Life Under the Sun: Thoughts on Ecclesiastes

By Wayne C. Kellis

Ecclesiastes is one of the least studied and understood books of the Bible.That is unfortunate because it is rich with wisdom. At first it can seem to be a series of unrelated or even contradictory statements but in fact it is logical and sequential. It is packed with practical advice for making sense of life. It is intended to teach us wisdom and who would not want to be wise?

As I read, studied and prayed, I came to love the subject. The things I discovered in Ecclesiastes were so true and dare I say, beautiful and relevant that I felt compelled to share them with my children and grandchildren.

The book of Ecclesiastes is about as close as the Bible will come to answering many of the questions of life here on earth. Notice I said Ecclesiastes is as close as it comes. Many of our questions will not be answered while we remain in the flesh. This book deals with the writers frustration with life.He asks and answers many questions about life, wisdom, pleasure, toil, folly, and many other subjects.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512763454

Wayne C. Kellis

Wayne grew up on a small farm in rural North Carolina. After coming to serious faith, around the age of 20, he spent the next several decades studying and learning to apply Biblical teaching in the common experiences of life. He and his wife of 40 years reside in South Carolina. They have been blessed with four children by blood and four by marriage. These unions have further blessed them with 13 grandchildren.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Questions

My friend Steve has often said that once he gets to heaven he will have many questions for God. When we get there, I suspect he and I will be content just being in His presence. We will not likely need to have our questions answered. I honestly believe it will be enough just to be there. God will not have to explain Himself to us.

I do, however, have a few questions here on earth. The best way to summarize my most perplexing question would be like this: How is life meant to be lived? What does God expect of us, and what does He want from us? One of my favorite verses of scripture is found in Micah 6:8. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Is this for real? Can we rely on this statement?

I am a believer in the one true God. I believe that Jesus was in fact born of a virgin, is God’s only begotten Son, died in my place, and somehow has set me right with God. I am confident that without the blood of the Son of God, I would be without hope. I am fully convinced that as a follower of Christ, I am called to live a disciplined, honest, moral, and devout life. But this is where my understanding stops. Beyond this, what some call the Christian life seems much less clear.

I have heard many good and well-intentioned men wax eloquently on the expectation that all Christians are called to winsome, adventurous, risk-it-all, pull-no-punches, 110-percent-all-of-the-time lives. They suggest that we must burn the candle at both ends and never grow weary and that our zeal should never wane. After all, Jesus did say that He would spew the lukewarm out of His mouth. But Jesus also said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. What do we make of Peter’s statement that we should cast all of our cares on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)? How do we reconcile the need to be fired up and effective with our frequent failures? I heard one speaker teach about our confidence in God and how we are called to live not only productive lives but also peaceful lives. He painted the picture of Christians resting, perhaps sleeping, in the arms of God. Honestly, I find this picture comforting.

We would all agree that a strong devotional life and the practice of spiritual discipline are a great advantage for believers. I have heard some go so far as to say that these are absolutely imperative. This view is often supported by great spiritual-sounding bits like If you are going to know Him, you are going to have to spend time with Him. Who can—or who would—want to argue with that? But I wonder about the harried twenty-five-year-old mother of three who has to work to make ends meet. Does she absolutely have to set aside thirty minutes in the morning and again at night for her quiet time? I am absolutely sure she would appreciate a little quiet time, but not the way others mean it. I wonder if it is enough for her to love her children, be a great wife and mother, and point her children to our Creator every time she gets an opportunity. I have known many terrific mothers. They worked hard, kept nice homes, prepared meals, did the laundry, sometimes worked outside the home, comforted their children, read Bible stories at night, and never failed to pray with their kids at bedtime. The interesting thing is that these absolutely wonderful, devout mothers often are not allowed to feel good about who they are and what they are accomplishing in His kingdom. They often have no awareness that the work they are doing is truly a spiritual endeavor with lasting value. Is this the way life is meant to be for these moms?

In a healthy Christian life, what is the proper balance between labor and rest? How does one reconcile the amount of time and energy given to concern over some injustice with the honest recognition that it is not in our power to fix it? How much drive are we required to have before we can be real Christians? How little drive can we have before reaching a state of slothfulness? Should our inner selves be full of turmoil, worried about the lost and downtrodden, or should we be at peace with the life God has given us? Perhaps we should have a bit of each. This is my question; I really do not know the answer.

I wonder if God has room in His kingdom for a regular old Joe? He works hard for his employer and is a devoted husband and attentive father. Sure, he prays and reads the Bible, but he does not have a rigid schedule, and some days pass by without reading God’s Word. He is serious about honoring holy God, he does not cheat on his taxes, and he is an obedient, quiet citizen. Is there room in the kingdom for a man like that? How about an illiterate peasant farmer? He will likely never even hear about Lectio Divina prayer. Is there any hope for him?

Many Christians I know do not seem to have the peace of God that passes understanding. Others cause me to wonder if they have really taken the call of God seriously. If you have no trouble understanding how God intends us to live, I am more than a little jealous. Honestly, if you are that confident you have the answers exactly square, I am not at all sure you have understood the question.

Other Questions

I have told you what my big question is, but as it turns out, my question is not shared by all. Many times I have attempted to engage others in meaningful dialogue about how God intends us to spend our time here. It just doesn’t resonate with some people. So if my big question does not bother you much, perhaps you have wondered about something else. Have you ever pondered the meaning of life? Why did God put you here? Does it have some real meaning? What is the eternal difference that is being made by your presence here?

