| ECCLESIASTES |
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| records what happened to that man who had everything. The author of Ecclesiastes had tasted just about everything life has to offer. Wealth? No one could exceed him in luxurious lifestyle (2:4-9). Wisdom? His was world-renowned (1:13-18). Fame? He was king, the most famous man of his time (1:12). Systematically, he sampled all of life's powers and pleasures, yet all ultimately disappointed him. All proved meaningless. What is the point of life? he asked. You work hard, and someone else gets all the credit. You struggle to be good, and evil people take advantage of you. You accumulate money, and it just goes to spoiled heirs. You seek pleasure, and it turns sour on you. And everyone - rich or poor, good or evil - meets the same end. We all die. There is only one word to describe this life: meaningless! Life Under the Sun Ecclesiastes strikes a responsive chord in our age. Its words show up in folk songs and at presidential inaugurations. No century has seen such progress, and yet such despair. What is the purpose of life anyway? Is there any ultimate meaning? "Is that all there is?" asked one songwriter after listing life's pleasures. A key phrase in this book, "under the sun," describes the world lived on one level, apart from God and without any belief in the afterlife. If ou live on that level, you may well conclude that life is meaningless. Ecclesiastes gives some words of hope, including the final summary: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (12:13). That's the positive message, the "lesson" of Ecclesiastes. But such positive words are almost overwhelmed by the author's powerful negative example. You could summarize his whole life in Jesus' one |
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