Life is absolutely pointless, miserable, and nothing matters. It’s the same ole, same ole. Do I just live in the now with little hope or future? Do I sacrifice for an earthly legacy that will be squandered and forgotten? The wealthiest and wisest King of Israel wrestled with these very thoughts in Ecclesiastes. Will we arrive at his conclusion, WHEN ALL HAS BEEN HEARD…? #ecclesiastes #2023
Lord we pray that You would help us in our study of Ecclesiastes to be in awe of You and obey Your ways. We recognize that all things under the sun are temporal, futile, and meaningless, but not the things of eternity. We recognize that no amount of intellect, wisdom, pleasure, relationships, or power will ever satisfy our eternal longings. When All Has Been Heard…Lord help us arrive at Solomon’s conclusion of the matter: enjoy life in You, fear You, and keep Your commands, because this is for all humanity. Help us to KNOW what we can KNOW, and understand what we don’t KNOW while still DELIGHTING in You. Amen.
Solomon would have had the pressure of being King David’s son and seemingly illegitimate heir. However, Solomon believed in the God of Israel and was given the kingship and supernatural wisdom from God (2 Chronicles 1:10, 1 Kings 3:12). He became the most powerful, wealthy, and desirable king of the world. Even though Solomon misused that wisdom, abused his position of authority, and clung to relational idolatry (1 Kings 11:1-2), God never took away His wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:3), and that allowed Solomon to see the meaninglessness of life and give us the conclusion of the matter (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
God had Solomon write 3 books as a picture of life. His first book, likely written when he was young, was Song of Solomon about youthful passion and relationship. His second book, likely written in midlife, was Proverbs about the importance of living with wisdom not just passionate feeling. His final book written near the end of his life was Ecclesiastes about the futility of it all and reality of life.
Through Solomon in chapter 11, God’s covenant people are being told that humanity typically takes risks without the reality of loss, stores instead of gives, tries to control the future rather than trust, and refuses to take risks because of the reality of life. What we do with the fruit (seed/grain/bread) we are given exposes our heart. He is saying fear God and obey His commands even if it doesn’t seem to WORK and even if what seems to WORK is not what God says.