Emotional reactions to Ecclesiastes
I’ve used a Bible-in-a-year reading program of one sort or another for many reasons, but a primary one is so I don’t just keep returning to my favorite passages. Some books aren’t very comfortable but few stir up unmet longings like Ecclesiastes – even though I know the end of the story.
Don’t brand me a heretic
My emotional reaction to the book of Ecclesiastes, this year more than ever, is “warmer, warmer, warmer, you’re getting closer, hot… go, Solomon, go…” and then, “Fail.” Missed it again. How meaningless. And consciously or not, I’m left unsatisfied and wondering why this book is in the Bible. [Note to all the “high view of Scripture” people, of which I am one. I’m talking about my emotions, not my reasoned recommendations!] Ecclesiastes 3 is great poetry and the inspiration behind an uber-famous song from my childhood. And Ecclesiastes 4:12 plays well at weddings. But otherwise? “Meaningless” is the recurring theme.
The value of negative example
I looked closer this time around, for a couple reasons. First, I had a clearer sense than ever of what Solomon might be looking for but could never quite find. And it can be supremely helpful to see what not to do. I’m glad it’s still in my Bible! And second, I got a totally random text this last week mentioning Kierkegaard, the Danish existentialist philosopher and Christian theologian from the first half of the 19th century, and I was curious enough to ask my new friend Chat, “Did Kierkegaard like Ecclesiastes?” He did. Thought so.
If you read 1 Kings 3 closely, you might come away with the same two conclusions I did: Solomon started well, but the warning signs were there from the beginning. The first warning shows up even before we learn of Solomon’s humble response to his theophany (where God almost sounds like a Disney movie in inviting Solomon to ask for anything he wanted, and he wisely asked for wisdom.) He had already formed a political alliance with Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. And how wise was that? Especially as the beginning of a string of about 1000 more?
Daddy’s boy?
My hypothesis is that Solomon was living off daddy’s faith. Solomon seems to have begun life with the overflow of his father David’s intimate relationship with the Lord, but I’m not sure he ever made it his own. His dad, King David, shows his dependence on God perhaps more frequently than any other Old Testament character. David was “a man after God’s own heart.” Even in the wake of David’s faith, Solomon lands on some good stuff. We have two other books in the Old Testament attributed mostly or entirely to him – Song of Solomon and Proverbs. David would have loved John 15, where Jesus instructs, “Abide in Me, and I’ll abide in you.” Son Solomon? Not so much. Perhaps we could recommend a couple good proverbs to Solomon, like “Trust in the Lord with all your heart… lean not on your own understanding… in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.”
Self-reliance
Solomon in Ecclesiastes is a picture of self-reliance. Solomon rattles off all his many self-reliant and self-indulgent adventures, and sometimes even acknowledges God in the beauty and laughter, but almost always, we’re left with cynical Solomon. God is way out there, distant, and Solomon struggles with all the things that don’t make sense to him. God is watching, and following Him is better than not, but self-reliance ends up so unfulfilling. Arbitrary. Meaningless.
If you didn’t know how the book ends, and you were searching for deep and satisfying answers, your anticipation might reach a fever pitch at the start of the last chapter, chapter 12. Solomon instructs, “Don’t forget your Creator.” And in the first seven verses of the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, he writes, “Remember Him” seven times, for seven different occasions. So close! The John 15 Vineyard is close enough you could probably smell it from there. But then? Verse 8 “Everything is meaningless.” Again. And here’s how the book ends, with Solomon writing, “Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone’s duty.”
A newer, better covenant
I’m also reading Andrew Murray’s book Abiding in Christ devotionally, and Murray’s chapter 12 is so much more fulfilling than Solomon’s. “Fear God and obey His commands” is great Old Covenant stuff – the problem is we don’t do it very well. Andrew Murray had the infinite advantage of living on this side of the cross. Jesus says, “I’ll do it in you and through you”... that’s the Word of the Lord that sets us free. Get out of the ditch of self-reliance, surrender, and as one of my new favorite songs (Abide by Aaron Williams) repeats over and over again, “I depend on You, I depend on You.” Even for our abiding, we can depend on Him.
More abiding, please!
(PS, A lot of this article is simply my musings. Share yours with me!)
Dave Drum, Founder
