Ep 459 – Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Today we begin a new series of podcasts on the book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, the son of David and the King of Israel. Over the next weeks, we will be digging deep into the profound and sometimes pessimistic-sounding words of this man who was renowned for his wisdom and who had been blessed beyond belief by God. This is not a particularly upbeat book, but it contains some of the most practical life lessons to be found in the Scriptures. Solomon, nearing the end of his long life, is providing us with some sobering insights into what he has learned over the years. Some of it is hard to hear. But all of it is vital to our understanding the futility that can come when we live our lives without God at the center of our lives. Solomon was known for his great wisdom, but we will see that wisdom alone was not enough to keep Solomon from living like a fool at times. The wisdom provided by God, used apart from a daily dependence upon God, will not protect us from making unwise choices. And Solomon will provide us with more than a few examples from his own life. Not only that, Solomon will give us a view of the world seen through the eyes of one who has ceased to see God as the primary focus of life and the sole provider of purpose and meaning to life. Solomon had allowed the many gifts and blessings of God to take the place of God in his life. He sought to find meaning and significance from the things of this world, rather than from the One who created the world. And in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, Solomon will set the tone for his entire book with the well-known words, "What has been done is what will be done." In other words, he believed there was an inevitability to all things under the sun that robbed life of its meaning. But his perspective was skewed and his conclusion was wrong.