In a previous post, we examined three principles for preaching the thorny book of Ecclesiastes. If you didn’t see those, you can check them out here. In this post, I’ll outline four more wise considerations for the preacher approaching the words of the Qoholeth.
Render “Vanity” Accurately
Ask, “What does the word הֶבֶל mean in Ecclesiastes?” Many translations render the term “meaningless” or “futile.” However, those words seem to violate the context of the book. On the contrary, Solomon writes because life does have meaning; he writes to instruct in wisdom, since life is not futile.
Instead, it’s best to understand the term along the lines of “vapor,” “breath,” “mist,” or “smoke.” Just as vapor is brief, elusive, and uncontrollable, so are many things under the sun. Death means things cannot be held onto for more than a moment. And, like vapor, there is much in life that we cannot control. That all is vapor suggests that life is not formulaic. There is no secret code we can proverbially type in to produce a predictable life. Vapor is harder to control than cats. It is erratic in its behavior and never takes the same shape twice.
One may live by the Proverbs but not experience the general blessings they commend. Man’s greatest command is not, “Control the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” “Fear God and keep his commandments” is the conclusion to life’s vapor-like nature (Eccl 12:13-14). That is what makes sense considering the vapor-like nature of life under the sun. The crisis is that life is vapor-like; elusive, unpredictable, brief; a crisis which cannot be solved by under-the-sun pursuits. Understanding this will guide the exposition of the book.
Resist Sanitizing Ecclesiastes
Expositors ought to avoid temptations to disinfect or censor portions of Ecclesiastes. It doesn’t take long to face passages that seem to contaminate our Christian worldview. Some verses might seem too polluted to fit into proper biblical thinking.
Some commentators have concluded that the writer of Ecclesiastes must be playing the part of an atheist lobbing pessimistic philosophy into the book to shock readers into faith in God (i.e. the “Zwar Aber,” and “Multiple Views” positions). Or perhaps he is a cynical agnostic resigned to icy fate.
Those views should be reconsidered. Recall that wisdom literature’s goal is not to sanitize the broken, vapor-like nature of life. Reflect on the suffering of this world globally. Be acquainted with your flock’s suffering locally. Look upon the sheep and observe their scars.
Hours spent in pediatric oncology. Betrayal from brethren. Burying a four-foot-long coffin. Dementia steals away a once enjoyable relationship. Watching one’s wife vomit blood from stomach cancer. Serving as a receptacle of slanderous lies. Well-raised teens plunge into immorality. A drunk driver plows over a five-year-old riding her bike. Catching a husband with a prostitute. Experience these things, and, if you’re human and honest, you’ll find yourself thinking things like, “Better the miscarriage” (Eccl 6:3), “I hate this” (cf. Eccl 2:18), “I congratulated the dead” (Eccl 4:2).
As the curse ruthlessly pounds the sheep, they have thought things like this at times. And they’re not sinning when they do. Something is not wrong with them when they wince under this world’s scourging. Let them hear Ecclesiastes.
Solomon is not a pessimist, but a realist. He is not agnostic, but biblical. Vapor cannot be controlled. Life cannot be tamed by our efforts. That death strikes the evil and the righteous indiscriminately is grievous. The bones of the most reckless fool and the most brilliant genius are indistinguishable. The Nobel prize winner and the middle school drop-out; the guy who climbed the corporate ladder and the one who never put his foot on the first rung: death will take them in each arm. One cannot tell the difference between the ashes of a king, the ashes of a dog, and the ashes of a tree.
So then, Ecclesiastes is not likely Solomon playing the part of an atheist or agnostic to scare readers into salvation. In those disturbing verses, Solomon isn’t seeking shock factor by quoting views that are not his own.[1] That approach risks censoring Solomon. Ecclesiastes may seem a tad contaminated at times. But it’s holy, inspired, and inerrant contamination. We need not disinfect Ecclesiastes.
Reveal the Road to Christ
When preaching Ecclesiastes, think carefully about searching for Christ in the book. Be open to bridging the book to him in different ways.
First, gospel opportunities abound in Ecclesiastes. There are natural bridges to Christ from many passages. For example, when Solomon faces the ruthlessness of death in chapter 3, Christ’s victory over death shines. Solomon often laments the backward brokenness of life (7:15, 8:14, 9:1-3, 9:11-12). Evil befalls the good and good befalls the evil. No one in history deserved so much good and yet experienced so much evil as Christ. Yet, he did it willingly, as he offered himself as our impeccable wrath-bearing substitute. So, there are natural connections to the gospel throughout the book, without having to violate the authorial intent of the text.
Second, consider looking for Ecclesiastes in Christ, instead of the opposite. It’s not so much that Christ is in Ecclesiastes as Ecclesiastes is in Christ. Threads of the book seem to run through much of his teaching and living. He often spoke of the vapor-like nature of life. In Luke 13:1-5, his answer concerning the victims of Pilate’s evil and the tower’s falling is Ecclesiastes-like. Same with the blind man in John 9. Prostitutes, tax collectors, and Canaanite women coming to faith illustrated to Israel that the race is not always to the swift. The parable of the rich barn-builder (Luke 12:16-21) illustrates the vapor-like nature of life. In John 21, Jesus gives Ecclesiastes-like shepherding to Peter, who, after being told he would be girded contrary to his wishes (John 21:18), asks about John’s fate (John 21:21-23). And there is perhaps no more Ecclesiastes-like moment in history, when he who “existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).
Revel in Ecclesiastes’ Joy
Seventh, when preaching Ecclesiastes, teach God’s people that it’s spiritually good to enjoy things in life. In several passages, Solomon commends the enjoyment of God’s gifts; like wine, work, and a wife (Eccl 2:24-26, 3:12-13, 3:22, 5:18-20, 7:14, 8:15, 9:7-9, 11:7-9). One popular view holds that these are merely cynical concessions in view of a “que sera, sera” approach to life. But it’s better to receive Solomon’s interjections on joy at face value. They serve as pit-stops along the journey of the vapor-like nature of life. To be sure, things like recreation and rest will not undo the backward, brevity, and brokenness of life. That’s part of the point of Ecclesiastes. However, they are gifts from God to be received and enjoyed. Thus, enjoyment of such things is not pushing pause on spirituality. It is spirituality. We can enjoy them. Avoidance of recreation and hobbies is not higher spirituality. We ought not assume to be more spiritual than God.
Finally, here are a few resources that I have found the most helpful for studying Ecclesiastes: Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End, by David Gibson; A Table in the Mist: Meditations on Ecclesiastes, by Jeffrey Meyers; Recovering Eden: The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes, by Zack Eswine.
More could be said concerning the preaching of Ecclesiastes. Though this is not the final say, the hope is that it serves as a helpful guide for expositing this priceless book to congregations.
[1] In the Proverbs, also written by Solomon, he employs textual cues to indicate that he is quoting views which are not his own. For example, “The sluggard says” (Prov 22:13), or “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest” (Prov 6:10, 24:33). Solomon does not do this in Ecclesiastes.
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