Ecclesiastes: An Overview
Remember thy Creator
By Peter Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church of Manhattan KS, 26 July 2020
Max Lucado wrote a story called The Children of the King, about five orphans who lived in your typical village in olden times. One day, the King of the land heard of their situation and proclaimed that he would adopt them and was coming to the village soon to bring them to their new home in the castle.
When the villagers heard this, they were excited and consulted the children that since he was the king, they must sharpen their own skills to impress him when he arrived, “Only those with great gifts to give will be allowed to live in the castle,” they were told.
Accepting these words, the oldest took up his knife and applied his skills towards woodcarving and creating many exquisite figurines. The next, decided to impress the king by art; to paint a painting beautiful and worthy enough for a castle wall. The third took to music, spending her time practicing the lute and in vocal training. The fourth decided he would study and become wise to impress the king intellectually; many nights he was found still up by candle light reading the great philosophers of the past. The youngest however could not find any extraordinary craft to pursue. She was too clumsy with a knife, too stiff with a brush, had little to no musical ability, and wasn't much of a reader. She spent most of her time like she always had, at the stable caring for the many travelers horses. She knew all the beggars by name, and most of the business of the travelers. But always she looked forward to seeing the king himself arrive.
One day, a rugged traveler she hadn't seen before arrived around midday. As always the youngest offered her services and stalled and watered for his horse while making friendly conversation. He told her he was on a business trip and had come to meet a few acquaintances and would hopefully be back for his horse before long.
True to his word he arrived back within a few hours and she asked if he found everyone he had intended to. He said he had found them, but was not able to meet with them; the first he tried to see was a carpenter and he was told he was too busy with work orders to see anyone. The second was a painter who he was told was not to be disturbed because she didn't want her concentration broken from the scenery she was painting. The third, a musician, was hosting a concert and the crowds were too large to get to her after she was done. The next he tried to see was no longer at home; he had just left for university the night prior.
“You are the king!” Gasped the youngest girl. “I am” he replied. He arrived dressed as a commoner because people act differently around him as a king, and he liked to know what people are truly like.
The king then takes the youngest orphan back to the castle with him planning to return for the other four at a later time.
The older four children did not miss the king because they weren't doing good, but rather because they didn't set their priorities in their proper order.
Today we are faced with a similar problem. The world around us is relentless in showing itself off to us. It calls to us through every medium it can, but here in the book of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher makes is making a desperate call for us to keep our priorities straight.
Before we dive into the actual book, let us first quickly look at the book as a whole in regards to a few contextual elements, and ideas.
Title – First off we come to, what exactly is, “Ecclesiastes?” The given title of the book is “Qoheleth” which has the root meaning of “to gather together.” As a noun it would be, “the one who gathers/assembles.” This was then translated to the Greek word, “Ekklesia” or, “a congregation” generally referring to the Church. From there it was transliterated into the Latin Bible; “Ekklesia, Ecclesiastes.” Throughout the book, the author continually refers to himself as “Qoheleth” The Preacher. As inspired by God, this book is by one who gathers a congregation, to those who would hear the wisdom of what he says; to us, the Church.
Author – The preacher introduces himself in chapter 1:1,12 by saying, that he is “The son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Traditionally it has been held that as such Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes. There is a lot of evidence within the text itself especially in chapter 2 where the Preacher talks about what he did in life, that seems to line up very closely to the experience of Solomon.
However, recent Bible scholars, starting around the time of Luther, have started questioning whether Solomon was actually the author. Without getting into too much detail, arguments abound about the style and vocabulary not matching the time of Solomon, the fact that he doesn't actually say he is Solomon (just “The Preacher”), the fact that “Qoheleth” is a feminine word, that some of the complaints and experiences don't actually seam to fit the experience of a king, etc. This has lead many recent scholars to believe that the author is intentionally not revealing who he is, but is using artistic style to present his case as if it were Solomon himself that were presenting it. Some people believe that there are actually up to nine separate authors who collectively wrote Ecclesiastes.
