This book, taken by some as an allegory of the believer’s relationship with God, is better understood in its plain sense as a lyric love poem. Its joyful and sometimes erotic portrayal of the relationship between a lover and his beloved reminds us that intimacy within marriage is a gift, given by the God who created human beings male and female.
“Fear God and kepp His commanments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecc 12:13–14).Life truly is short. Unless we learn to live with eternity in view, our lives will also be meaningless.
Overview
The Teacher continued to explore the choices a secular man can make in view of life’s essential meaninglessness. His advice: Enjoy life while you can (9:1–12), choose wisdom’s ways (v. 13–10:20), prepare for the future (11:1–6), and enjoy your youth (v. 7–12:8). Finally, stepping out of his secular role, the Teacher advised: “Fear God and keep His commandments” (vv. 9–14).
Understanding the Text
“All share a common destiny” Ecc. 9:1–10.
Death is the destiny that awaits all men. This, when life is viewed from a secular viewpoint, is all one can say. The dead have no “part in anything that happens under the sun.” As far as one can tell apart from divine revelation “the dead know nothing; they have no furthur reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.” If this life is all there is, then all one can do is enjoy and live this life to the full (chaps. 9–10). It’s important to remember that the writer was not serving as God’s spokesman, but as spokesman for secular man. The text represents what man can discover about the most basic issues of life using only reason and data available to the senses. such phrases as “the dead know nothing” are not revelations from God, but reasoned human conclusions. Perfume jars like these were used in Old Testaments times to hold sweet-smelling ointments. The image in Ecclesiates 10:1 of dead fliews spoiling the odor of perfume has given us the saying, “there’s a fly in the ointment.” We use it to mean that something has gone seriously wrong. “Wisdom is better” Ecc. 9:11–10:20. In this extended passage the Teacher expressed his preference for wisdom over folly. But there’s a fly in the ointment! While wisdom is preferable, wisdom cannot quarantee anyone a better life! What is seriously wrong with wisdom? First, Solomon asked us to realize that nothing in this life can guarantee success (9:11–12). The swift do not always win the race. The largest army is not always victorious. Wisdom is no guarantee of wealth. In this world men are vulnerable, likely to be “trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.” Chance is not the only factor that makes wisdom of uncertain benefit. Here is the writer’s list: 9:13–16. Wisdom is often unrecognized. People pay more attention to rich fools than to poor wise men. 9:17–10:1. Wisdom can be thwarted, by those in authority (9:17), by moral deficiency (v. 18), and by mistaking spoiled advice for the real thing (10:1). 10:2–3. Folly, which is the opposite of wisdom and is associated with wickedness, competes with wisdom, and we are vulnerable. 10:4–7. When offended we are likely to react foolishly—and since so many fools hold high positions, we’re likely to be offended. Here the author drifted slightly and examined the consequences of folly: 10:8–11. Any foolish action has bad consequences for the actor, as illustrated by several sayings and proverbs. 10:12–14. Wise words are “gracious.” The word means kind, appropriate, helpful. But foolish words degenerate into even wilder thoughts and actions, including pronouncements about a future no one can know. 10:15. Fools are incompetent guides to life: A fool can’t even find his way into town! 10:16–20. Folly in national life, as in the individual, leads to disaster. “Sow your seed in the morning” Ecc. 11:1–6. While no one can control the futre (v. 3), it is best to prepare for it as carefully as possible. “Let him enjoy them all” Ecc. 11:7–12:6. It is best to enjoy each day as it comes, and especially while you are young. The exhortation to “remember your Creator in the days of your youth” is not a call to monastic life, but an invitation to enjoy all the good things God has provided in this creation. All too soon old age—the “days of trouble”—will come, when we lose the capacity to enjoy things. Then the world becomes dark (v. 2), for the body stoops (v. 3), teath wear out (v. 3), eyes dim (v. 3) and hearing fades (v. 4). Weakness brings fear (v. 5) and drains desire (v. 5). Then man, like a cut cord, a broken bowl, or a shattered pitcher, is useful no more, and the “the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Man is born. Man lives a brief and empty life. Man dies, and returns to dust. If this is all there is, then life truly is meaningless. “Now all has been heard” Ecc. 12:9–14. It’s comforting to suppose that the Teacher, who the text here and in other places suggests is solomon, stepped out of his role as representative of secular man at the end of Ecclesiastes. Although even here he did not use the name Yahweh, he did speak of God’s commandments, which are least implies some self-revelation. If solomon is in fact the Teacher, and he did step out of his secular role, his words are especially powerful. In the end we must all turn to find hope and meaning. When we not only look back to see God as Creator, but also look up to see Him as our Lord and ahead to see Him as mankind’s Judge, then we discover not only who God is, but whi we are as well. Then we realize that any life lived for the Lord will find its meaning in Him.
