MEANINGLESS

I have decided to study the book of Ecclesiastes and to understand what Solomon was trying to get across. He seems so disillusioned with life. Life is a “Chasing after the wind” Reading this book, you almost want to give up. After all, “Everything is meaningless” Ecc 1:1 what a way to start a chapter, leave alone a whole book in the BIBLE!! I perceive that there is more to this wisdom book than we know, so here goes:

Solomon starts by saying that everything is meaningless, because everything just goes round and round in circles.

Humans – Created by God, born into the earth and then die and return to God and a whole other generation comes along. The cycle continues.

Wind – Goes to the south, then turns to the north, and keeps whirling around and around.

Sun – Rises in the East, sets in the west, then hurries back to the East to rise again tomorrow.

Rivers – All flow into the sea, which evaporates and condenses that same water to again rain on the land, enter the rivers and flow back into the sea.

All of it goes around and around. Clearly God works in cycles. We must learn how God works so that we can understand how we are meant to work. He works in Cycles of 7 years. We finish seven years and start again back to year one. God works in cycles.

He says all things are wearisome because you can never get enough. The eye never gets tired of seeing, the ear never gets enough of hearing, and clearly the lungs never get enough air. He found it wearisome, this going around in circles doing the same thing over and over again. He wanted to find the meaning of it.

He says there is nothing new in the earth, what is, existed way before we got here. That implies that it existed in God’s heart and mind and even on this earth, we are just waiting to discover it. Science keeps discovering new things, new planets, new galaxies, new cures for diseases. They were there all along. They are not new. We just didn’t know about it. But when God created the earth he knew that we would have need of this things and so he made provision for us.

The truth of the matter is, there is a cure for cancer, a cure for HIV/AIDS, there is another energy solution to replace oil, there is a solution for every issue. We just need to find it. God sent us on earth with everything we would need. The Bible says that before creation he had foreseen the fall of man and had already provided us a savior in Jesus Christ. So why haven’t this things been discovered? We will read about it later, but it is hidden in the verse that says For everything there is a time and a season.

The Bible says that “Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom” but then Solomon says

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes 1:18

That sounds like a total contradiction. I can only come to one conclusion. That he was relying on human wisdom, for the Bible says that the blessing of God maketh rich and adds no sorrow. The wisdom of God is a blessing and is the only wisdom we must rely on. Poor Solomon, he was carrying out experiments to see what worked and what didn’t as we will discover as we read on. And he found that nothing can satisfy except God. And serving the Lord our God, is the only purpose that will bring us joy in the earth.