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Ecclesiastes
Chapter One
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THE MOLDED bunny lies in the basket, surrounded
by green paper "grass." With Easter morning eyes wide with anticipation, the
little boy carefully lifts the chocolate figure and bites into one of the long
ears. But the sweet taste fades quickly, and the child looks again at the candy
in his hand, It's hollow!
Empty, utile, hollow, nothing...the words ring of disappointment and
disillusionment. Yet this is the life-experience of many. Gasping the sweet
things-possessions, experience, power, and pleasure-they find nothing inside.
Life is empty, meaningless...and they despair.
Almost 3,000 years ago, Solomon spoke of this human dilemma; but the
insights and applications of his message are relevant in our time. Ecclesiastes,
Solomon's written sermon, is an analysis of life's experiences and a critical
essay about its meaning. In this profound book, Solomon takes us on a mental
journey through his life, explaining how everything he tried, tested, or tasted
was "meaningless"-useless, irrational, pointless, foolish, and empty-an exercise
in futility. And remember, these words are from one who "had it all"-tremendous
intellect, power, and wealth. After this biographical tour, Solomon made his
triumphant conclusion: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the
whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every
hidden thing, whether it is god or evil" (12:13, 14).
When Solomon became king, he asked God for wisdom (2Chronicles 1:7-12), and
he became the wisest man in the world (1Kings 4:29-34). He studied, taught,
judged, and wrote. Kings and leaders from other nations came to Jerusalem to
learn from him. But with all of his practical insight on life, Solomon failed to
heed his own advice, and he began a downward spiral. Near the end of his life,
Solomon looked back with an attitude of humility and repentance. He took stock
of the world as he had experienced it, hoping to spare his readers the
bitterness of learning through personal experience that everything apart from
God is empty, hollow, and meaningless.
Although the tone of Ecclesiastes is negative and pessimistic, we must not
conclude that the only chapter worth reading and applying is the last one, where
he draws his conclusions. In reality, the entire book is filled with practical
wisdom (how to accomplish things in the world and stay out of trouble) and
spiritual wisdom (how to find and know eternal values). Solomon had a very
honest approach to life. All his remarks relating to the futility of life are
there for a purpose-to lead people to seek true happiness in God alone. He was
not trying to destroy all hope, but to direct our hopes to the only One who can
truly fulfill them. Solomon affirms the value of knowledge, relationships, work,
and pleasure, but only in their proper place. All of these temporal
things in life must be seen in light of the eternal.
Read Ecclesiastes and learn about life. Hear the stern warnings and dire
predictions, and commit yourself to remember your Creator now (12:1).
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VITAL STATISTICS
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PURPOSE:
To spare generations the bitterness of learning through their own
experience that life is meaningless apart from God
AUTHOR:
Solomon
TO WHOM WRITTEN:
Solomon's subjects in particular, and all people in general
DATE WRITTEN:
Probably around 935 B.C., late in Solomon's life
SETTING:
Solomon was looking back on his life, much of which was lived apart from
God
KEY VERSE:
"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God
and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (12:13).
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THE BLUEPRINT
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1) Solomon's personal experience (1:1-2:26)
2) Solomon's general observations (3:1-5:20)
3) Solomon's practical counsel (6:-8:17)
4) Solomon's final conclusion (9:1-12:14)
Ecclesiastes shows that certain paths in life
lead to emptiness. This profound book also helps us discover true purpose in
life. Such wisdom can spare us from the emptiness that results from a life
without God. Solomon teaches that people will not find meaning in life in
knowledge, money, pleasure, work, or popularity. True satisfaction comes from
knowing that what we are doing is part of God's purpose for our lives. This is a
book that can help free us from our scramble for power, approval, and money, and
draw us closer to God.
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MEGATHEMES
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THEME:
Searching
EXPLANATION:
Solomon searched for satisfaction almost as though he was conducting a
scientific experiment. Through this process, he discovered that life without God
is a long and fruitless search for enjoyment, meaning, and fulfillment. True
happiness is not in our power to accumulate or attain because we always want
more than we can have. In addition, there are circumstances beyond our control
that can snatch away our possessions or attainments.
IMPORTANCE:
People are still searching. Yet the more they try to get, the more they
realize how little they really have. No pleasure or happiness is possible
without God. Without him, satisfaction is a lost search. Above everything we
should strive to know and love God. He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy.
THEME:
Emptiness
EXPLANATION:
Solomon shows how empty it is to pursue pleasures that this life has to
offer rather than a relationship with an eternal God. The search for pleasure,
wealth, and success is ultimately disappointing. Nothing in the world can fill
the emptiness and satisfy the deep longings in our restless hearts.
IMPORTANCE:
The cure for emptiness is to center on God. His love also can fill
emptiness of human experience. Fear God throughout your life and fill your life
with serving God and others rather than with selfish pleasures.
