Ecclesiastes 1:3

What benefit do people get from all the effort
which they expend on earth?
Ecclesiastes 1:3 New English Translation (NET)
 
All things considered, this is a rather dreary book, despite being filled with pearls of wisdom. I’m sure most of us have experienced our own thoughts on the futility of life and aren’t really in need of being reminded of it. We spend most, if not all, of our lives in endless toil, rarely having enough to enjoy the fruits of our labor, and even if we do manage to save anything, we rarely live long enough to enjoy it. It’s all foolishness, right?
 
We have also been engaged in a study of the book of Job, and one of the things that I’ve been stressing there is the lengths to which the author has gone in order to create an absurd situation in order to make his point. To a certain extent, we could say the same thing here. The writer is said to be Solomon who was considered to be the wisest man who ever lived. While that may itself be entertaining a certain among of hyperbole, the point is that he wasn’t stupid by any means.
 
How we view the world, how we view our lives, is often like we view the glass of water – is it half empty or half full? It is largely a matter of how you look at it or, from which direction you approach it. This, I think, is what the writer is getting at. Now, I could be accused of giving away the plot before the program has even begun but perhaps in doing so we can have a greater appreciation for the artistry the author is employing to get his point across. Scripture is full of surprises. I have been reading and studying it for over fifty years and I’m still amazed at all the new things I’m discovering.