Walk Through the Bible: Ecclesiastes
Text for Sermon: Ecclesiastes 1:1-3; 2:11, 24-26; 12:13-14
The five wisdom books of the OT are all unique in their own way. They are all so different from each other and from all the rest of the books of the Bible.
Last week I called Proverbs weird. Well, this week Ecclesiastes is strange. It has confounded interpreters for centuries and has led to some pretty wide interpretations.
But let’s keep one thing fixed in our heads. Any book that has God as its author must have truth as its subject, and without any error.
We must expect some challenges and difficulties from any book written by a being like God to finite creatures like us. This is why humility is so necessary. We are being reminded of our own weakness and ignorance.
Some books require more study, more prayer, more faith and more humility, and even then God’s sovereignty puts limits on human understanding.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher, utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.
This wet blanket won’t win many fans. Declaring that all efforts are as empty as “a chasing after the wind” will not be on any motivational posters.
This book starts out low and then gets worse.