Ecclesiastes

ECCLESIASTES
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The Book of Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes offers insightful lessons concerning the true human nature. The book teaches the readers the true meaning of life and how people can live it to the fullest. Several themes are discussed in this book, including the notion that all human behaviors and actions are embedded in selfishness. In Ecclesiastes (1:2), the narrator declares that everything we do would be in vain if the favor of God is not involved. Readers are advised to enjoy life’s daily pleasures in modest. For instance, routine undertakings like eating, drinking and assisting others should be considered as important as daily engagements of wealth creation. Solomon argues that all activities of human beings engage in are gifts from God and, therefore, should be considered as sources of joy and happiness. To this end, people should lead a life that pleases God as per the instructions of His Holy teachings.
Through the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon gives a clear illustration of the emptiness of living only for materialism, power, pleasure, or intellectualism. To help us better understand the true meaning of this book, the Solomon develops discussions, to give his views a contemporary meaning of life. The teachings in Ecclesiastes are applicable to all peoples at any given moment in our history; its lessons are valid and much relevant to our lives. This is because Ecclesiastes espouses basic human truths and teachings on how one should live a noble and worthwhile life.

Is Life Worthy Living?
The challenges Solomon observes that people face in their daily lives make him question the purpose of life .Despite his wealth, power, and wisdom, his message is often ignored in our modern society. The narrator laments that the entire struggle to achieve in terms of material wealth is all but vanity (Ecc1: 2).People‘s struggle for wealth may bring some joy in life, but such achievement can only be short-lived. The word vanity is used on several occasions throughout the book which emphasizes the emptiness or futility of wealth which may vanish quickly because it is never permanent as everlasting life’. From the mortal point of view, life on earth may appear precious, but Solomon considers it as a futile experience. When one dies, he/she may leave a lot of wealth, but if such wealth is left with ‘fools,’ I would quickly vanish.Such dilemmas pose several challenges to our daily living. However, if we look at it from a heavenly perspective, it is worthy living since material wealth enables us to satisfy our daily needs as well as fulfill God’s commands.
The current world has witnessed great men and women who have created a lot of wealth in their lifetime .An example of such persons is Steve Jobs. Moments before Jobs passed on, he said that he had reached the pinnacle of success in the business world and people considered him an epitome of success .He lacked nothing in terms of human needs. However, from the huge success in business, he had little joy. According to Jobs, wealth was only a fact of life and did not mean much to him in his hospital bed. At this point, he came to the realization that all the recognition and wealth that he took so much pride in had become meaningless in the face of an imminent death. It is not that Steve Jobs discourages wealth accumulation. Rather, he emphasizes that life has more to offer than just wealth. Like Steve Jobs, lessons in Ecclesiastes are unique as they focus on humankind and life on earth, and the nature of God and His expectations from the human race. Ecclesiastes emphasizes that the fact that our lives and personal goals have limited lifespan obligates us to engage in actions that please God. Otherwise, our endeavors to succeed on earth would be futile (Eccl 12:13).
How to Live a Timed Life
In Eccl 3:1-15, the teacher, one of the wisest people ever lived, narrates that life is mostly a function of time. Timing is what matters most in the way we live our lives.. How then, should we live if the timing is what matters in life? The book of Ecclesiastes (verse 3) gives a clear discussion on how to live a timed life. In his narration, Solomon illustrates how ephemeral life on earth is and the need to recognize this fact for a fulfilled life. There is a specific time for everything, he says. Every event on earth has its own appointed time. A time comes when one is born, and when they die. We should know that events in life do not happen by chance .This is because God has designed a reason for their occurrence. The word event here conveys the outcome of delight. When Solomon uses the term event, he insinuates that there is a benefit that one derives from participating in a given event at the right time.
The Main Point of Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes is literature that conveys a lot of wisdom in regards to the bigger picture of life. The book provides children of God with a message that encourages them to do what whatever it takes to make themselves happy because some day they will become old and leave the earth as a result of death. The book sums up its counsel that life is empty and meaningless. What is important is the positive experience of one’s lifetime. Ecclesiastes repeatedly uses the term hevel which in Hebrew means something similar to vapor. This analogy depicts life as something that is temporal, and as children of God, we must not pay much attention to material things of this world. There is little to live than having the human experience. No matter what happens and amount of material wealth one accumulates, eventually they would die and if their lives did not please God or leave good memories in fellow mortals, then it would be worthless to have lived.
The ultimate goal of Ecclesiastes is to provoke us to live a positive life as well as ensure materialism does not define every decision we make in regards to ourselves or others. With an honest look at life, one concludes that what matters in life is the impact that our actions have on others and not how much wealth we accumulate throughout our lives. Ecclesiastes provokes us to ask ourselves whether life can be lived successfully in the absence of God .In the end, we realize that God has a higher purpose for each and every one of us and this goal goes beyond our social standing in the society. This happens because God has a direct impact on all our activities on earth irrespective of our individual social status.
At the very end of the book , Solomon advises that it is important to fear God and keep his commandments because such is the primary goal of everyone of us .Our accomplishments on earth would be evaluated at the time of reckoning; the time of judgment (Eccl 12:14). So, Ecclesiastes calls for us to live our lives with God’s purposes in mind. Implicitly, the book is alluding that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and that life is an adventure by faith; life is a gift that needs to be enjoyed to the fullest; life a is school for us to learn ; life is about assuming stewardship for God . If one fears the Lord, they will not pursue materialism as their primary priority in life. The message is to pursue a higher goal that eventually offers an everlasting life because life on earth is ephemeral.
Conclusion
The book of Ecclesiastes teaches us the lesson that life is a journey of faith that is traveled through human experience. Death may be inevitable, but it is critical to remember that life is a gift from God. As such, we need to enjoy it while serving Him. Besides, we are capable of accomplishing all that which God has directed. Through his Holy Book, we learn God’s truth and His expectations from us. As we continue living on this earth, it is important to sustain the conviction that God will continue giving us the wisdom to make better decisions that not only glorifies Him but also spiritually uplifts the lives of others. As for material wealth, it is important for us to use wealth to make an impact on God’s work and other people’s lives. In the words of Steve Jobs, it is the memories of good things on earth that would go with after death. Therefore, fear God by keeping his commandments for this is the higher purpose for our existence. The essence of wealth is to enable us to accomplish our higher purpose on earth.
Bibliography
Dell, Katharine Julia. Interpreting Ecclesiastes: Readers Old and New. 2013.
Fox, Michael V. A time to tear down and a time to build up: A rereading of Ecclesiastes. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2010.
Longman, Tremper. The book of Ecclesiastes. Vol. 23. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1998.
Syrios, Bill, and Teresa Syrios. Ecclesiastes: Chasing After Meaning. InterVarsity Press, 2002.
Jobs, Steve, and George W. Beahm. I, Steve: Steve Jobs in his own words. Agate Publishing, 2011.