This is a commentary on the 12 chapters of Ecclesiastes. They are all located on this page. Here are bookmark links. When you click the chapter you want, you will be taken to that part of this page.
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 1
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 2
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 3
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 4
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 5
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 6
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 7
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 8
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 9
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 10
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 11
- Ecclesiastes Chapter 12
Introduction and Chapter 1
The Jews called him Koheleth, the one who addressed a congregation. The Greeks translated it Ecclesiastes. Both words are titles not names. They speak of a task he performed, of a role he played.
Creation, time, meaning, work, profit, piety, death, joy, grace, freedom, vanity--these are his themes. To understand any would exhaust the wisdom of Solomon. In fact Koheleth reached back to Solomon's experiences of wisdom, pleasure, and achievement and used them as the core of his curriculum. And they make an incredible learning experience.
Ecclesiastes shows the paths in life that lead to emptiness and 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 meaning in life is not found 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 which can help free us from our scramble for power, approval, and money, and draw us closer to God. All of 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 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.
This is not a book without rhyme or reason--not just a bunch of verses stuck together. It begins with the problem stated: All is vanity in this world. Then we will find that experiments are made. Solomon will seek satisfaction through many different avenues, in many different fields. He will try science, the laws of nature, wisdom and philosophy, pleasure and materialism, as well as living for the "now." He will explore fatalism, egotism, religion, wealth, and morality. Then in the final verses of the book he will give us the result of his experiments.
Keep in mind that the conclusions in each experiment are human, not God's truth. This is man under the sun. Do not misunderstand what is meant by "inspiration" when we say that the Bible is inspired by God. Inspiration guarantees the accuracy of the words of Scripture, not always the thought that is expressed. The context should be considered, and attention paid to the person who made the statement and under what circumstances the statement was made. For example, in the betrayal of Christ by Judas, the record of the event is inspired, but the act of Judas was not God-inspired; it was satanic. Also the statements that Solomon makes, while he is searching for satisfaction apart from God, are not always in accord with God's thoughts. Inspiration guarantees that what Solomon said has been accurately recorded in Scripture.
We will begin with how Solomon acquired his wisdom.
Solomon Asks God for Wisdom
Request:
I Kings 3:9 "Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?"
Answer:
I Kings 3:12 "Behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you."
Solomon prayed for wisdom, and God made him wiser than anyone else had ever been. In Proverbs 1:1-9, we read Solomon's definition of wisdom: "to trust and reverence the Lord." No other human being has had the wisdom of Solomon, yet many have remained more faithful to the Lord throughout their lives. Solomon is remembered for his wisdom, but not for his faithfulness to God. We need wisdom, but even more we need a steadfast relationship with God, the source of all wisdom. Not everyone has great wisdom, but all have the opportunity to be faithful to God.
Read Ecclesiastes Chapter 1
The author, probably Solomon, referred to himself as The Preacher, meaning "one who gathers or assembles." 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), was 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 faith in God as the only reason for living.
Solomon had a purpose for writing skeptically and pessimistically. Near the end of his life he looked back over everything he had done, and most of it seemed futile. A common belief was that only good people prospered and that only the wicked suffered, but that hadn't proven true in his experience. Solomon wrote this book after he had tried everything and achieved much, only to find that nothing apart from God made him happy. He wanted his readers to avoid these same senseless pursuits. If we try to find meaning in our accomplishments rather than in God, we will never be satisfied, and everything we pursue will become wearying and tiresome.
All human accomplishments will one day disappear, and we must keep this in mind in order to live wisely. If we don't, we can 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 futile. Only the pursuit of God brings real satisfaction. We should include Him in all we say, think, and do.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."
"Vanity" here speaks of emptiness. It is to waste life without any purpose or any goal. It means to live like an animal or a bird lives. There are a great many people who live like that.
J. Vernon Mcgee was in a hotel in the Hawaiian Islands where the jet set come. They fly all over the world spending a few days or weeks in Hawaii, then at Acapulco in Mexico, and then the Riviera in France, then to Spain, North Africa, South Africa, and so on. They are world travelers. He watched these folk and listened to their conversation at the dinner table, out in the hotel lobby, and in the elevators. The thing that impressed him about them was how purposeless their lives really are. They talked about people they had seen in other places. They talked about plays they had seen. They would ask, "Where are you going from here?" Someone would say, "Wasn't that place where we went last year a bore?" There was no aim, no goal, no purpose in life. This is also the conclusion of Solomon. Vanity of vanities. Emptiness of emptiness. It is just like a big bag of nothing without focusing on God.
Jesus Christ should be our purpose and aim. To become like Him should be our goal. As we worship our Heavenly Father, we are changed from the inside out. As we pray, we see things change in the world around us. Dr. David Jeremiah said, "I've heard people say, 'All we can do now is pray'. When all we can do is pray, we have resorted to the single most powerful thing we could ever do." This power gives us hope. An attitude of hope and vanity cannot co-exist. It is impossible to concentrate on gaining what this world has to offer while seeking Jesus Christ with all of our heart. When we focus on eternal things, such as love, peace, and joy, we don't get lost in the temporal world.
Ecclesiastes 1:11 "There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those shall come after."
Solomon had tried to find satisfaction in the study of science, but he had to come to this conclusion. Man tries to be important. He tried everything in the world to keep himself before the public, but it isn't long until he passes off the stage. "There is no remembrance of former things." Do you remember who were the popular entertainers of fifty years ago? Do you remember the popular athletes of fifty years ago? Could you name the president of the United States of fifty years ago? Our memories aren't very long. The Scripture says that we spend our time down here as a tale that is told and we can't go back over it again.
Ecclesiastes 1:18 "For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."
The wiser they are in things musical, the more a bad performance will pain them. The more they learn about life's tragedies, the greater will be their anguish. Wisdom and knowledge in themselves will not satisfy. By exposing life's sorry sides, they may actually increase or pain. Both the process of acquiring wisdom--the combination of midnight oil, grueling sweat, and smarting scars--and the results of wisdom bring "grief."
Wisdom cannot change reality. Only Jesus can change reality. That was its first drawback discovered by the Preacher. But wisdom can increase sorrow. That was Koheleth's second reason for doubting the value which the older wise man had credited to wisdom. With life as crooked and as lacking as it is, wisdom only calls attention to the sour notes; it cannot bring the singing into tune. If the choir cannot carry their parts, if the rhythm and the pitch are faulty, if the words are pronounced sloppily, it is better for the people listening not to be trained musicians.
The more you understand, the more pain and difficulty you experience. For example, the more you know, the more imperfection you see around you; and 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, and do more. Are you ready to pay the price of wisdom?
Joy and satisfaction do not necessarily increase in ratio to the increase of knowledge. Someone has said, "when ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." There is a certain amount of truth in that statement.
As doubtful as the Preacher was about attaching too much importance to wisdom, he did not suggest that it was better to be ignorant or foolish (2:13-14). In fact, he used keen wisdom to show us what wisdom could not do. He proved how much he valued wisdom while he demonstrated the limits to its value. He pointed out its substance by the wisdom he used to argue for its futility.
Solomon highlights two kings 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 that need an eternal perspective and solution.
Next week, in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, we will discuss pleasure and materialism.
Ecclesiastes 2:24 "There is nothing better for a man, that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God."
Resources:
Mastering the Old Testament: Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, by David Hubbard.
Thru the Bible Commentary Series: Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, by J. Vernon Mcgee.
The Life Application Bible.
