The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.
- Ecclesiastes 5:12 (New American Standard Bible)

Mama's favorite book of the Bible was Ecclesiastes. It's supposedly written by Qohelet, although it's not clear whether that's a name or a title; he calls himself "The Preacher" and identifies himself as son of David, and King of Jerusalem. That would have been Solomon, for his successors were king over Judah only.

Holy Ghost Writers

I don't think, though, that Solomon actually wrote it. These days, important men usually hire ghost writers, rather than engage in the hard work of writing; it was probably a philosopher who was in Solomon's court. Surely it was the same poet who wrote the beautiful and romantic Song of Songs, as both Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs celebrate the joys of life given by God.

That's not how the Talmud views it, though. They concentrate on the very beginning and end of Ecclesiastes, pointing out that all is vanity and you can't win, so you might as well resign yourself to a life of duty instead of leisure and pleasure. That attitude reminds me of a number of Jewish actors, but when I dated a Jewish girl before I married my first wife, the men all seemed to revel in the fact that their daughters were JAPs, spoiled brats, and if their daughters were princesses, that seemed to make them kings.

The Talmudic view of Ecclesiates seems to have come from a rabbi who overdosed on Genesis 3:17, where God tells Adam that because he ate the forbidden fruit, the ground is now cursed, and he shall have to toil mightily to bring forth a crop from the soil.

Redneck Hardscrabble Solomon

I have to think that the mighty Solomon, with all his gold mines, didn't live a hardscrabble life. He probably ate pretty well.

What got me to thinking about all this were the bonuses of Wall Street bankers. In the 1940s, bankers came to schools and taught kids about compound interest, and to save their money. If you had saved a dollar at the time of Jesus, they said, at 1% interest, that money would have compounded to more than enough money to buy every home, store, factory, and farm in America.

That, of course, is a lie. The oldest banking organization in the world is the House of Rothschild. If you invested with anyone before Mayer Amschel Rothschild in the 1700s, your investment would be worthless, as any banking organization you invested with would have failed.

Blessed With A Full Quiver

Rothschild is german for "red shield" and the coat of arms of the House of Rothschild shows a red shield - with five arrows underneath. This is a reference to Mayer's five sons, who set up banking branches in five European cities. Why arrows? It's a reference to Psalm 127:3-5.

Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend
with their enemies in the gate.

It's a nice quote. Sexist, of course. King Henry the 8th went through six wives, trying to sire a male heir that would be able to lead England through the trying times ahead. He failed - but his daughter turned out to be one of England's greatest monarchs. Daughters can be potent arrows in your quiver as well.

Blessed Sleep

Immediately before that, however, is Psalm 127:2

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

I mentioned to Blondie yesterday that it seemed like I was sleeping my life away. That's not necessarily a bad way to cope with heavy snowfall; you can't do much anyhow, and stocking up on sleep when it comes easy will be useful because times will come when sleep is hard to come by. Blondie, however, asserted that it seems like I never seem to be asleep. So does God love me, or not?

I certainly know that when you want to sleep and cannot, it certainly seems like you are cursed by God. That's miserable!

Which Translation?

There are a couple of different ways that 127:2 is translated. Many versions of the bible translate that verse as saying that God provides for you while you sleep. Or perhaps God provides for you while He sleeps.

It's things like this that make me wonder how someone can assert that they believe every word of the Bible to be true. Which version do you believe? The folks that say that, though, seem not to have a very good knowledge of what the Bible actually says. They selectively pick and choose which verses they want to read.

It's not easy figuring out what God wants us to do, but then, whoever said that being a believer is supposed to be easy? The Jewish notion is that we have a duty to God. The Christian version is that we are persecuted for his sake. All I know is that when I talk with God, it seems worthwhile.

Personal trainers tell us to stretch and exercise, in order to maintain physical health. We need to stretch and exercise our faith to maintain our spiritual health as well.

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
arrows - daughters - duty - Ecclesiastes - Henry VIII - inerrancy - JAPs - personal trainers - Rothschild - sleep - Solomon - Song of Songs - Talmud