The Book of Ecclesiastes is said to be written by King Solomon, the son of King David.  The book has great merit because of King Solomon’s great wisdom.  In fact, God told him, 1 Kings 3:12, "See, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you."  These words followed Solomon’s request for wisdom.  So we can read Ecclesiastes with the thought that it was written by the wisest man ever to live, past and present. 

 

Throughout the book the writer is referred to as teacher.  The opening verse begins with Meaningless, everything is meaningless.  And it stays on that tone for most of the book.  Everything ‘under the sun’ is meaningless.  He ends most chapters with; it’s like chasing the wind.  Ever tried that?  He focuses on man’s search for more, and for what?  Once man has achieved wealth and fame, he dies and someone else takes over.  Meaningless, all is meaningless.  

 

Chapter 3 is where you find those verses, a time for ___ and a time to ____,  and they point out that everything has an appointed time, set by the maker of the universe.  Everything God does has His plan on His timetable, and it will endure forever.  Nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.   After you get through the first few chapters you begin to see that the teacher is pointing out life without God.  Everything that is done in life without God will not last, it will be like chasing the wind. 

 

So he concludes that God alone and a proper walk with Him, can satisfy the deep cravings of the heart and mind, and make a man’s life meaningful in the long term.  A God filled life IS NOT meaningless.  No one can experience ultimate satisfaction in this world without God.

All the frustrations that people experience throughout life result from the lacking of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me, and drink. For he who drinks of the water that I give, out of his innermost being there will flow rivers of living water.”  That is the Spirit’s work in you, changing you to do God’s work through you. 

 

King Solomon was not only the wisest man in the world; he was also the richest man of his time.  He absolutely had everything he wanted, yet he realized that he didn’t have peace and joy without the one who made it all possible.