According to the book of Ecclesiastes "There's nothing new under the sun..." and as I began to read through (a few days prior to the writing of this article) I was a bit surprised at what seemed to be some pretty negative ideas written therein. I almost thought that I had forgotten to take my anti-depressant for the day and that it was just me!

It is true that first impressions of Ecclesiastes might cause one to wonder why in the world a book with such a pessimestic tone would be in the Bible. As a matter of fact, some Jewish religious leaders as well as some Christian pastors have complained that it shouldn't be in there. Well I have two words them "Boo" & "Hoo".

I am of the opinion that whatever is written in that Holy book is what God has ordained to be in there. Anyone who has come to the conclusion that Ecclesiastes is out of place has missed the point the author was trying to make. So with that in mind, I would like present to you my thoughts on this matter and point out why Ecclesiastes is a very important book for every Christian to understand. Oh and by the way, Ecclesiastes is where the song "Turn, Turn, Turn" popularized by 60's band The Byrds came from.

There seems to be some debate as to who the writer of Ecclesiastes is. The common and accepted view is that it was King Solomon, son of King David who wrote it in his old age after observing many things about his own life. For this commentary we'll go with that. Besides all that I don't want to bore you with all kinds of historical preface. I just want to get to the more important points. The internet is full of that type of information and I need not rehash it.

The very first verse that stood out to me was the one that gave me the proper context to read the rest of it. I read the "New Living Translation" for my studies so your translation may read a little different than what I have here. Here's the verse...

There it is. God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. You may be thinking, "Umm..yeah...that sure cleared things up and made me feel a whole lot better!"

It should have. Actually, that verse should prompt you gain a little more of an appreciation for the salvation we have through the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. It's the reason why the Cross Rocks! (Sorry for the shameless plug).

There are probably only two people that have ever existed who could truly understand the reality of the above stated situation -- Adam and Eve. They walked with God everyday in the garden and had access to all the awesome things that God created prior to their fall. They knew what paradise was like and enjoyed it for who knows how long. One day they decided to disobey the Lord and He was not happy with them and so banished them from the comfortable paradise they enjoyed in order to live a life of trial and error; to ultimately grow old and die. He dealt them a tragic extistence which has been handed down to us through them. They knew the difference between what they had and what they were now faced with.

If we could some how look back in time to before the fall of Adam and see what he enjoyed and if we could look into the future to see what Christ has been preparing for us, we would soon become very depressed at what we have now. We could get an awesome eye opening perspective of what sin has done to the world and what we've become.

Solomon is often touted as being the wisest man in the bible but that's not really the case. Jesus was the wisest man to ever live. A friend of mine pointed out to me that Solomon had asked God for "wisdom" and God granted it to him. However it didn't make Solomon a wise man as can be discovered by looking at the man's life. You can be the smartest man on the planet and still be willing to break the law. This is the distinction between Solomon and Jesus. Jesus was both a wise man PLUS having great wisdom. He had the knowledge of his Father in heaven but was also a wise man to be able to put in into practice. Solomon did not.

Why do I point this out? Simply because I believe this wisdom that Solomon possessed was the very source of his depression later in life. He even says it...

It's always been said that "Ignorance is bliss". It's probably true. Solomon was human just like the rest of us. The problem with asking for wisdom "only" is about like asking the Lord to give you a giant bag of money weighing 5 tons out in the desert but having no way of transporting it to the bank! You could have all the wisdom in heaven and earth but if you don't have the same capacity to handle it as God does with His great understanding, love and mercy you could end up being extremely overloaded in your spirit. Solomon seen the world much like God could (well..somwehat) but didn't have the capacity to carry it as Christ did when He took it to the cross. Christ was a wise man "with" wisdom and could handle it. If you pray for wisdom be sure to pray that God makes you into wise men and women as well.

