It’s been a quest for the ages. Thousands of generations have lived and died without finding the ultimate answer. Millions have spent their entire life rummaging around for that precious jewel lost in the dark valley somewhere. Their search sounds quite simple at first. All they want to find out is the Meaning, Purpose and Reason for life. But the answer has been ever so elusive that most never have been able to grab a hold of it.
The Teacher, as the author of Ecclesiastes likes to call himself, is on a similar mission. He is out to settle the issue once and for all. He begins his explorations with the typical themes, knocking on familiar doors.
Wisdom is the first on his list. Being the wisest man, wiser than all his predecessors, he was sure he would find something of value. But he wasn’t satisfied with the solutions. He exclaims, “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, the more knowledge, the more grief.” (Eccl 1:18). Disappointed and confused, he now enters through the golden gates of pleasure. But soon discovers that the only pomp is the one on the outside. Inside, he was unable to find anything of lasting significance. The teacher says, “I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” (Eccl 2:2) He went right around the boulevard of life, knocking on every door, hoping to find at least the slightest clue towards the answer.
He learns that wealth doesn’t deliver what it promises. People with wealth still try to amass more, as contentment always seem to elude them. In his lifetime, he found out that justice doesn’t always come to the rescue of the sufferer, leaving the wicked to prosper while the poor suffer.
Could it be popularity? Could fame be the key? But the wise teacher presently waves his sign of disapproval. About such a person he says, “He might become the leader of millions and be very popular. But then the next generation grows up and rejects him! So again, it is all meaningless, like chasing the wind.” (Eccl 4:16) At this point, one might wonder if there is any meaning, purpose or reason to be found after all.
If the reader perseveres and continues through the book, at the very end the author decides to take the veil off this great mystery. He carefully writes it down: “Fear God and obey His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Eccl 12:13) At the end of his extensive search, the teacher gets it. Sometimes a thing could be so simple that you’ll miss it even if you bump into it face on.
But don’t be mistaken. This wasn’t the preacher’s idea or some complex calculations that made him draw this conclusion. About 400 years before he was even born, Moses cries out the same words to the Israelites, who are waiting to cross the Jordan into the promised land. He gave it to them as an eternal decree from God, for their own good.
But what does it mean to fear God? Are we not supposed to love him instead? Does it apply to us, the New Testament believers? Could this have been meant only for the people of old?
We’ll attempt to look a bit deeper into what it means in the next issue.
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