APR 3

Ecclesiastes 1:1, 12
Memorise Ecclesiastes 1:1
“The son of David, king in Jerusalem”

The author of the book of Ecclesiastes is undisputedly King Solomon, the son of King David and Bathsheba. It is stated very clearly in Ecclesiastes 1:1, that it is ‘the words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem’, and later in verse 12, the author describes himself as ‘king over Israel in Jerusalem’. King David had only one son who became the legitimate king of Israel in Jerusalem, and that was King Solomon. These are facts of history that are clearly recorded for us in other parts of the Bible. Also, it is clear from the contents that the author was a person of great wisdom and wealth, who had experienced much in life, both whilst in close relationship with God, and also while he was backslidden and far from God. This is exactly what we read of in the life of King Solomon.

Yet there are numerous critics of the Bible who would claim otherwise. They reject Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes, and instead postulate that it was written much later, perhaps during the post-exilic period. They would point out that Solomon did not directly name himself as the author of the book, unlike what he did in his other two books. They also claim that the language used was different from that which he used in Proverbs and in the Songs of Solomon, and was also language which was not characteristic of that time period. They also assert that the historical situation described in Ecclesiastes does not reflect the circumstances in which Solomon ruled.

However, these are all the subjective opinions of scholars who chose to reject the simple interpretation of Scripture. If we take God at His Word, and sincerely regard the Bible as inerrant and infallible, the clear meaning of ‘the son of David, king in Jerusalem’ would be enough to convince one that this was indeed referring to Solomon. Furthermore, an author can and would employ a wide variety of styles when he is addressing different topics and issues. The theme and content of Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon differ greatly, and it is only natural for the style of writing to be different. Finally, the misery, poverty and evils that are described in Ecclesiastes do not portray a nation in turmoil in the political or social sense, but rather the frustration at the vanities of life and the wickedness and corruption of this world. Thus the simple conclusion is that King Solomon himself is the author of the book, and not a later king of Israel, or some unnamed scribes who tried to pass off as a king.

Thought: God says it, that settles it!
Prayer: May You help me Lord, to have more faith in Your Word.