The Book of Ecclesiastes
James J. Barker
Lesson 1
INTRODUCTORY MESSAGE TO THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES
INTRODUCTION:
- The book of
Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon (cf. 1:1, 12). Some liberals and skeptics teach that
King Solomon did not write the book of Ecclesiastes but they are wrong (as
usual).
- The Jews
always believed Solomon to be the “Preacher” (1:1, 2, 12). And so did all Christians up until about
100 years ago when unbelieving liberals started questioning the authorship of
Ecclesiastes.
- According to
I Kings 4:30, King “Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of
the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.”
- The Bible
says, “he was wiser than all men…and his fame was in all nations round
about” (I Kings 4:31).
- “And he
spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five” (I Kings
4:32).
- The book was
apparently written in Solomon’s old age (cf. 1:12; 11:9).
- King Solomon
was a great king but he was also a great backslider. He started out right but then he started
marrying heathen wives (cf. I Kings 11:1-12; Nehemiah 13:25, 26).
I.
THE PHRASE “UNDER THE SUN” (1:3, 9,
14).
- The phrase
“under the sun” appears 34 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is one of the keys to
understanding the book. It means
that man’s search for truth is often limited to this world and to
this life.
- When reading
the book of Ecclesiastes, this key phrase, “under the sun,” should be constantly
kept in mind. Otherwise, some
verses in the book of Ecclesiastes will seem to contradict the rest of
Scripture.
- If the
phrase, “under the sun,” is not properly understood, the book of Ecclesiastes
will seem to advocate strange teachings. False religious cults are adept in
twisting Scripture out of context.
- For example,
they pull out verses, which deal with death and the afterlife, to deny the
doctrine of the eternal damnation of the wicked (cf. 9:10 and Scofield’s notes,
p. 702).
- But one of
the great themes of the book of Ecclesiastes is that at an appointed time every
man will have to stand before God and give an account.
- The book of
Ecclesiastes teaches that God will judge both the righteous and the wicked
(Eccl. 3:17; 11:9; 12:13, 14). In
their efforts to deny the doctrine of hell, the cults ignore these verses.
- Advocates of
the false doctrine of “soul sleep” use Ecclesiastes 9:5 as one of their proof
texts. But what this Scripture
means is that once a man leaves this world for the next world, his opportunities
are gone. It does not mean he is
unconscious. The rich man and
Lazarus were not unconscious (Luke 16:19-31).
- King Solomon
understood that there was a veil between men living in this world – “under the
sun” – “and God as the ultimate wisdom in the heavens above” (Louis
Goldberg, Ecclesiastes).
- King Solomon
understood that God is in control and that God has a plan for mankind. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He hath made
every thing beautiful in his time.”
- Since God has a plan we must look to Him for direction. But we will never have all the
answers while we are here “under the sun.”
- We should study carefully the entire book of Ecclesiastes. Picking a verse here and there out of
context will lead to the wrong conclusions. We must carefully compare Scripture with
Scripture.
II.
THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES IS
INSPIRED
- Since
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Tim. 3:16), and the book of
Ecclesiastes is one of the 66 books in our Bible, the book of Ecclesiastes
must be the inspired Word of God.
- Hermeneutics is the science of Bible interpretation. A basic rule
of hermeneutics: We are to interpret Scripture in harmony with other
Scripture because the Bible does not contradict itself.
- Therefore, we must never interpret Scripture in such a way that it
clearly contradicts other Scriptures.
Because some verses in the book of Ecclesiastes seem to contradict
other Scriptures, some have questioned its inspiration, and some have
misinterpreted it.
- Scofield touched upon this problem when he wrote, “Inspiration sets down accurately what passes,
but the conclusions and reasonings are, after all, man’s” (Scofield Bible, p.
696).
- These reasonings of man
apart from divine revelation are set down by inspiration just as the words of
Satan; Genesis 3:4; Job 2:4, 5 are so set down” (Scofield Bible, p.
702).
