Introduction
When people mention Ecclesiastes, the first thing to pop in my mind is Ecclesiastes 3, which tells us there is a season for everything. I imagine, that's probably the most popular passage in Ecclesiastes, but there are 9 other chapters filled with wisdom. Ecclesiastes is the fourth book in the Books of Wisdom or the Books of Poetry. As such, there is both beautiful language and profound meaning to be found in it's pages.
Author
Ecclesiastes 1:1 tells us that that author is definitely a son of David. This person is referred to as "the Preacher" as opposed to king, but we can't be certain these offices weren't closely related. Today, we think of preachers the way we think of biblical priests. The original Hebrew word essentially means to assemble or to speak before an assembly, which is precisely what a king would do.[3] Ecclesiastes 12:9 adds that the author of this book is also the author of proverbs, which points us to Solomon.
Date of Authorship
With Solomon identified as the author of both Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, Proverbs being written first, it is estimated that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes later in His reign, around 935 BC.[4] Some scholars believe the text was actually composed 500 years later, around 5 century BC. This is easily refuted by comparing the external texts of philosophies mentioned in the book to texts and philosophies of the time.
Meaning of Ecclesiastes
I like to know interesting facts about the books of the Bible. I feel that knowing as much as we can about the text helps us to understand it better. I found a list of such facts at Only One Hope. One of the interesting things I discovered here is that Ecclesiastes means "speaker before an assembly" or "preacher."[1][2] Preacher is also attribution to be the author within the text. I find this to be both fitting and interesting.
Message & Purpose
People have been seeking the meaning of life since the dawn of time; Ecclesiastes is meant to help us understand the purpose of life. Since we are not immortal, our legacy is what we leave the world, not what we take from it. As such, the book constantly reminds us that certain traits, behaviors, and desires are vanity. Ecclesiastes reminds us that the interactions we have and the lives we touch are what lives on. Unfortunately, we tend to be vain creatures. Vanity causes us to concentrate on frivolous things that are worthless in the grand scheme of things (like name brand clothes or expensive cars).
Chapter by Chapter Breakdown
Important People
Lessons Learned: The Pointlessness of Life
Ecclesiastes is one of the more depressing—er, grounding—books of the Bible. In this book, Solomon is both asking and answering the question: what is the meaning of life? Unfortunately, what we often define as worthwhile endeavors, Solomon reminds us are fruitless. If we forget the overall message of the book, this can lead to an overwhelming feeling of purposelessness (both while reading this book and in life). In the end, Solomon concludes that all that matters in life is surrendering to God.
Does Being Good Get You Anywhere?
When one of my friends graduated from high school, he bragged about having perfect attendance from kindergarten through his high school graduation. The first question I asked him was what it had gotten him. He didn't get a special scholarship. He didn't finish at the top of his class. He didn't even get a nice plague or trophy. All he received was a piece of paper saying congratulations. Meanwhile, I had taken off the maximum number of days allowed pretty much every year since middle school, and I'd received the highest scholarship the state awarded, finished in the top 5 of my class, and earned cords, medallions, etc. to wear at graduation.
On the surface, it seems like what he did was worthless—I definitely thought so when he told me. Why would you put in extra effort or suffer if you don't receive anything? It's only when you put the question in context that you begin to see Solomon's point. Having done what you know to be right is more satisfying, despite the fact that you may not always be rewarded by the world. We may have to wait, but after judgment day, we will receive our rewards from God. Further, we should be acting accordingly simply because it's right, not because we expect to get something out of it.
In general, this is how life works: sometimes we put in all the honest time, work, and effort we can only to fail, while the people who seemingly did nothing reap all the rewards. That's discouraging. It's even more discouraging when we have the mentality that if we follow God and do what He says, our life will be rainbows and unicorns. We see ourselves failing despite living our faith and lose faith! However, God's rewards are long term; we won't always get our blessings in this life! Not to mention, Biblically, most of God's people suffered greatly. These people were persecuted by the government, by Satan, and by society as a whole.
It's easy to lose focus when we witness this scenario in our life. As we fail to see the fruit of our labor, we will naturally wonder why we bother. It is in the moment that we must remember Solomon's final words about serving God. Our soul duty is to serve God, regardless of how we perceive our lives. At our lowest and highest points, the only thing that matters is our relationship with God. We have to remember that this life and these material things are only temporary, regardless of our relationship with God; but if we surrender to Him, our true future awaits us in His kingdom.
Planning for Death
Solomon talks about death a lot. It's a topic many people stray away from, but it's the one thing we can all agree is inevitable. Yet, it's also wildly unpredictable. Some people live to be well over 90, while others die as infants or toddlers. I could live another 60 years, or I could die tomorrow. We can't control this aspect of our lives. This fact doesn't change based upon the amount of good I have done.
What we can control is whether we will have a second life (which won't end!). As such, we should strive to always be ready. By ready, I mean confident that if something were to happen in the next few seconds causing me die, I want to be all set to face judgment. This means constantly repenting of our sins, forgiving those around us, and making amends for the wrongs we've done. If death comes within the next moment, I want to be clean in God's eyesight and securely written in the Book of Life.
The Meaning of Life
People have been pondering the meaning of life for all time. Some people conclude it's about touching the lives of those around you; others conclude it's about the legacy you leave behind. In a way, both of these theories are encompassed in surrendering to God. If we are walking in our purpose and submitting to God, we will definitely touch the lives of those around us. We will exude compassion, love, joy, patience, etc., and these characteristics will guide our actions to positively impact the people around us. We may not have the most beautiful legacy on Earth after surrendering to God, but we will have a legacy in Heaven, which is much more important.
Conclusion
The brutal honesty of the book is quite refreshing. Despite the phrase "all is vanity" seeming to be the motto of the book, this book actually motivates me. It reminds me that the world's measure of success is false. I am reminded of how everything always points back to God, and I believe this is the key to living a Christ-centered life.
Other Posts About Ecclesiastes
References and Footnotes
- Fun Facts About Ecclesiastes". Only One Hope; visited July 2017
- Ecclesiastes". Bible Study Tools; visited August 2017
- Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nelson KJV Study Bible. 1989
- Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible, pg. 1089-1093. 2014
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