraints. If the sexual relationship between a man and a woman was the supreme end of human experience, some people would be without hope of attaining this. However, there is a hope greater than that hope which comes from sexual union.

God says in Isaiah 56:3-5

'Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. '

Thus, it is true that the Song is firstly written about human relationships, but I think that what it tells us about the love of God is much more important.

The most helpful resources on this song I have found online are:http://www.fundamentallyreformed.com/2011/02/17/john-sailhamers-messianic-interpretation-of-the-song-of-solomon/

http://www.nwts.edu/audio/JTD/SongOfSolomon.htm

Day 27, The Song of Solomon 1-2: The joy of new love

Suggestion to just feel the text noted but not taken - I know why it was suggested, and for some this might be a good approach, but I struggle to divorce my feelings when I read from a curiosity and desire to understand the meaning and purpose of the writing, and don't really see the point in just focusing on the feeling when dwelling on the meaning brings out the feeling more richly!

Ecclesiastes seems to be written towards the end of Solomon's life, looking back on his vain pursuit of things other than God - and is an indication that Solomon did turn back to God at the end of his life - but that is beside the point right now. The Song of Solomon is at the other end of his life, the beginning. The exact year is not known, but the reading of the Song gives no indications of any other wives in the picture, and it's presence in Scripture without negative comment does lend validity to this being Solomon's first wife.

I know and have known many people who see this as either exclusively or predominantly a song of the relationship between either Christ and His Church, or an individual Christian. I have to disagree with this - a lot of the imagery does not make sense when applied first to God's/Christ's relationship with His people, and it is very unlikely that the original readers would have taken this idea, though I have not looked up the rabbinical tradition concerning this. It talks of love, a wedding, intimacy - there is no question in my mind but that the primary way to understand this book is simply as a love song between two people enjoying the journey into and through marriage with each other. This does not negate that there are 'types' or lessons about Christ's relationship with the Church/believers that can be drawn from the passage. After all, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church, and if this is a model of righteous love between a husband and wife then we can see similarities between this love and the love Christ has for the Church. However, the primary message is concerning love between a couple.
The Song tells an united story, so it seems to be one song rather than a group of several, though it relates events happening over a timeframe of months to short years. There are descriptions of very intimate situations, but I would hesitate to call it erotica - erotica to my understanding is designed to titillate, whereas the wording in the Song seems to rejoice in God's gift of intimacy but yet preserve it in respectful privacy.

So, having introduced the book in a way, I shall move on to the first two chapters!

In the first two chapters we see two people very much in love. They are emotional, everything about the other person is beautiful to them - physically, their smell, their name, their actions! To spend time with each other is a delight! We see a common self-consciousness from the Shulammite, conscious both of her appearance (dark from working in the vineyard) and her lower social status - she is in love with the king, after all!
He sees nothing to detract from her beauty - he loves everything about her. He compares her features to the richest and most glorious things he can think of - and she responds in kind.They do things together, and enjoy the flowers and the fruits of the earth. He desires to keep their love pure, and to strive to catch and remove anything that would spoil their love like foxes spoil the grapes. It is beautiful, it is pure, it is enjoyable. She desires to be chaste: "Do not stir or awaken love until it pleases," Songs 2:7b, even though her feelings make them feel sick because she longs for him: "I am sick with love" Songs 2:5b - and she desires others to keep them accountable to this.

Now me, I haven't felt love like this for another person yet. If I end up pursuing a relationship with someone, then I will enjoy the growth of that glorious relationship that God has designed - until then, I simply delight in knowing God as One Who created these gifts and pleasures, and Who has given us the ability to express our feelings in poetry.

Days 24-26, Ecclesiastes 1-12: Enjoyment, vanity, and purpose

Ecclesiastes is a bit of a mixed bag - there are some statements that seem incongruous, and others that have remarkable insight into life today, though it was written many years ago. As we read, there is 'nothing new under the sun'!

