3. Solomon was not the only son of David but one of many born to him in Hebron and Jerusalem. 1Chron. 3:1-9 12/15/15. Introduction To Ecclesiastes

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1 12/15/15 Introduction To Ecclesiastes Solomon was not the only son of David but one of many born to him in Hebron and Jerusalem. 1Chron. 3:1-9 The book of Ecclesiastes is a book that has been misunderstood by many and certainly misapplied in it s content, often completely out of context. The book is the record of the wisest man that has ever live, Solomon, the king of Israel who attempted to experience life without walking with God, the very one who reigned in Jerusalem. Eccl. 1:1, 12 The book should not be viewed a pessimistic book but one to keep us from such a life, if we will but take heed to the warnings and council! I. The man Solomon. A. He was the son of David. Ecl. 1:1b 1. Solomon s mother was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah who David had killed in battle to cover up his adulterous relationship and the pregnancy. 2Sam Solomon s name means peace but God told Nathan to call him Jedidiah which means beloved of the Lord. 2Sam. 12:24-25 B. He was the king of Israel at Jerusalem. Ecl. 1:1c, He was anointed by Zadok the priest with the oil from the horn of the tabernacle. 1kings 1:39 2. He was charge by his father David as to his responsibilities. 1kings 2: He petitioned for wisdom to lead God s people as He appeared to him for the first time at Gibeon, so God gave him wealth, honor and an understanding heart, because he did not ask for long life or his enemies. 1kings 3: He was confirmed by God in the dedication of the temple as God appeared to him the second time. 1kings 9:1-9 C. He was the wisest by virtue of God s sovereign choosing. 1. He did not possess it in and of himself. 2. He did not deserve it. 3. He was to use it for the benefit of the people. 4. He could not just draw from it but in dependence on God for every situation and from day to day.

2 He was a wise ruler and became wealthy. 1kings 4: He was known for his wisdom. 1kings 4:29-34 D. He was led away from God. 1. He compromised and disobeyed the command and warnings of being unequally yoked with heathen women. 1kings 11: He multiplied wives to himself, 700 wives and 300 concubines. 1kings 11:3 3. He had his heart turned away from God by his wives and worshipped their gods. 1kings 11: He was told by God that He would tear the kingdom from him. 1kings 11: He had adversaries by the direct doing of the Lord. 1kings 11:14 II. The book of Ecclesiastes. A. The title of the book. 1. The title of the book in the Hebrew canon is koheleth which in it s root means to assemble or gather, indicating one who gathers an assembly in order to address it. a. The word is translated Preacher which appears seven times. 1:1, 2, 12; 7:28; 12:8, 9, 10 * The article is found twice. Eccl. 7:28; 12:8 b. The word describes the office of the Preacher with the purpose of teaching. 12:9 2. The LXX gives us the title Ecclesiastes. a. The title comes from the Latin Vulgate. b. The word comes from eclesia, the citizen assembly of Greece, those called out to hear from which we get our word church. B. The book falls into the category of poetry. * The Old Testament is made up of various types of literature or genre. 1. Law, Genesis through Deuteronomy. 2. History, Joshua through Esther. 3. Poetry, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, which are divided into two categories. a. The Wisdom books--job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. b. The Hymnic books--psalms and Song of Solomon. c. Hebrew poetry is not so much focused on rhyme and rhydom as much as the essence of parallelism of thought and the building up of the thought to make

3 5 6 the point, using contrasts, comparisons, chiastic and climatic. 4. Mayor Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. 5. Minor Prophets. C. The authorship of the book. 1. The Jewish community excepted it as genuine from Solomon. a. The book formed one of the five Megelloth rolls or scrolls, song of sol., Ruth,, Eccl., Esther, and was read by the past biblical Jewish community in the feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacle. b. The book is found in the third division of the Hebrew Bible, the writings 2. The book appears as early as the 5th century A. D. 3. The book was listed in the earliest Christian list, such as Metito of Sardis, 190 A. D. 4. The book is in the LXX. 5. The book is traced through Jerome s Vulgate. 6. The book appeared in fragments in the discovery at Qumran. 7. The book was accepted as Canon in the days of Jesus. 8. The early church embraced it. 9. council of Jamnia excepted the book in 90 A. D. 10. The Greek and Latin fathers endorsed the book with the exception of Luther who declared the conditions did not seen to fit. a. Solomon was not names directly. b. The language, diction, style he felt was not consistent with Solomon s writings. 1) There are Aramaic words. 2) There are two Persian words park or garden and decree. Eccl. 2:5; 8:11 * Yet there are Aramaic words found in other books. Gen. 31:47; Ezra 4:8; 6:18; 7:12-26; Jer. 10:11; Dan. 2:4-7:28 D. The date of the book. 1. The date of Solomon s reign was b.c. 2. The date of the book is believed to be around 935 b. c. 3. The book is without any doubt the last one of his life. a. The Song of Solomon was written in his early years. b. The Proverbs written in his middle years.

