E C C L E S I A S T E S

Both Ecclesiastes and Job are grounded in the theological distinction between God the Creator and us as his creatures. It’s vital that we grasp that there is a God, and we are not him.

Solomon begins with the premise that life is meaningless—”hevel.” This idea includes the imagery of life being a vapor—ephemeral, fleeting, insubstantial, and unpredictable.

We must sit in the tension that even though we bear God’s image, we cannot understand the big questions around brokenness and injustice in the world.

Instead of striving for understanding, we should strive to trust God, to embrace the gap between his sovereignty and our limited nature.

Even in the midst of life’s brokenness, we can have hope. We are called to fear God and keep his commandments. The only way to have purpose is to keep covenant with God.

Ultimately, our hope rests in Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. He was pierced for us so that we would not be pierced. Through that lens, we look forward with hope.

When we become obsessed with finding happiness and fulfillment—whether through sex, alcohol, work, family, or any set of circumstances—we are living in denial. We then distract our souls from something more substantial that offers real hope.

We are all bent towards foolishness. Our innate desire is to live life on our terms, unguarded and unrestrained.

Wisdom comes from fearing the Lord—understanding that he is our Creator and we are mere creatures. Humility is vital for us to live wisely.

Solomon tells us through his experience that no accomplishment, status, or significance can fill the void in our souls. There is no good life apart from God.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with work, family, or enjoying what life offers—if you make it the centerpiece of your life, it will leave you empty.

Religious people think that because they do the right things, then God will work for them. Solomon exposes those props—injustice and suffering come to both the wise and the foolish.

Being wise does not insulate us from the brokenness and pain of this world. Furthermore, we cannot control what happens to all we have accomplished after we are gone.

Solomon calls us to live a small life. We cannot control the world, so we must humbly enjoy the goodness God has given us—a day’s work, a good meal, our families.

Two realities exist–God’s creation is good and he has given us joy; also, the world is fallen, causing frustration. Jesus’ death on the cross is the only thing that makes sense of both.

We must accept that suffering is part of being a follower of Jesus and willingly move into the brokenness of the world. However, we can also have hope in a certain future with him in eternity.

Solomon uses the concept of time to illustrate the nature of our broken world and the lack of control we have over it. Time is like a road we are all trapped on, and it has certain characteristics—life and death, love and hate, war and peace, etc.

This list captures the tension we all live in. We experience both difficult and beautiful things. While we cannot escape or change the world, we can enjoy what God has given us in its season.

In the beginning, God offered humanity a perfect world, but Adam chose a different world. Since the fall, we have been under a curse. No matter how much effort we put forth, there is little return.

God has planted eternity in our hearts. Because we are made in his image, we know that there is an eternal, transcendent reality beyond this world.

The only way we can find hope in the relentless march of time is by looking to Jesus, who entered time and suffered, grieved, and died for us. When we abandon our earthly hope and attach our faith to him, we can follow him out of this world.