Ecclesiastes: Part 1
Talk About Depressing
As we move on to our next book in the wisdom literature section of scripture, we come across a book that is certainly set apart from the rest. That book is the book of Ecclesiastes. The reason this book is unlike the rest is because of its depressing and sorrowful undertones. The author of this book who is known as ‘the preacher’ who we assume to be Solomon, notes many times how unpredictable and pointless life seems to be. In fact, the book literally starts out in Ecclesiastes 1:2 by saying, “Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher, “Futility of futilities! All is futility.” Not a very encouraging and enlightening way to start a book that is supposed to be full of wisdom. Furthermore, the entire purpose of this book seems to fly in the face of God’s providence and sovereignty over all. If life is all futile and meaningless, is God really in control of everything? This type of talk seems to contradict God’s control, doesn’t it? Well, you’re certainly not alone in that thinking. John Piper notes on the book of Ecclesiastes, “I find the book of Ecclesiastes probably the most difficult book in the Bible to understand, but it is in the Bible — the Bible that Jesus loved and Jesus esteemed and Jesus considered to be infallible.” Yes, this book seems depressing and even contradictory at times, but this book actually reveals more of God’s character than we at first thought and points us to the hope of Christ when all is said and done. How is this accomplished in such a depressing book? Let’s find out.
Futility
To begin, this book is only 12 chapters long, and while the theme of life being futile is written all throughout its pages, fearing and honoring God do in fact pop up at the halfway point of this book (ch.6) and at the very end (ch.12) as well. We will be addressing the first 6 chapters in this post and seeing how the preacher concludes this book in our next post. When we start off reading, however, we see a fascinating point that this preacher makes, especially if this preacher is Solomon. Starting in verse 12 of chapter 1, we see a title that states ‘The Futility of Wisdom’ which would seem to contradict everything we’ve read about wisdom in the book of Proverbs and the Psalms up until this point. How can even wisdom itself be futile and meaningless? The preacher says in Ecclesiastes 1:12-14 “I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom about everything that has been done under heaven. It is a sorry task with which God has given the sons of mankind to be troubled. I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is futility and striving after wind.” This is the heart of the wisest man in the world. After gaining as much insight and wisdom from God as he can in his life, he has concluded that even knowledge and wisdom itself hold no real advantage over the less informed because life is still random and doesn’t always reward the wise at heart. What’s even more fascinating about this claim is that the preacher seems to go back and forth about this idea because chapter 2 is all about how having wisdom is still a better way to live despite life being all up to chance. It would seem that regardless of how life treats Solomon, he has seen enough to know that life doesn’t always reward the wise and the righteous, but he also knows that despite this, it is still better to live as wise than as unwise because it is better to know the truth and be troubled than to not know the truth and be content.
God Is Still Sovereign
It is at this crossroads that we see this preacher bring God into the mix in chapter 5. Through chapters 3 & 4, the preacher notes that there is a time for everything here on earth and that even injustice will have its place in the lives of the oppressed. With this build-up of injustice and the unknown seemingly having its place in this world, Solomon then turns to God in chapter 5 and states that it is still proper to fear the Lord, regardless of whether or not we understand His providence. Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 says, “Do not be quick with your mouth or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words.” This is a fascinating outlook from someone who just spent the first 4 chapters discussing how futile life is, isn’t it? Regardless of how Solomon viewed life and its futility, he still made sure to note that we do not bring up impulsive thoughts to God because He is in heaven and we are on earth. While things may not make sense down here, it doesn’t mean that it’s because God is no longer in control, it just means that God knows more than we do and may allow certain things to happen even when we don’t have the understanding for them.
And this is exactly how Solomon decides to close the first half of this book in chapter 6. Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 states “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is widespread among mankind: a person to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the opportunity to enjoy these things, but a foreigner enjoys them. This is futility and a severe affliction.” Solomon seems to be going back and forth in his mind yet again here. On the one hand, he has a heavenly perspective of things in chapter 5, and then in chapter 6 and the other previous 4 chapters, we see a very sorrowful human perspective of how life plays out here on earth. So what is the point of all of this? What the preacher seems to get at here in this story of futility is that life is certainly random and doesn’t always reward the wise or the righteous, but there is always a reason for this in God’s hands. We just may not ever know the reason. And while this seems like an up-and-down story, I would greatly encourage you to come back later this week as we conclude this book and see how even Solomon finds hope in such a pointless and futile life.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Piper, J. (2024, October 15). Where is Providence in the vanity of Ecclesiastes? Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/where-is-providence-in-the-vanity-of-ecclesiastes
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