Personally I believe the traditional perspective that Solomon is indeed the original author of Ecclesiastes. As I see it, there is enough back and forth evidence, there is no reason to not take the author at his word that he is indeed, “Son of David, King in Jerusalem, and increased in wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me” (v.16) However, in keeping with the spirit of Ecclesiastes I will refer to the author, who I do believe is Solomon, by the name that he calls himself, “The Preacher”
One thing to point out though, is that there do indeed seem to be two authors. If you look at chapter 1 and then chapter 12, there is a transition from the Preacher being talked about in second person, to then first person. I believe that this is because Solomon, as was common for people of an elderly age, didn't himself write the book but dictated it to a scribe to do the actual handwriting, and the scribe took the liberty himself to write a mini introduction and summary of all that Solomon dictated.
Date – obviously this depends on who you believe the author is. If you believe the author is Solomon, then the book dates to around 930BC, while if you believe that it was written later, the range is a more like 350-250BC. As this is a wisdom book, the book itself is not very grounded in any particular historical context, so looking for clues within the book is as futile an effort as what it contains.
Structure – Ecclesiastes probably has one of the most contested books for how to create a structure to fit The Preachers train of though into. Some people have identified as few as four distinct sections of thought, whereas others have found as many as 19 to 24 different sections. Because there is even less consensus on how many sections there are as opposed to who the Author is, I am not going to be dogmatic on my stance. Personally I see an introduction, three overarching sections, and then a conclusion; I have titled them, The Proper Perspective of life, the Pointless Pursuit of life, the Present Predicament of life, and the Praiseworthy Priority of life (Which itself includes the conclusion). I do not know for sure if this is the actual structure that The Preacher intended, by in analyzing the book within this structure, it does seem to make the most sense to me and definitely brings out several worthy lessons.
Wisdom Literature – Now, what does it mean that it is classified as Wisdom literature? Each type of literature had a different type of purpose. C. Hassel Bullock (professor of Biblical studies at Wheaton college) explains the purpose of Wisdom Literature as follows: “Wisdom, like law but unlike prophecy, sought to develop a comprehensive system of thought and behavior, reaching into every facet of life... to instruct in those ways that the Temple and priests were not greatly concerned... In pursuit of social and personal stability, wisdom concentrated primarily upon the personal and social dimensions of human life and secondarily upon the physical world to which man was related and with which he sought to live in harmony.”
As we know, art reflects the culture it is in. Thus since the Biblical wisdom books were created in the middle of the Jewish culture, they inherently adopted that particular worldview. Again Bullock says, “Basic to the system of thought represented in these books was he assumption that God is working through the human mind and the world of nature. Upon that Assumption, wisdom begins with the natural order and launches upon a search for deeper understanding of the God who created and controls the world of human existence.”
As to the overall meaning – That is what we will be examining for the rest of this sermon. But to put what I believe to be the central meaning into a single sentence it would be this: “The preacher calls us to remember that we are temporary residences on an earth corrupted by sin; and to live in humble obedience to, and reliance upon, our eternal creator.”
As with all areas of life come to everything with a certain set of assumptions and perspectives. Here are the two big perspectives that I would like to set as foundational to understanding Ecclesiastes.
This is probably the biggest aspect of Ecclesiastes “Vanity of vanity, saying the Preacher, all is Vanity” But what is Vanity? The Hebrew word used here is “Hebel” which is most literally, “Vapor/breath” it has substance but it is here for a moment and then gone, thus leading to the since of emptiness and futility, it is worthless. Most commentators seem perfectly happy with this and lay out Ecclesiastes as such. But honestly I have not really been happy with that. I ask, but what does it mean that it is vain like vapor? I might as well say that “everything is Weird,” but what exactly does that mean?
So I did my own little research. Most commentators seem to look at this word and keep it within the confines of this book of Ecclesiastes, but I decided to look at its meaning in the greater context of scripture, and was surprised with what I saw; this word, “Hevel” is used 35 times outside of Ecclesiastes, and of that, the majority of cases it is talking about Idolatry or placing our hope in something other that God! Jer 10 clearly shows the idea when it gives a description of someone creating an idol with their hands, and keeps calling it a “Hevel/vanity” that he is making: Jer 10:3-8 “for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!”