THEME:
Work
EXPLANATION:
Solomon tried to shake people's confidence in their own efforts,
abilities, and wisdom and to direct them to faith in God as the only sound basis
for living. Without God, there in no lasting reward or benefit in hard work.
IMPORTANCE:
Work done with the wrong attitude will leave us empty. But work accepted
as an assignment from God can be seen as a gift. Examine what you expect from
your efforts. God gives you abilities and opportunities to work so that you can
use your time well.
THEME:
Death
EXPLANATION:
The certainly of death makes all merely human achievements futile. God
has a plan for human destiny that goes beyond life and death. The reality of
aging and dying reminds each individual of the end to come when God will judge
each person's life.
IMPORTANCE:
Because life is short, we need wisdom that is greater than this world
can offer. We need the words of God. If we listen to him, his wisdom spares us
the bitterness of futile human experience and gives us a hope that goes beyond
death.
THEME:
Wisdom
EXPLANATION:
Human wisdom doesn't contain all the answers. Knowledge and education
have their limits. To understand life, we need the wisdom that can be found only
in God's Word to us-the Bible.
IMPORTANCE:
When we realize that God will evaluate all that we do, we should learn
to live wisely, remembering that he is present each day, and learning to obey
his guidelines for living. But in order to have God's wisdom, we must first get
to know and honor him.
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Solomon's Profile
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Wisdom is only effective when it is put into
action. Early in his life, Solomon had the sense to recognize his need for
wisdom. But by the time Solomon asked for wisdom to rule his kingdom, he had
already started a habit that would make his wisdom ineffective for his own
life-he sealed a pact with Egypt by marring Pharaoh's daughter. She was the
first of hundreds of wives married for political reasons. In doing this, Solomon
went against not only his father's last words, but also God's direct commands.
His action reminds us how easy it is to know what is right and yet not do it.
It is clear that God's gift of wisdom to Solomon did not mean that he
couldn't make mistakes. He had been given great possibilities as the king of
God's chosen people, but with them came great responsibilities; unfortunately,
he tended to pursue the former and neglected the latter. While becoming famous
as the builder of the temple and the palace, he became infamous as a leader who
excessively taxed and worked his people. Visitors from distant lands came to
admire this wise king, while his own people were gradually alienated from him.
Little is mentioned in the Bible about the last decade of Solomon's reign.
Ecclesiastes probably records his last reflections on life. In that book we find
a man proving through bitter experience that finding meaning in the life from
God is a vain pursuit. Security and contentment are found only in a personal
relationship with God. The contentment we find in the opportunities and
successes of this life is temporary. The more we expect our successes to be
permanent, the more quickly they are gone. Be sure to balance your pursuit of
life's possibilities with reliable fulfillment of your responsibilities.
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Strengths and accomplishments
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* Third king of Israel, David's chosen heir
* The wisest man who ever lived
* Author of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, as well as many of the proverbs and
a couple of the psalms
* Built God's temple in Jerusalem
* Diplomat, trader, collector, patron of the arts
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Weaknesses and mistakes
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* Sealed many foreign agreements by marrying
pagan women
* Allowed his wives to affect his loyalty to God
* Excessively taxed his people and drafted them into a labor and military force
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Lessons from his life
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* Effective leadership can be nullified by an
ineffective personal life
* Solomon failed to obey God, but did not learn the lesson of repentance until
late in life
* Knowing what actions are required of us means little without the will to do
those actions
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Vital statistics
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* Where: Jerusalem
* Occupation: King of Israel
* Relatives: Father: David. Mother: Bathsheba. Brothers: Absalom, Adonijah.
Sister: Tamar. Son: Rehoboam
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Key verse
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"Was it not because of marriages like these
that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king
like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but
even he was led into sin by foreign women" (Nehemiah 13:26).
Solomon's story is told in 2Samuel 12:24-1Kings
11:43. He is also mentioned in 1Chronicles 28, 29; 2Chronicles 1-10; Nehemiah
13:26; Psalm 72; and Matthew 6:29; 12:42.
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(1) Solomon's personal answer
Everything is Meaningless
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1) Whose words are these?
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The author, Solomon (the "king over
Israel in Jerusalem," see 1:12), referred to himself as the Teacher, or leader
of the assembly. He was both assembling people to hear a message and gathering
wise sayings (proverbs). Solomon, one person in the Bible who had everything
(wisdom, power, riches, honor, reputation, God's favor), is the one who
discussed the ultimate emptiness of all that this world has to offer. He tried
to destroy people's confidence in their own efforts, abilities, and
righteousness and direct them to commitment to God as the only reason for
living.
2) What did Solomon say was meaningless?
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Solomon's kingdom, Israel, was in its
golden age, but Solomon wanted the people to understand that success and
prosperity don't last long (Psalm 103:14-16; Isaiah 40:6-8; James 4:14). All
human accomplishments will one day disappear, and we must keep this in mind in
order to live wisely. If we don't, we will become either proud and
self-sufficient when we succeed or sorely disappointed when we fail. Solomon's
goal was to show that earthly possessions and accomplishments are ultimately
meaningless. Only the pursuit of God brings real satisfaction. We should honor
God in all we say, think, and do.
