This is the Baymont podcast with Marty Solomon. I'm his co-host, Brent Billings. Today, Josh Bosset turns our ears to co-hellet as we learn to avert disaster.

Coming from the last chapter, where we talked all about a good name and how to learn from those who came before

us and the legacies they left behind on what makes a meaningful life. We are now turning toward

the future and how to avert disaster from taking place. I noticed I kept me out of my favorite

chapter of Ecclesiastes and then had me come in for the chapter I probably feel the least of anything about. So this is good. I'm learning. Let's see if we can make you feel a little something here. We'll feel a little something here. We'll move the needle a little. Josh and I were sitting together planning this all out. And he's like, I think Marty would be good on chapter eight. So I don't know. He sees something in you, Marty, that I guess you don't see in yourself. Ah, I love it.

I love it. out and he's like, I think Marty would be good on it on chapter eight. So I don't know, he sees

something in you, Marty, that I guess you don't see in yourself. Ah, I love it. I love it. We'll find out.

Well, before we dive into the text, though, even though I'm loath to slow us down from diving into

the text, we have to always remember that this is a weird book. This is a book of philosophy, maybe mixed with a little prophetic chutzpah and some other things.

Let me see if I can remember. This is a book that's got a little bit of humanism. It's got a little bit of individualism, but not the kind of individualism or maybe even humanism

that we might think of or assume. It's coming from a different perspective, that Eastern way of

not individualistic as a consumer, not humanistic in a modern era sense, but more of a,

what is it that we and I specifically can do in relationship to God? Do I got that right?

Absolutely. And in fact, that theme specifically is going to play a huge part of this chapter,

that tension between individualism as in thinking about what happens to me based on how I live,

but also still having grown up in a communal context

where thinking about how something impacts the community is front of mind for Kohelet.

And the other thing as always is we need to remember that Kohelet is also talking about

what's happening under the sun.

Koholet is not letting herself, you know, appeal to, oh, you know,

we're God's partner, we have Torah, we have Sinai, like, nope, it's just looking at what's happening

under the sun, what can be seen. Universally true, not covenantally true, but universally true.

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