Ecclesiastes

Book of Ecclesiastes

Notes.. .

. ..Introduction. By Solomon to spare future generations of bitterness of learning through their own experience that life is meaningless apart from God. Solomon referred to himself as ‘Koheleth,’ meaning “one who speaks publicly and in an assembly.
. ..Themes. Searching, Emptiness, Work, Death, and Wisdom.
. ..Outline. “The book of Ecclesiastes addressed people who were desperately trying to find meaning and identity and retain security of their homeland. It shows us the value of the present world without hope of eternal life and resurrection. The basic conclusion of a person facing death after the brief lifespan of years is that all of our life equals zero. The only prudent path is to fear God and be careful” (William Seay 2019, L9 12:44–13:19).
. ..Application. “The book of Ecclesiastes describes for us the hopelessness of life before Jesus.” (Seay 2019, L9 19:18–19:26).
. ..Timeline. Written between 940 and 935.

Introduction. 8:49 – The purpose was to spare future generations of bitterness of learning through their own experience that life is meaningless apart from God. The author is Solomon. Solomon wrote this primarily for his subjects that he was king over and to all people in general. During the course of the writing of the book, Solomon called himself by another name and referred to himself as Koheleth. What Koheleth means is one who speaks publicly and in an assembly.

Themes. 10:05 – There are five theological themes. (i) Searching. Solomon searched for satisfaction almost as if it was a scientific experiment. He discovered that life without God was a long and fruitless search for enjoyment, meaning, and fulfillment. True happiness is not in our power to accumulate or attain because we always desire more than we can have. Our circumstances are beyond our control which can snatch away our positions or our attainment. (ii) Emptiness. Solomon shows how empty it is to pursue this life’s pleasures rather than a relationship with an eternal God. The search for pleasure, wealth, and success ultimately disappointing. Nothing in the world can satisfy our longing and our restless hearts. (iii) Work. Solomon tried to shake peoples’ confidence in their own efforts, abilities, and wisdom and direct them to faith in God as the only sound basis for living. Without God, there is no lasting reward or benefit in hard work. (iv) Death. The certainty of death makes nearly all human achievements futile. God has a plan for human destiny that goes beyond life and death. The reality of aging and dying reminds us of the end to come when God will judge each person’s life. (v) Wisdom. Human wisdom does not contain all the answers. Knowledge and education have their limit. To understand life, we need the wisdom that can be found only in God’s Word to us, the bible.

Outline. 12:35 – The book of Ecclesiastes addressed people who were desperately trying to find meaning and identity and retain security of their homeland. It shows us the value of the present world without hope of eternal life and resurrection. The basic conclusion of a person facing death after the brief lifespan of years is that all of our life equals zero. The only prudent path is to fear God and be careful. We are often disillusioned by how much time we have left. Many of the people who first heard or read Ecclesiastes were wasting their life foolishly. The teacher confessed that he had wasted much of his long life. He was too old to correct his ways, but it was not too late for the young people. Some among the people who heard Solomon must have believed that the wise and righteous must always prosper and be happy. Just like Job, Solomon appeared to have said that “this is not necessarily so.” He made it clear that wisdom, wealth, materialism, education, and religion all claimed one way or anther to make life worth living. Solomon tried each in turn, but none worked. He tried to encourage his audience to opt for simplicity and food, entertainment, and work. He tried to encourage them to look for joy and the companionship of their mates, a cheerful disposition, and, most importantly, a reverence for God.

In chapter 12, it makes it clear that Solomon was not an old man who had come to the end but still had a passion for life. He tended to be skeptical and cynical. He shared his life experiences to temper the unrealistic optimism of the younger generation. He did not fear to question God. He refused to accept traditional simplistic answers to life’s tough questions. He loved the beauty of the sun and was intrigued by the mystery of the wind. He knew about farming gardens and orchards. He was acquainted with fine music and enjoyed good food. He was familiar with war, construction, and fine houses. Solomon loved life and justice. He became more skeptical at an old age as observed the injustices of life. He experienced hopelessness as he found himself unable to correct the injustices of life. Even in his skepticism, he was a realist and not a pessimist. He remained a believer and not an agnostic. The aged old Solomon wanted his congregation to avoid the pitfalls of life. He wanted his listeners and readers to change their lives before it was too late. He wanted them to understand how life could best be lived.

