by Simon Davies

Created on: March 14, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Ecclesiastes What's life about?

The Teacher experiments with different lifestyles, only to discover that it's all meaningless without the spiritual.

In the modern world there are many lifestyles on offer. Is one better than another? Can anyone tell us the meaning of life? Is there a meaning to life? The Bible has attempted to answer these questions. The book of Ecclesiastes, despite its great age, has a very relevant theme and message.

The Teacher
The book is essentially an investigation by a king in Jerusalem who calls himself "the Teacher". It is likely that this king is Solomon, the son of David, because of the way he describes his wisdom and riches (see 1 Kings 10), but it is not completely certain. This king sets himself to try all that the world has to offer, to see if he can come to a conclusion about the way the world works, to find meaning. Sadly the conclusion that he comes to is that everything is vanity or meaningless, a vapour or wisp of air.

Knowledge
First the Teacher tries studying (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18; 2:12-16). He looks into philosophy; he reads the latest teaching of the cleverest thinkers. Then he compares the lives of these philosophers and thinkers with those of the people who reject the pursuit of knowledge. He acknowledges that the way of study is better, but ultimately both scholar and ignorant man will die and soon be forgotten. So what's the point?

Pleasure
This man is incredibly rich, so next he sets himself to accumulate possessions and indulge in all kinds of pleasures (Ecc. 2:1-11). He tries the "rock'n'roll" lifestyle, not denying himself any experience that feels good. He builds a beautiful house with fantastic gardens; he gets more women in his harem than anyone else. Everything he does is aimed at acquiring pleasure. Then he stops and thinks about what he has achieved. His conclusion is that, ultimately, this is all meaningless. What's the point of all these things?

Hard Work
So then he becomes a workaholic (Ecc. 2:17-26). If he works hard at a career, looking to achieve more and more impressive things by his own efforts, maybe there will be fulfilment in that? He concludes that it is good to work hard and achieve, it feels good to come home after a hard day's work. But at the end of life, he says, I've got to leave all I've achieved for someone else, and they might ruin it all.

Spiritual
It is here that a new note comes in. He begins to mention God. He speaks about God giving satisfaction to the diligent worker (Ecc. 2:24). He says that God gives good things to the one that pleases him (Ecc. 2:25). The rest of the book contains some useful pithy wisdom and some obscure reasoning, but the new idea is repeated and built on. Yes, there are some things in this world that are good. Yes, it seems that it's all ultimately meaningless. There is however one thing that gives meaning to all the different things life in this world offers a knowledge of the God who made all of it.

Conclusion
The philosophy of this book is this. There are many good things in the world to enjoy, we are to work hard and enjoy these things, but we must also acknowledge the spiritual side of things. God exists. He made all these things for our enjoyment. Our response should be one of obedience to him, of an acknowledgment that he is there and a desire to know him better.
Read the book of Ecclesiastes to get a better idea of this remarkable book.
This is the foundation of a Biblical World-view, which can then be built on by a study of the books of Proverbs and Job.

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