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Image by Carly & Art via Flickr
Image by Carly & Art via Flickr
- Cover of David and Bathsheba
1The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
3Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
4Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
5I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
6Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
7Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
8If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.
9I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh‘s chariots.
10Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
11We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
12While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
13A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
14My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
15Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.
16Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.
17The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.
Solomon meaning and name origin
Solomon \s(o)-lo-mon\ as a boy’s name is pronounced SAH-lah-mun. It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Solomon is “peace“. Biblical: Solomon, son of David and Bathsheba, succeeded his father as king of Israel. He wrote the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. The wisdom of Solomon is proverbial because when asked what gift he would have from God, he asked only for the wisdom he would need to rule. Used in the Middle Ages and the 18th century.
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Thomas Wolfe once wrote, “For of all I have ever seen or learned, this book seems to me the noblest, the wisest, and the most powerful expression of man’s life upon this earth – and also the highest flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth. I am not given to dogmatic judgments in the matter of literary creation, but if I had to make one I could say that Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound.”
B. We live in a time when everyone longs for happiness and satisfaction
1. The world strives for this in different ways:
a. Education
b. Wealth
c. Pleasure
d. Work
2. Yet many are filled with disbelief, disillusionment and despair
a. Can’t afford college
b. Not enough money to make ends meet
c. Sadness on a daily basis
d. Out of work
3. Many are asking:
a. “What is the true meaning to life?”
b. “Is happiness really attainable?”
C. In the book of Ecclesiastes we have recorded one man’s search for happiness and the true meaning to life
1. Solomon, at the end of a log and exhaustive quest, concludes that life is meaningless and vain
a. Notice Solomon’s confusion … Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
b. His conclusion … Ecclesiastes 1:2
2. Only at the very end of the book are we given any hint of an alternative
a. “Fear God, and keep his commandments” stands as the only alternative to utter vanity of life (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
b. For Solomon, it seems the answer came too late.
c. But it was Solomon’s gift to us that his own wasted life becomes the ultimate object lesson for listening to God rather than our own wisdom.
D. As with all Old Testament scripture, it was written …
1. For our learning … Romans 15:4
2. For our admonition … 1 Corinthians 10:11
DISCUSSION:
A. SOLOMON’S REIGN
1. Upon the death of David, Solomon was appointed king in his father’s stead.
a. He entered his kingship with deep reverence and a spirit of humility as he communicated with God
b. Solomon prayed … 1 Kings 3:7-9
c. In turn, God gave him wisdom … 1 Kings 4:29-31
2. Notice Solomon’s concept of a righteous king
a. Psalm 72:1-8
b. Solomon was a great king who cared for God and God’s people. He was a man of wisdom and deep spiritual devotion
c. But something horrible happened – Solomon strayed away from God
3. Sadly, Solomon goes into apostasy
a. In view of that Solomon had going for him, how do we account for the wise and humble king falling away from God?
b. The answer is “women” – he had become a degenerate immoralist. The foreign women whom he had married had turned his heart away from God. He large harem was a transgression of all conceivable bounds.
d. Notice the Lord’s response … 1 Kings 11:9-13
e. Solomon had missed the true meaning to life! It was not in sex. It was not in wealth. It was to be found somewhere else.
B. THE TERM ECCLESIASTES
1. The word or term “Ecclesiastes” had as its immediate meaning, “The Assembly Speaker” – that is, “The Preacher.”
a. The Hebrew word is Qoheleth
b. In the LXX it was translated “Ecclesiastes” from the Greek word ekklesia (assembly)
3. Thus, from the title we can see that a very important message is contain therein
C. AN OVERVIEW OF ECCLESIASTES
1. We can fool ourselves into ignoring the important questions of life – until it is time to face death
a. We can live any way we please – until a brush of death makes us reevaluate
b. We can curse God and deny Him and ignore Him – until we lay on our death bed and stare Him in the face
2. Death is a judge who questions the worthiness of our lives
a. Death is a litmus test, indicating the quality of the way we have lived.
b. Death is a knife that divides the world into the fearful and the unafraid, the remorseful and those at peace, the angry and the accepting, and the hopeless and the hopeful
c. Death separates the men from the boys
3. A man facing death writes Ecclesiastes.
a. Solomon is old by the time he writes this book, and he see all too clearly that his time is short.
b. Solomon becomes obsessed with death – he is angry at death and fearful of death
c. For Solomon, death is a defeat not just of the physical body but of all the hopes and dreams and ambitions of life.
d. Because man dies, nothing in life means very much at all.
e. If one cannot come to grips with death, he cannot ever come to grips with life.
4. Ecclesiastes falls into six basic divisions:
a. The prologue (1:1-3)
b. The futility of knowledge and wisdom (1:4-2:26)
c. The uncertainty of life beyond death (3:1-22)
d. The manifold oppressions that are done under the sun (4:1-6:12)
e. The vanities of life (7:1-11:10)
f. The conclusion (12:1-13)
CONCLUSION:
A. Ecclesiastes has to do with three fundamental questions:
1. Why am I here?
2. What is the meaning of life?
3. How can I be happy
B. This book challenges every popular notion of what leads to fulfillment and the “good life.” It is one of the most relevant books in the entire Bible for the society in which we live.
C. The message of Ecclesiastes is simple: Life without God is pointless.
Related articles
- What king was well known for his God-given wisdom (wiki.answers.com)
- Before you read Ecclesiastes, keep these guidelines in mind (ourlifebythebook.com)
- Bible in 90 Days 21: ECCLESIASTES (kevmill.wordpress.com)
- Finding True Fulfilment in a Relationship with God (sabbathsermons.com)
- Thursday, October 27, 2011 @ Ecclesiastes 1-2 (phyllisbenigas.wordpress.com)
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