Ecclesiastes is raw.
Its issues are cut to the bone and exposed to the harsh light of ‘Life under the Sun.’ Daily routines and schemes are subjected to the elements of time, chance, and cause and effect. I have always felt better to preach that this was Solomon’s last will and testament. A legacy of plain speaking to future generations who might foolishly follow his example into the futility of excess.
All the things that men long for were on-tap to Solomon. Power, knowledge, wisdom, palaces, money, sex and entertainment…to name a few. Solomon was the smartest, richest and most powerful person in Israel (ever), and all were gifts from God. Solomon lost the plot very early. His foreign alliances brought peace to Israel. However, that peace was sealed at a spiritually lethal price. His pagan wives knew not God, and had no intentions of knowing Him. His love for them and their gods incurred God’s wrath – he would be remembered as an idolater, not ‘a man after God’s own heart’ like his father, David. To top it off, his father’s kingdom would be massively reduced by God. All proof that wisdom without faith is a curse!
When I read Ecclesiastes, I feel like I’m reading the work of old motivational speaker who had an epiphany. Woken up to the fact that his homespun wisdom, making many a man successful beyond belief, is actually under the harsh scrutiny of God. And God strikes it all down with one cold, hard judgment: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” And here is the statement that we hang off, assuring us that Solomon may yet have turned his heart back to God: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” This is indeed saving wisdom. – (johnstaiger1@gmail.com)
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