King Solomon : The Author Of The Book Of Ecclesiastes

The Bible tells us that man was newborns, children, and adults are all here by the grace of God. Yes, as humans we add meaning and purpose to our life. However, our main purpose from day one is to worship him. (126)

The last sentence of the first chapter of Ecclesiastes states, “For in much wisdom is much grief, and increase of knowledge is increase of sorrow.” This statement is proven in the life of Frederick Douglass, a nineteenth century abolitionist, and Guy Montag, the fictional main character in the novel Fahrenheit 451. For both of these men, uncovering a hidden truth leads to misery.

The Christian world view on life meaning and purpose is basic and yet different from other world views. Our main resolution in life is to work for God and have a strong connection with him at all times. First and foremost God desires to come first, and all else will tumble into place as long as we believe in him and have complete faith in him also. It is printed that we can only have one master (Matthew 6:24) and for that reason, God believes that serving him must be the highest significant thing for us to do with our period here on earth. (Christian Bible Reference Site)

The notion that all things in the world take part in some perfect and incorruptible form, a focus of the Phaedo, is an idea attributed by modern scholars not to Socrates but to Plato himself. Ecclesiastes shows a similar removal, for though it clearly speaks the words of Solomon (who predates the book by half a millenium), its actual author is unknown and is usually said to be the prophet Koheleth, son of David. Both works thus impersonate the philosophies of an esteemed ancient personage, but both clearly are impregnated by the thoughts of their authors.

Just like any other civilization, the Israelites had multiple social classes. At the foundation of the civilization was the working class. This was made up of the farmers and artisans who labored all day and produced the items that were often traded throughout the kingdom. The next tier was the military and royal court. Anyone that served in the military was well respected by people of all classes. The royal court consisted of any government officials, scribes, and the king’s royal cupbearer. Scribes were the secretaries and typically involved in judicial and financial affairs. The royal cupbearer was tasked with filling the king’s goblet with wine and serving it to him. Second to the top of the social classes were the priests. Similar to Ancient Egypt with the gods, priests were believed to have direct contact with the god the Israelites worshiped: Yahweh. Because of this connection, priests were considered to be very sacred to the Israelites. At the top of the social pyramid was the king. The king of the Israelites ruled over the kingdom, defended it, but also “rules on behalf of Yahweh, the Israelite god” .

The book of Judges derives its title from the Latin Liber Judicum, but the Hebrew title is shophetim. The verbal form (“to judge”) describes the activity of the various deliverers whom God used despite their personal challenges, oddities, or inadequacies

The Epistles talk about wisdom in other ways too. In the letters to the Corinthians we lean much about wisdom and knowledge. They say the wisdom of God is a mystery. It being so great that man cannot understand the amount. It tells us to be wise in the knowledge of God's word because Satan will take advantage of our ignorance of his ways. If a foolish

The purpose of man is to praise and worship God, proclaim his glory, and to accomplish his will."… And whom I have created for My glory, …” (Isaiah 43:7 New International Version). God created all things in harmony. He established a perfect creation that he loves and over which he rules. The highest honor is given to mankind as the only part of creation made in God’s image. Humanity was created to love as God loves, to worship and praise his glory and commune with him as he does with us.

In Ecclesiastes: we have Solomon's (generally agreed upon to be the author) analysis of life. It seems cynical, but overall the message of the book is hope in God. In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 we get Solomon's basic lesson to those who are seeking a full and abundant life “ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing,Whether good or evil.”

Once one determines their purpose, one may achieve fulfilment through living a righteous life. Specifically, by determining ways to benefit and contributing society. Socrates touches on how righteous attributes are beneficial to not only to yourself but to the community as well. “Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively.” (Plato, n.d.). One may live a fulfilling life through mission work and focusing on the needs of the people around them.

Ecclesiastes means “the preacher”, “the teacher”, or “assembler.” While the author is not identified by name he does identify himself as “the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem”(1:1); “I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.”(1:12) It is a widely held belief that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes as well as other wisdom literature in the bible. Scholars assume it was written during the reign of King Solomon a little before Solomons death from 970-935 BC.

The last chapter in Ecclesiastes 12 concludes, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Similarly Proverbs 1 begins with this admonition “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Italicized mine) These two certainties are bookends or sorts, serving as a contrast between each of the books perspectives on how life actually happens under the sun. Ecclesiastes can serve as a rebuttal to the elements of retribution theology presented in Proverbs and also exploits the acquisition of wisdom as penultimate and fearing Yahweh,

The nation of Israel was set apart as holy to the LORD. But they When the children of Israel demanded a king, they did so to be like the other nations. The first three kings were Saul, (outwardly tall, handsome and strong—a seemingly good choice for a king, but inwardly arrogant, proud and unrepentant—not God’s choice), David (a man after God’s own heart who repented of his sins and as such was God’s choice), and Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived, but because of covenant disobedience became the catalyst for the division and ultimate exile of Israel.

Ecclesiastes is derived from the Greek word ekklesia meaning assembly. The author is someone called “Qoheleth” which means one who gathers, and is referenced five times throughout the book (Eccl. 1:1, 2, 12; 7:27; 12:8). It is not known if this is the author’s name or a title but the English translation of the word is “teacher” or “preacher”. The first verse of chapter one states: “The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:1), which would obviously indicate that the author is David’s son Solomon, king of the united monarchy. However there is some doubt of authorship raised due to various evidence, such as the language used in Ecclesiastes as compared to Solomon’s other writing, that support an unknown author,

Isaiah came during a pivotal time in history. The world was changing rapidly and life was on the edge of prosperity and ruin, as it is today. In this uncertain time Isaiah was called by God to deliver a message of warning, comfort, and deliverance. Christians view the prophecies of Isaiah as a projection of the coming of Jesus Christ. Isaiah spoke of divine judgment and the promises of God through the Prince of Peace. Isaiah’s message of the future King was very meticulous. He describes how Christ will come, Christ’s character and Christ’s purpose. In this paper I will dissect Isaiah’s prophecies in the Old Testament and reference them to the events of Christ in the New Testament.