The Scroll

14 - Alone

Kohelet blinked at the late morning sun. Benjamin was gone, but there was a covered clay bowl on the desk, and beside it was a small basket of fruit. Down in the market, he could hear people calling greetings and the sounds of construction. The Feast of Booths had arrived, and that meant this was also the day of Daniel and Mariah's wedding.

Kohelet smiled. Tonight they could celebrate with the market community. He and Benjamin would finally be free of Mariah's investigations.

Leaving his bed, he moved slowly to the window and looked down into the square. It was packed full of people, buying and selling to get ready for the feast. Piles of palm fronds were scattered about, and people were already busy putting up the framework of their booths to thatch with the fronds.

Kohelet sat down and lifted the cover off the bowl. Here was another reason to celebrate the new day, for this was one of Esther's famous holiday concoctions: a rich blend of fruit, honey, and grains with a generous sprinkling of ground cardamom. It was still warm, and it was the best thing he had tasted in a long time.

As he enjoyed Esther's porridge, he read through the lines he had put down in the middle of the night. Now he could clearly see that he should have lit the lamp, for even with a bright full moon, his letters were not as neat as they were in the earlier sections.

The wise understand what steps to take and that knowledge brightens their faces and gives them confidence. They obey the king's command and honor their sacred vow. Never be in a hurry to leave the king's presence, but neither stand up for a bad cause, for the king will do whatever he pleases, and no one can challenge what he decides. Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise will know the proper time and procedure for every situation, even when they are weighed down by problems.

Not one of us knows the future, and we cannot say what is to come. Just as we cannot restrain the wind, neither can we hold back the day of our death. Just as a soldier is not discharged during a time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

Wise people knew they could not see into the future, but they had enough confidence to take the next step. The wicked could operate only on the basis of their greed, their desire to dominate, and take more for themselves.

As I surveyed everything that is done under the sun, I observed the wicked dominating others and inflicting pain. Later, I saw those same evil people buried with honor in a sacred place. They were even praised in the very city where they abused others. This is futile, for when judgment against crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with evil plans.

People possessed the knowledge of both good and evil but the pressure of their impending death drove their greed. Left to their own devices, without challenge or punishment for their actions, wicked people would multiply their schemes and become more even corrupt. Death was the end of their time under the sun, but there was something beyond. As the conclusion of the poem about the seasons of life noted, there would also be a time to evaluate every activity, a time to judge every deed.

Still, I am convinced that even though a wicked person commits a hundred crimes and lives a long time, those who honor God will eventually be blessed with good. Because the wicked do not honor God, it will not go well with them, and their lives will fade into the darkness.

Kohelet chewed on the end of his reed pen and reread the last statement. It was true that evil people often ruined their own lives, but the nature of a random world and the craftiness of an evil mind also made it possible for a wicked person to live out their days in relative peace and prosperity. If the government did not enforce justice, evil people took root and grew like weeds. They would rise up, towering over those around them, stealing away the sunlight and the moisture that should have gone to the others.

Yet there are times on this earth when the righteous get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked get what the righteous deserve. Trusting in justice is also futile.

Kohelet gazed up at the clear morning sky. If, in one moment, you could suddenly comprehend all the injustice taking place around the world—in every country, city, and family—the combined weight would crush your will to live. Yet even in the face of such great injustice, people still hoped for a brighter future. Every human being longed for a world where relationships were of the utmost importance, and if injustice occurred there would be someone to set things straight. Their hope for the future outweighed the oppression they faced.

Benjamin was a case in point. Torn away from his family and friends, he could have easily become a bitter soul, taking his anger out on others. But Benjamin understood that an unjust world could not destroy all the good things in the world. No matter what your situation in life was, why not at least enjoy what you could?

So I commend the simple pleasures of living, for there is nothing better under the sun than to eat and drink and enjoy life. Then joy will accompany us in our work through all the days God gives us.

The simple pleasures of life could make a difficult situation more enjoyable. Focusing on what was good made the work at hand, even work of a slave, a joy rather than painful drudgery. Benjamin could have complained every day about the backbreaking work of moving heavy tablets around the library, but instead he smiled, memorized proverbs, and sang. Mariah's father, on the other hand, had been so bitter about his lot that he had always been looking to gain an advantage and escape from his work. Kohelet could not remember a single time when Mariah's father had smiled.

The scuffling of feet on the stairwell outside his apartment jolted Kohelet from his thoughts. A group of voices engaged in a whispered argument. He listened as well as his fading hearing would allow.