Silly Old Bear

[PART 12 OF 12]

Let’s review what we have discovered from the book of Ecclesiastes. What have we learned by following Solomon’s quest for meaning and purpose?

The first outside piece of the Oreo cookie, the first half of Solomon’s philosophy of life, is the idea that “everything is meaningless!”

The Double Stuff filling is all the stuff he waded through in his search for meaning and purpose, and the resulting conclusions concerning each endeavor:

• Money – meaningless;
• Wisdom – meaningless;
• Hard work – meaningless;
• Achievement – meaningless;
• Life is good;
• There is a time for everything;
• Injustice is all around us.

And now, finally, we come to the conclusion, the other outside piece of the Oreo, the other half of Solomon’s philosophy of life. After all his searching, after all his attempts to find meaning and purpose, after all the frustration of coming up empty-handed again and again, here is what it all boils down to.

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[PART 8 OF 12]

Solomon set out to find meaning and purpose in life. He was one of the richest and wisest men alive during his time. Yet money and wisdom left him feeling empty. “It is all meaningless,” he said. Even hard work and achievement didn’t provide the sense of purpose he so desperately sought.

Solomon grew frustrated and weary in his quest. He repeatedly made statements like, “Everything is meaningless” and “It’s all just chasing after the wind” and “I hate life!”

But in the middle of all this frustration and confusion and depression (because of everything being meaningless), there is something very interesting that Solomon throws into the mix, just out of the blue.

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[PART 4 OF 12]

King Solomon and the Oreos. Sounds like a 60′s doo-wop group!

Let’s review. As Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, he developed the entire writing around a central, recurring theme. Think of Ecclesiastes like an Oreo cookie with Double Stuff cream filling. The two parts of the central theme are placed at the beginning and the end, with a lot of stuff in-between.

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[PART 2 OF 12]

The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes was written by David’s son Solomon, who, like his father before him, served the nation of Israel as king. Solomon was a wise king. We learn of the depth of his wisdom in 1 Kings 4:29-34.

“God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than any other man.”

“Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.”

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