Introduction to Ecclesiastes
As we begin our adventure through Ecclesiastes, we should set out a little background information about it. First of all, I want to be very up front with you: This book is a little tricky, so we need to be very careful about things like context. If we don’t keep the context straight, then we will come away with a long list of contradictions with the rest of Solomon’s writings, not to mention the rest of Scripture. Thus, we must first and foremost bear in mind that this is a book of personal reflections, most of which are not intended as godly counsel or direction. If we aren’t clear on that, and we decide to interpret this in a strictly literal sense, then by the time we are half way through, we will simply give up on life and look for a bridge to jump off of, or a psychiatrist to medicate us. This is not the intent of the book, and it is why I have called it a “tricky” book.
To understand this more fully, let’s take a quick review of the career of Solomon, the book’s author. King Solomon reigned over Israel for 40 years, following in the footsteps of his father, King David. His reign was the high water mark for ancient Israel, being as it was a time of unparalleled power and prosperity. In the early days of his reign, Solomon had a very close relationship with God, received a special gift of wisdom and wrote the Song of Songs. As time passed and Solomon’s storehouse of wives and riches continued, he began to fall away from God, and his apostasy began to show up among his subjects. As a mature man, he penned the Proverbs, sharing much of the wisdom God had granted him. Although the historical books don’t provide a great deal of data on Solomon, they do indicate that he entered a period in which he was, well let’s just say he wasn’t quite right in his thinking, but began to restore his relationship with God, and although his relationship was never again what it had been, he seemed to come to terms with God in his last years. This is when he wrote Ecclesiastes, and it clearly reflects the results of his searching for wisdom and the trials that this search brought upon him. As you might suspect, this is reflected in the structure of the book.
Ecclesiastes has three sections: A prologue (1:1-11) which introduces the book’s main themes, the body (1:12-12:8) which consists of a long monologue outlining Solomon’s search for the meaning of life, and a brief epilogue (12:9-14). The prologue and epilogue are distinguished from the main body by the use of the third person reference to Koheleth (which means “preacher”), and in this respect mirrors the structure of Job.
The aspect of this book that we must always bear in mind is that throughout, Solomon writes from two entirely different points of view. One is the viewpoint of natural man, and the other is from the viewpoint of divine insight. The natural man’s view of life is skeptical and pessimistic (all is vanity) while the divine view is steadfast and hopeful. Obviously, mixing these two up is what results in chaos and confusion for a reader. An example of Solomon’s two points of view is found in 12:11 where he speaks of this negative and positive commentary under the metaphors “the gods” for the negative and “nails” for the positive. As we go through the book, I’ll point out more along these lines, and we won’t be confused.
I have written many times of the futility of trying to find Truth through human wisdom, pointing out that Truth is to be found in the One who is “the way, the truth and the life.” As you will come to understand, old King Solomon spent a great many years and a whole lot of trouble and anguish to learn this vital lesson.
The Adventure Begins
Ecclesiastes 1:1-12
And so, we begin our most excellent adventure through the book of Ecclesiastes. After identifying Solomon as the “Teacher” of this lesson, the theme of the entire book is set forth in verses 2-3: The works of men are meaningless. The latest NIV uses the word “meaningless” here where other translations, certainly the older ones, have used the English word “vanity,” and I must admit that I’ve had some difficulty getting used to the change. The Hebrew word is hebel which literally means vapor or breath. Used as it is in this book, what it really refers to is something that is fleeting and empty; without meaning. “Vain” or “vanity” would be the traditional words for this, as in “they shall not have died in vain” meaning “for no reason.” So, I must admit that the new Niv’s “meaningless” is spot on in modern usage.
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
We need to note the expression “under the sun” and understand that it tells us the point of view from which the author is speaking: life “under the sun,” here on earth, the natural state of things without God. As you will see, he writes differently when he changes his viewpoint to include God. Thus, the whole theme of the book is that all of human striving and energy in this world has no meaning whatsoever.
Verses 4-8 give four examples from nature to back up the author’s thesis:
First, in verse 4, he mentions succeeding generations as coming and going, verse 5 mentions the rising and setting of the sun over and over, then verse 6 speaks of the wind that blows and blows. Verse 7 mentions the rivers and streams that flow and flow; time marches forward and what is accomplished? Verse 8 seems to sum this up as simply wearisome, as though there is all of this natural activity… and so what?
Verses 9-11 amplify this unceasing action of nature and brings it into human terms: “There is nothing new under the sun.” The generations have always come and gone, the sun has always risen and set, the wind has always blown and the rivers and streams have always flowed; none of this is new. Nobody remembers the former generations of people, and nobody will remember us. In all of these generations, people have worked and striven to accomplish great things, and who even remembers their names or what they were about?
Who cares?
Nobody!
The Christian faith is essentially an optimistic faith, we speak of victory, and redemption, hope, assurance and an eternal future… see any of that here? Of course this is the Old Testament, but Judaism is also an optimistic faith for the most part; where is this dude coming from?
That’s why this is a tricky book.
As we continue our adventure, we will see that the Teacher has searched for human wisdom, that he has received it, and that he has discovered that human life “under the sun” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Without God, it is meaningless… but then I’m getting ahead of myself.
Solomon, through all of his striving for wisdom has discovered to his surprise that putting this world into its proper perspective is a process that calls all of our natural inclinations into question, and that without an alternative; the quest for wisdom would best be avoided. To put it another way, reading this might cause us to wonder if the day-to-day struggles of this life are really all that important.
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