Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. – Ecclesiastes 11:3b

Today's Scripture Reading (December 20, 2022): Ecclesiastes 11

In his book, "Love Wins," Rob Bell argues that hell will be empty at some point in the future. Part of his argument is that the day is coming when hell itself will be destroyed and thrown into the lake of fire. But another part of his argument is that God "wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4), and since God is omnipotent or all-powerful, God gets what he wants. His arguments have come under a lot of fire from various parts of the Christian Church who believe that hell is as everlasting as heaven. All of this, in some way, seems a little odd to me. Why do we react with such vehemence against people who believe something different from what we might believe? Why is it that we can't say to each other, I disagree with you, but I will defend your right to believe what you believe, and I am glad that you are in my life? Maybe that is too much to ask. I admit I am not sure that Rob is right, but I also am willing to acknowledge that I wish he were.

We often read our Bibles with a preordained idea of what it says. And we make sure that it doesn't contradict what it is that we already believe. We employ several what-ifs and other rhetorical methods to ensure our beliefs are not proven false, which makes it hard for true biblical discovery to happen.

I am part of the Baptist tradition. Part of our foundational belief is that baptism is an important rite of the believer. I have often explained to parents that we would prefer to dedicate their infants rather than baptize them. Baptism should be part of an adult believer's entrance into the Christian life. But when that idea was first suggested, it was met with hostility. Believers were murdered because of their beliefs. It is hard for us to imagine that such a foundational thing as adult baptism could cause such a stir, but people read their Bibles with their own interpretations firmly attached, and they just couldn't see it any other way.

Saint Jerome, reading his Bible in the last half of the fourth century, read this verse in Ecclesiastes and interpreted it to mean that the fallen tree was a person who had died. He also believed that when Qoheleth said that the tree lies where it falls, he was telling his readers that a person's eternal destiny is fixed at the moment of death. It is an interpretation with which Rob Bell would have struggled, but many theologians would agree with Jerome. This idea that the eternal fate of the human soul is fixed at the moment of death is a message that evangelists have preached for generations. Jerome might be right, but you must wear a certain set of theological glasses to find that message in this verse. In context with the rest of Ecclesiastes, it seems more likely that Qoheleth's point is that when this life is over, all that has gone on before is meaningless. The only thing that matters is an eternal God, and without him, nothing has any meaning; everything is nothing more than chasing after the wind.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 12