It is difficult to spell “Ecclesiastes” let alone understand it.
Nestled in the heart of the Old Testament in our bibles, one of the challenges for readers and for preachers alike is this is a book that does not easily fit the logical way of thinking that we have become accustomed to.
We’re going to dive into the deep waters found in Ecclesiastes and learn what these chapters from thousands of years ago have to teach us about living well, and living for the Glory of God.
Why this book?
The book is full of wisdom, and it is written by a sage – a wise man. Many think that it has the echoes of Solomon, but we can’t be 100% sure. We will be challenged and inspired as we listen to these wise writings over the coming months.
Ecclesiastes speaks to us to about the things that we are familiar with, work, money, relationships, food, drink and more.
When we think about such things we can think in different ways, we might be tempted towards dualistic thinking and think all this ordinary stuff is not spiritual whereas reading your Bible, praying and evangelism is. We may be tempted to make too much of food, drink and work and have not thought about how these fit in to our act of daily worship.
When we read Ecclesiastes we will consider how relationships, food, drink, and work were all there in the garden of Eden – before the fall. God thinks these things are good He gave them to us as gifts.
We will one day return to the garden where he continues to bless us.
In between
The challenge is we are in between the two gardens, what do we do with this bit that we are in called life?
We are to recognize the blessings that He gives us now but how we also face challenges; life can be hard at times too.
As we read the verses – and listen to Ecclesiastes being preached – we will engage with wisdom literature. We will encounter language that is more like the parables of Jesus, poetry, proverbs, and sayings. We will learn how such wisdom points us to Jesus who is wisdom.
Let us pray that God will help us all in this series – both those speaking and listening to Gods’ Word.