3) What did Solomon say comes and goes, what
did he say remains forever, what did he say rises and sets, where does the wind
blow, where does it turn, where does all steams flow into, where will the
streams return again, what did Solomon say all things are, what does the eye
never have enough of, what does the ear never have its fill of, what will be
again, what will be done again, where is there nothing new under, what can no
one say, when was it here, who is there no remembrance of, and who will not be
remembered by those who follow?
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The teacher plunges straight into
search for ultimate truth and stability in nature and in human history. He cites
examples of research into repetitive phenomena, choosing first four basic facts
of the created order: (1) the solid earth, (2) the rising and setting of the
heavenly bodies, (3) air currents, and (4) the flow and evaporation of water.
South and north are selected as a balance to the east and west of the sun.
Solomon was interested in nature generally (cf. 1Kings 4:33).
Scientists define physical laws that have always operated; but if we ask
them about origins or some ultimate purpose, there is nothing they can tell us
from nature that will give the meaning of life. The biblical view of nature,
however, is that it testifies to a Creator, though it does not compel belief in
him (e.g., Psalm 19; Romans 1:20). But the Teacher is concerned with proof
rather than testimony and rightly maintains that meaning and security cannot be
found in nature alone. If everything is endlessly cyclical, how can we break out
of temporal circle into a state that leads nowhere? We may also ask, What is the
true meaning to be found in nature-if there is a meaning, is it found in the
beauty of spring or in the violence of the storm and the earthquake?
There is a similar impasse in the study of history. What help is there in an
endless succession of birth and death? History shows men and women struggling to
find meaning in their experiences, but all in vain. Every generation looks for
some satisfying novelty, but each novelty can be analyzed as only a variant on
the past. Obviously, there have been may inventions; but in the context the
Teacher probably has in mind any invention that enables human beings to break
out of nature and the succession of history into meaning, which transcends the
sense of futility. They have not found it; and each generation, regarding itself
as the greatest, still reaches no conclusion. (NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan)
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Wisdom Is Meaningless
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4) Where was the Teacher king over, what did
he devote himself to, what has God laid on men, what has Solomon seen, what did
he say all of them are, what cannot be straightened out, and what cannot be
counted?
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The Teacher has confronted us with a
situation that today might be called "existential." The human race exists in a
series of experiences and cannot discover any onward meaning in them. All people
can do is exist and make the best of what comes-or drop out altogether. Yet most
people still believe that life has some meaning if only they could find it. In
his first mention of God, the Teacher stated what comes out again later (e.g.,
3:11)-namely, that God has given something to humankind that he has denied to
the rest of the animal world: the constant, though often worrying, urge to make
sense of life and to work toward a transcendent ideal. Human beings, in the
likeness of God, look for meanings so they can control and direct their
instinctive desires.
There is so much people cannot understand. Not only are people aiming at
unsubstantial ideals, which blow away like the wind, but their efforts to
straighten things out and supply what seems to be lacking are continually
disappointed. Today we have straightened out many of the twists of the past and
added many comforts to life; but as many of us have seen in our lifetime, in one
moment a whole generation or some dominant group of rulers can revive the
horrors of the past and destroy what is truly good and meaningful in life. (NIV
Bible Commentary, Zondervan)
5) What did Solomon say he has increased in
more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before him, what has he experienced, what did he apply himself to, what did he learn, what comes with much
wisdom, and what comes with more knowledge?
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The more you understand, the more pain
and difficulty you experience. For example, the more you know, the more you
observe, the more evil becomes evident. As you set out with Solomon to find the
meaning of life, you must be ready to feel more, think more, question more, hurt
more, and do more. Are you ready to pay the price for wisdom?
Solomon highlights two kinds of wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes: (1)
human knowledge, reasoning, or philosophy, and (2) the wisdom that comes from
God. In these verses Solomon is talking about human knowledge. When human
knowledge ignores God, it only highlights our problems because it can't provide
answers without God's eternal perspective and solution.
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Answers Ecclesiastes Chapter One
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1) of the Teacher, son of David, king in
Jerusalem
2) everything
3) generations...the earth...the sun...to the south...to the north...the sea,
yet the sea is never full...the place the streams come
from...wearisome...seeing...hearing...what has been...what has been done...the
sun..."Look! This is something new?"...before our time...men of old...those who
are yet to come
4) Israel in Jerusalem...study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under
heaven...a heavy burden...all the things that are done under the
sun...meaningless, a chasing after the wind...what is twisted...what is lacking
5) wisdom...much of wisdom and knowledge...the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness
and folly...that this too is a chasing after the wind...much sorrow...more grief
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Taken from The NIV Life Application Study
Bible, Zondervan Publishers
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