the writer of Ecclesiastes is popularly thought of as Solomon. This is mostly because of his wisdom and his life experience. However, the experiences reported in Ecclesiastes are broader than he could have had. It is better to think of the author as a philosophical artist addressing a large gathering. The gathering in Greek would be the Ekklesia, which gives the book its name. He performs a wide range of perspectives as if he himself were living them. He portrays what it would be like to have much wisdom, power and riches. The performing philosopher or orator who collected wisdom sayings and made them his own is someone scholars now call ‘Q’ for Qoholeth. Qoholeth is more of his role as a public purveyor of wisdom rather than a personal name.
The main themes of the book are relevant for today. Q saw that people in his day were accumulating wealth, studying hard, or wielding power in order to control life. Q sees taht life is too big for scientific answers to satisfy. Man must look at the universe and see there is no way to control it and that it is utterly incomprehensible.
God brings meaning to a person’s life and we are to be content and take time to smell the roses. In tasting the sweetness of God in the present moment life can have enjoyment. A life spent living for future gain, future careers, future promotion, or future wealth will end in death. All too late the person living for the future will find that they passed through life without being fully alive. God brings life to his faithful on a day to day, moment by moment basis.
Questions
- Do you believe that Solomon or Qoholeth wrote Ecclesiastes?
- Does it bother you if Ecclesiastes is written as poetic musing rather than historical fact?
- How do people live for the future and miss the present?
- What have you missed out on in life by looking to gain riches, knowledge, or power?
- Pray that God will use the book of Ecclesiastes to enrich your daily awareness of his presence and his goodness.
Plymothian 
1. I strongly believe that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes.
2. It does bother me because Solomon is recalling lessons from his life as opposed to just musing through writings.
3. People spend so much time preparing for the future that they cannot enjoy the present moments that God has given them. They miss what God has for them at the exact time.
4. i have missed out on other people’s lives by just staring at my own.
5. Lord, help me to acknowledge you while i am still young. I have enjoyed Your presence and Your goodness in my life. Please help me to grow in grace.
1. I still think that Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes. It seems to agree with what we know of him from the Bible.
2. It doesn’t really bother me either way. I still think it applies, even if the author was simply pondering the meaning of life.
3. When we are young, we often can’t wait until we are older and miss out on the things that we are only able to do at that age. Often times, High School students can’t wait until they go to college, or college students can’t wait until they start life. This causes them to miss out on the joys of being young or of being in college.
4. I missed out on some opportunities this summer because I was so excited to come back to school. My focus on the end of the summer, caused me to miss out on the day to day joys of life.
1.) Honeslty I’ve just never heard the option or opinion that Qoholeth wrote it, so I’m really not sure, it seems like a viable option, but becuase I have always been directed and taught to read it as though Solomon wrote it, it just makes more sense to me that way.
2.) I don’t know if I would say it bothers me, but I think there is beauty in the thought that Solomon wrote it, becuase after all, he was the most successful and lavished King, so for him to feel like life lacks meaning just goes to show that even people in the highest of places will feel low if there is no greater purpose in their life then to satisfy themselves. To see Solomon struggle through this really brings it down to earth for me.
3.) People live for the future by hoping and planning for things to go well for them in the coming days, so they focus their lives around making more money, becoming more successful, etc, while all along they are missing out on the beauty of the day that the Lord has created.
4.) I’ve missed out on making the most of certain moments, like soaking up the joys of High school and the opportunities to minister there, becuase I was already looking towards my college career. Or sometimes I miss out on the ability to appreciate what I am learning becuase I am so concerned with how things are going to pan out in the long hall.
5.) Lord, guide me to trust in you each and everyday, that I do not worry about tomorrow or plan to far ahead, but open my eyes to see the goodness of your love and daily provision in even the simplist of things.
1. I believe that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, but it is possible that Qoholeth is the same person as Solomon, just by a different name.
2. It does not bother me if Ecclesiastes is written as a poetical musing rather than historical fact because the message of God is still the same.
3. People live for the future and miss the present by always planning and controlling their plans and future events, and by stressing and worrying about the future instead of enjoying the people and circumstances around them.
4. I have missed out on spending quality time with my friends because I was so focused on planning and getting ready for school.
5. God, I ask that you would use the book of Ecclesiastes to really speak to me, and to remind me daily of your presence and awesome power and might.