DEVOTIONAL
Wise Too Late(Ecc. 11:7–12:14)
Solomon, who most believe is the Teacher of Ecclesiastes, was a godly young man. But in middle age, like the Teacher, he turned aside from wholly following the Lord. First Kings 11 tells us that passion for his foreign wives led him astray, even to the extent of worshipping their gods. During this extended perios of his life Solomon lived as a secular man. He accrued vast wealth, undertook massive building projects, and denied himself no pleasures. But then having “had it all,” Solomon saw how empty his life was. “Meaningless! Meaningless!” is a cry of anguish that surely fits the tragic experience of Israel’s most spolndid king. How sad that Solomon, so wise in many ways, lost his spiritual moorings. If indeed Solomon is the one who urges us “to remember the days of our youth,” uttering these words must have been tragic for him indeed. there is no greater tragedy than to become wise and old at the same time, and to look back and realize one has lived a wasted life. I know unsolicted advice is about as welcome as unexpected visitors who appear on the doorstep with luggage in hand. But at least Solomon’s advice is cheap. Not to him, of course. He pais for everything he learned in becoming wise too late. For us the advice is free. Only if we fail to follow it will we pay the truly terrible cost.
Personal Application
Put God first today. Tomorrow will be too little, too late.
Quotable
“He belongs to you, but more than that, He longs to be in you, living and ruling in you, as the head lives and rules in the body. He wants His breath to be in your breath, His heart in your heart, and His soul in your soul, so that you may indeed, ‘Glorify God and bear Him in your body, that the life of Jesus may be manifest in you.’ ”—Jean Eudes
a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow?” (Ecc. 6:12)As we sense the despair that grips the Teacher’s heart in his role as secular man, we realize afresh how great God’s salvation is. Making the best of a meaningless life is secular man’s fate. Our challenge is to make a meaningful life better!
Overview
In his role as secular man the Teacher showed life’s meaninglessness by a further critique of religion (5:1–7), riches (vv. 8–20), and the brevity of life (6:1–12). His theme proven, the Teacher then suggested how to make the best of an essentially meaningless life (7:1–8:17).
Understanding the Text
“Let your words be few” Ecc. 5:1–7. In natural religion human beings seek to reach up to God from earth, and find Him distant and unreachable. This is the implication of the saying, “God is in heaven, you are on earth.” God may know man, but man does not know God. Thus the religious person should let his words be few, stand in awe, and if he makes a vow to God, should fulfill it quickly lest the unknown God be angry. In revealed religion, God is initiator. He reaches down from heaven to reveal Himself to man. This God is known on earth, and His will is known too. How terrible it is to be driven by reason to acknowledge God’s existence, but to know nothing about Him! How wonderful that in His Word and in Christ, our God has spoken to us of His love, compassion, and salvation. “As he comes, so he departs” Ecc. 5:8–20. Several reasons are offered to show why wealth is incapable of providing life with meaning. A person may work hard—but his profits are eaten up in taxes (vv. 8–9). Even a rich man isn’t satisfied with his wealth. He just wants more (v. 10). The more one earns the more he spends (v. 11). People with money lie awake worrying about keeping it (v. 12). Hoarded wealth is more likely to do harm than good—and when a man dies he can’t take it with him (vv. 13–17). In short, the only value of wealth is as a narcotic, to keep a man so occupied with earthly pleasures that he doesn’t realize how empty his life really is (vv. 18–20). When a Christian adopts materialistic values, he or she has chosen the empty, meaningless way of life of secular man. Christ died in part to free us from an unhealthy love of money. “Even if he lives a thousand years” Ecc. 6:1–12. One of the most grievous evils identified by the Teacher is that, however long a man lives, it is not long enough. Even a person with