The Words of the Preacher

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. Ecclesiastes 1:1-7

I enjoy reading and studying the book of Ecclesiastes. For the next few weeks I will do lessons/devotionals/my thoughts  on Ecclesiastes. I once heard David Jeremiah say, “Ecclesiastes is a book about everything under the sun without God.” This statement is very true but we can learn much from the “the preacher”, “the son of David”.

Background info:

Writer: Probably Solomon, King David’s son

Time: Around 935 B.C. (late in Solomon’s life)

Place: Jerusalem

Known facts about Solomon:

Richest man at that time I Kings 10:23

Wisest man I Kings 3:13,4:29-30

Most influential king in Israel’s history I Kings 4:29,34: I Kings 10:1,24, I Chronicles 29:25

Had many wives I King 11:3

Reigned for 40 years I Kings 11:42

The book of Ecclesiastes lets us know right away who wrote this book. It was none other than the son of David, who also was the king in Jerusalem, King Solomon. This was written in the later part of Solomon’s life, after he had lived life to “the fullest”. He learned many things by how he lived as well as what he had obtained. Each thing he did made him realize “all is vanity.”

The first few verses of this chapter basically say life goes on. Each generation follows the next. The sun rises and sets each and every day. The wind goes south then turns and goes north. The rivers run into the sea but the sea never gets full. Life continues from one generation to the next, it is the cycle of life.

Verse three says, “What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?” In other words, “What do you get from working so hard?”

Join me on this journey of exploring Ecclesiastes.

 Have a blessed day, 

Donna