Deu 32:21 “They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.” 1 Kings 16:13,26 also talk about “Idols” angering God. 2 Kings 17:15 Rejecting God for “Idols” and thus becoming “Worthless.” Job 35:16 Complaining about God (our wisdom above his) is “Vain.” Psa 31:6 David will trust God over “Idols.” Psa 62:9 Trust in Humans over God is “Vain.” Prov 31:30 Physical beauty “Vain” contrasted with fearing the Lord. Isa 30:7 trusting Egypt over God is “Vain.” Isa 57:13 a “Vanity” will take away Idols, so we are called to Trust God. Jer 2:5 Israel turned from God to “Idols.” Jer 8:19 “Idols” anger God. Jer 14:22 “Idols” powerless against God. Jer 16:19 talks about God restoring Israel after they turned to “Idols.” Jer 51:18 “Idols” are destroyed during punishment. Lam 4:17 Looking to help outside God is “useless.” Jon 2:8 Regarding “Idols” is faithlessness. This is the most popular view of “Hevel” outside of Ecclesiastes.
You can't however disregard the fact that there is a large portion of references that talk about the shortness and frailty of something: Job 7:16 talks about how our days are “a breath” and later in 21:34 false comforts are “Futile.” Psa 39:5-6, 11 Man's days are “a breath.” Psa 94:11 the thoughts of man are “a breath.” Psa 144:4 man is “a breath” with short days. Pro 13:11, 21:6 wealth acquired by falsehood “a breath.” Pro 31:30 Physical beauty is “fleeting.” And in fact it is not hard to argue that this is still a form of idolatry since a main reason to be sad that life is so short is because we want to place a higher value on it than we should.
Therefore I contend that this is the key to interpreting Ecclesiastes, it is not that life “under the sun” is “futile and worthless,” but rather that the human life is driven by Idolatry. Idolatry that does not satisfy but is fleeting. As commentators J,F,B say "Vanity (All is vanity)--not in themselves, for God maketh nothing in vain ( 1Ti 4:4, 5 “or everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,” ), but vain when put in the place of God and made the end, instead of the means ( Psa 39:5, 6 62:9 Mat 6:33 );"
The Preacher looks at this word and examines all the Idols that it is far too easy for us humans to create in our lives and looks at how they are but what they are “Hebel/vapor.” And of course why do we elevate Idols in our life? Because it makes us feel good and satisfied. Ultimately We are the Idol we set up for ourselves. The Preacher looks here at the futility and shortness of a Self-centered Life.
Not just does The Preacher say “Vanity” but vanity where? “Under the sun.” This inherently begs the assumption that we are looking at life under the sun and not life “Over the sun.” This is almost universally agreed upon among commentators that The Preacher is looking at this temporal life and at nothing beyond. Whether or not he believes in an afterlife is debated, but regardless throughout the arguments and musings of The Preacher he always seems to start with the birth of a human and ends with their death. There is much good that we can gain from this world in the afterlife, but The Preachers main question is what good do we get in this life “under the sun.”
Now I'm also going to take this one step further: what else set the stage for all the idolatry of this world, than the original fall of man? Matthew Henry in his commentary commented, "The fundamental error of the children of men, and that which is at the bottom of all their departures from God, is the same with that of our first parents, hoping to be as gods by entertaining themselves with that which seems good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. Now the scope of this book is to show that this is a great mistake, that our happiness consists not in being as gods to ourselves, to have what we will and do what we will, but in having him that made us to be a God to us."
I find the musings of The Preacher very interesting compared to the context of Original Sin and the curse of man. Ecc 7:25 “I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.” The Preacher here seems to be reattempting on his own ability to take hold of the the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Once Adam and Eve ate from that tree they brought sin into the world and awakened their own knowledge of good and evil. The Preacher now is metaphorically taking hold of that same fruit to eat himself. We all know about good and evil and can tell them apart, but The Preacher here is using his wisdom to study it more in depth.
Even Eve's observations of the fruit itself echo into Ecclesiastes, Gen 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Why else does The Preacher talk about physical pleasure (including food and wine Ecc 2:3 “I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine”), delight to the eyes (Ecc 2:10 “And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.”), and the desire for wisdom (Ecc 7:23 I said, “I will be wise,”)?
