God and Man

Ecclesiastes, unlike Acts, Romans, or Hebrews, does not seem to come right out and discuss the topic of faith. The writer shares about his own life and the pursuit of satisfaction and happiness in his own power. In all of the things he tried to find happiness in, he only found that everything apart from God is meaningless and vain. When he accepted the fact that God has a plan that He is working it out in the author 's life, and that all he needs to do is allow Him to work, it was only then that he was able to find true satisfaction and happiness. He then calls the readers to not walk in the same way of meaninglessness as he had, but rather to seek God first, and reap the benefits of faith in God. The writer of Ecclesiastes is known only as the Qohelet, which is the Hebrew word meaning Teacher, but who exactly the author was is unsure. Traditionally it is believed that King Solomon wrote this book. It is thought to have been written later in his life, based upon some of the content in the book. Solomon was considered the wisest man to ever live. He valued knowledge and the attainment of wisdom. He received wisdom as a gift from God and continued his pursuit of knowledge through his life. In Ecclesiastes 1:13 and 14 the author says "I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the sun". He also says in 2:13 and 14 that "I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both". The writer has realized that for all of his efforts to gain wisdom and knowledge he still faces the same destiny as the fools. In 1:18 he comes to the conclusion that "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge the more grief." The type of wisdom

Cited: List The NIV Study Bible. Kenneth Barker, general editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1995. Baker, Howard. Theology of Ecclesiastes. http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1632 Bridges, Charles. A Commentary on Ecclesiastes. Great Britain: Banner of Truth Trust, 1985. Carson, D.A et. al., eds. New Bible Commentary. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994. Halley, Henry H. Halley 's Bible Handbook. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1965. Sandmel, Samuel. Hebrew Scriptures. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.