Ecclesiastes by Solomon

Read for: Quiet Time
Rating: 4.5

Ecclesiastes is such a powerful book, that speaks directly to the heart of man. The overall theme of Ecclesiastes can be summed up in chapter 3 verses 9-14:

9What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

My interpretation is this: The reason that a man toils and works is because God has put a burden on the hearts of men: the knowledge of eternity (v. 11). A man works because he has the desire on his heart to leave a legacy, to make something that is eternal. BUT, man is unable to truly understand the nature of eternity. I love v. 14; only God can make something eternal and beautiful, and he does this so that "men will revere him." Basically, man toils to make something that will be eternal, but since everything that man does (without God) is folly, man must turn to Him who can make everything eternal: God. It is only through partnership with God that something meaningful can happen in our lives. It is a gift of God for us to enjoy our work that is partnered with Him, instead of despairing because our work without Him is meaningless.

This is basically the theme of Ecclesiastes: Everything man does is meaningless, unless God helps you do it.