Ecclesiastes

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I. Introductory Observations:

• The Meaning of the Title of the Book.

  The title of the book is the same as the word found in 1:1 & 2 and also later in the book in 7:27; 12:8,9,10. Its basic meaning is “Teacher” or “Lecturer” or “Preacher.”

• A Classic Term or Phrase from Ecclesiastes: “vanity” / “meaningless”

  The term translated “vanity” or “meaningless” in Eccles 1:2 occurs about 70x in the OT; half of those in Ecclesiastes. It conveys three main ideas:

  1. Its literal/physical meaning is …
  2. It describes efforts that …
  3. It describes situations/outcomes that …

  Dr. Lane’s interpretive paraphrase: .

• The Main Question Posed by the Book: (1:3; [2:11]; 2:17 & 22; 3:9; 5:16)

II. Two ‘Problems’ with the Book of Ecclesiastes:

Problem #1: Ecclesiastes Seems to Disagree with → Proverbs & Psalms:

Books such as Psalms & Proverbs strongly assert the following two affirmations:

• [A] God’s justice will prevail; the wicked will be punished, and the righteous (i.e., those who serve God) will be blessed - even here & now on earth.

• [B] Those who revere/fear God will find joy and satisfaction in Him, and in serving Him.

  [See esp. Ps 16:11; Ps 84:10-11; Ps 145:16-19.]

The problem is that Ecclesiastes seems to disagree with both of these affirmations.

[A] As regards divine justice, consider these verses from Ecclesiastes:

• 8:14 There is something senseless that takes place on earth - that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is senseless.

• 9:11 I have seen something else under the sun - the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise, nor wealth to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

[B] And as regards the question of whether there is satisfaction in this life, whether there is anything worth doing, consider the mood set by the opening passage.

• 1:2-11
• 1:12-2:16
• 2:17-23 (!)

This is why some interpreters think that Ecclesiastes really does disagree with Proverbs & Psalms. This is the first ‘problem’ with Ecclesiastes.

Yet consider the very next paragraph, Eccles 2:24-26. It may be summarized as:

So a person should eat & drink and find enjoyment in his work; this also, I saw, is from the hand of God. [v. 24]

Q: How can the writer offer such a positive suggestion/conclusion after all the pessimism and frustration with life he has expressed in 1:2–2:23? This bring us to the second ‘problem’.

Problem #2: Ecclesiastes Seems to Disagree with → Itself (!):

Recall: The overall mood of the book is very negative: there is no justice, life is senseless, and it does not satisfy. It would seem like, in the end, how we live does not matter.

So we might expect the conclusion of the book to be either …

But when we finally get to the end of the book (12:13–14), where it states its conclusions, what does it recommend?

So the second ‘problem’ with Ecclesiastes is that: The conclusions of the book do not seem to match the book’s own argument. Ecclesiastes seems to disagree with itself.

In view of these two seeming ‘problems’ with Ecclesiastes → We can see why people have wondered how to make sense of this curious book. Some interpreters have even wondered how Ecclesiastes got into the Bible to begin with.

Q: So how do we make sense of this fascinating but admittedly puzzling book?

A: ??? The reader is driven to re-read the book to see if he or she has overlooked something.

III. Four Insights & Observations that Help Us Make Sense of Ecclesiastes:

Insight #1. What ‘Type of Literature’ (‘genre’) is Ecclesiastes?

Recall: Ecclesiastes is wisdom literature, and it contains a lot poetry. This means:

• It might not speak flatly literally at every point.
• We might have to re-read it and think(!) about it to get the point.

Insight #2. When Ecclesiastes Mentions God, what it says Agrees with the Rest of the Bible.

We have seen that many verses in Ecclesiastes which seem to disagree with the rest of the Bible. Yet when the book states its conclusion (12:13–14), in which it explicitly mentions God, its conclusion agrees with the rest of the Bible.

Resulting Question:

In the rest of Ecclesiastes, when the text clearly refers to God, does what it says agree with, or seem to disagree with, what the rest of the Bible teaches about God?

Answer:

When we re-read the book, we find that it mentions God several times. To be specific, Ecclesiastes refers to God 43x in 38 different verses. So do theses verses agree with, or disagree with, what the rest of the Bible teaches about God? Here is what those verses say about God:

• God is the creator. 1:13; 3:10; 12:1; 12:7

• God is involved with his creation.

   1:13; 3:14; 3:18; 5:2–7; 6:2; 7:13–14; 8:17; 9:1; 11:5; 12:14
  

• God made men upright(!), but they have gone in search of many schemes. 7:29

• God has placed a sense of eternity in our hearts. 3:11

• The capacity to enjoy life is connected to, and comes from the hand of, God.

   2:24 (+ perhaps 2:25); 3:13; 5:18–20; 6:2; 8:15; 9:7; 9:9
  

• God clearly differentiates between righteousness and wickedness. 8:12–13; 9:1

• It is possible, at least in a general sense, to please God. 2:26; 7:26

• It is both right and wise for us to fear God; it will go well for those who do so (5x).

   3:14; 5:7; 7:16–18; 8:12–13; 12:13
  

• God will(!) someday judge us & our deeds. 3:17; 11:9; 12:14

Conclusion:

Whoever wrote these verses in Ecclesiastes knows a lot about God. They present a theistic conception of God: God is the Creator and the righteous judge; He interacts with his creation. His creation can and should be enjoyed.