As Christians, we need to truly understand our fallen state and the mess the world is in so that we can have a deeper appreciation for God's mercy when he gave His only begotten Son to die for us. This is why understanding Ecclesiastes is so important. Mankind has definatley been dealt a tragic existance that is for certain. Imagine for a minute what life was like in Adam's time as well as what Eternity will be like and compare that to what we have now and you will begin to realize things are just as Solomon said when he often stated that everything is like chasing the wind.

Mankind in our sinful state will never achieve the kind of peace and restfulness from our labors we desire no matter how hard we try. How ironic it is that through the ages we have worked so hard to find peace apart from God but we actually end up working many times harder only to end up even more tired out and still never acheiving rest! This is because of the curse and the result of the punishment handed to Adam and Eve and their offspring because of the sin they introduced into the world. Even Solomon's own wisdom was a curse to him (read above). Everything on this planet is infected with it. God will always punish sin and has ensured that the words He spoke in Genesis still ring true to this day when He said....

So, there you have it straight from God Himself. This world is cursed with pitfalls and booby traps...on purpose! God has created stumbling blocks so that sin can never rest or be allowed peace. Christian or not..and like it or lump it, we are in this world and throughout our lifetimes there are going to be times of great celebration and contentment but none of it will last long because sooner or later there will be times of trouble. Even Satan and the angels that sparked the original rebellion are now forever destined to be tortured forever with no rest because of what they did against God. Their time is coming because as they say.."There is no rest for the wicked".

Solomon made these observations from a very different stand point than most us do. He had it all and and by the world's standard, should have been the most content and fullfilled individual that ever lived but he wasn't. It's the same reason many rich folk and celebrities never truly find happiness in their riches and fame. Much like them (and probably even more so), Solomon had everything and he even states he withheld nothing from himself. Whatever he wanted he took quite frankly. Here he was...a great king who had tons wisdom; built large homes; had awesome gardens and many fields of livestock. He had power, riches and women galore! I'm pretty sure he even owned a couple 50 inch, flat screen LCD TV's (I'm kidding). Yet here he was near the end of his life and depressed! He realized that all he had accomplished, all that he had worked for could very well fall into the hands of a fool. I can imagine that when Satan tempted Jesus on mountain top by offering him the kingdoms of the world, Jesus remembered the writings of Solomon. Jesus knew how meaningless and passing this life is. The bible states...

To put it blunty, we are just a passing gas (if you know what I'm saying) in the whole grand scheme of things . Putting the kind of stock that many of us do into our lives while shoving God completely out of the picture is a foolish thing. Since the fall of Adam we are just chasing our tails. We build things that while we are building them they are in the process of aging and crumbling away as we are pounding the nail or tightening the screw. None of it will last forever and because of the curse there will always something about it that at some point that will bring you trials or frustration. Solomon's point was that we should expect no lasting rest in this life.

However, for the optimistic reader, Solomon does say some very postive things. He wrote that even though the world is the way it is...enjoy the good times that come in life because many times they are absent. The bible says that every day brings it own troubles (Matthew 6:34). Understand however, God is in control of everything and has created the good times and the bad. In the good times we are to praise Him for giving us a break and in the bad times we are to turn to Him for guidance and strength to get through it. The message is to enjoy your marriages, your family, your home and the food you have on your table but just don't expect those things to be the source of your well being and your fulfillment. Every one of things I listed at some point will let you down and bring you sorrow. For example read

Oops!...Did I just type that out loud???

All kidding aside, Solomon took the time to write it out for us as a warning. Maybe his psychiatrist told him to do it for therapuetical reasons. Who knows?

The ONLY thing that will bring you ANY joy at the end of any situation or the at the end of your life is the relationship you have with God. It is something that you can actually take with you when they bury you six feet under! It's a relationship will last forever and at some point in the future when Christ returns, He will bring with him the rest and fulfillment to those that love Him. He is the only one who can provide the answers and strength to stand when the going gets tough. This world is under a curse and He's not going to lift it until He decides, "It is finished."

The following is Solomon's conclusion and mine as well...