Overview of the Book of Ecclesiastes

The Vanity of Life Under the Sun

The overview of the week for this Sunday is the book of Ecclesiastes. It begins like this, the words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, vanity of vanity says the preacher, vanity of vanities all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, the third king of Israel, and he's writing about life under the sun. That's a phrase that gets repeated life under the sun. He says in chapter 1 verse 14, I have seen all the works that are done under the sun and indeed all is vanity in grasping for the wind.

His point is that life without the Lord, a life not lived for God is vain. It's empty. It's meaningless. You're born you live for a while, you die, you're forgotten. Now that might sound like the most depressing thing you've ever heard and yet I think that is his exact point.

Solomon’s Drift from the Lord

He knew and Solomon knew what he was talking about. Solomon had everything. He had wealth, he had fame, he had power, and none of it made him happy. Now Solomon started out very well. He was blessed by God.

God gave him wisdom and everything that a man could want, but Solomon over time he began to drift away from the Lord. So Ecclesiastes represents the painful autobiography of a man who for much of his life squandered God's blessings.

For so long he lived for his own personal pleasure rather than for God's glory and he's writing these things as a way to warn future generations to not make that same mistake. He ends the book with these words in chapter 12, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

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.