Introduction to Ecclesiastes

Solomon was granted wisdom, riches and power over his enemies.  These gifts ended up brining him fame, pleasure and pride.  The gifts that should have resulted in gratitude were a contributing factor to his downfall.  He now comes to the end of his life and recognizes that all of the things that he pursued so passionately were all just vanity.  They brought him passing pleasures but at the end of his life he felt an abiding emptiness.  Solomon comes to recognize that life in general has no real direction or purpose apart from God.  The ways that we use to determine success and failure are of no true meaning or value.  It is so easy for us to get wrapped up in our own lives and focused on the goals we have established for ourselves.  However, unless these objectives draw us closer to God, we will end up with a constant sense of futility.  Regret is one of the most painful feelings that we experience.  It is a very sad thing to come to the end of one’s life only to be filled with regret.  This was the reality of Solomon’s life and God inspired him to record his experience so we might be able to avoid the pitfalls of his life.    

LIFE IS WORTHLESS UNLESS WE WALK WITH THE LORD: Solomon begins his book by introducing himself and then making a blankets statement about the vanity of life in general.  He introduces the book by proclaiming that all things in life are pursued in vain.  All of man’s work and efforts really don’t end up mattering.  Man’s birth and then his death are like the sun, the wind and the sea.  They come and go on an endless cycle but do not really make much of a difference.  Nothing is new or unique about our lives.  Solomon’s life was, by comparison to most of humanity, fascinating.  Yet, by his own admission it amounted to a bunch of worthlessness.  Solomon gave himself to the collecting of wisdom, experiencing pleasure, accomplishing projects, becoming powerful, accumulating wealth, enjoying entertainment and seeking sexual satisfaction.  He did all of these things to a larger scale than had ever been done before but his final evaluation of all of his life was simply “vanity.”  The accumulation of wisdom and the accomplishment of work are two things to which Solomon fully dedicated himself.  He excelled in these areas and enjoyed great success but in the end he realized that all his wisdom and work were worthless apart from God.  The only value that there is to our lives is found through our relationship with God.  Men like to think that they are unique or special in some way over all the other men.  This desire for recognition is nothing more than self-idolatry.  The truth is that none of us do anything that it unique.  Nothing is new.  Men seek for significance in their job or accomplishments but all of our efforts are simply a part of the cycle of life that we all go through.  There is a proper time for everything in life but God is the only truly significant person.  He is eternal and He is the sovereign judge of this world.  Our only true joy in this life will be found through our relationship with Him.  Only in our walk with Him can we find true and lasting value for our lives.     

LIFE IS POINTLESS UNLESS WE LIVE IN FEAR OF THE LORD: As Solomon observes the nature of man and the way that life is lived; he comes to recognize the futility or pointlessness in all of those efforts.  No matter how much one might strive, they will experience pain, difficulty and eventually death.  Solomon comes to the point of comparing the life of men with the life of animals.  We live, we work and then we die.  The space between birth and death is very insignificant when compared with eternity.  This is why living in fear of the Lord is vital to both this live and the eternal life that we have to come.  When we realize that God is the only real point in life it causes us to focus on that which is important.  He calls us to do whatever our job might be as unto Him.  He calls us to keep our promises.  He calls us to find joy in that which He provides for us.  These are all acts of worship to Him and demonstrations of what it means to live in the fear of the Lord.  There is a danger is always looking forward to better days that we somehow think are ahead of us because it causes us to forget or neglect the present.  We must learn to find joy in the life we live because it is for the Lord.  We look forward to an eternity in which we will know the Lord more fully but that should not prevent us from enjoying Him now.  We can only live in the present.  If we do not love God each moment of every day our present as well as our future will be pointless.  It is also very dangerous to attempt to live in the past.  We all have a tendency to look at the way things were and wish that they could go back to the “good old days.”  This is not realistic thinking and will only lead to frustration and futility.  The past will not become the present but the present will become the past.  If we spend all of our time pining over the past; eventually our past will only be full of pining.  God has made times of joy and times of adversity for a purpose.  There is a point to both and we must strive to be faithful to Him in the moment we face.  God is our King and we would do well to walk under His leading and guiding.  God has also established earthly kings whom He has given authority.  These men are also to be respected and obeyed or life can become very difficult.  We have a life that God has given to us to live.  This life should be marked by the fear of the Lord, love for our spouse, diligence in our work and generosity to others.  Whether we do these things or not, our lives will eventually come to an end.  Death is the destiny of all flesh.  However, certainty of death should not prevent us from living our lives well.  Life that is focused solely on self is pointless, but when we live for the glory of God, our lives will have true meaning that will go far beyond death.  We must remember that God is our creator and as such; He is the purpose of our lives.  When we begin living for self instead of Him, we start down a road that will lead to futility and frustration.  At the end of the day, our lives will only have value as we fear the Lord and keep His commandments.