wealth, possessions, and honor soon dies, with his appetites still unsatisfied. In saying that “all man’s efforts are for his mouth,” the writer suggested that secular man is on a treadmill. He works to satisfy his physical needs and desires, yet however well-fed, he becomes hungry again, and however supplied with drink his thirst returns. In it all, his deepest need, the nameless desire for meaning, persists as an aching desire that no food or drink can quench. “Whatever exists has already been named.” Life on earth is an endless repetition, a treadmill on which each new generation walks or runs until their “few and meaningless days” are over. There is no meaning to be found in the life lived by secular man. “Is better than” Ecc. 7:1–8:17. With the close of chapter 6, the author had finished presenting proof that life under the sun, without a personal relationship with God, is meaningless. But he continued his quest. Given the meaninglessness of life, what should a person do? Solomon, unlike the authors of other ancient pessimistic wisdom literature, did not suggest suicide. Instead he suggested that a man examine his options, and choose the lesser of evils. We can trace the options he suggested in 7:1–12:8. In today’s reading, here is the advice of the Teacher concerning choices open to secular man. 7:1–12. Even if life is meaningless, some things in life are better than others. For instance, sorrow is better than laughter—if only because it is more realistic! For the same reason, it’s foolish to say that “the old days” were better than today! Although these conclusions may not be obvious, it is obvious that some things are better than others. For instance, the end of a matter is better than the beginning. Patience is better than pride. The wise are better off than fools. Given this, the Teacher offers his advice. 7:13–14. Adopt a fatalistic attitude. What God has determined cannot be changed, and no one can know ahead of time whether God’s future holds good times or bad for him. 7:15–22. Avoid extremes. Don’t set out to be too righteous or too wicked, and ignore what other people may say about you. 7:23–8:1. Wisdom is better than stupidity. But wisdom has its limits. It will not enable a person to discover “the scheme of things,” and it will not make a person righteous. In fact, wisdom forces one to the conclusion that while God may have made man upright, “men have gone in search of many schemes.” 8:2–10. Adjust to the rules of your society. It is far better to fit in than to be a rebel. This thought underlies the Teacher’s call to obey the king, and not rock the boat by challenging his authority. 8:11–14. Fear God as Judge. This is a difficult call, for one must take it on faith that in the end God will punish the wicked—despite the present prosperity of so many wicked men. In essence the Teacher suggested, don’t take chances where God is concerned. Wisdom tells us He is there, even if we do not know anything else about Him. 8:15. Enjoy while you can. Take what pleasure is possible from this life, even though it is meaningless. 8:16–17. Finally the writer made a significant confession. Even the conclusions he had drawn rested on insufficient evidence! No one can really “comprehend what goes on under the sun.” Human reason is incapable of drawing all the evidence together and reaching correct conclusions. Human reason cannot truly describe, or even comprehend, all of reality. We conclude with this thought. The conclusions of secular man about the meaninglessness of life are faulty, simply because secular man does not have all the evidence, nor is he able to fit it together accurately. The best that secular man can do is guess about the true nature of the universe in which he lives. And his best guesses lead, inevitably, to the conclusion that life for the individual is empty and meaningless. How wonderful that you and I do not have to guess! How wonderful that we know. We know the origin of our universe and its destiny. We know that we human beings have been created in the image of God, are loved by Him, and are destined to live forever! We know the saving power God has unleashed in this world through Jesus. And, because we know, we are freed from secular man’s bondage to despair.