Thus it is no surprise that the looming anxiety in all the Preachers searching was Death. For death was the punishment for taking the fruit which The Preacher is now examining himself, “Gen 2:17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””
This world is therefore under the curse of sin, Gen 3:17-19 “And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”” It is no wonder that The Preacher keeps referring to our work here as labor, because that's what it is! It is painful, hard, sweaty, labor, and when we're done, we turn back to dust.
The Preacher here in the book of Ecclesiastes looks at the fallen word, the word invaded by sin. Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit and ate it. They introduced sin and death into the word and here the Preacher decides to take the same path from beginning to end and analyze the results. Was it worth it and does it satisfy to take the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or are the consequences of disobedience too great and depressing? And finally since we can not change the actions of Adam and Eve and we are forced to live with these consequences, what is the best way to live our lives? This is what I believe the path of analysis the Preacher follows.
Now we get into the actual body of the text. The Preacher here starts with a poem to put everything that follows in it's proper perspective, Ecc 1:3-11 “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.” Here The Preacher poses his ultimate question: “What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” This question will show up later in 2:22, 3:9, 5:16 and 6:11. When man is born he has nothing with him, and when he dies, he leaves all behind. Therefore what is the advantage/what does he gain?
While this poem certainly speaks of the tediousness and repetitive nature of the world, I think in the greater context of Ecclesiastes it also speaks of the position of man in the greater story of history, most notably, Man (either individually or collectively) is NOT the center of the universe! “A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains forever.” The Preacher will keep this as a reoccurring complaint throughout the book, man's life is short and after he is gone, someone else will take his place in history. Individual man is only a speck in the history of time! As God spoke to Job in Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”
The Preacher then goes on to look at the word and lists several things that unlike mankind continue throughout all time: The Sun rises and sets, every day since the creation of the world. The wind blows and is the same wind that blew over the Garden of Eden. The streams of water continue in the same cyclical water cycle, the same waters in the ocean are the same as covered the whole earth during the time of Noah. “The earth remains forever,” this earth we tread is the same earth tread by billions if not trillions of people over the course of thousands of years. How dare we say or act like we are the center of creation. We have no more control over when we arrived as we have over when we leave or when everyone else arrives or leaves. It is hard to look at these descriptions of the created world and not thing “In the beginning God.” Again C Hassell Bullock says“To unravel the meaning of human life will lead one all the way back to its beginning.”
Then he proceeds to say that not just from the natural world are things continuing, but human experience is the same for all generations. What we are feeling and experiencing now in our generation, is the same that generations past felt and experienced, weariness, lack of satisfaction either by looking or hearing, and finally being forgotten by the world. Many of us would like to fancy ourselves that we shall be remembered by history for years to come, and certainly there are thousands if not millions of men and women who have left a significant mark on history to be remembered from generation to generation, but they are only a small fraction of everyone whom has been born and then utterly forgotten by history. The Proper Perspective of life is that man is not the center of the universe.
The Preacher here starts his quest to find “what does man gain in all his toil under the sun.” He starts out by stating how he will find out his answer and that is by wisdom. But then he gives us a sneak peek into his discoveries when he says Ecc 1:17-18 “I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”
The Preacher then presents us with a case study of someone who pursued everything that this world “under the sun” has to offer, and who better to study but himself. Seeing as he himself tried to pursue all the idols the world has to offer he finds that he is a reliable source to know what it is like. Are you curious as to what the result of what the world has to offer is? Look no further than to the one who himself has tried it before you try it yourself. If you want to drive off a cliff, it is better to seek out someone who already has and ask them what it is like at the bottom before you attempt it yourself.
Ecc 2:1-11 “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
The Preacher here set up the three big Idols: Pleasure, Wealth, and Success.
Pleasure – Pleasure, the pursuit of an emotional high either from entertainment, food, drugs/alcohol or sexuality. Wine, fruit trees, singers, and concubines (lots of concubines).
Wealth – The collection of possessions from Houses to vineyards, gardens, parks fruit trees, pools, slaves, herds, flocks, silver gold, and the treasure of kings. He acquired everything he wanted.
Success – The outward appearance of greatness, Position, Wisdom, and Legacy. Not so much a thing to get, but a way of having others look at you. Success in position; the Preacher became great and was not just anyone, but the King, and a greater King than all previously in Jerusalem. Success in Wisdom; as we saw previously Ecc 1:16 he said “I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me.” And Success in Legacy, hard to tell until years after we die, but definitely a hope that the Preacher holds.
