{Thank you to Julie S. for the Ecclesiastes Journal!}
Not everyone agrees that this book was written by King Solomon, but I am going to assume it was as there are good reasons to believe this. The first verse tells us it was written by a son of David, and a king in Jerusalem. Later on, it mentions that that he had more wisdom than all who had been before him in Jerusalem. Since Solomon was known famously for his wisdom, this seems to be fairly conclusive that the writer was indeed him.
Reading through a book while knowing a bit about the author can be very helpful in understanding what has prompted his thoughts and conclusions. Ecclesiastes is not an easy book to understand. Its message can seem quite a contrast to the rest of the Bible, and maybe a little depressing when read quickly. Hopefully this will help you to read it as written by Solomon, the son of a man after God’s own heart who knew all the ups and downs of his father’s life; a man who was ‘beloved of God’ at his birth and was to build the house of God; a man to whom God gave a wise and understanding heart, and yet still experienced failure to be wise.
Ecclesiastes is a book that gives us a dose of reality. It helps us see that what we gain from living our lives does not come from fulfilling all our dreams and seeking our own happiness; it doesn’t come from accumulating riches; it doesn’t come from a position of power: or from living a long time. The profit from our everyday work is the wisdom we gain: the ability to see the good in what may seem drudgery, to see the good in sorrow, adversity, and rebuke and learn from it, to value wisdom over strength, to keep the commands of God do whatever comes our way with joy and appreciation that life is short and precious.
– Julie S.
