7 Hard-Hitting Life Lessons from Ecclesiastes

“It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:13b-14).

It may seem self-evident that life is hard, but many philosophies through the centuries have encouraged a mindset that a person can pursue pleasure and escape the pain of work. Whether it is the encouragement of hedonism, the meaninglessness of unhappiness and work under a nihilistic framework, or even the promise of Marxism that people can devote more time to leisure if they implement a specific political framework, man will try to find ways to avoid work.

The Bible made it clear from Genesis 3 that because of sin, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). There isn’t a way out of the realities of working hard.

2. Self-Indulgence Is Foolishness

“And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

Like the false promise that we can escape hard work, the world will promise people they can find their meaning and their joy in self-indulgence. There are plenty of people who find their self-worth in buying stuff, obsessing over a hobby, or pursuing fun experiences. On their own, there is nothing wrong with enjoying pleasure in life, but it is not where we should find our identity and it should not be the focus of our existence. “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). True purpose is found in things that will last into eternity.

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“Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Some people believe that mankind is inherently good but people choose to do bad things, and that if the right prescription is applied, people will eventually turn toward the light. The Bible repeatedly warns that mankind is wicked and will chose wickedness.

There are real evils in the world, not just petty wrongs or people doing bad things out of necessity. People sin and violate God’s law. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10b-12). It is good to remember that we all need a Savior because of our unrighteousness, and not to be blinded to sin.

4. God Appoints Different Times for Different Phases and Seasons

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).

The tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will is one that will probably be debated until the return of the Lord Jesus, but Solomon’s age and experience showed him that God sovereignly appoints seasons in life. When a person is a child, they grow and learn. In adulthood, they work, get married, and have families. In old age, they retire and reflect. These patterns are mirrored in the rise and fall of empires and the changing of the seasons. Embracing them and reaching out to God in all seasons will help someone live a better, more joyful life where they invest in the eternal, rather than only focusing on the physical world.

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“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him — a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

God is Triune in nature, meaning He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in one – distinct yet the same. This mystery is reflected in the nature of relationships in this life. Children are one being, but the sum total of all the genes of all their predecessors. In marriage, two individuals become one, moving with a singular purpose in a unique way.

God designed people to be in relationship. While not everyone is called to marriage specifically, even in the beginning the Lord said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). Most important to healthy relationships is that they be rooted in the love of God, and He should be the third cord in the threefold rope.

6. The Love of Money Is Vain, and Leads to Evil

“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:1).

Money is not inherently evil, but loving it, making it one’s life pursuit, and idolizing it is sinful and wrong. It becomes the cause for many other sins and keeps people looking down at the ground instead of up to the Heavens and their Lord and Savior. Paul warned his apprentice Timothy, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Moreover, if God blesses someone financially, and they are ungrateful, they are not recognizing the love of the Lord, and have hardened a piece of themselves against Him.

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“For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 6:12).

Some people want to know all the answers to everything before they can have faith, feel fulfilled, or be perceived as wiser than others as a part of their self-worth. The problem with coveting knowledge is that some things will be mysteries in this life. God may choose to reveal the answers to some of them over the course of time, or in eternity, but that is up to the Lord. Trying to get answers to everything becomes a vain pursuit over time. Gaining wisdom and knowledge has its place, but it should never become an end to itself, or it will be a hollow pursuit.

God also reserves His right to have mysteries. “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out” (Proverbs 25:2). Needing “all the answers” can also become an obstacle to accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and can become a sin. Accepting that there are some things we won’t know this side of eternity unless God reveals it can bring peace, and a deeper relationship with the Lord.

God did not want His people to be ignorant, foolish, or blind to truth. He made man a thinking, intelligent being in His own image, and gave them the ability to pursue beauty, truth, and wisdom. Whether gleaning life lessons from the Bible, through relationships with others, or through experience – sometimes painfully – learning more about ourselves and who we are before Almighty God is a part of this existence and prepares believers for life in eternity. It is also an invitation to those people who do not yet know Him to learn more about Him, to recognize their sin and need for salvation, and to repent and acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior.

Sources

Limburg, James. Encountering Ecclesiastes A Book for Our Time. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006.

Ryken, Phillip. Ecclesiastes (Redesign) Why Everything Matters. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010.

Wiersbe, Warren. The Wiersbe Study Bible Ecclesiastes Looking for Answers to the Meaning of Life. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2012.

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