Now, tell the truth; Do you a problem with the book of Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes is a difficult book; difficult to translate, difficult to interpret and difficult to reconcile with the broader canon of Scripture. The language is unusual, there are words and phrases that are not used anywhere else in Scripture. There are some words that are not found anywhere else in ancient literature. The themes are difficult to pin down. There are moments in which the writer appears to be plumbing the depths of despair and, at other times, he appears to encourage the reader to live a full and joyful life. This has led commentators to take widely differing views with regards to the overall meaning of the book, some arguing that the writer is an agnostic, others that he is orthodox; some that this book is pessimist in its view of life and others that the writer is an optimist. Let me just give you a few of the scriptures I am thinking about. ‘Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?’ (Ecclesiastes 7:16) does not seem to fit with the broad exhortation of Scripture to pursue holiness. Or, ‘There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.’ (Ecclesiastes 2:24), seems to run in the face of other biblical text which exhort sobriety and warn against gluttony. Consequently, Ecclesiastes is oftentimes neglected in our personal bible study and neglected even more from the pulpit. The difficulty is quite simply this; what do we do with a book where the central message appears to be, ‘All is vanity’, or, emptyness, (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 14, 2:17, 19, 23, 3:19, 4:4, 8, 16, 6:2, 11:8 and 12:8)? The correct reference point is a fallen creation. Interestingly, the New Testament does not quote directly from Ecclesiastes. However, Apostle Paul makes a direct allusion to this book in Romans Chapter 8. Consider, Romans 8:20-25 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. The truth is that the themes contained within Ecclesiastes, when read plainly, are found throughout the New Testament. Ecclesiastes is such a timely book in that it acts as a reality check, a wake up call. Solomon looks at the world with his eyes wide open as it truly is and calls us to do the same. Solomon intends us to live our lives under the sun with our hearts inclined heavenwards. Is that the way we , you and I live our lives. Or are we just concerned with the here and now, as those around us are obviously caught up into.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 20:57:28 +0000
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