Book of Ecclesiastes by Solomon: Quest for Life’s Wisdom

Book of Ecclesiastes by Solomon: Quest for Life’s Wisdom

“Father, You are my Refuge and Strength. You are with us (Psalm 46). No matter what happens, I will choose joy over fear.”

My heavenly Papa must chuckle at His daughter, who is a treasure seeker in the Word.

Our Bible is written so uniquely to be valued. He gladly reveals secrets to His seekers and mysteries we have not yet known.

Viewed as negative, many believers do not enjoy reading Ecclesiastes.

Why is it read at the Festival of Joy/Feast of Tabernacles?

I wondered. I had to find out.

Please join me in my quest to tap into Solomon’s great wisdom.

Digging a bit in the Word, treasures are found.

I discovered that Ecclesiastes is not negative, but just the opposite.

Solomon gives hope to a sometimes upside-down life or culture.

He gives a recipe for a life that kicks fear out the door and exchanges fear for hope.

I am getting ahead of myself a bit, aren’t I?

Ecclesiastes begins with life being stated as “vanity” (Hebrew: “hevel”). Adam and Eve’s second son was named Hevel, translated as Abel. Abel was the first to die in the Bible. He was young.

Life is fragile.

One might think of the meaning of “vanity” as being futile, pointless, and meaningless.

Or go deeper into the meaning to conclude: The whole of life is but a breath.

This is what Solomon addresses and then gives his solution to living life. In his quest to find the meaning of life, 38 times in Ecclesiastes is, the word “hevel” presented: Life is but a breath.

At the end of the play, “King Lear,” we hear the king say, like Solomon, concerning the only person who loved him, something like, “Why does she no longer have breath?”

Sigmund Freud and his assistant Auto Rank (Rosenberg) concluded that the primary stress of life was the fear of death.

Earnest Becker won a Pulitzer Prize in 1974 for his 1973 book, “The Denial of Death.” He was no longer alive by the time of the presentation.

Life is fragile.

At the time of Solomon, the Israelites were stable in the land, no longer living in tents, so Solomon built a solid structure for God that took seven years to complete.

The mobile Tabernacle of Moses was now inside a beautiful structure.

In Ecclesiastes, it appears that Solomon is saying that people tend to do things that will make them think they will live forever through what they have accomplished.

But do we know what will happen following our going to be with the LORD?

Will the next generation use their inheritance wisely?

Will structures be destroyed, as was the Temple built by Solomon? Or the temple built by Herod?

Solomon gives many examples, such as building and gathering wealth in seeking the reason for living.

Solomon had wealth, power, great wisdom, and the creative ability to write.

Then he says he will not be there to see what happens to everything he has done on this earth.

The beautiful structures he built were later destroyed when the Israelites turned away from God and were taken into captivity.

Not needing a solid structure to dwell in, God stayed with his people when they went into exile.

Solomon’s solution to life in his writing of Ecclesiastes was to take each day the LORD gives us and find joy.

Seventeen times in Ecclesiastes is found the “joy” (Hebrew: “simcha”). The sum of the word “joy” is found 16 times in the Torah (12 in Deuteronomy, one each in the other four books).

Happiness concerns blessings.

Happiness pertains to life as a whole.

Joy, however, is living in and enjoying the “now.”

Solomon’s conclusion is not beating the fear of death by achievements of power, acquisitions, building, or creativity.

We defeat the fear of death by “simcha” (joy), living in the moment. We do not worry about tomorrow but thank Father for each new day.

If we worry, joy is negated. Those” little foxes” of fear rob the fullness of today.

We can celebrate that God is in our midst just as He was with Adam and Eve, the Israelites, and continues to this day.

He is our Refuge, our Strength, our Fortress. Therefore, our hearts are settled and full of “simcha” that goes beyond our understanding.

Paul in prison understood God’s joy and could rejoice even when in prison, teaching us to do the same (Philippians 4).

Is it not wisdom to follow Solomon’s advice and let go of the past, allowing God to move united with us into our future?

We can then celebrate each day with the His inner joy of another day with our LORD and each other.

Letting go of fear, life then becomes an adventure.

Loving God and one another, facing each other, having enough faith in this uncertain life to follow His plans, let’s enjoy this temporary dwelling filled with His Light, His Glory.

There is a God-given plan for each of us.

He will never leave, always lead, love, and work in and through us.

Whatever situation we are in, He provides His Grace and Presence to see us through.

Even in prison, Paul said, “Rejoice in union with the LORD always. I will say it again, rejoice!”

Rejoice is to exult and be exceedingly glad.

Five times, “in union with the LORD” is used in Philippians 4. This is something on which to both ponder and live out.

Joy in the “now” in union with our God and each other is better than all the stressful fears for the future.

This is Solomon’s wisdom for life.

Life is too short to waste on fear, not forgiving others, reliving the past, or worrying about the future. Focusing on the good of the day, and trusting God, gives each new day given us a blessing.

Our God not only rejoices over us with joy but exults over us with singing.

Join Him, anyone?

The LORD your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy: He will rest [in silent satisfaction], and in His love, He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; he will exult over you with singing (Zephaniah 3.17; AMPC).