Turning Points and Ecclesiastes

Victor Matthews' book Old Testament Turning Points: The Narratives that Shaped a Nation (Baker, 2005) has a couple of interesting observations on Ecclesiastes.

In the section on the etiology of death in the Adam and Eve narrative Matthews discusses the Story of Adapa (Mesopotamia) and ends the section with this paragraph:

"Finally, in the end, we question the necessity for the death that claims us all. Why should we spend a lifetime acquiring knowledge and skills only to have them disappear with our last breath? Is the writer of Ecclesiastes correct to say that all is vanity and that we have no real legacy of enduring accomplishment upon which to justify our existence on earth (Eccles. 1:2-11)? The answer may be that in our struggle to make a life for ourselves and establish an identity as a member of a people or nation, we act on the knowledge gained through disobedience in Eden. In that context, while we cannot return to Eden, we can strive to make this world a better, more Eden-like place. Thus it is best to take the advice to "not let your hands be idle" (Eccles. 11:6) and to "rejoice in" all the years we are given (11:8)." (Matthews, 27).

In the next section, Matthews deals with the wisdom theme and notes that Eve had the ability for critical thinking but the serpent's questions awakened her intellectual curiosity. The resulting expulsion from Eden becomes a motivation for human achievement. Matthews adds,

"Without expulsion there also would be no drive to restore the severed relationship with the Divine, no attempt to join ourselves once again with the God who created us. Considering the reflections of the author of Ecclesiastes once more, it does ring true that "God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes" (Eccles. 7:29)." (Matthews, 30).