Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
Hunter S. Thompson, the so-called gonzo anti-establishment journalist, committed suicide on February 16, 2005 in his home in Aspen, Colorado. Thompson was a frequent columnist for Rolling Stone Magazine and he was humorous, colorful and bizarre. He exaggerated events to be more entertaining, often blurring the distinctions between fiction and nonfiction. He lived a life of drinking and drugs, of bucking the system and also mocking it. He left instructions that his ashes should be shot out of a cannon atop a 153-foot tower to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Thompson was 67 when he died, and his family and friends said that he was in pain from hip replacement surgery, back surgery, and a recently broken leg. He’d talked about suicide for more than 25 years.
February 2005 was particularly grim month for him because football season was over. The brief suicide message, scrawled in black marker and titled “Football Season Is Over,” reads as follows:
“No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always [cranky]. No Fun—for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax—This won’t hurt.”
For those outside of Jesus Christ, living is meaningless. But for those who know the Lord, there is a purpose and a future with Him.
The Book of Ecclesiastes can be compared to pieces of broken glass. Each piece of glass is like one of the aspects of life mentioned by “the Preacher” (probably Solomon) in the book. He sees life as empty, meaningless, confusing—like bits of glass in a pile on a table. But at the end he sees that life can take on meaning, and its pieces can form beautiful and meaningful patterns when seen from the right perspective—like small pieces of colored glass viewed through a kaleidoscope.
1 THE words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Traditional Introduction
The form of the title [or introduction] is typical: (1) “the words of [the writer],” (2) his family name or name of his father, and (3) his social/political position in Israel. Sometimes, the writer’s qualifications are given in the introduction to an OT book (e.g.,
The meaning of קֹהֶלֶת (qohelet) is somewhat puzzling. The verb קָהַל (qahal) means “to assemble, summon”, and is derived from the noun קָהָל (qahal, “assembly”. Thus [qohelet] might mean: (1) convener of the assembly, (2) leader, speaker, teacher, or preacher of the assembly, or (3) member of the assembly. Elsewhere in the book, [qohelet] is used in collocation with statements about his position as king in Jerusalem (
Thus, [qohelet] probably means “the leader of the assembly” or “speaker of the assembly.”(See also the following study note.) Rabbinic literature treats [qohelet] as a traditional surname for Solomon, that is, “Qoheleth,” relating it to the noun qahal. For example, this explanation is found in rabbinic literature (Qoheleth Rabbah 1:1): “Why was his name called Qoheleth [קֹהֶלֶת]? Because his words were proclaimed in public meeting [קָהַל] (qahal), as it is written (
While 1:1 says only “king in Jerusalem” (מֶלֶךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָםִ, melekh birushalayim), 1:12 adds “king over Israel in Jerusalem” (בִּירוּשָׁלָםִ מֶלֶךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל, melekh ’al-yisra’el birushalayim). Apart from David, only Solomon was “king over Israel in Jerusalem”—unless the term “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el) in 1:12 is used for Judah or the postexilic community.
Solomon would fit the description of the author of this book, who is characterized by great wisdom (1:13, 16), great wealth (2:8), numerous servants (2:7), great projects (2:4–6), and the collection, editing and writings of many proverbs (12:9–10). All of this generally suggests Solomonic authorship.
Who is King Solomon?
King Solomon constructed the temple:[Between] April [and] May, 966 B.C. by modern reckoning.
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
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42 The length of Solomon’s reign in Jerusalem over all Israel totaled 40 years. 43 Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
Utter Futility
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
The Roman Empire fell in September 476. Since its downfall, there have been many historians who have wondered how a great superpower could have crumbled. In 1984, German professor Alexander Demandt published a collection of 210 theories on why Rome fell. One of those 210 was rationalism. The Romans believed that the basic order governing all things was rooted in the natural world, and success was gained by having a naturalistic or this-worldly orientation.
One of the great fears of classical thought was that the emotional part of man endangered him and prevented his living the good life. Thus civilized life could not exist unless the emotions and emotions were suppressed.
While excavating Roman ruins, archaeologists kept coming across the inscription “NFFNSNC.” The inscriptions began appearing on grave markers in the first century and it continued through the last days of the empire. For the longest time, archeologists were stumped in its meaning. Then it came to light that NFFNSNC stood for the Roman proverb “Non Fui Fui Non Sum Non Curo” which means “I was not, I was, I am not, I do not care.”
In other words, rationalism produced life that was empty, meaningless, void.
The meaning of life is not found in rationalism. It is found in Jesus Christ.
Qoheleth compares the flowing of river waters to the action of walking to draw out the comparison between the actions of man (1:4) and the actions of nature (1:5–11).
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[The word, here, for light ...] is used often in scripture to convey the ideas of salvation, joy, knowledge, righteousness, and life. In this context one cannot ignore those connotations, for [it is the opposite] of the darkness. The first thing God does is correct the darkness; without the light there is only chaos.
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The Hebrew root סָבַב (savav, “to circle around”) is repeated four times in this verse to depict the wind’s continual motion: “The wind circles around (סוֹבֵב, sovev) … round and round (סוֹבֵב סֹבֵב) … its circuits (סְבִיבֹתָיו, sévivotayv).” This vicious circle of [the same] action does not change anything. Despite the fact that the wind is always changing direction, nothing really new ever happens. The constant shifting of the wind cannot hide the fact that this is nothing but a repeated cycle; nothing new happens here (e.g., 1:9–10).
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This encompasses all secular achievements in human history past to future things yet to be done. How many days are you willing to spend under the sun, labouring without purpose? Take up your cross and follow Christ today.
Feigned Attempts of Happiness
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