Grokking Ecclesiastes

Someone has called Ecclesiastes the weirdest book in the Bible. In this series of short devotionals we are on a journey to explore every line of the book from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes is one of the books in the Bible categorized as "wisdom literature." The Bible contains many different genres, different kinds of writing. While all Scripture is inspired, all writing is not the same. You do not treat poetry the same as prose. Ecclesiastes is an inspired monologue and needs to be understood from that context. Solomon (the alleged author of the book) takes us on a thoughtful journey, looking at life "under the sun," as if there is no God, compared to life lived with an awareness and awe of God. Much of the book strikes a pessimistic tone for the very reason that in those sections the author is looking for (and not finding any) meaning in life lived without God. Ecclesiastes is easy to misunderstand if we pluck a phrase here and a partial line there. Ecclesiastes urges us to see the meaninglessness of life without God and instead to turn to God and enjoy life. We can turn from emptiness to fullness with Jesus.
Pr Larry Kirkpatrick is the host of the Remedial Protestantism podcast, and has served congregations in pastoral ministry since 1994. He has authored books including Real Grace for Real People, and Cleanse and Close. He has been plenary speaker at symposiums and presented in many nations. He presently serves as pastor of the Fremont and Muskegon MI Seventh-day Adventist churches. Every morning he shares short Bible devotionals for those who want to start their day with God.
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