Ecclesiastes: Money is the answer for everything!

ecclesiastespan·a·ce·a (pān’ə-sē’ə) n. A remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties; a cure-all


I found it. The solution for everything. It’s right here in Ecclesiastes:

“A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.” (Ecclesiastes 10:19)

That’s right. Money is the answer for everything. Life is that simple. Seek money. Get money. All problems will be gone.

Or do you think that maybe, just maybe, wisdom literature needs to be read in a special way? Yes, that includes Ecclesiastes.

Wisdom literature needs to be read as such. We can’t merely take everything literally and think that we’re going to hear the message it has for us. We saw that when discussing alcohol. The misreading of Proverbs has led to many misconceptions about Christians and alcohol. In the same way, many yank verses out of context from Ecclesiastes to try and say, “Here’s what the Bible says.” It’s not enough to say, “The Bible says…” We need to get to “The Bible teaches…”

[Nick Gill wrote this week about difficulties in reading Proverbs, touching on some of these same ideas.]

As I continue to present some thoughts on Ecclesiastes, we’ll need to keep these ideas in mind. Wisdom literature needs to be read as the special literature that it is.

9 thoughts on “Ecclesiastes: Money is the answer for everything!

  1. Trent Tanaro

    Good post, I jealous of your time at Summit. I missed it due to other obligations. This post reminds me of the BCV
    (book, ch. and verse) mentality many in our heritage have. Context is so very important to our understanding and proper use of the Bible as you said, we should be careful on how literal we take things in various contexts. Thanx Bro!

    Trent

  2. Karen Cukrowski

    I think you’re right. Money is in fact the answer to all problems. Except lice. And sin. And rashes. And good health. But it’s good for all the others. :)

  3. Pingback: Feeling foolish about wisdom literature | TimothyArcher.com/Kitchen

  4. WILLIAM HEGG

    As strange as it may be, Ecclesiastes is literal in that ‘money is the answer for everything’ in the context of the Ecclesiastes, and the context is the writer is searching the world by observation, and if one has money it speaks, from which we get the saying: money talks and everyone else walks. However, the point of Ecclesiastes is that money is not the answer in spiritual things. William.

  5. Tim Archer Post author

    William,

    I think that’s exactly what I’m wanting to express. Wisdom literature is often an accurate reporting of man’s point of view. That’s why we aren’t to pull random verses out of Ecclesiastes or Proverbs and tag on the phrase: “God says…”

    We’d be better off saying, “God says that man says…”

    Grace and peace,
    Tim

  6. Michael

    Money can do a great many things; viable options indeed.
    Money can build churches, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, purchase medicine… print bibles, pay preachers,rabbis, many good things.
    It also helps one not be totally depend on our government for support.
    The love of it is quite wicked; yet in its proper perspective can do great things for people!!

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