In Genesis
3:4, the serpent said to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die.” This was not true, but
these words are inspired because they are an accurate record of what the devil
said.
In Job 2:4,
the devil said, “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his
life.” That statement is not
true of all men but it is what Satan said and so therefore it is
inspired.
Ecclesiastes
is a book that contains man’s wisdom “under the sun.” There are statements that seem to
contradict Scripture, but not if they are studied in their proper context.
For example,
Ecclesiastes 1:4 says, “The earth abideth for ever.” But we know from other Scriptures that
this earth will some day be destroyed (cf. Psalm 102:25, 26; II Peter 3:7, 10;
Rev. 21:1).
On the basis of Ecclesiastes 1:4, the JW’s believe that this world will
never be destroyed. But they are
misinterpreting Eccl. 1:4.
King Solomon is referring to all the hard work and labor which a man
toils “under the sun” (1:3). Is it
worthwhile if he lives his life without God? No, it is “vanity” (1:2) and “vexation
of spirit” (1:14).
With this in mind, we move on to verse 4. People come and go. Many leave their mark on this world but
they soon die, “but the earth abideth for ever” (1:4-7).
The context shows that this Scripture does not contradict other
Scriptures. It is teaching that
there is more to life than merely getting up and going to work, eating,
sleeping, and getting up and going to work, etc.
In other words, without God life is
wearisome, repetitious, and “vexation of spirit” (1:14).
III.
LIFE WITHOUT GOD IS NOTHING BUT VANITY
(1:1-3, 14).
- In spite of
all his wealth and wisdom, King Solomon did not enjoy life. His eyes and his ears were not satisfied
(1:8). Everything “under the sun”
was “vanity and vexation of spirit” (1:14; cf. Scofield notes, p. 696).
- Without God,
life does seem meaningless. Education without God brings grief and sorrow (1:18).
- Without God,
life is meaningless, transitory, fleeting, useless, empty, and futile.
- I should
point out that although King Solomon was backslidden, he still believed in
God. Most backsliders do not become atheists. King Solomon refers to
God 40 times in the book of Ecclesiastes.
- In fact, one
of the major emphases in the book of Ecclesiastes is the fear of God
(3:14; 5:7; 7:18; 8:12, 13; 12:13).
- This corresponds with the other wisdom literature.
·
“Behold, the fear of the LORD, that
is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job
28:28).
·
“The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).
·
“The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
·
“The fear of the LORD is the
instruction of wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33).
·
“The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring for ever” (Psalm 19:9).
·
“Come, ye children, hearken unto me:
I will teach you the fear of the LORD” (Psalm 34:11).
·
“The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).
- In the
Bible, the “fear of God” means a reverential awe of God. One of the characteristics of the
wicked is that there is no fear of God before their eyes. “The transgression of the wicked saith
within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes” (Psalm
36:1).
- “There is no
fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18).
- One of the
characteristics of the godly is they fear God. In Genesis 22, the angel of the LORD
said to Abraham, “Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not
withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Gen. 22:12).
- Exodus 1:21 says, the Hebrew “midwives feared God.”
- What about King Solomon? Did
he fear God? Wasn’t he
backslidden? Apparently a
backslider can still fear God.
Jonah disobeyed God by boarding a ship to Tarshish. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, in the
opposite direction.
- Jonah 1:3 says Jonah fled “from the presence of the LORD.” But then the LORD sent out a great wind
into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was
like to be broken.
- And Jonah said to the men on the ship, “I am an Hebrew; and I fear
the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land”
(Jonah 1:9).
CONCLUSION:
- King Solomon
had everything this world has to offer. He was a great and powerful king.
He had great wealth. He had a thousand wives and concubines.
- In
Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon tells us that he gave himself over to the pursuit of
wine, women and song, as well as materialism. Doesn’t that sound like many
people today? (Just turn on the TV.)
- And King
Solomon’s conclusion was that it was all “vanity and vexation of spirit”
(2:9-11). As a “preacher” (1:1, 2,
12), King Solomon wanted to impart his wisdom to others who might learn from his
mistakes.
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