Bible: 5 Poetic Books

Lesson 1: Backgrounder

The Book of Ecclesiastes: Backgrounder

The Book of Ecclesiastes—Backgrounder

Philosophy.

Even the word evokes images of deep thinkers trying to sort out the ways of the world. Why do we do what we do? Why do we act how we act? What drives us? What motivates our movements? And of course, that age-old question that has stumped philosophers throughout the ages--

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

To a Christian, there is an easy answer--to serve and praise God. But saying it and living it are two very different things--as Solomon found out. The book of Ecclesiastes centers on Solomon's thoughts about his "meaningless" life. But the book of Ecclesiastes is not just meaningless rhetoric with no apparent benefit to us. Solomon may do his fair share of ranting and raving in this book of the Bible, but if we can get past the whining, we uncover a message for our lives…

Solomon, despite his griping, understands one very important point--apart from God, life is meaningless. Yet he falls into the trap himself, where he moves away from the very one who can help him. Then his life is indeed meaningless. But because he set this down for us to read, even his failures can have meaning for our lives. We learn from our own mistakes, but it’s less painful to learn from the mistakes of others. We can learn what not to do, why NOT to move away from God, and gain eternity as a result.

Our happiness doesn't lie with wealth or material possessions. Celebrity after celebrity proves this. How many do you know who seem to have everything--fame and fortune--but are still unsatisfied? There are the James Deans, the Kurt Cobains, the Elvis Presleys, the Marilyn Monroes--unhappy lives cut short in their prime. There is one Hollywood marriage after another ending in divorce (some have had as many as seven or eight divorces). There are people at the top of their profession, the peak of their success who make poor choices and wind up in jail. It doesn't seem to make sense. If you have others idolizing you, and you have plenty of money (so you won't argue about the #1 topic couples argue about), how can you be so unhappy?

A life apart from God is meaningless...and to many stars and celebrities, when they see their lives as meaningless, they end them, one way or another--divorce, addiction, suicide. If God is not in control of our lives, and if we are, tragedy is bound to strike sooner or later. Who would you rather have guiding your life—one who can see past, present and future in a single glance, or you, who knows only this moment in time and cannot know the future?

The meaning of life then, becomes clear—it is to put our faith in God and to praise God, knowing that He has the best life for us if we will just listen, if we are open to receiving his blessing.

To delve into examining this meaning of life, and the hard, hard issues that go along with it, check into lesson six, on Ecclesiastes...

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