DEVOTIONAL
“Better Than” Choices(Ecc. 7–8)
Any set of beliefs that a person adopts is to be used as criteria to evaluate choices. This may sound a little stuffy. But it expresses a vital truth. The Teacher of Ecclesiastes concluded that life was meaningless, and from that starting point went on to distinguish options in life which were better than others. We Christians start with a different set of conclusions. We believe that life is meaningful. God loves us, and has chosen us, in Jesus’ words, “to go and bear fruit” (John 15:16). Other New Testament passages put it a little differently, but the thought is the same. We have been chosen that we might “be for the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:12). We are God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (2:10). This is not a secular universe, formed by chance. It is a universe created by a personal God, who has chosen to love us—and chosen us to love and serve Him. What options then are “better” if our set of beliefs about the world is formed by a belief in God and by experience of His love? Well, some of life’s better things for the Christian include: Caring more about people than about things. Giving ourselves to serve rather than be served. Storing up treasure in heaven rather than on earth. Spending time with God’s Word rather than TV sitcoms. Making time for our families rather than spending all our time and energy on our jobs. Depending on God rather than on ourselves, and expressing that dependence in prayer. And so on. You can add to this list just as easily as I can. You see, our problem isn’t in knowing what “better than” choices are open to us as Christians. Our problem is in making those choices daily. No, this isn’t one of those “let’s add on some more guilt” devotionals. It’s just a reminder. The life of secular man really is meaningless. God’s call to you and me to make “better than” choices is His invitation to discover something that secular man can never know. A truly meaningful, and thus blessed, life.
Personal Application
The “better than” choices we make for Jesus’ sake end up as blessings for us.
Quotable
“Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.”—David Starr Jordan
“ ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless’ ” (Ecc. 1:2).Many thoughtful non-Christians will find that this book reflects an all-too-familiar sense of despair. Life in this world has not changed fundamentally from the author’s day. Apart from a personal relationship with God any life truly is meaningless.
Background
Ecclesiastes fits into a strain of ancient wisdom literature marked for its pessimism. Its sense of the futility of life is found in Egyptian works from about 2300–2100B.C, as well as in Mesopotamian writings ranging from that date to the 7th centuryB.C One work, the Dialogue of Pessimism, written about 1300B.C, concludes that for man trapped in a meaningless universe only one “good” exists: “To have my neck broken and your neck broken and to be thrown into the river is good.” The writer of Ecclesiastes set the limits of his search for meaning. He would use his reason (to “explore by wisdom,” 1:13) and he would use data he could gather by observation in this world (“under the sun”). While nature does provide evidence that God exists, He can be known as Redeemer only by special revelation. Thus the personal name of God, Yahweh, is not found in Ecclesiastes. Moreover, while the Teacher’s conclusions are accurately recorded, and do follow what man can observe in society and the material universe, his conclusions do not correspond with revealed truth (cf. 3:20–21; 9:5). What then is the value of the Book of Ecclesiastes? It serves an important pre-evangelism function, evoking images intended to make the reader sensitive to the futility of life apart from God. While the nonbeliever can enjoy the natural blessings which God graciously provides, he or she must always be troubled by an underlying sense of the ultimate meaninglessness of life.
Overview
The Teacher stated that life in this world is meaningless (1:1–11). To prove his point he examined wisdom (vv. 12–18), pleasures (2:1–16), hard work (vv. 17–26), religion (3:1–22), and life’s unfairness (4:1–16).
Understanding the Text
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” Ecc. 1:1–11 The Hebrew word translated “meaningless” in the NIV and “vanity” in the King James is hebel. It’s underlying meanings include futility, deceptiveness, unreliability, and brevity. Human life, if our 70 or so years on earth is all there is, is rendered empty. Short and insubstantial, life in this world can provide no permanent satisfaction. It’s hard for a young person, setting out with dreams of conquering the business or professional world, visions of pleasure, or even of marriage and family, to grasp how empty life will be even if he or she achieves those goals. This is perhaps one of the great values of this powerful Old Testament book: its dark outlook forces even the most optimistic individual to reexamine assumptions about the meaning of life. What a blessing that this book is found in a library of 66, with the others testifying to the fact that God did not create any individual life to flare up for a brief moment, and then to flicker out. Any time we are envious of this world’s wealthy or famous, we can read Ecclesiastes and remember that the true meaning of our life is tied, not to time, but to eternity. “The more knowledge, the more grief” Ecc. 1:12–18. In general, “wisdom” in Scripture is the ability to apply God’s guidelines for