Tuesday, July 6, 2010

A Cord of Three Strands

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

1 Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. 2 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 3 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

5 “Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.”

6 And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”

7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.


12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

The preacher's bad day continues. He recalls the tears and the loneliness of the oppressed. By the depths of his words (saying the dead were better off than the living and the best case scenario is not to be born - see verses 2 and 3), I have a feeling that the preacher was the one who felt isolated and alone. Like the preacher, we have both observed and experienced isolation.

The broken promise of the world emerges in verses 7 and 8. The preacher discloses that wealth doesn't provide the contentment, satisfaction, and meaning he was looking for. Jesus pretty much says the same thing when he says: What does profit to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul? - Mark 8:6

Then the preacher writes one of the greatest truths of life and some of the most profound words ever written in verse 12: A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. The preacher is looking back on his life with lament and regret. He had everything he didn't need and didn't have the one thing he needed: the love of others and the love of God. The preacher discovered, the hard way, the people are meant to live in community with each other and with God. No replacement exists for such things.

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