Ecclesiastes 1
This book was written at the latter part of Solomon’s life. The Bible shows us a spiritually fallen Solomon. He moved away from the worship of God to that of the idols of his many foreign wives.
These are not the words of an angry young man. These are not the words of an atheist or a hedonist seeking pleasure as the ultimate goal in life. These are the words of a much older man who has risen to the top and fallen to the bottom. He has known great successes and equal failure and disappointments. He is sobered by his own actions of which he never thought was possible. He writes this book to show that he is now back. After a period of searching for understanding of this life he has found it. However, he begins with, “Meaningless!”
I was king.
I was devoted to learning.
I have seen it all.
I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone.
I have experienced much.
I have given myself to wisdom and foolishness.
It is a chasing after the wind. It is pointless. It has no meaning.
Why am I here?
Greta Christina, a writer and atheist wrote an article in the ‘Skeptical Inquirer’ entitled, “Comforting Thoughts about Death That Have Nothing To Do With God”.
“The fact that your life span is an infinitesimally tiny fragment in the life of the universe, that there is, at the very least, a strong possibility that when you die, you disappear completely and forever, and that in 500 years nobody will remember you can be a profound and defining truth about your existence that you reflexively repulse. It can make everything you do, and anything anyone else does, seem meaningless. It can make you feel erased, wipe out joy, make your life seem like ashes in your hands”.
A 21st century atheist and a 1st BC believer struggling with hope.
We know who finds it. The next 11 days the old man will lead us to find it for ourselves.
Missions Paul 