Ecclesiastes

Though I have never read Ecclesiastes in it's entirety before the chronological Bible read-through of 2009, I have always thought it an odd book for God to have included in the Bible. So much of it's content reflects hopelessness and leaves the reader no hint of the fruits of the Spirit (peace, love, joy, patience, etc.) that one would expect to find in a Biblical book on the meaning of life! how could an inspired work miss the mark so completely?

In my research on the book of Ecclesiastes, I found a great explanation. The book is unique in that it is the only book that is inspired and yet full of error. That makes me uncomfortable even to type, but here's what I read from Ray Stedman of Peninsula Baptist Church...

The book of Ecclesiastes, or "the Preacher," is unique in scripture. There is no other book like it, because it is the only book in the Bible that reflects a human, rather than a divine, point of view. This book is filled with error. And yet it is wholly inspired. This may confuse some people, because many feel that inspiration is a guarantee of truth. This is not necessarily so. Inspiration merely guarantees accuracy from a particular point of view; if it is God's point of view it is true; if it is man's point of view it may be true, and it may not. If it is the Devil's point of view it may or may not be true, as well, but the Devil's ultimate end, of course, is evil. Inspiration guarantees an accurate reflection of these various points of view.

Therefore the Bible does have much error in it. Whenever false views of men are quoted or set forth, the Bible is speaking error. Whenever Satan speaks, most of his statements are in error, and even the truth that he uses is twisted and distorted, and therefore is erroneous. So it is quite possible to "prove" all kinds of utterly false things by quoting the Bible, because in that sense the Bible is filled with error. The Bible always points out the error which it presents and makes it clear that it is error, as is the case with this book. Because of its remarkable character, Ecclesiastes is the most misused book of the Bible. This is the favorite book of atheists and agnostics. And many cults love to quote this book's erroneous viewpoints and give the impression that these are scriptural, divine words of God concerning life.


This made sense to me. The words of Ecclesiastes are true... they are an accurate representation of what Solomon was feeling at this stage of life. This is truth as he saw it. But his words do not represent God's truth. I think that is why the book had always bothered me. It just didn't feel right and seemed to be in such stark contrast with the character of God. It felt like one big discrepancy. But there are plenty of things in the Bible that are not meant to impart God's truth but rather tell a story of what actually happened. So why include this "story"? I supposed because Solomon's words are relevant to us, as citizens of this world who find ourselves consumed with things that are "meaningless" like wealth, pleasure, power, work, and planning for the future. Aside from the darkness and despondency of the "meaningless" diatribe, Solomon offers people one outlet for contentment in life... that they should "eat, drink, and enjoy their work during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life". In other words, don't chase after happiness in all the places Solomon did, but
instead be content with the blessings God has given you and ENJOY them!

Tomorrow's reading: Ecc.7-11:6