Yet all this the Preacher recognized for what it is. Vanity, Striving after wind, Nothing gained. It is as it is, an empty pursuit of idols which will dissipate like a vapor.
One more observation: not just is The Preacher perusing these Idols, but as hinted at previously, there is an even bigger Idol that The Preacher is pursuing and that is the Idol of Self. Here in these 8 verses The Preacher is constantly referring to himself. “I said in my heart, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself. I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine I made great works. I built houses I made myself gardens and parks,I made myself pools bought male and female slaves,I had also great possessions of herds and flocks,I also gathered for myself silver and gold I got singers,I became great I kept my heart from no pleasure” Here the Preacher leaves only a thin vale hiding who his true god is. It is not one made of wood or stone or gold, but one of flesh and bone. The Preacher lived out what Paul says in Rom 1:22-25 “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature (Man himself) rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
I will only briefly skim the next few chapters and pull out key complaints/observations about life.
In 2:12-17 The Preacher presents the great nemesis to life and that is death itself. The road all men must take. The Preachers biggest problem in life is that you will die, no matter how wise, or rich, or successful you are.
2:18-23 The Preacher bemoans the fact that everything you work for in your life will be passed on to someone else after you die and they could easily undo all you you worked so hard for. I find it very interesting that the writer of all the Proverbs, directed primarily towards his son, states that he doesn't even know if “he who will come after me, will be wise or a fool.” Here are great words of caution to us parents. The wisest man in the world, who told his son everything needed to live a wise and Godly life, doesn't even know his son well enough to know if he will follow through! The Preacher is too busy focusing on himself and his wealth and his concubines that he has no more time to disciple his son than to quickly write a book and instruct that it be given to him.
The Preacher continues in chapter 3 with another realization that all men die and no one knows what will be after him.
Chapter 4 discusses the fact that the world offers no comfort for anyone, both the oppressed and the oppressors. When humanity is so focused on their own interests, it is impossible to open themselves to share in the problems of others without endangering themselves. He also critiques the life that is overly focused on work whether it is the idol itself or just the way to get to its idol. Finally concludes with morning the fact that history forgets those who live. Not to be without hope though, The Preacher does offer antidotes to some of these problems, most notably, Ecc 4:9,12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil... A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart” Stop being self-centered and care about someone else. The more you care about helping and serving others, the less you should care about helping and serving yourself.
Chapter 5 begins with instructions about how to worship God. It is here presumed that the worship of God should be part of our life. However The Preacher warns against a false worship of God. Ecc 5:1 “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” We can still be self-centered when we come to worship God. We must guard our hearts to make sure we are coming to listen rather than for others to see us.
Next The Preacher talks about the vanity of pursuing the idol of wealth. Ecc 5:10 “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.”
Chapter 6 The Preacher examines not just those who gather wealth, but those who pursue wealth at the expense of simply enjoying life. Finally The Preacher concludes this section by stating Ecc 6:9 “What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires.” What we have right in front of us is better than the imagination of what we want because what we imagine doesn't actually exist. Because in our self-centered pursuit of satisfaction, when we get what we imagine to be the thing that brings us the most satisfaction in this life under the sun it doesn't give us satisfaction. As Bill Gates told the reporter, the dollar that brought him the most happiness is, the next one.
The Preacher looked at all the idols the world can offer, Pleasure, Wealth, Success, and Self and declared “All was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
[<32 min] To give an illustration. The Preacher says that listening to the sinful world and trying to be happy with what it can gives you is like trying to grab and keep this smoke. It won't last. It won't bring you happiness. Don't try to keep the smoke, but love the God who made the smoke.
In the next few chapters the Preacher examines the result of the self-centered life. Being fourfold, we are finite, we sin, we suffer injustice, and we die.
Chapter 7 starts with a poem praising the worthiness of wisdom. But in the later half acknowledges that wisdom can not know everything, we are finite in our relation to God, Ecc 7:23-24 “All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?” The Preacher then states that our present predicament is marked by sin against God, Ecc 7:29 “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
Chapter 8 turns to examine a result of that sin, that of injustice. Ecc 8:14 “There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.”
