Solomon’s Reflections on Life

“Despite his great sin — or perhaps because of it — Solomon may ultimately have gained the most valuable wisdom of all: a full appreciation of the emptiness of all that he had — even his own wisdom — when compared to things eternal.  The book traditionally known as Ecclesiastes, meaning the Preacher or the Teacher, may have been written either personally by King Solomon or sometime later by a scribe in Solomon’s honor as the patron of the wisdom movement.

Ecclesiastes is a critical essay about the meaning of life.  in its original organization several themes are woven together in an overlapping collage.  For purposes of this presentation, the book has been organized according to topics in order to highlight the obvious themes of the Teacher.”

Ecclesiastes  ——-arranged topically——-

The Search for Meaning

THE ULTIMATE QUESTION     Ecclesiastes 1:1-3

CYCLICAL NATURE OF LIFE     Ecclesiastes 1:4-11

MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING     Ecclesiastes 6:10-12

Importance of Finding Meaning

MORTALITY OF ANIMALS AND MAN     Ecclesiastes 3:18-22

MORTALITY OF FOOLISH AND WISE     Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

MORTALITY OF RIGHTEOUS AND WICKED     Ecclesiastes 9:1-3

IMPORTANCE OF THE PRESENT     Ecclesiastes 9:4-10

THE UNEXPECTANCY OF DEATH     Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

LIFE’S MEANING INSCRUTABLE     Ecclesiastes 8:16-17

All quotations taken from The Daily Bible.