Introduction to Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes: Everything Matters • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Ecclesiastes is one book of the Bible whose uniqueness, at least has never been questioned, even though nearly everything else about it has been (such as, authorship, date, theme, and theology). We will discuss some of that this morning too, I’ll give you some of the popular opinions and also my own.
This book will resinate with some of you… Those who like minor key songs, bittersweet dark chocolate, sad ending movies.
This book gets it’s English title from the book’s heading in the Latin Vulgate translation (Liber Ecclesiastes) which is the speaker’s designation in verse 1. The Hebrew name for this book is “Qohelet”- meaning preacher, teacher, debater, philosopher.
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Ecclesiastes is one of the four books of poetry in our bibles: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Ecclesiastes is also apart of the wisdom literature. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. As they all have different perspectives on what is means to “live a good life.”
Proverbs: Could be characterized by a young teacher. Explaining that actions have consequences and that wisdom is something everyone should seek out.
Ecclesiastes: as we will see is more like a critic. He looks at the inconsistencies in life, that the good die young and the wicked live long lives.
Job: Answers the question of “what is a good life?” by sharing with the reader that God is the source of all things, since He is the creator of all, and is the source of wisdom.
Because we are diving into a book of poetry we are meant to feel this book more than to pull theology from it.
Author:
Author:
There are three interpretations pertaining to this book’s author:
The most commonly held belief is that king Solomon, king David’s son from Bathsheba wrote this.
These next two interpretations really only change the date on which this letter was written nothing else.
It could be a descendant from David’s bloodline could have also written it.
Ecclesiastes could have been written by someone else using Solomon’s life as inspiration. An allegory.
I personally believe that Solomon is the author and it seems most of history would agree also. It wasn’t until the seventeenth century that people began to question Solomon’s authorship.
At the end of the day who is a better candidate than Solomon for being able to claim that he had:
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
or that he had great possessions:
7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.
It is important to note that there seems to be someone who compiled this work together and gives the reader a godly conclusion for this book. We are not sure if it is Solomon or not. I don’t think it is… because in the original language it seems that suddenly the writing style changes, and that we never see Solomon repent in the books of history (1 and 2 Samuel, Kings, Chronicles).
When it comes to the authorship it doesn’t really matter because it doesn’t change the ending that the wisdom ultimately comes from the “one Shepherd”
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.
That is from God:
15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Date:
Date:
If we accept King Solomon as the human author a date of about 930 B.C. is likely, assuming he wrote in old age when he was disillusioned with his self-seeking life.
If he wasn’t the author the books range would be over the next thousand years.
Purpose:
Purpose:
The reason this books seems to clash with the rest of the World of God is that it presents merely human reasoning “under the sun.”
This phrase, under the sun forms the most important single key to understanding Ecclesiastes. The fact that it occurs 29 times indicates the general perspective of the author. You see Solomon is only interesting in seeking the answer of “what is the good life?” only under the sun, confined to his earth.
He will ransack the world to solve the riddle of life. And his whole quest is carried on by his own mind, unaided by God.
Family, as we study through this book, if this key- under the sun0 is not kept constantly in mind, then the book will present mountainous difficulties . It will seem to contradict the rest of Scripture, setting forth false doctrines, and advocate a morality that is questionable.
What it boils down to though is that if we did not have the revelation from God, found in His word, we would likely come to the same conclusions.
WARNING: Ecclesiastes is one of the favorite books of skeptics and of false cults. They quote it with great enthusiasm to prove their unbelieving or heretical doctrines, especially doctrines dealing with death and the hereafter.
For instance, they will use verse from this book to teach soul-sleep after death and the annihilation of the wicked dead. They wrench verses out of context to deny the immorality of the soul and the doctrine of eternal punishment.
Their problem is that they never put the key in the door. They never tell their victims that Ecclesiastes expounds man’s wisdom under the sun and therefore is not a valid source of proof texts for Christian doctrine.
Background:
Background:
At one time in his life, Solomon set out to find the true meaning of human existence. He was determined to discover the good life. Richly endowed with wisdom and comfortably cushioned by wealth.
After all he was blessed by God with wisdom and his wealth was and still is unmatched. King Solomon thought that if anyone could find lasting satisfaction he was the one that could.
But there was a self-imposed condition to Solomon’s search. He was going to do this on his own. He hoped that his own intellect would enable him to discover fulfillment in life, quite apart from divine revelation. It would be the exploration of a man without any help from God. He would search “under the sun” for the greatest good in life.
You probably have heard of existential philosophy. This type of philosophy is what is taught in colleges now.
It was started by Soren Kierkegaard, a liberal theologian, who had some good things to say, but there was a lot that he was off on too. There were two none Christian thinkers: Jean-Paul Sarte and Albert Camus.
These philosophers popularized Soren Kierkegaard’s ideology and took them a step forward. You see existentialism is the philosophy where existence is determined by each person. What apply to me doesn’t mean it apply to you, and what is meaningful to you doesn’t need be mine.
It is defined by yourself and formed in yourself, meaning there are no absolutes. It is easy to see how this way of thinking would lead to hedonism and other things.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Solomon was the first existentialist. Solomon had all of the means at his disposal to test everything under the sun.
