Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:2-11 These are the words of the Quester, David’s son and king in Jerusalem: Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.] There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.
Ecclesiastes is generally credited to Solomon (about 971 to 931 b.c.), written in his old age. The rather pessimistic tone that pervades the book would be in keeping with Solomon’s spiritual state at the time (see 1 Kin. 11). Although not mentioned in 1 Kings, Solomon must have come to his senses before his death, repented, and turned back to God. Ecclesiastes 1:1, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem,” seems to point to Solomon, as do descriptions found in 1:12 and 12:9. Scattered throughout the book are allusions to Solomon’s wisdom (1:16), wealth (2:8), servants (2:7), pleasures (2:3), and building activities (2:4–6).
Because of the problems posed by an unrighteous Solomon writing Holy Scripture and because some of the language in Ecclesiastes belongs to a period much later in Israel’s history, some scholars believe the book may have had its origin in the time of Ezra (about 450 b.c.).
Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift. ~MSG
The name Ecclesiastes is derived from Greek word ekklesia (“assembly”) and means “One Who Addresses an Assembly.” The Hebrew word so represented is qoheleth, which means “One Who Convenes an Assembly,” thus often being rendered “Teacher” or “Preacher” in English versions.
The book evinces a time when traditional solutions to life’s great questions, particularly the meaning of life, have lost their relevance for the author. Rather than respond to such questions with citations from Scripture, the Preacher introduces a methodology that is predicated on observation and induction. While never disputing the existence of God who has given meaning to His creation, the Preacher nevertheless determines to seek out that meaning through his own experience and observation so that he may personally verify it and pass it down to his disciples.
The Book of Ecclesiastes gives every evidence of being a carefully composed literary essay that must be grasped as a totality before it can be understood in part. The content of the book is defined by nearly identical verses (1:2; 12:8), which circumscribe the book by anticipating and by summarizing the conclusions of the author. The theme is set forth in 1:3: “What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun [that is, in this life]?” Or, can true wisdom be found by a human being apart from revelation from God?
The Preacher’s quest is for some sort of fixed, unchanging value (“profit”) that can be found in this life (“under the sun”) that can serve as a basis for proper living. The Hebrew word translated “profit” is yitron (1:3), and may also be translated “gain, value.” “Vanity” is a key word in the book, translating the Hebrew hebel (literally, “breath”), thus indicating what is mortal, transitory, and of no permanence. As he tries each of the avenues proposed by humanity to achieve the value being sought, he finds them elusive (“grasping for the wind”) and fleeting, transitory (“vanity”).
The “wisdom” of 1:12–18 is found bankrupt of real value. Neither is the answer to be found in pleasure, in wealth, in great accomplishments (2:1–11), in a doctrine of retribution (2:12–17), or in materialism (2:18–26).
If neither accomplishments nor things are yitron, what then should be one’s attitude toward them, seeing they have no permanent value? The answer introduces the secondary theme of the book: one should enjoy both life and the things with which God has blessed him (3:11, 12; 5:18–20; 9:7–10), remembering that in the end God will judge him for the way this is done (11:7–10).
Even human life itself, in any secular, humanistic sense, cannot be the yitron the Preacher seeks. The interplay of death and life is also a subordinate theme for the book.
But returning to the Preacher’s grand quest: is it destined to conclude (12:8), as it began (1:2), on a note of despair? The Preacher’s constant probing of all existence for meaning shows him to be an optimist, not a pessimist, and his failure to discover any absolute, abiding value in this life (“under the sun”) does not mean his quest is a failure. Instead, he finds himself compelled (by his observation that God placed order in the universe at the time of its creation, 3:1–14) to seek the value he seeks in the world to come (not “under the sun” but “above the sun,” so to speak). Although he does not specifically state it as such, the logic that undergirds his entire quest compels him to find the only real yitron in the fear (reverence) and obedience of God (11:7—12:7). This is affirmed in the epilogue: reverence for God and keeping His commandments are the whole duty of mankind (12:13). This duty must be carried out in full knowledge that, while there is no real justice to be had in this life, God will eventually judge all that is and set it right (11:9; 12:14). On this profound note the book concludes.
Too often Christians in the modern church find themselves passive intellectually, accepting almost anything they are taught or simply challenging a doctrine on the basis of how it feels instead of looking to see whether it has a biblical foundation. The Preacher’s challenge finds a parallel in the apostle Paul’s words to the Ephesian Christians not to be “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). With the privilege of interpreting the Scriptures for oneself, clearly established by Luther and the Reformers, comes the obligation to “search the Scriptures” (John 5:39) and see what they really say.
The determination of the Preacher to find what is of real value in this life should be a challenge for any true believer in Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Preacher’s failure to find real value in earthly things and comfortable life-styles challenges the Christian who lives in this age of greed and materialism to concentrate on the things that are above (Col. 3:1) and not to glorify greed and possessions.
Although the Book of Ecclesiastes contains no direct or typological prophecies of Jesus Christ, it anticipates a number of teachings of Him who was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5:17). While Jesus said little about wisdom, Paul had much to say about the wisdom given by God (Rom. 11:33) contrasted to the wisdom of this world with its human limitations (1 Cor. 1:17; 3:19; 2 Cor. 1:12).
In Matthew 6:19–21 Jesus warned against seeking wealth in this life, urging instead that it be sought in the next, a perspective that echoes the Preacher’s indictment of ma-terialism in 2:1–11, 18–26; 4:4–6; 5:8–14. The stress Jesus laid on heaven likewise mirrors the Preacher’s despair of finding true value “under the sun” (in this life). The conclusion to which the Preacher is driven, that true value lies only in reverence and obedience to God (12:13), mirrors the teachings of Jesus that one’s values should be first determined by a proper attitude toward God (Matt. 22:37, quoting Deut. 6:5) and then a proper attitude toward one’s fellow human beings (Matt. 22:39, quoting Lev. 19:18).
All references to “spirit” in Ecclesiastes are to the life-force that animates the human or the animal (see 3:18–21). The book nevertheless anticipates some of the problems faced by the apostle Paul in the implementation of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12—14. People who believe that God speaks to them through the Holy Spirit in dreams and visions (Joel 2:28–32; Acts 2:17–21) would do well to heed the wise advice of the Preacher that not every dream is the voice of God (5:3). Paul seems to have a caution like this in mind for the revelatory gifts of tongues and prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:29, when he advises an orderly manifestation followed by a judgment on the utterance by the assembly. Likewise, the Preacher’s stress on reverence and obedience to God parallels Paul’s concern for the edification of the church (1 Cor. 14:5). True spiritual gifts—genuine manifestations of miraculous utterance or deed—will be used in a spirit of reverence for the glory of God through Christ and for the edification of the believers. ~New Spirit-Filled Life Bible
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