Ecclesiastes
The Book of the Teacher
Greetings all, and I hope all of you are doing well. Today I would like to speak about possibly one of the most unpopular books of the Bible, Ecclesiastes.
Why Ecclesiastes? Isn’t it just the complaints of an old man who just does not want to give up his worldly possessions? The selfish rant of a man consumed by a misdirected value system measuring success by worldly wealth and assets? A man so disillusioned by life that he declares it all no value whatsoever. A wealthy elitist that we should have no pity for as he has it all and is still whining?
Well, not so fast. This is scripture, accepted as the Word of God. Surely this has much more to it than that. Let us look at the book and see what it tries to teach us.
Ecclesiastes itself means “teacher” or “preacher” in Hebrew. The Hebrew version of the word “vanity” is used frequently throughout and means literally “chasing the wind”, which is still appropriate considering the modern uses of the word. It was written roughly about 935 BC just after Solomon had built the temple and was building the Jewish empire of the time. The book is thought to have been written by Solomon himself according to self description of the author’s position within it.
Solomon begins by a discussion of the vanity of the human experience. Here he laments the vanity of all the labour a person does in their life, as death takes it all away. He compares our fleeting lives to the earth and creation, which last forever. Nothing that humanity does is new, he says, and nothing will be remembered that a person does, generation to generation.
He curses his God given wisdom in that it clarifies all that is meaningless and unfruitful, and even goes as far as saying the acquisition of wisdom is merely the acquisition of sorrow concerning the world he sees. Throughout the book Solomon takes great care in stating his wisdom is a curse to his observations.
Next Solomon discusses the vanity of pleasures and the toil to acquire those pleasures. We must remember this was the wealthiest and wisest King of his age so if he wanted a certain pleasure, he could have it. He built orchards, houses, palaces. He had hundreds of wives and concubines, the best wines, singers and servants to attend to him. Solomon found no true lasting satisfaction in the pursuit of pleasure or toil. His rationale? Death comes to the fool and the wise man, that both their works will be lost to them, to go to someone else after they are gone. In that there is some truth. History shows us that the greatest inspirational acts made by men are merely corrupted by later generations doomed to make the same mistakes repeatedly.
In Chapter 3 Solomon states the popular passage that everything has a season and a time for every purpose. He reflects on the reason why, in that God will judge the person through all the times and seasons they will live through.
On and on Solomon laments the injustices of life, the futility of seeking permanence, and only things that God has made last forever. He laments the imminence of death, and there is no benefit in being either a believer or unbeliever in avoiding it. The same afflictions come to us all, King or pauper. All happen by chance with no reason or rhyme to it. Suffering is not prejudiced; it applies to all.
His bitterness it seems knows no bounds in urging the young man to enjoy his youth as it is fleeting and will end in dark days, or an observation that the unborn are better off than the living who know they will die and never live on to enjoy the fruits of their labours.
Solomon does make some positive observations throughout. He says that a person should rejoice in their labour and eat and drink of it as this is their portion, given by God so it is good. He admits wisdom is better than foolishness in all ways. He says to fear God as judgment will come in time.
Finally, Solomon concludes without explanation there is only one thing that people should do: Fear God, and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of humanity.
OK, so what do we make of this? He writes 12 chapters, 222 verses, 5529 words lamenting and wailing all about the human condition. Add this to the depressing fact that about 2955 years have passed since he wrote this and not one thing has really changed about life on earth. Solomon does a good job of doing all the leg work in describing exactly life as we know it, in detail, no punches pulled.
I must ask, who has not felt like this from time to time, or maybe even often? Granted I do not think that anyone was asking for a free ride but some of the things we encounter just make any intelligent person ask…. why? Why does the evil fool prosper, and the honest wise man does not? Why does death and illness take the young and not the old? Why is the world such a mess?
Solomon even laments the fact that God has made sure we never know why in Chapter 3:11
He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done the beginning even to the end.
Solomon points out quite clearly our vain drive to achieve permanence in a mortal body. Ever heard the term my “forever house”? Some of us try to amass wealth far beyond what is needed, driven by the fear of death. We all try to build monuments in our own way.
Solomon states on how all the things he pursued he had fleeting moments of fulfillment and joy, but never lasting. An example of this is the lust we have for new and greater material things. That new house or car? Great for a while but it is not long before it too becomes old and plain. This is a great evil of humanity especially when it applies to personal relationships. Tired of your present husband or wife? Find a better one and replace them. Well, I am not a pastor with detailed knowledge gained from seminary training, so all I can give you is what inspired me from this book.
Solomon 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man”
To fear God is a given as we are dependant on God for all things. Absolute fact without question. This now leaves us with the commandments to explore. Remember, Solomon never tells us how he came to this conclusion.
Jesus helps us over 900 years later about the commandments during a discussion with the Pharisees in the temple. Matthew 22:37-40 which he states:
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." The law is love. Love for God, love for everyone else. Love then comes from God. Now witness what Solomon has to say about what God creates in Chapter 3:14:
“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it that men should fear before him” I thought about this as I wrote this document. It was a quiet time in the house, and I reflected on observing the law. God would not give us a duty that would estrange us from Him. Now, why does God require us to love one another? My mind, free of worldly concerns started connecting dots within the Bible. I looked back at my life for a moment, trying to remember all the love I had experienced. I started with my childhood and ran all the way with it to present day. There are the bad things too, but I concentrated on the love I gave, and the love I received.
I remembered when an unexpected turn of events came to save me, true serendipity. I included any acts of kindness that others gave me, or I gave to others. That included my friends and family of course and especially Jesus and God. I included kind acts to and from strangers. I saw where I could have done better and regretted not doing so. I saw that while I need to improve, I still may have time to do better. I would invite you to try this now yourselves.
You don’t have to of course but I guarantee it will be rewarding. Let’s take just a moment of silence to reflect.
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Now what if you knew 100% that you can keep all that love beyond this mortal life? How does that feel? Does that make it all worthwhile? Does it make all the worldly unfairness pale in comparison? How do you feel about passing to the other side now? Now why do I say that?
Well love comes from God and Solomon tells us anything God does is forever and cannot be changed or added to. When a person passes from the earth, where does the love that person has go? We know it cannot die, so do we get to keep it? I hope so, I cannot say for sure, but the thought sure is a pleasant one. I invite you to reflect on this, to discuss it. It certainly would make a great Bible study. If anyone finds proof in the scriptures, please let everyone else know.
I suspect Solomon in writing the book the way he did was precisely trying to get the reader to speculate on just how he came to his conclusion that God and the commandments are the only way to go. On the surface Solomon is after permanence so obviously the only logical way he can achieve that is through the grace of God.
I wonder though, if by writing such a quick conclusion, he was inviting the reader to look deeper. If that is true, then indeed he was one of the wisest men to ever walk the earth. If you reacted to this exercise the way I did then you may have learned something about your basic nature. I had thought that the earthly achievements a person did in life would be important, yet keeping the love outshone all else.
I also saw how everything else was not as important as I thought it would be. We have Jesus now where Solomon did not, yet the message is the same, fear and love God, love one another and all else is vanity in the end.
Go now, find love and give love. Fulfill yourselves in the one true duty of humanity and keep the law. Believe in Jesus and what he taught us. Recognize the world as what it really is as it tries to divert you from your duty. Live forever.
Amen.
Copyright © 2020 St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops
