"The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (Ecclesiastes 1:1).
So begins the lament of a preacher, a son, a king, and an old man who has lost sight of his first love, namely, God. This man was Solomon.
In 1st Kings chapter 11 (I suggest you read verses 1-13 now please.) we learn that Solomon broke God's command in Deuteronomy 7:3 (Did you get your bible yet?). When he broke that commandment his heart was turned away after other gods which leads to one of the most amazing verses in the Word of God in my humble opinion.
"And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice" (1 Kings 11:9). God was a little more than angry with Solomon. The word translated angry is anaph. It means, "to breathe hard, that is, be enraged: - be angry (displeased)".
God had appeared twice to Solomon! Twice! "The Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly" (2 Chronicles 1:1). Solomon built the Temple and after praying "fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house" (2 Chronicles 7:1).
I simply can't imagine after all this having a heart turned away from God, but then, I don't have to imagine. I have turned my heart away from God. I have plenty of miracles I can count in my life and yet I have turned away. Shortly after giving all of myself to Jesus I took it all back and went crazy with sex, drugs, and drinking. I wonder if God was breathing hard.
God's judgment came upon Solomon for his unrepentant ways. 1st Kings 11:11,14,23-25 (did you get your bible yet?) and 26-40 discuss three adversaries that were brought against Solomon. I said Solomon was unrepentant. I think Ecclesiastes is his tirade at God. I know I have been in an unrepentant state and blamed God. I have questioned what everything is about. In the last couple post I have expressed feelings of distress. Sin does that to us. It separates us from God and sometimes even though we know better, we separate ourselves. We lose fellowship and nothing can fill the emptiness that is left. This is what Ecclesiastes is about. The emptiness in everything outside of God. It was in this state of affairs that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes.
What is interesting about Ecclesiastes is it ends (12:13) where Proverbs starts (1:7). Solomon is an old man at this point in time, perhaps 55, with about 2 years left of his life. He comes full circle in Ecclesiastes. He begins in wisdom (1 Kings 3:1-15, 2 Chronicles 1:7-12) and comes back to it (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
I ask that you keep in mind how far Solomon has fallen and the adversaries that are out his door and in his family. These two facts help determine the tone of Ecclesiastes.
6 comments:
I too have been reading Kings this week. Great post Joe!!!
Thanks michael,
I think im going to really enjoy this project and hopefully get alot out of reading it to. Ecclesiastes is such a depressing book but for the last couple of verses. It really is a book about perspectives and that nothing we do or accomplish matters without conforming to the will of God.
MDM
Michael, I came back to read this again after your comment on my site. I have really enjoyed reading your site and this is going to be good, I have struggled at times with Ecclesiastes, I love the poetry of the book, but there is something deeper being communicated here, mainly I think that we sometimes look for fulfillment in things and not the deeper spiritual truth. I mistakenly wrote Joe's name but I knew it was you, I had just read Joe's post earlier and He also had an awesome post today!!
One thing I can say about you Michael is that you have courage. Keep up the good studies.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts on this interesting little book.
A quote from a commentary:
"The Scope of Ecclesiastes is to show the vanity of all mere human pursuits, when made the chief end, as contrasted with the real blessedness of true wisdom, that is, religion"
I love the way Ecclesiastes ends:
"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
Ecclesiastes is the writings of an older man looking back and wishing he had some real wisdom ... wisdom of the heart and not the head.
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