If you happened to know the names of all eight of your great grandparents, can you tell us what difference they made in life? I am sure they were probably salt-of-the-earth people, but what did they really do? What is remembered about them? Had they not been born, how would the world be any different today? I know many of you are probably asking yourself these questions through something of a Christian worldview. But what if you did not know about eternal life in Christ? We would really have a tough time assigning any real meaning to the lives of our ancestors. Come to think of it, we would have great difficulty assigning meaning to our own lives.

If you have never struggled with the question about how life should be lived, and the question about finding real meaning in life never really bothered you, perhaps you have been troubled about the age-old question Why do bad things happen to good people? It’s true, you know. Bad things really do happen to good people. Sometimes the bad guy comes out on top and the good guy loses. Wicked people seem to prosper. Wait a minute. Sometimes, wicked people do prosper. How is any of that to be called fair? On top of all of this stuff, consider the fact that we all die and soon enough no one on earth will even remember that we ever existed. Fun stuff, huh?

Have you ever worked really hard on something and someone else got the credit? I would wager that you have experienced trying to do good to someone and in the end they just took advantage of you. I wonder why people work so hard to accumulate so much more wealth than they need, just to leave it to someone who cannot even take care of it. You accumulate wealth, and they will waste it. Why do we do this?

I wonder why God allows truly, deeply evil men to rule nations. I wonder why He allows starvation and genocide. The most common question people have about all of this goes something like this: If God is sovereign, He could do something about all of these things. If He is good, He would. So if He is who we say He is, why doesn’t He do something about all of the injustice in the world?

I am on thin ice here. You might be about to like me just a little less, but here goes. I don’t struggle with why God does or does not do this or that. I do scratch my head a little, but I do not try to figure it out. I do not struggle with these questions, but I understand why others do. These questions are honest, fair, and real. It is perfectly normal for people to want an answer. I am either shallow or blessed to be able to accept that God’s thoughts are higher than my thoughts and God’s ways are higher than my ways. It could be that I am too lazy or tired to get very far into a line of questions that will have no answer. There is no fruit out on that limb, so why would we climb out on it? I just take it for granted that God knows more than I do and trust that in the end it will all work out.

It is also true that I have never suffered terrible loss at the hands of fate. My four children are well into their twenties and thirties. They have been healthy almost every day of their lives. My wife of thirty-nine years is still alive and well. All twelve of my grandchildren are happy and healthy. So I have to admit the truth is that I have not been given reason to question God very strongly. I say this as humbly as possible. I have been blessed. Should I ever suffer some terrible life-altering event, I pray that I can still trust Him. I understand perfectly well that it is easy for those not being tested to speak foolishly about things we do not yet understand. Perhaps we should keep silent.

Obviously, the line of thought that says we should just trust God, no matter what, is not good enough for some people. But when I asked about bad things happening to good people in a class I taught recently, one of our older saintly sisters replied, Well, it’s just not any of my business. I know it will not please everyone but I love that spirit. Here is a lady completely trusting in the sovereignty, goodness, and will of God. May her tribe increase!

I have attempted to bring to mind such puzzling questions because we are about to embark on a journey through a book of the Bible in which many, if not all of these questions are considered. It is a book about one man’s quest to fill his longing for answers to life’s most difficult questions. He was a man the world might have said had it all. In truth, his world had given him questions and he, like us, ultimately sought answers in God.

Chapter 2

The Teacher

The book of Ecclesiastes is about as close as the Bible will come to answering many of these questions. Notice I said Ecclesiastes is as close as it comes. Many of our questions will not be answered while we remain in the flesh. This book deals with the writer’s frustration with life. He asks and answers many questions about life, wisdom, pleasure, toil, folly, and many other subjects.

I will warn you that the writer of Ecclesiastes is brutally honest. He says some things that are hard for some of us to hear, and at times, he says what we might think but do not have the courage to express. One thing is certain: this book is designed to turn us into realists. There will be no shading or obfuscation of the truth. The writer tells it like it really is, at least from his perspective.

No one knows for certain who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, but the most commonly held belief is that it was written by King Solomon. The best evidence that Solomon was the writer is found in chapter 1, verse 1., The words of the Teacher, son of David, King in Jerusalem. Verse 12 says, I the teacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. Verse 16 says, I said to myself, ‘Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.’

The writer was the son of David, king in Jerusalem, and claims to have increased in wisdom much more than anyone before him. This describes King Solomon pretty well. I believe the book was written by Solomon and will proceed with that assumption.

Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. You might recall their first son was conceived while Bathsheba was married to Uriah and died as an infant. Solomon was the second son of this union. David had several other sons, but when he was about to die, David decreed that Solomon would succeed him as king. There is an interesting and relevant story recorded in 2 Chronicles 1:7–13.

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, Ask for whatever you want me to give you. Solomon answered God, You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours? God said to Solomon, Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have. Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting. And he reigned over Israel.

It is clear that Solomon began his reign with the greatest blessings of God. It is as if God saved his very best physical blessings for King Solomon. Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to be a good leader. Because Solomon’s first concern was about being the kind of ruler the people needed, God blessed him in every way. You might say that when Solomon put God’s kingdom first, all these other things were given him. Does that remind you of what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount? Matthew 6:33 says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

We observe then that God acted in a certain way during the reign of Solomon. Nine hundred or so years later, we find Jesus expressing the exact principle we observed in the life of Solomon. God is unchanging. The principles that Solomon was able to discern and the life lessons he learned were still the principles in use by God during the life of Jesus on earth. They are the same principles that apply today. Whatever we can learn about life and God from the book of Ecclesiastes will still be trustworthy today. God does not change.

I doubt that anyone really, fully grasps what Solomon had in mind while writing his book. As Christians we believe that all scripture is God breathed or inspired. We also believe that Solomon possessed wisdom far beyond ours. So when we consider that