Chapter 9 studies the fact that in our present predicament, we have no control over time, both of our own death, or of the outcomes that we most want Ecc 9:11-12 “Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.”
After examining the present state of the world; the world after the fall of man, in the aftermath of man's pursuit of their idols, he sees that we are finite, we sin, we suffer injustice, and we death. The problem not so much that they exist, but that man is powerless to fix them. Man in his own strength can not know everything, he can not keep himself from sinning, he can not right all the injustices in the world, and he can not control the time of his death.
We now come to the final section in Ecclesiastes where the Preacher, after examining the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the vain idolatry that it brings, and analyzing the current state of the world under the curse, now turns to give five pieces of advice for how we should then live “under the sun.”
1) Flee from folly – In chapter 10 The Preacher gives another list of reasons that wisdom excels folly; Ecc 10:12-13 “The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.”
2) Do not slack in your work – Chapter 11 goes into instructions on how to perform business; Ecc 11:1-2 “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.” Is it wearisome in this life? Invest your time and energy and make the most of it! Do not be like the servant who hid his talent and was cast out! Ecc 9:10 also says it well, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”
3) Rejoice – This has actually been a theme throughout the book that I have skipped over till now but is actually mentioned quite a bit in 2:24-26, 3:12, 3:22, 5:18-20, 8:15, 9:7-9, and now finally 11:9-10. Ecc 2:24-25 “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” The Preacher here confesses that after trying everything he has found only one place that gives lasting joy, and that is in living life with God. Ecc 11:9 “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” Rejoice in what God has given you, but be careful to only enjoy it within the boundaries he has set. Matthew Henry adds, “These things will not make a happiness for the soul; all the good we can have out of them is for the body, and if we make use of them for the comfortable support of that, so that it may be fit to serve the soul and able to keep pace with it in the service of God, then they turn to a good account. ... we must use these things, not to excuse us from, but to make us diligent and cheerful in, our worldly business.”
4) Remember thy Creator – Chapter 12 calls us to Remember before it is too late; Ecc 12:1 “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;” Why in thy youth? Because who knows the hour of his death? The fact that he is called thy Creator helps us to remember our place in history, not the center, but a created person to worship him. It also calls us to remember the creation story and to long for the time when we were newly created, before the corruption of sin entered. The call to remember thy Creator is also a call to rely on him for your needs. Why should we run to the idols of this world when they have been shown to give us no lasting peace? Again Matthew Henry says, "A sovereign Providence breaks men's measures, and blasts their hopes, and teaches them that the way of man is not in himself, but subject to the divine will. We must use means, but not trust to them; if we succeed, we must give God the praise (Ps. 44:3); if we be crossed, we must acquiesce in his will and take our lot."
5) Fear God and keep his commandments – Th final verses of Ecclesiastics read Ecc 12:13-14 “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” God will have the final say on justice. In the midst of injustice The Preacher chooses to acknowledge that God is still sovereign over all that happens in the world. Ecc 8:12-13 “Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.” Matthew Henry comments, “He, the Preacher, would have us not to fret and perplex ourselves about it, or make ourselves uneasy, but cheerfully to enjoy what God has given us in the world, to be content with it and make the best of it, though it be much better with others, and such as we think very unworthy” This is the unshakable faith we are called to have in our Creator. It should be freeing to us that all we must do is obey. We are not called to worry about making things right or fixing the world. We are simply called to fear God ourselves and obey him. God is the one who will judge.
This is the message of Ecclesiastes. If you remember the one sentence I gave earlier: “The preacher calls us to remember that we are temporary residences on an earth corrupted by sin; and to live in humble obedience to, and reliance upon, our eternal creator.”
