Ecclesiastes: The Pursuit of Happiness

Ecclesiastes sits on the proverbial shelf of a literary genre called wisdom literature. Written by King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, this book strikes a tone that shocks most readers. Why? Because it’s downright pessimistic. Solomon just seems sad. So, let’s dissect the seemingly pessimistic journal entries of King Solomon as we embark on our pursuit of happiness. In the first entry, we will see two equations to help us unlock life’s grand design: Everything = Meaningless & Eternity = Meaning.

Ecclesiastes picks up on a downward spiral of pessimism. Solomon sets this up intentionally, though. He wants us to feel the agony of life’s monotony before starting to give us little nuggets of practical advice. In our second session, we will examine the first optimistic observation of the book: “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.”

Ecclesiastes can feel a little frustrating, can’t it? The teacher is just circling around the same idea with rapid repetition like a broken merry-go-round. Sometimes, we just want to shake Solomon and snap, “Get to the point, man!” As we conclude our study, Solomon finally lays it out for us. We are called to embrace our mission, which is defined by fearing God and following God’s commandments.