{"id":9355,"date":"2026-03-10T18:46:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T00:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=9355"},"modified":"2026-03-10T18:46:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T00:46:02","slug":"ecclesiastes-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=9355","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiastes Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The name “Ecclesiastes” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Qoheleth<\/em>, which means “the leader who speaks in the assembly,” or “the Preacher.” The author refers to himself by this name in Ecclesiastes 1:1.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The book was written by Solomon, although he never mentioned his name. He did, however say that he was “the son of David” (1:1), and “king over Israel in Jerusalem” (1:12), and that is only true of Solomon.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many believe that Solomon wrote Song of Solomon in his youth, Proverbs in his middle age, and Ecclesiastes in his old age, around 935 B.C.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The word “vanity” (“meaninglessness”) appears 37 times.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The phrase “under the sun” is used 29 times.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ecclesiastes presents an optimistic, not a pessimistic, viewpoint of life. It provides the answer to man\u2019s search for ultimate meaning. In the first half, it presents the viewpoint of the person who lives life without an eternal perspective. By itself, this would indeed be a depressing and pessimistic outlook. But Solomon goes on to present a view of life from the eternal perspective, and this is in no way pessimistic.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rather than presenting a pessimistic view of life, Ecclesiastes shows us how to live life to the fullest for the time that God has given us here on earth. As J. Sidlow Baxter said, it \u201csuggests a sermon on the cause and cure of <\/em>pessimism.\u201d It presents a balance between hedonism (living for pleasure) and asceticism (denying oneself any physical pleasures) by explaining that we are to thoroughly enjoy life within our God-appointed boundaries. Ecclesiastes 2:24 says, \u201cThere is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.\u201d This is balanced by 12:13-14 which says, \u201cLet us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.\u201d \u2014 <\/span><\/mark>Gra<\/span>ce, page 1167.<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

[Ecclesiastes] is in fact a critique of secularism and of secularized religion. For secularism need not be irreligious, and the religion of the Jews tended to be unduly secular and to forget the transcendence of God (5:2). As such, it has an abiding message, and not least for our own time.  …<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The fatal weakness of secularist utopianism is, as has been said, that it takes insufficient account of the twin facts of evil and death. The eyes of Ecclesiastes are fully open to the vanity and the corruption to which the creation is subject (Romans 8:20<\/span><\/a>ff.), and the whole book has been described as an exposition of the curse of the Fall (Genesis 3:17-19<\/span><\/a>). …<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But though the tone of the book is preponderantly negative, it is a mistake to brand Ecclesiastes as a sceptic or an apostle of despair. The melancholy refrain, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,” is not his verdict upon life in general but only upon the misguided human endeavor to treat the created world as an end in itself. …<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The significance of the world is that it can become a medium for the revelation of God’s goodness, wisdom and righteousness. It is only when man treats it as an end in itself, and makes it his chief end to gain the world, that it turns to vanity. But there is a way in which man can accept life under the sun, with its gifts and withdrawals, its apparent irrationalities and injustices, and that is “from the hand of God” (2:24; 5:18-20). Plainly this is not skepticism or pessimism; it is faith. \u2014 Guthrie, pages 570-571.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

__________<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our preacher poses a question that all mankind must face: what profit does man achieve through his life under the sun? What does man gain (Hebrew yithron<\/em>)? This word is unique to Ecclesiastes and is drawn from the world of business. The term here is not used, however, in a mercenary sense, but rather to raise the important issue of meaning and profit for all of life. Our author here shares the concern of our Lord Jesus Christ when He asks the question, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36<\/span><\/a>). If a man gain all the knowledge and experience all the pleasures of this world, what would be the remaining or abiding benefit or happiness which he would achieve? Our author confirms that all such pursuits are vain, i.e., as empty as steam. He points man to the only path that leads to true profit: a wholehearted commitment to the better way, the way of duty, which man can only walk upon if he fears God and keeps His commandments. \u2014 KJ Commentary.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I’ve chosen this book to study because I am, in my old nature, something of a fatalist, and I need to be reminded that there’s a better way to view life and this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resources I’m using for this study:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Grace Study Bible<\/em>, by the Berean Bible Society. (Referred to as “Grace” in my notes.)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

King James Bible Commentary<\/em>. (Referred to as “KJ Commentary” in my posts.”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The New Bible Commentary<\/em>, edited by D. Guthrie and J.A. Motyer. (Referred to as “Guthrie” in my posts.)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/em>, by Hendrickson Publishers. (Referred to as “Treasury” in my posts.)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Williams’ Complete Bible Commentary<\/em>, by George Williams. (Referred to as “Williams” in my posts.)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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The name “Ecclesiastes” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Qoheleth, which means “the leader who speaks in the assembly,” or “the Preacher.” The author refers to himself by this name in Ecclesiastes 1:1. The book was written by Solomon, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecclesiastes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9355"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9514,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9355\/revisions\/9514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}