Ecclesiastes

I like to think of Ecclesiastes as Solomon’s journal. He is reflecting over a long life and clearly communicating that without God, life doesn’t make sense. We live under the sun but need an over the sun perspective for things to fit together.

If you must know the answer to every question about life and God before trusting in him, guess what? You will never trust in him. One thing we do know about the future is that death is certain. Here’s the main question. When your body has breathed its final breath, where will your soul go?

The “best” life. The life of the world’s heroes, those we look up to while we live under the sun, is grievous. When you finally get to where you think you want to go and get ready to grab what you’ve been chasing, you find that nothing is there. It is like striving after the wind. But…Jesus changes everything.

Solomon did not oppose doing things that count. He wasn’t against inventions, creativity, and people trying to make a difference. But Solomon is a realist. Whether you invest your time in work that is significant or whether you squander your days, the wise man and the fool are soon forgotten. After you die, your name is mentioned less and less.

Every day is someone’s last day. But for those who know Jesus as my dad did, our final day on earth becomes our first day in heaven. When believers are absent from the body, they are present with the Lord. So, here is the one question on life’s exam you must know the answer to. When your body is in a box under the sun, where will your soul be?

We know that education is essential in getting out of the slums, and we also know that a high score on placement exams does not transform the human heart. Without Jesus, the more we know, the sadder we become. But with Jesus, we can use the gift of knowledge to worship and honor him all our days under the sun.

Solomon forgot that all his wisdom came as a gift from God (1 Kings 3:11-12). Solomon said that he was wiser than kings before him. Remember, he followed King David—the standard-bearer for all Israel’s kings.

Godly wisdom gives you the discernment to check your heart and actions first. Godly wisdom allows you to live with an eternal perspective. Godly wisdom is not paralyzed with a “What’s this world coming to?” attitude but is energized by allowing God to grow us into those who demonstrate what it looks like to serve him. We can’t change the world, but we can ask God to change our hearts! 

But as he observed humanity and their busy pace, he found that just like the sun chased its tail, so people chased theirs. Things “done under heaven” become the same ole same ole. We just keep running on the “treadmill of our existence.”