A Brief Survey of Ecclesiastes, Part 2
Canonicity:
The canonicity of the book was, however, long doubtful (Yad. iii. 5;
Meg. 7a), and was one of the matters on which the school of Shammai took a more
stringent view than the school of Hillel.
It was finally settled "on the day whereon Rabbi Eleazar ben
Azariah was appointed head of the assembly." Attempts were made to render it apocryphal on
the ground of its not being inspired, or of its internal contradictions, or of
a tendency that it displayed toward heresy — that is, Epicureanism. But these objections were satisfactorily
answered. It was assumed that Solomon
had taken the name "Qohelet," just as he had taken the name
"Agur" (Prov. 30:1), as a collector; and probably the Septuagint
rendering represents a theory that the name contained an allusion to I Kings
8:1 where Solomon is said to have gathered an assembly. Along these same lines Rev. Scott wrote, “all
of them [the “Epicurean-sounding” maxims] admit of a sound and useful
interpretation, when accurately investigated, and when the general scope of the
book is attended to.”[1]
There are no direct quotations of Ecclesiastes in the New Testament,
however Matthew
23:23, R. V., "These ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other
undone," seems clearly a reminiscence of Eccl. 7:18. Holden gives a list from the German critic
Carpzov of texts with more or less resemblance, but few of them carry any
weight of parallelism or reference.
The “corrupt propensities,” as Bridges calls them, of the
writer do not influence in deteriorating its real authority. For this depends not upon the instrumentality
employed but upon the dignity of its great author and the truthfulness of the
testimony. There is, for this reason, no
ground to question that this book was given
- like every other part of Scripture – by inspiration of God.
Purpose:
The Book’s manifest purpose is to show that all is vanity unless one,
“fears God, and keeps His commandments” (12:13). The book is a record of Solomon’s desperate
journey. It was a maddening period in
his adult life when life lost its luster.
He questions everything in life—values, God, ethics, etc. He sought to live without God. The goal of the journey is to show that you
cannot live a significant, worthwhile, meaningful life without a personal
relationship with God. When you leave
God out, life is a repetitious cycle of events, which neither possesses nor
gives lasting value or satisfaction (1:2-11).
Solomon’s states clearly that significance in life can be found only in
a trusting relationship with God:
Everything else is vanity. If it
is “under the sun” it will not satisfy because it is life apart from God. Jesus
asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits
his soul? Or what will a man give in
exchange for his soul?”[2] An adequate worldview must recognize that God
is the highest value of all. Life has a
purpose and God will judge every deed.
Incidentally, this book is a testimony to the great doctrine of the
Perseverance of the Saints. Despite the
depths of Solomon’s fall, he was not left by God to die in that state. Rather, like all the elect he was recalled
and died securely in the grace of God that elected him to salvation before the
foundations of the earth.
Theme:
“Vanity of vanities, All is vanity” (1:2). “Wine, women and song” is the experience of
living on the edge of reality without God.
Understanding of life begins with a healthy fear of God. Elohim is used forty times in this
book. He is the total sovereign provider
over all His creation. The Preacher
repeatedly admonishes men to “fear God” (3:14; 5:6; 8:12; 12:13). Ecclesiastes reports the results of a diligent
quest for purpose, meaning and satisfaction in human life. The Preacher poignantly sees the emptiness
and futility of power, popularity, prestige and pleasure apart from God. The word vanity appears 37 times to
express the many things that cannot be understood about life. When earthly goals and ambitions are pursued
as ends in themselves, they lead to disappointment and frustration. Life "under the sun" (used
29 times) seems to be filled with inequities, uncertainties, changes in
fortune, and violations of justice.
Yet Ecclesiastes does not give an answer to atheism or skepticism; God
is referred to throughout. In fact, it
claims that the search for man’s summum bonum must end in God. Satisfaction in life can be found only by
looking beyond this world. Ecclesiastes
gives an analysis of negative themes but it also develops the positive theme of
overcoming the vanities of life by fearing a God who is good, just, and
sovereign (Eccl. 12:13, 14).
Style:
Ecclesiastes belongs to the Hebrew Wisdom literature. The Hebrew in Ecclesiastes is unique to any
other Hebrew from any other period. It
has some Aramaic and Persian words.
Archer says,
“The reason for the peculiar vocabulary, syntax,
and style seems to be found in the literary genre to which Ecclesiastes
belonged – the genre of the philosophical discourse. If this particular genre
was first developed in Phoenicia, and if Solomon was well read in this whole
area of wisdom literature (cf. 1 Kings 4:30-34), there is every reason to
believe that he deliberately chose to write in the idiom and style that had
already been established for that genre.”[3] It seems
reasonably obvious that we are dealing here with a conventional style peculiar
to the particular genre to which Ecclesiastes belonged. It so happens that in the case of the
precise genre to which Ecclesiastes belongs, we have nothing else that has
survived from Hebrew literature. There
are some remarkable similarities between some passages in Ecclesiastes and the
corresponding sections in the Proverbs.
He writes as a philosopher, and a keen observer of world history,
current events and personal experiences.
Christ in
Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes convincingly portrays the emptiness and perplexity of life
without a relationship with the Lord.
Each person has eternity in his heart (Eccl. 3:11), and only Christ can
provide ultimate satisfaction, joy and wisdom.
Man’s summum bonum is found in the "one Shepherd"
(Eccl. 12:11) who offers abundant life (John 10:9, 10). In a striking passage from his commentary on
Ecclesiastes, Gregory of Nyssa sees Qohelet as a reference, or perhaps a type
of Christ. He writes: “We must first
consider the inscription of this book: ‘The words of Ecclesiastes, son of
David, king of Israel in Jerusalem.’ The law of Moses is read in every church
along with the prophets, psalms, historical books and other Old and New
Testament readings. How, then, does this special inscription enhance
Ecclesiastes, and what are we to make of it? …Perhaps this inscription refers
to the leader of the Church [ekklesia]. The true Ecclesiastes [Qoheleth, Christ] gathers into one assembly those persons who often have been
scattered and frequently deceived. Who could he be except the true king of
Israel to whom Nathaniel said, "You are the son of God and the king of
Israel" (Jn 1.49)? If these words
pertain to the king of Israel, the Son of God, as the Gospel says, then he is
called Ecclesiastes. We will not deviate from the inscription's meaning
provided that we learn about him who firmly establishes the Church through the
Gospel and to whom these words apply. "The words of Ecclesiastes, son of
David" [1.1]: thus Matthew begins his gospel with the name David and calls
him Lord.[4]
Conclusion:
No better conclusion of the book can be given than Solomon’s own: The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep
His commandments, because this applies to every person (12:13). Everything apart from God is futile. Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for
Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”[5] When a person begins to grow spiritually, he realizes that the former
way of life and the worldview that results from it no longer suffices for the
new manner of living that has come to be.
In other words, what we once valued is no longer deemed to be so
valuable. The book of Ecclesiastes
clearly provides expression for such a recognition.
Solomon explored every visible realm of stimulation in a
carefully controlled environment and was still unsatisfied. Only God satisfies our deepest needs in life.
Everything
else is “vanity."
Informative!
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