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Personal Journey
As a teenager growing up, I was constantly thinking that there must be more to life than what is seen and experienced. I had developed the philosophy that all my actions were to be based on my feelings of whether I felt like doing them or not. Thus, what I did, or did not do, was based on whether I felt like it or not. It was purely an Existential feeling that determined much of my conduct. There were things however, which I had to do, such as homework, whether I felt like it or not. This dawned on me one day in 1968 when I was in Standard 6 at Northlands Boy’s High School, and I got into trouble for not doing what I should have done. I soon began to realize that there were obligations in life and that everything did not revolve around my feelings and desires. I began to see that principles in life were far greater than me, and my determination of them. I now realize how ignorant I was and how much I needed to have been taught a balanced true view of life. Today I recognise that this understanding is a Biblical view of life. As a teenager I was caught up in peer pressure and did some outrageous things to gain the acceptance and recognition of my peers. I was soon to realize that simply doing the things that others were doing did not bring the satisfaction and fulfilment that was promised. It was simply going through the motions in a farcical manner to gain the approval and acceptance of my peers.
My smoking and getting drunk on weekends at age fifteen, did not bring the satisfaction and recognition that it was said to do, but instead left me feeling hollow and fearful lest I be caught out by my parents or the law. This was compounded by the realization and deep seated fear that if I was to have died at that stage of my life, I would not have gone to heaven because I knew I would not have met God’s standard. This put a damper on much of my fun and left me with no peace in life. I then embarked on a journey to find answers to life and its purpose and also address my concerns about the after life. For a period of three years I attended Church and read through the Gospels but this did not give me the peace I sought. I found this peace when, for the first time, I understood that Jesus had died on the cross for my sin. It was in 1973, my Matric year, and I became a Christian, as I trusted in Christ for my salvation. As a result there was a total transformation in my conduct, philosophy of life, my experience of joy, satisfaction and purpose in life. From then on, the focus of my life was directed towards fulfilling the purposes in life as God determined them in His Scriptures, rather that what I would feel and desire. With the change in my philosophy of life to one that was Biblical, I began to evaluate every aspect of life in the light of this Biblical framework. As this became a deep conviction in my life, I chose a career in education and after completing a Bachelors degree, I started teaching at Krugersdorp High School. I was given the subject, Religious Instruction, where I could focus on teaching pupils a Biblical philosophy of life. My deep concern was that they not repeat the same false reasoning that I had followed before becoming a Christian.
One of the greatest examples against which I evaluated this philosophy, was a close family member who was a father figure in my life. He was a very successful businessman and he seemed to be successful in everything he attempted. He lived in a huge mansion most of which he had built himself. He drove luxury cars and even owned a number of Porsche 911 models,from one of which he removed the engine and rebuilt himself. He held the position of chairman in a certain company in the Anglo American Group and was managing director of others. He was a scratch golfer and was an honorary member of a golf club. He was very intelligent and held a degree in science from the University of the Witwatersrand. He was wealthy and was held in high esteem by his colleagues and yet it seemed to us as family members that he was not really happy and content with life. He had walked away from his first family because of a marriage failure and this caused a great deal of sadness and anger in the children of that first marriage. In the early days he had served as a Sunday School superintendent of a particular church but had left the church because he disagreed with the minister on an aspect of science and evolution, which they had discussed. Sadly he developed a brain tumour in October 2000 and died in November 2001. Shortly before he died he repented and trusted in Jesus Christ as his Saviour. At this time he expressed the regret that there was a time when he had turned his back on God and followed a path to pursue his own success without God. In my mind I was evaluating his life according to a Biblical philosophy of life. How could someone who had it all, wealth, position, power, pleasure, prestige, intelligence, achievement and ability, not be ecstatically happy and content in life? Why would he suddenly regard the path he had chosen decades before to be in vain when he was suddenly faced with death? When faced with death, do earthly things loose their importance, and does spiritual security become the most important aspect of life? I believe that these similar dilemmas were examined by the writer of Ecclesiastes and the conclusions he came to give us great insight into life so that we can understand a divine purpose therein. The study of the book of Ecclesiastes has always been a fascinating one for me personally. I sat under the teaching of Rev. Ray van Pletzen at Weltevreden Chapel in 1981 as he preached through the book. What struck me at that time was how applicable the book was to our modem day, even though it was written many centuries ago. Here was a book of the Bible that was so true to life because it outlined the real struggles of man and gave plausible answersto them. These views were again confrrmed as I listened to Dr. Chuck Swindoll teach a series of messages on a Christian radio station in Dallas, Texas on the book ofEcclesiastes, called Living on the Ragged Edge. Again the timeless principles outlined in Ecclesiastes were made appropriate to modem day life, with real answers to the dilemmas that we all face in this frustrating and challenging modem age. This was brought home more forcefully by the example of a businessman whom Chuck Swindoll encountered and he recorded that interview in his book Living on the Ragged Edge (Swindoll, 1985: 119).
