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Ecclesiastes
In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon explored every endeavor of
mankind to find satisfaction and fulfillment. Even with all
of his freedom, money, and power, his ultimate conclusion was that
everything is vanity. Everything that he tried resulted in
emptiness and frustration. This is an illustration of what we
can expect from all of man's effort in trying to achieve greatness
apart from God. It's often difficult to tell which parts of
this book are sarcastic and deceptive, and which parts are actually
truths from God.
Chapter 1
In Ecclesiastes 1:9, Solomon notes that there is nothing new under the
sun, and what has been will be again. Although recent years
and decades have brought the industrial revolution and the electronic
age, man's best inventions have really brought him no closer to real
satisfaction than before. Each new invention raises our
expectations for the next one. Instead of appreciating what
we have, we are disappointed that we don't yet have what will be
available with the next release of our favorite game series, phone
applications, movies, or television series.
Neither ancient philosophy nor modern psychology can rectify the
fleshly sin nature of mankind. We don't find more joy and
satisfaction as our knowledge increases. We can't rejoice
when we find a way to treat a serious disease because there are more
diseases ready to invade our lives, often as a result of our treatment
(or mistreatment) of the old ones.
Chapter 2
Solomon, like many of us, acted as though he thought that the primary
goal of life was to experience the most pleasure, when actually he
knows that it was to bring glory to God. He knows better,
because he was one of the smartest men who ever lived. Yet he
pursued the gratification of the body and its senses as though this
were the ultimate satisfaction. He surrounded himself with
all the comforts that any king could imagine, including money, food,
travel, entertainment, and fine architecture. Instead of any
permanent satisfaction, he was always left only with the pleasures of
sin, and even they lasted only for a season. After all, when
sin abounds, guilt follows, and this drowns out any temporary pleasure
that was found.
One man may be intelligent, and the next man may be a simpleton; or one
educated and one uneducated. Yet, in all cases they arrive at
the same end, being totally unfulfilled. Even the wisest of
men cannot avoid sorrow, depression, sickness, and death. If
a man accumulates wealth, he will leave it to descendants who,
somewhere down the line, will squander it. He satirically
says that the best we can do is to eat, drink, and be merry;
concentrate on the present while we forfeit the future.
Solomon said that he will leave all of his wealth to his heirs, and who
is to say whether they will look after it wisely or squander it
foolishly. There is even some truth to this from the
perspective of the heirs: If they're foolish, they will soon
squander it all, but if they're wise, they probably didn't need the
inheritance anyway.
Chapter 3
This is a difficult book because, even though it is inspired Scripture,
it does not offer Godly truth. Instead, it offers a false
truth from only a human perspective. It is filled with pagan
fatalism, not Judeo-Christian values, so it leaves no place for the
mercy and grace of God. God allows man to fill his heart with
such worldly things in order to teach him that the world cannot
satisfy, because his heart remains empty. In the same way,
God gave us the law in order to teach us that none of us can live up to
His Godly standards on our own.
In Solomon's cynical, but honest, view, all men are wicked and nobody
can be trusted.
Chapter 4
It is one's huge and arrogant ego that causes rebellion and the thought
the he can do anything he wants without regard to others. The
only reason he wants anything to do with others is to help him achieve
his goal of being able to do what he wants. He wants to be
completely independent, but his experiences disappointingly show him
that he actually needs others. This leads to a meaningless and
unfulfilled existence.
Chapter 5
Religion has done much harm throughout the centuries. Pagan
religions have demoralized people with false teaching all over the
world. The ancient religions of the eastern world and of the
Middle East have not been the answer. The Roman Catholic
Church in Europe has not been the answer. Protestantism has
in many ways reverted back to the very things from which they wanted to
break free during the Reformation. It's a sad commentary that
many people actually go to church today in order to try to get away
from the true God. They want to remain in religious legalism
instead of establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ, the very Son
of God. They value the words of religion over a relationship
with God.
Chapter 6
Like religion, money has proven to have much to do with the fallen
state of man. People want to accumulate wealth just for the
sake of being wealthy, not for doing good things with their
wealth. The wealthier one gets, the more unhappy he is
because he has more to lose. Solomon cites the emptiness that
results when one spends his life pursuing what brings no happiness in
this life, and what has no value in the next life. For these
reasons, the poor man is usually more content than the rich
man.
Chapter 7
Solomon's search for the meaning of life left him confused.
He said that a good name is better than fine perfume. On the
other hand, he said that Frustration is better than laughter because a
sad face is good for the heart.
Chapter 8
From God's perspective, there really isn't too much difference between
good people and bad people. They're all sinners, falling
short of God's standard of perfection. Solomon said that
although all men are not equal when they are born, they are equal when
they die. Of course, in truth, either men believe in a God
who forgives and saves them from their sin, or they do not.
Man is deceived when he sins because God does not judge
immediately.
Chapter 9
Solomon's human thinking deceives him, making him proclaim a sort of
universality, where all men end up at the same place in the
after-life. Solomon is suffering from depression, thinking
that life is just a matter of luck or a game of chance.
Chapter 10
The injustices of life suggest to Solomon that it's best to just take a
moderate course. Parents can raise their children correctly
and still see them easily led astray from the way they were raised, and
Solomon would call this an injustice of life. One man might
work hard and save his money but still have little to show for it,
while another man might inherit a fortune overnight.
Chapter 11
We shouldn't be afraid of doing good deeds, although our reward may be
delayed. We should live sensibly while still being willing to
accept certain risks. We should instruct children and youth
correctly because they will be less likely to make life-changing
decisions in their old age.
Chapter 12
Solomon paints a sad picture of old age, including failing eyesight,
the quick passage of time, and many sad experiences. The
elderly person's legs lose their strength, their shoulders are no
longer erect, and their teeth are worn out. The older person
loses his hearing, the strength of his voice, and a sound night's
sleep. He becomes fearful, and he no longer enjoys
traveling. He is annoyed by little things, he loses his hair,
his romance is gone, and death is near.
Solomon's conclusion is that without God, all things under the sun are
vanity. The wise thing to do is to fear, revere, worship, and
obey God. God is just. Every man is a sinner, and
God will judge each one with perfect justice. Our sins are
either on Christ because of our faith in Him as our perfect sacrifice,
or we be found unable to pay for our own sins and suffer an eternity
without God.
Owen Weber 2012
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