APR 17

Ecclesiastes 2:12-17
Memorise Philippians 1:21
“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain”

And so at the end of Solomon’s search for the meaning of life, he realises one very important fact – this life here on earth is only temporal, and one day it must all come to an end. No matter what one does here on earth, it will all one day come to naught, and nothing will be remembered.

He discusses here first with reference to his search through human wisdom and understanding (1:12-18). He remembers how he tried to understand wisdom, madness and folly of man, through observations and then also through personal experience. He declares that he has really done all that he can in this study, and questions if any man after him can actually do more. What he has found is that wisdom is indeed vastly better, for a wise man goes through life with his eyes open, considering every step of his actions, whereas a foolish man can only grope in the dark, lost and not knowing where to go. But yet despite all the merits of wisdom, there is one thing that is certain and common to both – that is the certainty of death. And so the next logical thought is that even a life lived in apparent wisdom – that is wisdom of the world, is vanity. For no matter how well a man lives his life on earth, so much so that he understands everything there is to know about life, and is learned in all the ways of man, it is still vanity, for he will one day have to die, and there will be not even a remembrance of him. He will be laid to rest in his grave, no different from a fool.

His sad conclusion to this was that he hated life! He looked back at all the work that he had done, and it was grievous to him! Why? Again the same idea comes up – it is all vanity and vexation of the spirit. He may have been great and successful in the eyes of the world, but in light of impending death, everything lost meaning to him, and only gave him grief.

The reason why Solomon felt this way was because he had the wrong perspectives about life and death. It seemed that the life he lived then was just for pride and reputation’s sake. He craved for the recognition from the world, and despaired that he would be forgotten after his death. However, as believers, we realise that there is all to hope for in this life, because we have the confidence that when we die, we will have eternity with God. Thus in this life we labour hard, not to please man, but to please God!

Thought: Death is not the end. It is the beginning of eternity!
Prayer: Lord, may You help me to live this life with eternity’s values in view.