4 7 8 c. The book of Ecclesiastes was written in his senior years. 4. The bulk of liberal scholars and those who do not hold to the authorship of Solomon give it a much later date and ascribe it as pseudopigraphic, I the name of Solomon. E. The purpose of the book. 1. To declare and reveal the emptiness of life lived out apart from God. Eccl. 1:2; 2:15, 23; 5:10; 11:10 2. To teach the people knowledge. Eccl. 12:9 3. To admonish his son who was probably Reaboam. Eccl. 12:12 4. To declare the whole duty of man, to fear God and keep His commandments. Eccl. 12:13 5. To remind man that there is a final judgment. Eccl. 12:14 F. The key words, phrases and verses of the book. 1. The key words. a. Vanity hebel which means vapor, or breath, appearing seventy-one times in the Old Testament in t noun form. * The word is the same used for the name of Adam and Eve s son Abel. 1) Thirty-eight of those are found in the book of Ecclesiastes. 2) Over half and the only chapter that it does not appear is chapter ten. 3) The word is used by Solomon to mean, that which is unsatisfying, a waste of time, frustration, absurd, useless or of no profit. 4) The context must be considered to gain the appropriate meaning. * The other expression that is equivalent to it is grasping for the wind. Eccl. 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16 b. The word profit yithrown means advantage, benefit, sense or goal which appears only six times in Ecclesiastes. Eccl. 1:3; 2:11; 3:9; 5;9, 16; 7:11 c. The word see appears 46 times, describing critical observation to gain knowledge and wisdom. * Twenty-one times it is in the first person. d. The word Portion. Eccl. 2:10, 21; 3:22; 5:17-18; 9:6, 9; 11:2 e. The word toil amal means misery, travail, and energy expended and appears twenty times in the book. Eccl. 1:3, 8; 2:10, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20,

5 , 22, 24; 3:13; 4:8, 9; 5:15, 18, 19; 6:7; 8:15, 17; 9:9; 10:15 f. The word God is mentioned forty-two times. g. Wisdom is mentioned twenty-nine times. 2. The key phrases. a. The phrase under the sun appears twenty-five times, describing life lived out on earth apart from God. Eccl. 1:3, 9, 14; 2:11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22; 3:16; 4:1; 3, 7, 15; 5:13; 6:1, 12; 8:9, 15, 17, 9:3; 9, 11, 13; 10:5 * Under heaven is used synonymous. Eccl. 1:13; 2:3; 3:1 b. The phrase grasping for the wind, seven times. Eccl. 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16 c. The fear of God appears six times. Eccl. 3:14; 5:7; 8:12, 12, 13; 12:13 3. The key verses. a. The vanity of life under the sun apart from God. Eccl. 1:2-3 b. The mistake of not living for God in one s youth is reaped to in old age. Eccl. 12:1 c. The purpose of the book is to teach the people about the outcome of a life without God. 12:9 III. d. The warning of being carried away with learning to one s own hurt apart form the word. Eccl. 12:12 e. The duty of man is to obey His commandments and fear God. Eccl. 12:13 f. The reminder of God s judgment for all on earth. Eccl. 12:14 The simple outline of Ecclesiastes. A. The prologue. Eccl. 1:1-11 B. The introduction. Eccl. 1:12-18 C. The body of the book: the process of searching out by wisdom that is not God s, concerning all that is done under the heaven. Eccl. 2:1-12:8 D. The epilogue. Eccl. 12:9-14