Ecclesiastes: Introduction

Ecclesiastes Study, 2024

Series Title: Ecclesiastes: The Pursuit of Purpose

Message #1

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3, 12:8-14.

ETS: King Solomon introduced the futility and emptiness of everything aside from fearing God.

ESS: Our purpose in found in fearing God.

Introduction:

Have you ever gotten caught in the trap of mundane motions in life- day after day— same ole schedule, activities, etc., and feel like you aren’t sure of your purpose? What have you done to try to find your purpose? Many turn to different things— substances, pleasure, jobs, success, relationships, possessions, religion, etc.

Meet Solomon:

“...the wisest man in the ancient world became a greedy, lustful, power-hungry, idolatrous fool. He violated the kingly commands of Deuteronomy 17 and accumulated possessions as well as women for himself. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kgs 11:3). The foreign women he married pulled his heart away from Yahweh to false gods (1 Kgs 11:1–8). He did not deny himself anything he wanted. As a result he ruined his kingdom, and God told Solomon that following his death his kingdom would be divided during his son’s reign (1 Kgs 11:9–13).”

“Tradition says that Ecclesiastes reveals an older, repentant Solomon contemplating his mistakes and what he has learned.”

Daniel L. Akin and Jonathan Akin, Exalting Jesus in Ecclesiastes (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), Ec 1:1–12:14.

Background Information:

Authorship:

“The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.” (1:1)

“I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.” (1:12)

“In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs.” (12:9)

Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes.

This is most appropriated by the qualifying descriptors: son of David (1:1b) and king in Jerusalem (1:1c).

It is further supported by the author’s “awareness of the ‘Harper Songs,’ from Egypt that is much older than the age of Solomon. Ecclesiastes 9:7-9 is similar to that poetry, and it also resembles a portion of the famous Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia. It makes sense that Solomon, who had close contacts with Egypt and whose empire stretched up to the Euphrates River, would know and reflect on such texts.” (CSB Study Bible)

Date:

Likely during the 10th Century BC. (This is an earlier date in congruency with the tradition that Solomon is the author.)

Themes:

One suggested that there are six themes throughout:

The tragic reality of the fall

The “vanity” of life

Sin and death

The joy and frustration of work

The grateful enjoyment of God’s good gifts

The fear of God.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 “2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.””

The form (superlative) of this phrase in the Hebrew communicates an excessive statement— it is absolutely meaningless, vain, empty, and futile. The word translated vain or futile (הֲבֵל) occurs over thirty times (38) in this book, accounting for more than half of its total usages in the Hebrew Bible. (ESV Study Bible, 1195)

Purpose and Occasion:

Ecclesiastes is a book of great wisdom. Its purpose is to help people understand the emptiness of pursuing anything except the fear of the Lord.

“...Ecclesiastes examines major endeavors of life in light of the reality of death.” (CSB Study Bible)

The book deals with several different issues:

Intellectual accomplishments

Wealth and luxury

politics

Religion

“The real purpose of Ecclesiastes is to force us to take our mortality seriously and thus to consider carefully how we should live.” (CSB Study Bible)

Literary Features and Structure:

Ecclesiastes is considered wisdom literature. However, it differs, some, from other wisdom literature in that it is written from a narrator’s perspective recalling their own pursuit of satisfaction and purpose.

“Ecclesiastes does not have the kind of structure we usually look for in a book of the Bible. At first glance, it seems to move to and fro among various topics in a way that seems almost incoherent. It has no simply hierarchical outline, and it often jumps rapidly from one topic to the next. But a closer look reveals a structure that alternates between two perspectives: that of human existence apart from God and that of existence lived before God. If Ecclesiastes were music, it would be seen an atiphonal. The resolution of the tensions that permeate Ecclesiastes is found in the affirmation that the most important thing in life is to ‘fear God and keep his commands’ (12:13).” Duane A. Garrett, “Ecclesiastes,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1005.

Response Questions:

[1] As you go throughout life, are you searching for purpose outside of God?

[2] Can you recall a time when your pursuit for purpose was caught up in worldly things?

[3] How can you begin pursuing purpose in God today?