Setting – Solomon starts this book with a grim view of life.
Content – Verse 2 sets the stage of the rest of the book (NIV), “Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Solomon reviews life and concludes that life continues as it always does, the sun raises, sets and returns to raise again, the rivers fill the sea and the water returns again to the rivers to refill the sea, etc., (v. 4-NIV), “Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.”
Solomon reviews his life where he (v. 13a-NIV), “devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven”, (v. 14a-NIV), “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless”, (v. 16b-NIV), “I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” and (v. 17b-NIV), “applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly”. From this he concludes (v. 18-NIV), “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”
Application – After reading something like this from Solomon we would start to say, what’s the use, since everything is “Meaningless! Meaningless!” But stepping back from the chapter, we see that all of this was Solomon’s pursuit. The only reference in this chapter to God is (v. 13b-NLT), “I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race” But God didn’t put the burden on man; man puts this burden on himself (sin from the garden). God didn’t intervene and return mankind back to the Garden, but allowed sin to run its course. Man was cursed to toil the land from the sweat.
With that said, than we must ask, what’s the reason for this book? It’s a great contrast between what man’s pursuits of happiness compared to God’s meaning of happiness. This earth won’t satisfy, sin doesn’t fulfill, selfish pursuits end in emptiness, etc. As the traditional song says, “earth is not my home I’m jus’a passing through…”
It’s a hard reality to come to grip with nothing on earth will satisfy. There are plenty of things that provide temporary fulfillment, but our treasure’s need to be laid up in heaven, not on earth.
Content – Verse 2 sets the stage of the rest of the book (NIV), “Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Solomon reviews life and concludes that life continues as it always does, the sun raises, sets and returns to raise again, the rivers fill the sea and the water returns again to the rivers to refill the sea, etc., (v. 4-NIV), “Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.”
Solomon reviews his life where he (v. 13a-NIV), “devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven”, (v. 14a-NIV), “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless”, (v. 16b-NIV), “I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” and (v. 17b-NIV), “applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly”. From this he concludes (v. 18-NIV), “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”
Application – After reading something like this from Solomon we would start to say, what’s the use, since everything is “Meaningless! Meaningless!” But stepping back from the chapter, we see that all of this was Solomon’s pursuit. The only reference in this chapter to God is (v. 13b-NLT), “I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race” But God didn’t put the burden on man; man puts this burden on himself (sin from the garden). God didn’t intervene and return mankind back to the Garden, but allowed sin to run its course. Man was cursed to toil the land from the sweat.
With that said, than we must ask, what’s the reason for this book? It’s a great contrast between what man’s pursuits of happiness compared to God’s meaning of happiness. This earth won’t satisfy, sin doesn’t fulfill, selfish pursuits end in emptiness, etc. As the traditional song says, “earth is not my home I’m jus’a passing through…”
It’s a hard reality to come to grip with nothing on earth will satisfy. There are plenty of things that provide temporary fulfillment, but our treasure’s need to be laid up in heaven, not on earth.
Comments