moral living to practical issues, and thus to choose what is right. In this book, which rules out revelation a priori, wisdom remains practical. But here it is the ability to understand the practical implications of secular study and observation. The tragedy is that the pursuit of secular knowledge is a “chasing after the wind.” Whatever we may achieve through science or philosophy offers no answer to the question of what makes individual life meaningful. In fact, the more one explores, the greater his or her sense of grief. There is a vast difference between secular and spiritual knowledge. While the one can make our life on earth more comfortable, the other alone can give our life meaning and purpose. It follows, as one of our pastors suggested at Sunday vespers, that we ought to concentrate on studying the Word of God. Only here will we find not only meaning but also lasting comfort and joy. “I refused my heart no pleasure” Ecc. 2:1–11. Philosophers have categorized pleasures. Some are “pleasures of the flesh.” The person who seeks pleasure in drugs, drink, or sex looks for it in bodily sensations. There are also “higher” pleasures. Among such pleasures tradition names the pleasure a person takes in his achievements, in accumulating wealth, or the pure intellectual pleasure of learning and displaying knowledge. As pagan philosophers have taught, the problem with pleasures of the flesh is that a price must be paid. The drunk suffers hangovers and cirrhosis of the liver. The drug addict loses his grip on reality. But the Teacher makes a distinctive contribution. All pleasures are meaningless. As far as adding meaning to life, each is “chasing after wind.” “I hated all the things I had toiled for” Ecc. 2:17–26. The drive to achieve great things is incapable of providing life with meaning. In the end all that a person poured his effort and skill into, all that has taken such a toll in personal pain and grief, will be left to another who has not worked for it. It’s a lucky man (the sense here of references to God) who is satisfied with his work and his pleasures. In the last analysis, the “great man” who was driven to achieve is the miserable one. “Yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” Ecc. 3:1–22. While some have taken this chapter as an appeal to seek meaning through relationship with God, it seems best to understand it as a critique of natural religion. Nature does provide evidence that God exists. We see Him revealed in the regularity of His creation (vv. 1–8), and in man’s universal assumption that there is more to life than food and drink (vv. 9–17). Yet God remains a mystery (v. 11), and there is no evidence from nature to support the conviction that human beings are different from animals (vv. 18–21). As man’s religions can offer no certain knowledge about life after death, their practitioners must be satisfied with enjoying life in this world. What a difference between man’s religions and revealed religion. We alone can look beyond time, and know what eternity holds. “I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun” Ecc. 4:1–16. The existence of injustice contributes to the conclusion that, if this is all there is, life must be meaningless. Men so mistreat their fellows that death is preferable (vv. 1–3). The envy and competitiveness that motivate man’s achievements destroy inner tranquility (vv. 4–6), while necessity alone bonds men together (vv. 7–12). Even possession of authority over others is fleeting and meaningless. It’s been popular in the past three decades to assume that somehow meaning is found in interpersonal relationships. But the one relationship that counts is ignored by secular man. Only a relationship with God, resting on His love for and commitment to us, can truly meet our needs.
DEVOTIONAL
Gotta Try It to Know(Ecc. 2)
In his search for meaning the Teacher used two basic methods. Observe others. And, try it and see. When it came to pleasures—whether the pleasure of accomplishing some great building project, amassing great wealth, or a pleasure of the flesh—his approach was, “Try it and see.” We’re often tempted to take this approach to life. “How can I tell unless I try it for myself?” The answer, of course, is that we know about lots of things that aren’t beneficial without having to try them for ourselves. We wouldn’t try jumping off a 10-story building to see if it’s fun to fly. It might very well be. But the landing would be pretty hard. How fortunate we are to have in Scripture a reliable guide to what is truly good for us, and what will hurt. Rather than say with Qoheleth, “How can I tell unless I try,” we say, “I know this isn’t worth trying, for God’s Word warns me away.”
Personal Application
God is a better guide than experience.
Quotable
“Experience is the best of schoolmasters, only the school fees are heavy.”—Thomas Carlyle
This book reports the efforts of “the Teacher,” long believed to be Solomon, to find meaning in life apart from a personal relationship with God. His pessimistic conclusion: such a life is “meaningless,” and will lead to despair. Only those who “fear God and keep His commandments” can live in hope.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I.
Prologue: Life Is Meaningless
Ecc. 1:1–11
II.
Proof: Meaninglessness Demonstrated
Ecc. 1:12–6:12
III.
Preferences: Making the Best of a Meaningless Life
This is my personal collection of thoughts and writings, mainly from much smarter people than I, which challenge me in my discipleship walk. Don't rush by these thoughts, but ponder them.
Milo 