OVERVIEW:
The vanity or emptiness of life under the sun (apart from God); the vanity in life’s cycles (chapter 1); the vanity in life’s pursuits (chapter 2); the vanity of time (chapter 3); the vanity of social status (chapter 4); the vanity of religion and riches (chapter 5); the vanity of a long life (chapter 6).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
As we pick up in our journey through the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes today, let’s begin by talking about the title of the book. The word “Ecclesiastes” is actually from the Greek word, “ecclesia”, which means, “a called-out assembly”. In theological realms, the study of “the Church” is called, “Ecclesiology”. Interestingly enough, the human author of this book repeatedly refers to himself as “the Preacher”. (1:1, 2, 12; 7:27; 12:8, 9, 10) Now, we know by the other descriptive phrases that the author uses to refer to himself (i.e. the “son of David” and “king in Jerusalem” — 1:1; the one who had “gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem” — 1:16; and the one who had “set in order many proverbs” — 12:9), that from an historical standpoint, the author is none other than Solomon.
But how interesting it is, that here is a book in our Old Testament, written by the “son of David, king in Jerusalem”, “preaching”, as it were, to His “called out assembly”. Could it possibly be, that from a prophetic standpoint, our Lord Jesus Christ (“the Son of David, King of Jerusalem”) is actually “preaching” a message to those of us in His “church” about what is really important in life? How interesting it is, that in these last days of the Church Age, one of the key difficulties (i.e. sins!) found in Christ’s Church is the misprioritization of time we spend chasing after things we think will cause us to find meaning in life, which are invariably, the wrong things, and are, in fact, the very things for which Solomon was chasing!
To help fit Ecclesiastes into the big picture of where we find ourselves in the Bible, understand that whereas the book of Psalms reveals the HEART of GOD, and the book of Proverbs reveals the MIND of CHRIST, the Book of Ecclesiastes reveals to us the MIND of the SPIRIT. It is a book that shows the great contrast between the workings of the spirit of MAN and the Spirit of GOD.
As mentioned above, the book was written by King Solomon, the son of King David, in his old age after a life full of selfish living, worldly pursuits, and many regrets. He writes this book, under the inspiration of the Spirit, to spare us the bitterness of learning by our own experience that nothing “under the sun” (a phrase Solomon repeats 29 times in 27 verses in this book!) really satisfies the human heart apart from God. This small book in the Old Testament gives us undeniable evidence of our need for a Saviour in order to provide us a purpose for living on earth. Without Jesus Christ, and the mission for which He left us to accomplish, we also would be living empty lives without any meaning, as Solomon so eloquently describes for us in this book.
The basic theme of Ecclesiastes can actually be summed up in one verse found in Jeremiah 2:13: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” That was precisely Solomon’s problem and continues to be the problem of many (dare we say “most”?) believers today. From this verse, we learn three things about people in general:
- They are EMPTY (because they have no God!)
- They are STUBBORN (because they are determined to be filled with something!)
- They will ultimately be DISAPPOINTED (because they cannot be filled!)
Ecclesiastes is a book written about things that do not have the ability to satisfy, and yet, are the very things for which men in every generation continue to seek. (See John 4:13) Solomon lets us know that men will invariably seek:
- Human wisdom. (1:16–18)
- Pleasure. (2:1–3)
- Superiority. (2:15)
- Hard work/labor. (2:19–21)
- Alcohol. (2:3)
- Possessions. (2:4-6)
- Power. (2:7)
- Money. (2:8–9, 5:10–11)
- Music. (2:8)
Solomon was correct in concluding that in our labor “under the sun”, “all is vanity”! It’s completely meaningless. It’s totally useless. Thankfully, Jesus came to meet our every need and to give us an eternal purpose for our lives here on earth. God says, in 1st Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as YE KNOW THAT YOUR LABOUR IS NOT IN VAIN IN THE LORD.” Hallelujah! Let us spend our lives faithfully seeking our Lord Jesus Christ and passionately carrying out His mission!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As THE SON OF DAVID — Ecclesiastes 1:1 (Matthew 1:1— Jesus Christ is the Son of David)
As THE KING OF JERUSALEM — Ecclesiastes 1:1 (Psalm 2:6)