Ecclesiastes and Mid-Life Crisis

Ecclesiastes and Mid-Life Crisis

Ecclesiastes is a very unusual book of the Bible. The title Ecclesiastes is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word Qoheleth. The root QHL means, “to gather.” And so, Qoheleth means “someone who gathers a group together.” In the King James Version, we call him “the Preacher,” but I think “Philosopher” might be a better word.

Some scholars think Ecclesiastes had to have been written late enough to be influenced by Greek philosophy. Chapter 1 has been compared to Heraclitus’ view of the continual flux of all things. Passages in chapters 1 and 3 recall the Stoic idea of cycles in nature. There is a parallel between Ecclesiastes’ emphasis on enjoyment and the Epicureans.

On the other hand, there are much older parallels. For instance, we read the Egyptian Harper’s Songs: “Follow your desire, as long as you live… Until there comes for you the day of mourning… Behold it is not given a man to take his property with him. Behold, there is not one who departs who comes back again.” And then, compare the advice given to Gilgamesh in the Babylonian epic: “Why do you keep wandering? The life you are running after will never be found. When the gods created humans, they allotted death to them… So let your belly be full and rejoice by day and night… Let your spouse delight in your bosom. For this is the task of the human race.”

Based on these parallels, I would assign an earlier date to Ecclesiastes than that given by most of my colleagues. In fact, the more I study this book, the more I see it as coming from Solomon. It certainly reflects the lessons of Solomon’s life: that money, power, fame, romance, and even wisdom are not enough to guarantee happiness.

I must admit, however, that there seem to be some things in the book that do not come from Solomon. Sometimes he speaks with the voice of a king, but sometimes he sounds like a peon who is afraid of the king. For that reason, the authorship has been debated since ancient times.

One of the questions scholars raise is this: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs are all attributed to Solomon: How could one man write three things so very different? The rabbis faced this question in ancient times, and they came up with an answer that I love. They said: When a man is young, he writes poetry. When he is in the prime of life, he gives advice. And when he is old, he sits around talking about what’s wrong with everything. So, there you have it: Poetry – Song of Songs, Advice – Proverbs, and cynicism – Ecclesiastes.

The cynicism of Ecclesiastes is very different from the perspective of most of the Bible, especially Proverbs. Proverbs says: “Always do the right thing and you will be happy, wealthy and successful.” Ecclesiastes says: “What difference does money and success make, if you are just going to die anyway?”

It is my surmise that the Jews came to value this book during the Babylonian Captivity and shortly thereafter. They had been through hell. They thought that returning home and starting over would solve all their problems. It didn’t. Now they were thinking: “The Lord seems to distant. Does God still matter in this modern world”?

We hear this same question today in our “Postmodern” World. We often feel distant from God. We get caught up in the rat race, striving after earthly success… only to find that it is empty. In many ways, Ecclesiastes shows us what it is like to live in a world where God does not really matter. It would all come down to experience, and Ecclesiastes treats experience with cold skepticism. It seems to me that this book is very similar to the viewpoint of modern Existentialism. We might better translate the word “vanity” as “emptiness” or “nothingness.” [from Hebrew hebel “mist”]

In many ways, Ecclesiastes reminds me of a person going through mid-life or late-life crisis. He used to run after success, but now he is disenchanted. He has tried to find satisfaction in a number of different worldly things, but not one of them has been what he had hoped for. It looks like his young successors will throw his life’s work out the window. Nothing satisfies him. He is tired. Even his Hebrew prose drags out his weariness: Did you notice that in the reading from Chapter 1? “The sun just keeps coming up and going down, and everything is just meaningless.”

I want to talk for a moment about men in mid-life crisis and the parallels I see in Ecclesiastes. But, before jumping in, I must state a couple of reservations. First, I am talking about men in mid-life crisis, not women. Why? Because I know more about men. If you are a woman, you can tell me how well this fits. Second, I am calling it “mid-life” crisis. It could be “late-life” crisis. From what I have read, each life crisis is essentially the same process, from adolescence on. In many ways, it just gets worse as you get older.

Mid-life crisis, “male menopause” as it has been called, operates this way: A man starts thinking about the fact that he is going to die. He only has so many more years to live in this world. He has done most of what he is going to do in life. His greatest accomplishments are behind him. These realizations begin to depress him.

