Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes, unlike Acts, Romans, or Hebrews, does not seem to come right out and discuss the topic of faith. The writer shares about his own life and the pursuit of satisfaction and happiness in his own power. In all of the things he tried to find happiness in, he only found that everything apart from God is meaningless and vain. When he accepted the fact that God has a plan that He is working it out in the author's life, and that all he needs to do is allow Him to work, it was only then that he was able to find true satisfaction and happiness. He then calls the readers to not walk in the same way of meaninglessness as he had, but rather to seek God first, and reap the benefits of faith in God.

The writer of Ecclesiastes is known only as the Qohelet, which is the Hebrew word meaning Teacher, but who exactly the author was is unsure. Traditionally it is believed that King Solomon wrote this book. It is thought to have been written later in his life, based upon some of the content in the book. Solomon was considered the wisest man to ever live. He valued knowledge and the attainment of wisdom. He received wisdom as a gift from God and continued his pursuit of knowledge through his life. In Ecclesiastes 1:13 and 14 the author says "I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the sun". He also says in 2:13 and 14 that "I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both". The writer has realized that for all of his efforts to gain wisdom and knowledge he still faces the same destiny as the fools. In 1:18 he comes to the conclusion that "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge the more grief." The type of wisdom being referred to here is a humanistic wisdom which focuses on gaining knowledge of man and excluding God. It is when God is excluded that wisdom leads to the sorrow and grief.

The author also turned his pursuit of happiness to his work. He thought that perhaps the toils and labor of life would produce the fruits of happiness. He quickly realized that this too is meaningless. Everything that a man works hard to obtain in the end will remain on the earth to become trash or simply to be passed on to another man. A search for happiness in the tangible fruits of our labor brings only temporary pleasure. The writer addresses this in 5:10 and 11; "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?" He also comments in 2:17-18 that "...So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me." The author sees that for all of his hard work he will earn no happiness.

The author also talks about the accumulation of pleasures. If knowledge and work cannot provide happiness, perhaps the pleasures of the world would. The writer obviously had access to all manner of entertainment and things to tie his time up in. The passage in Ecclesiastes 2:3-11 lists all the pleasures that he spent his time and energy on that, like everything else proved to be meaningless:

"I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly-my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."

Even then pleasures of this world continued to leave the author feeling empty and dissatisfied with life. The author sought every pleasure that seemed to be able to bring happiness, but in turn it only brought about bitter disappointment.

The writer is convinced that there are only a few things worth while in this life. In 2:24 he says "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God." The things that happen in this life are all in the hands of God. There is nothing we can do to change them and it's only when we are satisfied with what God has for us that we can be truly happy and satisfied. Ecclesiastes 9:1 says "So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are all in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him." Michael A. Eaton said about the book of Ecclesiastes that "Neither an ominous outlook...nor the unexpected event...must hinder our enthusiasm for life. We cannot control events even when we can anticipate them. Nor can we precisely determine how events will work out... The basis of contentment is God's favor. Humankind has to receive contentment as God's gift" (Wenham, 616-618). It is only when we have faith in God and His higher plan for our lives that we are content. Faith is a confident belief or trust in something or someone. Hebrews defines it as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Through this faith in God, we can receive a joy in living day by day.

The author concludes the book of Ecclesiastes by saying that he has tried everything in life to find

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