27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah.
The problem is that these men (Soren, Albert, Jean-Paul) and Solomon were only looking to find the solution to mankind’s problems and trying to find their purpose under the sun… Not the Creator
Themes:
Themes:
“I know nothing grander in its impassioned survey of mortal pain and pleasure, its estimate of failure and success, none of more noble sadness; no poem working more indomitably for spiritual illumination” - E.C. Stedman
The theme of Ecclesiastes is the necessity of fearing God in a fallen, and therefore frequently confusing and frustrating world.
Solomon is no atheist, and God is alway there.
God is mentioned throughout this book. However we never see the author use YHWH translated LORD (all caps). We only see the title for God- ʾělō·hîm. There is no personal relationship between the preacher in his pursuit without God.
Solomon’s question is whether or not God matters.
For a man that has so much wisdom, it seems that he needed to “find out” on his own. Every human being wants to find out and understand all the ways of God in the world, but we cannot, because we are not God.
For those who are faithful to God do not despair but cling to God, who deserves their trust; they can leave it to him to make sense of it all, while they seek to learn what it means to “fear God and keep His commandments” even when they cannot see what God is doing. Family this is true wisdom.
Key Themes:
Key Themes:
The tragic reality of the fall.
The Preacher is painfully aware that the creation has been:
Romans 8:20a (ESV)
20 For the creation was subjected to futility,
and is:
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
And the Preacher’s more troubled musings are to be viewed as the cry of the heart of one who likewise is “groaning inwardly” as he egarly awaits the resurrection age:
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
The “vanity” of life.
The book begins and ends with the exclamation, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity:”
2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
The word literally means “vapor” and conjures up a picture of something fleeting, ephemeral, and elusive.
Human undertakings… Vanity
Pleasures and joys of earthly life… Vanity
What this indicates is that:
1 Corinthians 7:31b (ESV)
For the present form of this world is passing away.
Sin and death.
Human beings forfeited the righteousness they originally possessed before God
29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
And because of that all people are sinners:
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Solomon the Preacher is all to aware of this dreadful reality of sin and death, that affects everyone:
6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?
The joy and the frustration of work.
God gave Adam work to accomplish prior to the fall:
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
but part of the punishment of his sin was that it would become painful toil:
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
Both of these realities are borne out in the Solomon’s experience, as he finds his work to be both satisfying and aggravating.
The grateful enjoyment of God’s good gifts.
Solomon is going to spend a great deal of time commenting on the twisted realities of a fallen world, but this does not blind him to the beauty of the world God created:
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
or cause him to despise God’s good fits of human relationships, food, drink, and satisfying labor. The conclusion that we must come to though is that these are to be recieved humbly and enjoyed fully as blessings from God.
The fear of God
The simple fact that “all is vanity” should drive people to take refuge in God, whose work endures forever:
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.
And who is a rock for those who take shelter in Him.
vv 1-3) How Ecclesiastes points to Jesus.
vv 1-3) How Ecclesiastes points to Jesus.
[1] As I have previously mentioned that Solomon set out to find the true meaning of human existence. He was determined to discover the good life. He was endowed with wisdom and comfortably cushioned by wealth, King Solomon thought that if anyone could find lasting satisfaction he was the one.
But there was a self-imposed condition to Solomon’s search. He was going to do this on his own. He hoped that his own intellect would enable him to discover fulfillment in life, quite apart from divine revelation. It would be the exploration of a man without any help from God. He would search “under the sun” for the greatest good in life.
We see this today don’t we? We believe that if we just had ________ or this newest thing over here, it is going to satisfy our desires… It will not as verse 2-3 states.
[2-3] Solomon’s search for meaning ended with the dismal conclusion that life is:
14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
As far as he was able to determine, life under the sun simply wasn’t worth the effort. He wasn’t able to find fulfillment or lasting satisfaction. In spite of all his wealth and wisdom, he failed his mission.
Family… of course his conclusion was right. If one never get above the sun, life is an exercise in futility. It is meaningless. Everything that the world has to offer, put together, cannot satisfy the heart of man.
It was Pascal who said, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the human heart.” and Augustine observed, “You have made us, O Lord, for Yourself, and our heart will find no rest until it rests in You.”
Solomon’s experience anticipated the truth of the words of the Jesus:
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
The water of this world cannot provide lasting satisfaction.
As Romans reminds us:
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
The existence of God is obvious from creation. Atheism is not a mark of wisdom but of willful blindness.
Anyone can know that there is a God (Elohim) who created all things, God as YHWH can only be known through the power of the Holy Spirit.
So we are then confronted with the gospel in a different light. Everything apart from Christ is meaningless. Because if you look under the sun for meaning… you will not find it.
However if you look under the Son, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. You will find ultimate satisfaction.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
You see family the reason we were created to worship God and you will only every experience true and lasting satisfaction when you realize: The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Beautiful
Beautiful
Verse 1
Beautiful Beautiful
Jesus is beautiful
And Jesus makes beautiful
Things of my life
Verse 2
Carefully touching me
Causing my eyes to see
Jesus makes beautiful
things of my life