Here in my second post on Ecclesiastes, I want to touch upon two other things in Ecclesiastes that I feel are quite important for understanding Ecclesiastes as a whole. The first issue that gets a lot of press but, in my opinion, completely misses the point—“Who is the author?” or more specifically, “Who is that ‘King of Jerusalem, son of David’ character?
King Solomon, I Presume? Or Maybe Adam?
If you’ve grown up in a Christian home, or went to a Christian school, or went to church most of your life, chances are you have been taught, in some way or another, that the author of Ecclesiastes is King Solomon. After all, this “Teacher” is called the son of David. We are told that he is king of Jerusalem, that not only is he wise and rich, but that he is wiser and richer than everyone who had come before him. That’s obviously Solomon, right?
Well, yes and no.
Yes, there is a “Solomon-like figure” in Ecclesiastes. That “son of David,” “king of Jerusalem,” “wise and rich” figure is meant to evoke the character of Solomon, but that character in Ecclesiastes is, for the lack of a better term, a fictional character. That means no, I do not think Solomon, back in circa 970-950 BC, embarked on a specific “quest” for wisdom. The book of Ecclesiastes is not some firsthand account by the historical Solomon of his intentional “quest for wisdom.”
Properly speaking, the actual author of Ecclesiastes is anonymous. We don’t know who wrote it. But scholars do generally agree that it was written much, much…much later that the life of Solomon. In fact, the style of language suggests a post-exilic date, meaning it was more likely written some time after 500 BC, over 400 years after Solomon died.
To be clear, that doesn’t diminish Ecclesiastes at all. It just means that particular assumption that Solomon wrote it is wrong. That view is rooted in the failure to properly understand the genre of Ecclesiastes. It is Wisdom Literature, not historical literature. In its contemplation of wisdom, purpose, and the meaning of life, it is using that historical figure of Solomon in more of a “fictional way.” The author never actually says, “I’m Solomon,” but he clearly is painting this “Teacher” up as a Solomon-like figure because it gets to some of the underlying points being made in Ecclesiastes. After all, what better “poster boy” for someone with wisdom and riches who finds out despair and frustration than King Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest king in Israel’s history who ended up making a complete disaster of the kingdom of Israel?
But I think it goes even deeper than that. After all, in ancient Israel, the king was seen as the representative of the people, a crucial figure in how they understood YHWH’s relationship with His people. After all, it was Solomon who built the Temple in Jerusalem, and it, like the Tabernacle in the wilderness, was filled with decorations that purposely echoed Eden, the place where God had originally placed Adam to commune and be in fellowship with him. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. He was to be the king of God’s creation and rule over it.
He was also to be sort of a priest of God’s creation, serving it and working it. We see this in Genesis 2:15, when we are told that God took the man (adam) and “put him in the garden of Eden to serve and keep it.” Those verbs translated “serve” and “keep” are used in connection to the job description of priests in the Temple. Of course, as we all know, Adam—this king and priest of God’s creation—ends up disobeying God by reaching out and trying to attain wisdom from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the result is that he is exiled from Eden and is his working of the ground (adamah) becomes frustrated and full of toil. And oh, there’s death.
I ask you, isn’t this exactly what we find going on with this Teacher, this Solomon-like figure, in Ecclesiastes? In fact, what we find in Ecclesiastes 2 is this Teacher going out and making vineyards, gardens, and parks filled with all kinds of fruit trees! He’s trying to create for himself his own personal Eden. Of course, he soon tells us how that quest ended up in the same way we see Adam’s quest for wisdom did in Genesis 3—despair, toil, and a “breath of breaths.” Adam’s son Abel proved to be a “breath,” whereas Solomon’s son Rehoboam made a choice that resulted in the end of the united kingdom of Israel under Solomon—everything that Solomon had built proved to be a “breath,” and given away to others.
Put all that together, and you get this: the story of Adam in Genesis 2-4—that quest for wisdom that results in toil and the realization that everything is “a breath of breaths”—is the story also the story of humanity. That is the “story loop” that gets played over and over again with each one of us. Adam’s story is our story, and in the life of ancient Israel, no one illustrated that story more than King Solomon. Therefore, the author of Ecclesiastes, in his contemplation of wisdom, humanity, and the meaning of life, is using King Solomon as the “poster boy” who illustrates this very thing, and he’s setting it against the backdrop of the Adam story in Genesis 2-4.
Some Good News
Despite all that despair, there is one real interesting thing sprinkled throughout Ecclesiastes. Throughout all the talk of how life is fleeting, how life is depressing because nothing lasts, of folly, oppression, evil, and death, at random places throughout Ecclesiastes, you find…really positive, hopeful statements.
