Some Thoughts on Ecclesiastes

I was reading this great book the other day, and I realized that the man who wrote it was wiser than any man who ever lived on the earth except for Jesus. King Solomon…the son of King David…is the Author of these amazing writings. And yet for all his wisdom…he still had a great deal of struggle and defeat in his life. And since this book is written toward the end of his life, he shares a lot of wisdom with us if we would only listen and learn from his teachings. If you have not read the book of Ecclesiastes lately, I would highly recommend that you do.

Imagine, Solomon was given the choice of any one thing that he could possibly desire, and he chose wisdom so that he could rule his kingdom well. He could have asked for power or money or fame and fortune…but instead he asked God to make him wise, and because of this choice, God gave him both wisdom and abundant wealth. But still…by the time he came to the end of his life, he realized that it was all vanity…nothing of value.

King Solomon tried many of the same things that we run after today to try to find the meaning of life. He tried wisdom, pleasure, hard work, popularity, gain and honor…and still…after all this, he found that it was all useless and vanity.

Though he gives much good advice in this book, I think my favorite portion that he wrote is found in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. He writes:

“To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

What amazing wisdom is found there! You see we all go through different seasons in our lives. Someone once said that the only constant in life is change. Change will happen to everybody…but it’s how you handle the change that takes place in your personal life that makes all the difference for you. Many people resist change. They find a way of life that works for them and they want things to stay that way forever. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. Change WILL happen…sometimes it’s natural change due to life’s normal events such as marriage, the birth of a baby, empty nest syndrome…but sometimes unnatural change happens, such as when a loved one dies or you are faced with the hardship of divorce, or you lose your job. Whatever it is that causes our lives to change, we each have to learn to change with it, because often when people resist change, they find themselves bound by unforgiveness or depression. They can’t let go of the event that changed their lives, and so they never move forward and they are never able to let go of the past. And sometimes, people find themselves turning to alcohol or drugs or other forms of sin and immorality to try to ease the pain that changed their lives. And when they do this, instead of making life better, it just gets worse and worse for them.

King Solomon tried many different things in his life and in the end, he found one answer to be true. At the end of his life he said:

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,

For this is man’s all.

For God will bring every work into judgment,

Including every secret thing,

Whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

We would do well to learn this lesson early in our lives, for there is much suffering and much sorrow when we try to live our lives outside of God’s plan. The younger we learn this lesson, the better our lives will go for us. And when change does happen, we have an Advocate…a Comforter…a Friend we can turn to Who will always point us in the right direction and He will ease our hearts when change does come. He is always there…always faithful and always wants the very best for our lives. The best thing I can tell you is to come to Jesus today. There is no better way to live your life than to live for the Lord. He is truly worthy!