Though the tone seems dry - the book of a pessimist in many ways, yet it is very helpful in gaining a right perspective of the pleasures in this life. I chose to read the whole book through in one sitting this time, as it seems to come together better with the perspective of the whole. Much of it shows the futility of man's wisdom - trying to reason out the world without God, and consistently, this way of reasoning shows that life has no purpose - only in God Who made us is our purpose found.

There were three main points that I noticed particularly. Funny how common it is to have three points, isn't it? Whether it is because people tend to write in threes or whether it is just a convenient number to group things by, I seem to see threes a lot... maybe it's just me though!

• This life is fleeting, anything we gain in this world is futile - death renders them unimportant in the end
• In the fleeting temporal life that we do have, God has gifted us with many pleasures to be enjoyed, and we should enjoy them
• God has created us for eternity, and nothing in this temporal life brings us true satisfaction. Pursuit of anything for satisfaction (without God) will never satisfy.

The Preacher is evidently Solomon, though not named specifically within the pages there are enough clues to pick that up just from the text. To put this in context when discussing the pleasures of the world, I quote a passage from Kings:

And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life... And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

(1Ki 4:21, 26)

And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. ...   ... Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold... And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. 

(1Ki 10:10-11,18,21-23)

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 

(1Ki 11:3)

Even amongst the elite of today's society, there is no one that could match Solomon for wealth, and I don't know if any could match the power he wielded as King of a peaceful realm, or the number of sexual partners either - the wives being princesses they would probably have undergone beauty regimes like Esther - although possibly less intense - read Esther Chapter 1 for a description! In terms of the world's eyes he 'had it made' and possibly none in history had such opportunity to obtain satisfaction and happiness from pursuit of pleasure - he had the wealth, the time, and the power to pursue anything (or anyone) he wanted. And yet it was vanity.

I looked up in my study notes about vanity, and it shows that the concept of vanity is used three ways (another 3-grouping!): to be fleeting, like a vapour or something that disappears quickly; to be futile or meaningless; to be incomprehensible - something unanswerable. All are used in Ecclesiastes, and it seems clear when reading what he means each time by the other descriptors around it.

The Preacher inter-mixes his thoughts, going in a bit of a cycle between contemplating the futility, enjoyment of pleasure, and focusing on God.

The key to a good wisdom seems to be in Chapter 3:

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil--this is God's gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 

(Ecc 3:9-14)

It is interesting how the meaning seems to change depending on what tone it is read in. You could look at this in the view of a weary pessimist - 'nothing will change, live and enjoy what you can, it won't last, God does what He wants anyway' - or you could read it excited to see our purpose in God's plan - 'God has planned things, He is in control - He has blessed us with many good things when we follow His timing - He has given us these gifts to enjoy, let us enjoy them and revere the God Who planned all these wondrous things!'

What a contrast to the futility of the self-indulgence of chapter 2! Laughter; alcohol/food; creativity in gardens and building; servants and sexual partners; wealth in precious metals, jewels or animals; wisdom and knowledge - self-indulgence in all these things gave nothing in the end 'striving after wind'.

I see a man running through a park - jumping and grasping, going round in circles and random patterns, exhausting himself as he rushes up slopes and down paths, tripping and falling only to rise up and again reach for something invisible that he never seems to get, but simply grows more frustrated. Asked what he is doing, he replies ' I am trying to catch the wind... if I can grasp it, I will be satisfied.'

Over and over the theme repeats - money, wisdom and knowledge (self-righteousness and self-importance, rather than Godly wisdom), food, work - the more you get, the less they satisfy. Even if we seek knowledge or 'wisdom' all our life, we will never know as much as God... it is good to seek wisdom, but let us seek it with God and not by ourselves!

Even when we do follow God's wisdom, we find that it is not the wise who get all the praise. Just because someone is the best at something doesn't mean they will win... in this life the credit does not always go to the person who did the job. But we are encouraged by the final verse:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. 

(Ecc 12:13-14)

Let us learn and promote the wisdom of God while we are young! Why waste time chasing futile pleasures without God, when we can enjoy the pleasures of life with God, in His timing! We are not called to a life of flagellation - though there may be suffering - but a life of joy in Him and the gifts He has given.