There are two factors that really drive the matter home. First, a man notices that he is losing some of his physical strength. Also, he notices that he is losing some of his libido. For most men, these are two of the most important things that make them who they are. Every young man takes these things for granted. When a man gets older, and he feels these vital parts of himself slipping away, it really is a time of crisis.

These factors cause certain symptoms. Men in mid-life crisis often have depression. They lose their joy for living. They become withdrawn. They become frustrated and angry. They feel trapped. They do erratic things.

This is hard on the people who live with them. A man may become particularly hard on his wife: Being with her reminds him that he is getting old. That he is not the strong, young romantic guy he used to be.

The man’s job is another place of crisis. Either he as already accomplished all his dreams, or he will never accomplish all his goals. And so he hates his work. Again, his job is part of his identity, and so these realizations add to his crisis. Ironically, since work is all he knows, he may throw himself into it, working more and more hours, as a way of trying to relieve the stress that he feels. Or he may just up and quit, and find something new to do.

You can see why some men, in mid to late life, are in such a state of crisis. And of course, men are not known for sharing their feelings. They suffer these things in silence. It is not unusual, during these years, for a man to have a crisis of faith: How can you feel good about God when you feel so bad… and your life is so crappy? So empty? “Emptiness. Emptiness. Everything is emptiness.”

Clearly, Ecclesiastes has experienced these things. Did you notice his description of declining health in Chapter 12? It reminds me of an ancient Egyptian text from Ptahhotep.

Age is here, old age has arrived. Feebleness has come, weakness grows.

Childlike, one sleeps all day. Eyes are dim, ears deaf.

Strength is waning through weakness…

The heart, empty, recalls the past. The bones ache throughout.

The nose, clogged, breathes not. Painful are standing and sitting.

All taste is gone. The good things have become bad.

What age does to people is evil in everything.

Even in ancient Egypt, they knew what was going on. “There’s nothing new under the sun.” (As Grandma Browder used to say.)

Now I want to read you some additional passages from Ecclesiastes that illustrate the things I have been talking about.

5:10 The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth with gain. This is also emptiness.

Chapter 2:(11) Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent doing it, and again it was all emptiness and a chasing after the wind. And there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

(17) So I hated life, because what is done under the sun is grievous to me; for all is emptiness and a chasing after the wind. (18) I hated all the work in which I had labored under the sun.

(22) What do mortals get from all the toil and strain, which they labor under the sun?

Is there hope for mid-life and late-life crisis? The answer is yes! All things are possible for God. But coming out of a crisis takes time… especially when depression is a factor. It doesn’t happen overnight. Researchers tell us that life crisis goes through the same 5 stages as the crisis of death and dying:

1. Denial - “That’s not true. That can’t be happening to me.”

2. Anger – “Why me? I hate this.”

3. Bargaining. “Can’t we postpone this?” This is when men die their hair. Or buy a sports car. Or at worst, a man might be tempted to have an affair with a younger woman. For a tragic short while, she makes him feel young again.

Stage 4. Depression. We have talked about depression. Also, some men are more likely to drink too much alcohol, as a way to escape.

And finally, stage 5 Acceptance. “I’m at peace with this. I’m ready for the rest of my life. God will see me through.”

The Chinese word for “crisis” has two characters. On means “danger” and the other means “opportunity.” What a great message for us. In every crisis, including mid-life, there is danger, but there is also an opportunity.

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegard talked about the pain and depression of feeling far from God. But he is also the one who talked about taking a “leap of faith”: Having the courage to leap our beyond our fear, and doubt, and depression. To trust the Lord at his promise of hope and salvation. When we leap out, in faith, we land in the arms of Christ.

In Ecclesiastes, we see that Solomon did not end up on a note of skepticism and despair. He ended on a note of faith. “Yes,” he says, “material things and success do not satisfy you. But you can find happiness in God.” Solomon has learned a lot from his experience.

My prayer is that you and I might learn the hope, which is found in Jesus Christ. May we take that leap of faith, and land in the arms of Christ. May we live in a world… no longer filled with emptiness, but filled to overflowing… with the nearness of the love of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Lord, today there are a lot of men in crisis, men who feel empty, men who are searching. Help them to find the Hope that Solomon found. Help them to find the un-shaking, eternal love of Jesus Christ. And for every person who is feeling empty or depressed today, Lord, pour out your love on them, that they might know the depth of the blessing which is found in you. Give each of us courage to take that leap of faith

that will land us in your arms forever. Amen.

危 機

wéi jī

Crisis = danger + opportunity