Identity of the Author
Nowhere in this book does the author give his name, but the descriptions he gave of himself and his experiences would indicate that the writer was King Solomon There are also many passages in Ecclesiastes that strongly suggest that King Solomon is the author. The author identified himself as the son of David (Ecc. 1: 1 ), King in Jerusalem (Ecc. 1:1 ), and King over Israel in Jerusalem (Ecc. 1: 12). While a son of David can refer to later generations, there were very few « sons of David » who ruled over Israel in Jerusalem. After Solomon the Kingdom of Israel was split into two, the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem, however, was the capital and the seat of the King of Judah from this time until it’s fall to its enemies in July 587 BC. (Dyre, 1985: 1127). After this time there is nothing and no one who compares with the person and prosperity that is described in this book. He claimed to have great wealth and wisdom (Ecc. 2:1-11, and 1:13). This correlates with God’s promise to Solomon to give him both wisdom and wealth in response to his humble prayer (1 Kings 3:3-15; 4:20-34 and 10:1; 6-9). InEcc. 1:12-2:26, he said he was wiserthananyonewho had ruled over Jerusalem before him (Ecc. 1: 16). He was a builder of great projects (Ecc. 2:4-6), he possessed many slaves (Ecc. 2:7), he had greater herds of sheep and cattle than anyone else (Ecc. 2:7), he had great wealth (Ecc. 2:8), and a large harem (Ecc. 2:8). In short he claimed to be greater than anyone who lived in Jerusalem before him (Ecc. 2:9). All of these aspects correlate with Solomon’s splendour and achievements in 1 Kings 10:14-29. Donald R. Glenn furthermore concurs with this in his commentary:
« These descriptions have led many Jewish and Christian interpreters to identify the author as Solomon though his name is never explicitly used in the book. Solomonic authorship of Ecclesiastes was generally accepted until the Age of the Enlightenment (17th century) when the use of literary and historical criticism and linguistic analysis led to its general abandonment by scholars of all persuasions » (Glenn, 1985: 975.). Ecclesiastes appears to be the kind of book people would write towards the end of their lives once they had had time to thoroughly reflect on life’s experiences and develop convictions about the lessons they had learned. So often, as for example in Ecc 3: 10, and 3: 17, the author uses terms such as: ‘I have seen’ and ‘I thought in my heart’. This certainly seems to be a thorough examination of life over a long period of time, which greatly impacted his life and led to the development of many convictions. Glenn confrrms:
Solomon probably wrote Proverbs (Prov. 1:1; 1 Kings 4:32) and the Song of Solomon (Song of Solomon I: 1) during the years he faithfully walked with God; and near the end of his life, he wrote Ecclesiastes. There is no record that King Solomon repented and turned to the Lord, but his message in Ecclesiastes suggests that he did. He wrote Proverbs from the viewpoint of a wise teacher (Ecc.l: 1-6), and Song of Solomon from the viewpoint of a royal lover (Ecc.3: 7-11 ); but when he wrote Ecclesiastes, he called himself « the Preacher » (Ecc.l: 1, 2, 12; 7:27; 12:8-10) (Glenn, 1985: 975.) This certainly makes sense to me as a student of Wisdom Literature and I would support Glenn’s thesis. It was not without purpose that the Sovereign God gave Solomon, « a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be ». (1 Kings 3: 12).
1. Introduction
2. My Personal Journey with Youth and Ecclesiastes
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Personal Journey
2.3. Personal Conviction
3. Why Ecclesiastes as opposed to another book of the Bible?
3 .1. Introduction
3.2. Authorship of Ecclesiastes
3.3. The Unity of the Book
3.4. The diverse message of Ecclesiastes
3.5. Ecclesiastes In Its Appeal To Young People
4. The Message of Ecclesiastes
4.1. Methodology
4.2. Exegesis of the book of Ecclesiastes
4.3. Word and Phrase Studies
5. Youth In Our Society Today
5.1. Introduction and Methodology
5.2. Our Society Today- a Postmodem Society
5.3. Characteristics and Culture of Youth Today
5.4. Interviews, Questionnaire and Analysis Of Young People’s Goals and Ambitions Today
5.5. Application Of The Truths Of Ecclesiastes To Youth In Answer to their Needs
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
8. Appendix A
9. Appendix B
10. Appendix C
11. Appendix D