- (2:24-25): 24Still, there is no better good for Adam than to eat and drink and let his soul see the good in his toil. This too, I have seen, is from the hand of Elohim. 25For who eats and who enjoys more than him? 26To the one among Adam who is good before His face, He gives wisdom and knowledge and merriment.
- (3:12-14a): 12I know that there is no better good for them than to rejoice and to do what is good during their lives. 13Moreover, everything Adam eats and drinks, and everything he sees as good in all his toil is a gift of Elohim. 14I know that everything Elohim does will endure throughout the ages.
- (3:22): 22So I have seen that there is no better good than for Adam to rejoice in his work, for that is his portion. For who can bring him to see what will be after him?
- (5:18-20): 18Look! The only thing I have seen that is good and beautiful is this: to eat and to drink and to see the good in all the toil one toils under the sun for the number of his days that Elohim has given him: this is his portion. 19Morever, whatever Elohim has given to Adam, be it riches, wealth, or the power to enjoy them, to accept his portion, and to enjoy his toil—that is gift of Elohim. 20For that man will not remember to even try to make the days of his life many, because Elohim will keep him concerned with the joy of his heart.
- (8:15): 15So I praised merriment, for there is no better good for Adam under the sun except to eat, to drink, and enjoy what he can. This will accompany his toil throughout the days of his life that Elohim has given to him under the sun.
- (9:7-10): 7So, go eat your bread in merriment and drink your wine with a good heart, for Elohim already is pleased with your works. 8Let your garments be white at all times, and do not lack oil for your head. 9Enjoy your life with the wife you love during all the days of your breath-like life that is given to you under the sun, for it is your portion in your life and in your toil that you toil under the sun. 10All that your hand finds to do, do with all your might, for there is no work or result or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol—and that is where you are going anyway.
- (11:9-10): 9So rejoice, young man, in your youth. May your heart make the days of your youth be good ones. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes but know that for all these things Elohim will bring you into judgment. 10So take away irritation from your heart, and let evil pass from your flesh, for youth and the dawn of life are but a breath.
Yes, there are seven of them sprinkled throughout Ecclesiastes. And what do they all have in common? They all are saying that the best thing for you (ADAM!) to do is to enjoy the things God has given you and to enjoy the work God has given you to do. If you want to do what is good…DO THAT, because the only things that last forever are the things that God does. Find contentment in the work God has given you to do, because that is the work that will last—that is where true wisdom, knowledge, and satisfaction lies.
Of course, the bulk of Ecclesiastes focuses on the reality of this world with people who (like ADAM!) don’t think what God gives is good enough and instead reach out and quest after wisdom and knowledge in a way that God warns us against. The result (like with see with both Adam and Solomon!) is a lot of frustration, toil, and death. Without receiving the breath of God, everything becomes a “breath of breaths.”
Conclusion in Ecclesiastes
After this Solomon-like Teacher takes us on a journey through the human experience, contemplating oppression and evil, and wisdom and folly, he concludes his thoughts in chapter 12. And what is the first bit of advice he has? “Remember your CREATOR in the days of your youth.” And then, in 12:13-14, he gives one last piece of advice: “…once everything has been heard, fear Elohim and keep His commandments—for this is the whole purpose of Adam. 14For Elohim will bring every deed to judgment, even every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
Once you realize that Genesis 2-4 serves as the narrative backdrop to the entire book of Ecclesiastes, you can see those subtle allusions all over the place. Once you realize that, you probably will (as I have) see Ecclesiastes in a whole different light—or more properly speaking, in a clearer light.
I don’t think Ecclesiastes is just a book of random, thrown-together, depressing statements about how life is meaningless. I think it is a contemplation of the human experience we all share. We all do what Adam did and what this Solomon-like Teacher did. We don’t, in fact, “remember our Creator.” We don’t, in fact, keep His commandments. We, like Adam and “Solomon,” think that there is more wisdom outside of what God has given us, and we end up grasping for something more. And pretty soon, we realize that all the “things” we’ve grasped for and tried to possess for ourselves end up not being satisfying, and all the “toil” we’ve exerted to get those things proves to be harsh and unfulfilling. That, I believe, is the underlying message in Ecclesiastes.
At the same time, those seven “positive statements” sprinkled throughout Ecclesiastes gives us hope. The things that God does are the things that last, that bring wisdom, knowledge, and true contentment. Even though we will die (because we’ve already done what Adam has done), the things that God has done last forever…and He has created us in His image and likeness. No, Ecclesiastes isn’t about Jesus or resurrection—there’s no hint of that in here. But there is the acknowledgment that the work of God is good and it lasts. And that naturally leads the reader to something that goes beyond the scope of Ecclesiastes and that, I would argue, gets articulated and answered in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The resurrection opens the way that we, God’s handiwork, can be (as the Church Father Irenaeus said) recapitulated (along with all creation) in Christ, so that we can enter back into fellowship and friendship with God.