Thus, even though much of what Ecclesiastes says seems to disagree with the rest of Scripture, we find that → whenever it directly refers to God, what it says agrees with the rest of Scripture. This is not a small observation.

Remaining Question:

Nonetheless, how do we understand all those verse in Ecclesiastes which do seem to disagree with what the rest of the Bible says? Keep reading.

Insight #3. The Interpretive Key to Ecclesiastes is the Phrase: “under the sun.”

The expression “under the sun” occurs 29x in 27 verses in Ecclesiastes. This phrase does not occur anywhere else in the Old Testament. It is unique to Ecclesiastes. No other book in the OT contemplates life “under the sun.” That is a big hint.

The basic sense of the phrase “under the sun” is simply “life here on earth, where we live.”

Of the 29x the phrase occurs in Ecclesiastes, it occurs 4x in verses which also refer to God (5:18, 8:15, 8:17, 9:9). All four of them speak of enjoying what God has given us (family, food, work) during our days under the sun.

But the majority (25x) of the “under the sun” verses in Ecclesiastes strike a very different tone. When we examine the rest of the “under the sun” passages, that is where we find the pessimistic & negative statements that characterize Ecclesiastes.

In addition to the ones already listed above on p. 1, here are some more examples:

• 1:14 I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and all of them are a senseless waste of time, a chasing after the wind.

• 2:10–11 When I surveyed all … I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

• 2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

• 2:22-23 What does a man gain from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils under the sun? 23All his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity (= a senseless waste of time).

So this what life is like “under the sun.”

But if that is the case, then what are we to make of the passages in Ecclesiastes (2:24; 3:13; 3:22) which affirm that we are to enjoy life’s activities? And further, what are we to make of those verses which affirm that God will judge, and that we should fear/revere him (3:7; 5:7; 8:12; 11:9;12:13–14)? How do we sort all of this out?

We admit that life on earth often does(!) look the way the pessimistic statements in Ecclesiastes describe it. And additionally, from just watching life on earth, it is next-to-impossible to figure it all out (8:17). It is impossible to know whether anything we do ultimately matters. If all we knew was what could be learned from observing life “under the sun,” the pessimistic conclusions in Ecclesiastes would be the conclusions we would reach.

However, the passages in Ecclesiastes which refer to God paint a very different picture. When Ecclesiastes mentions God, it affirms that God does see, that there will be justice, that life is enjoyable, even satisfying. This agrees with(!) the rest of Scripture—including Psalms & Proverbs. But all of this is true only if one takes the reality of God and of God’s final justice into account.

At this point, it is helpful to ask:

• Q: How does the Teacher know (8:12) that it will go better for those who revere God?

  And how does he know all those things about God we mentioned above under Insight #2?

• A: He knows these things → because the Teacher/Preacher is not limited to what can be known by simply observing life as you see it on earth, life “under the sun.” Rather, he clearly has knowledge about God that came to us through divine revelation.

Therefore, we may conclude that → the pessimistic views in Ecclesiastes are what you would conclude about life, if all you did was observe life on earth without any knowledge of God. And that is what Ecclesiastes describes as life “under the sun” [= life on earth, as you see it, without taking God into account.] // But again, those statements are not the book’s final word on the matter.

Insight #4. Ecclesiastes puts the “God” statements and the “under the sun” statements side-by-side, without explaining to the reader what it is doing.

Ecclesiastes puts the pessimistic “under the sun” statements, and the ‘positive / God’ verses side-byside → without explaining to the reader that it is doing so. That is why the book is so confusing.

But remember, Ecclesiastes is wisdom literature. This means we might have to read it more than once, and think about it, to figure out what it is doing, to get the point. Ecclesiastes make us do that.

IV. Conclusions & the Overall Message of Ecclesiastes:

• Q: In the end, does Ecclesiastes contradict, or perhaps ‘correct’, Proverbs & Psalms? __ .

• Q: In the end, does Ecclesiastes contradict itself? __ . Rather,

  1. Again, it puts the negative and positive statements side-by-side without(!) explaining to the reader that it is doing so. This drives the reader to think about it.

  2. Although the conclusion of the book (12:13 &14) can come as something of a surprise to the reader, it is noteworthy that 12:9 &10 affirm that what the Teacher said was true!

  3. Yes, most of the statements in the book are negative and pessimistic. But there are also many positive statements within it, those that refer to God. In view of this mix, the concluding verses of Ecclesiastes (12:13–14), should be viewed as a final clarifying declaration that the verses which refer to God do(!) state the final conclusion of the book.

• The particular emphasis of Ecclesiastes is that → life without God …

That is why Ecclesiastes has so many negative verses; it is to get that negative point across. That is the emphasis that is unique to Ecclesiastes; and that is why it is the only book in the Bible that uses the phrase, “under the sun.”

V. Some Reflections & Applications on the overall Message of Ecclesiastes:

• The key to understanding life on earth …

• In the short run, life on earth is often not fair.

• We need to remind ourselves that life without God …

• Genuine satisfaction in this life …

   2:24–25; 5:19–6:2