Besides the aforementioned points, I would like to add four more applications for our own lives that I see we can draw from Ecclesiastes when viewed in the larger scope of Scripture:
1) God's Individual love – Man is not the center of the universe. In the grand scope of history he is just a speck on the timeline, one who is bound captive by the chains of sin, sentenced to die at an unknown time and doomed to be forgotten by the rest of history. We are the creation of a perfect, infinite, powerful, just, Creator. There is no reason that any of us should have any enjoyment in life, that we should even have life at all, yet Jesus still came to earth, and when he did he said, “Mat 6:28-30 “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you?” Solomon, the Preacher in his great glory and wealth and achievements which he pursued under the sun, all the glory and beauty of the Temple, the King's palace, all the gardens and fruit trees, and the riches and extravagances of his reign, all of it was not arrayed like a lily of the field. And here Jesus says that the lifespan of us humans isn't even the shortest life there is. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, will he not much more clothe you?” David also spoke similarly in Psa 8:3-5 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
Not only does God care for us in general, but he has a perfect and sovereign plan over each moment in our lives, Ecc 3:1 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” Matthew Henry again comments, “Those things which to us seem most casual and contingent are, in the counsel and foreknowledge of God, punctually determined, and the very hour of them is fixed, and can neither be anticipated nor adjourned a moment.” God has planned all the times in our individual lives. Psa 139:16 “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Finally, under this point, let us not forget one of the main complaints the Preacher had against this world: that when man dies he is forgotten in history. This should make us pause and think, why should we spend so much time striving for and trying to gain the pleasures of this world if, after we are gone, this world will simply forget us? Should we not much rather spend our time trying to serve and please the who who knows each one by name? Mat 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
2) God's Incessant love – I want to again thank Matthew Henry for pointing this one out to me. The Preacher in his own ability tried to taste and examine through wisdom the very fruit that God himself had forbidden Adam and Eve from eating, and was basically successful. He tried to set himself and his own pleasure and will up as his own god. There was probably close to no sin that he did not himself try out. Yet at the end, it is presumed, he realized the futility of trusting those idols and turned back to the living God. This is the great promise, that no matter what we have done, if we truly repent and turn from our sin, God will not withhold his love from us. "The spirit that was dissipated after a thousand vanities is now collected and made to centre in God. Divine grace can make great sinners great converts, and renew even those to repentance who, after they had known the way of righteousness, turned aside from it, and heal their backslidings, though it is a difficult case."
3) God's Giving love – This ties in very closely to The Preachers call to rejoice, but it looks more at the reasons why we may rejoice. God himself is characterized by giving first he have us the breath of life, then he gave us his promise, then he gave us his law, then he gave his Son, and his Spirit. Jesus again speaks in Mat 7:11 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” If we go back and look at the times that The Preacher calls us to rejoice we will notice that God has given us all good things, and in fact the very things themselves that The Preacher tried to idolize and chase after; Food, drink, clothes, a spouse, friendship,wisdom, joy, good work, enough money (some more than others, but all still enough). We must recognize that these are not the goal in and of themselves but rather are gifts that God has given us to steward and enjoy during our residence on earth.
4) God's Saving love – Ecclesiastes does not do so much to give a remedy to our ailment as much as it does to show us the sickness and then give us simple pain medication to limp by. It does an excellent job analyzing the vaporous idolatry of this life under the sun in a corrupted world. It thoroughly shows to us the brokenness of this world, and our limitations as sinful humans. However it by itself doesn't fill our longing, just gives us advice on how to mask the pain. It points to the inefficiencies of this life and calls us to long for something more than its fleeting whims. Matthew Henry stated as well, "This toil and this trouble are what God has allotted us. He never intended this world for our rest, and therefore never appointed us to take our ease in it. To many it proves a gift. God gives it to men, as the physician gives a medicine to his patient, to do him good. This travail is given to us to make us weary of the world and desirous of the remaining rest. It is given to us that we may be kept in action, and may always have something to do; for we were none of us sent into the world to be idle." Ecclesiastes helps to show us, what C.S.Lewis liked to call, the God-sized hole in our hearts. But it does not provide that God-sized savior to fill it. This is where we look forward to the Cross of Christ. Let us not forget what King David did when he thought of the shortness of this life, instead of running to the world to find fulfillment he ran to God. Psa 39:5-8,12-13 “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool!... “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!”” It is only through looking towards Christ and setting him as our one and only God above all the smaller priorities of this broken world that we can find lasting solutions to the problems in our sinful world. He came to leave us peace and joy, to fill us with the knowledge of the truth, to save us from the bonds of sin, to fulfill God's perfect Justice, and to destroy death once and for all.
Let us learn to pray as St. Augustine did, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”