The primary contribution of this work could be viewed as a negative one. It forces the world’s claims to the good life to face the spotlight of truth. Work, pleasure, drink, sex, wealth, human abilities, government, knowledge, and youthful pleasures entice us to follow them into paradise, hope, and fulfillment but none can deliver on their promises. None are [ ] to master life. Ecclesiastes depicts life as futile for that we will not follow his footsteps and not make the same mistakes that he did and no fail in the same ways he did. It has been said that the light is never brighter than when it shines in total darkness. Solomon creates a darkness that makes the light of the world appear even brighter when the Messiah finally comes. He prepared the world for Jesus by showing how hopeless life is without Him. But yet, Ecclesiastes is not totally dark. A few glimpses of light flicker in the book. If we grant that the contenders to the throne of life are not adequate masters then we can find some simple pleasures to brighten life. Pleasure, wisdom, friendship, good advice, comely action, and proper relationship to God can be helpful on a [ ] road of life. They help however only when we fear God and obedience to His way of life [ ] our life as much as any other biblical book. Ecclesiastes shows the sovereignty of God over his created world. No human can fully understand God and His ways. Only God knows fully the secrets of the created order.

Application. 18:50 – There is a great deal about Ecclesiastes that we can say applied to us today. To paraphrase the Apostle Paul, the teacher can see that there is a poor reflection as that in a mirror. He looked at life from the other side of the incarnation event, but the book of Ecclesiastes describes for us the hopelessness of life before Jesus. The you may have comprehended a major message of Solomon. The book of Ecclesiastes is amazingly applicable to the contemporary scene. Solomon reflected a world with an impersonal view of God. The majority of our world knows nothing about a personal relationship with God. The author saw the hopelessness of human existence. Many modern philosophers reflect such fatalism. Solomon’s note is also mirrored by people who are wearied by international terrorism, worldwide political unrest, and faltering economies. Nowhere is Solomon’s fatalism more evident than among those today who keep reminding us of the realistic possibility of nuclear annihilation.

What makes life worth living? Ancient man thought he could find pleasure in materialism, wealth, vocational success, fame, fortune, and the pleasures of the world such as good food, good wine, slaves, and his women. Today’s mass media press the same misconceptions. The advertising industry tells the same lies, but the end is always the same. Futility. In Ecclesiastes 7:16–17 Solomon reminded his hearers to avoid extremes. We would do well to avoid extremism in our daily life as well. We find repeated invitations to have us go out on a limb. We must see the good and the bad in such invitations. We would do well to take the middle way most of the time. We can agree that life is not always fair. The wicked are always punished and the righteous always rewarded. Government authorities are always just, wise or righteous. We do not always understand the ramifications of life.

Concerning the matter of aging, Solomon had acquired as skeptical bent in his old age but then again, skepticism is not all bad. We need to be skeptical of the world’s claim to make like meaningful with such claims which can never be realized. Aging does not necessarily make you skeptical but if you are inclined in that direction, aging may intensify an unhealthy skepticism. The loss one experiences in the aging process can cause skepticism. As we age, we lose our energy, jobs, mates, friends, and very often our health. We lose the opportunity to begin again. We also lose contact with the church. In an era where people are living longer and the problems of aging are becoming more prominent, the church must program for and minister to the aging. Solomon did not give up on life completely. He could never answer the larger questions of overcoming death and escaping futility. He could find hope in the simple pleasures and duties of life. Pleasure, wisdom, friendship, listening to advice, acting at the right time, and relating each of life’s activities to God. Thus, Ecclesiastes does not offer the final life for a worthwhile life. It does point the way to hope and the simple activities of life while warning us that the past seemed to be so sure to bring worthwhile living to us. But, in the final analysis, Ecclesiastes leads us to praise Jesus Christ. All the more, that bringing the final life that does give supreme worth to life.

Timeline. 24:25 – It was written sometime between c. 940 BC and c. 935 BC.

Ref.

Seay, William. 2019. Old Testament Theology [MP3]. Andersonville Theological Seminary (ATS). Camilla, GA: ATS

All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

Agere Sequitur Esse