It was early morning and still dark outside as I sat in the sunroom listening to the wind.

It was a strong wind, blowing through the bare tree branches with a muffled roar.

Were it light outside I could have seen the trees swaying in the wind. The sound of the wind brought the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes to mind. It says, “The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere” (1:6 LNT).

The observation was not made in the interest of science, but religion.

From his point of view, “Everything is meaningless…utterly meaningless” (1:2). “…nothing really changes” (1:4b). “History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before”(1:9).

A rather morose outlook on life wouldn’t you say?

It’s not something you would expect to read in the Bible.

Despite what sounds so fatalistic, there are some literary gems to be found in the book. There are those beautifully lyrical verses about a time for this and a time for that (3:1-8), which have been set to music.

And how about this observation?

“Why do people commit crimes so readily? Because crime is not punished quickly enough” (8:11).

While I’m sure it wasn’t the writer’s intent to amuse there are some amusing statements. Take this verse for example. The bane of the fragrance counter.