1. I do not know whether Solomon or Q wrote Ecclesiastes, but I would lean towards Solomon if only because that is what tradition says.
2. I would not mind terribly is Ecclesiastes was mainly poetical musing. however, it would need to be interpretted differently.
3. Many people are always looking ahead to what lies just beyond the corner. they want to grow up, go to college, get married, have kids, send kids to college, have an empty nest, retire…. If you are not able tto have peace where you are and know that the future will come soon enough, then you will not be able to enjoy life. Carpe diem~sieze the day!
4. I think there have been times when I have missed out on good relationships and friendships because I was too concerned for being “friends” with the “cool clique” at the time instead of looking at people for their insides.
1) I think Solomon wrote Ecclesiaties but he may have been writing about some other philosopher’s experiences as well.
2) No that doesn’t bother me at all. Just because it isn’t written as historical doesn’t make it false, it just means that we should read it more like we would read the book of Proverbs.
3) People are often so focused on getting ahead in life- getting a better job, ect, that they miss out on the experiences they are having right then.
4) Yes, I remember being so excited to graduate from high school, that I didn’t really realize how great that time of my life really was.
1.Do you believe that Solomon or Qoholeth wrote Ecclesiastes? It is very hard to say that it is solely written by Solomon with my own knowlege. the chances are it won’t have to be only Solomon or Qoholeth.
2.Does it bother you if Ecclesiastes is written as poetic musing rather than historical fact?
Since the purpose of the book of Ecclesiastes is to teach that everything is meaningless without Almighty God, it is not bothering whether it is historical fact or something else because the proverbs are true.
3.How do people live for the future and miss the present? very often people are more like to run toward future and make a huge effort to successful life to come. It can underestimate the presence which is our responsibility to live out and can also be a seed of useless anxiety.
4.What have you missed out on in life by looking to gain riches, knowledge, or power? inner peace and christ-like mindset
5.Pray that God will use the book of Ecclesiastes to enrich your daily awareness of his presence and his goodness.
1. I believe that solomon wrote this.
2. Yes, Ecclesiastes IS written as poetic musing. He wrote about his thoughts and what he was feeling.
3. A lot of people now a days plan everything and goal oriented that they forget to have fun and live out the life God has given them now.
3. I have missed out on a lot. I’m a worry wart and I like being in control of things. And example is that I missed out on a lot of HS fun because I was so caught up in going to a “great” college.
1. I do believe solomon wrote it
2. Doesnt bother me. The Bible is the Bible and I don’t mind different styles.
3. many people go to school for their future “dream job” and totally miss out on enjoying the present.
4. ive missed out on a true joy that comes from true humility in Christ
1. Do you believe that Solomon or Qoholeth wrote Ecclesiastes?
I believe that Solomon was influenced by Qoholeth because it was common wisdom of the time. Solomon would have been influenced by his counselors and they would have come from the far reaches of the kingdom. I do believe however that the words that Solomon wrote down in the Bible were inspired by God.
2. Does it bother you if Ecclesiastes is written as poetic musing rather than historical fact?
No. Just because they are poetic thoughts on life does not mean we cannot learn from them or that God isn’t speaking through them.
3. How do people live for the future and miss the present?
They often live for future careers, incomes or families. Even as believers we can live for the future by thinking of missions as something we will do when we graduate. We will support a child in Haiti someday when we have the money… things like that are easy to think of as futuristic instead of seeking what God would have us do today.
4. What have you missed out on in life by looking to gain riches, knowledge, or power?
A deeper dependency and relationship with God.
5. Pray that God will use the book of Ecclesiastes to enrich your daily awareness of his presence and his goodness.
1. Do you believe that Solomon or Qoholeth wrote Ecclesiastes?
– I believe that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes because it is clearly written that The words of the Teacher, “son of David”, king in Jerusalem in the first verse of the first chapter.
2. Does it bother you if Ecclesiastes is written as poetic musing rather than historical fact?
– No, it does not bother me because whether it is historical fact or poetic musing, it would convey the same concepts: Everything is meaningless without God.
3. How do people live for the future and miss the present?
– People sometimes live for future, not realizing how important present we are living right now. Sometimes even I put away things to the future which I cannot do in the future, but now. people always are wanting that they would do something when they have enough money or after they get stable circumstances to do it and they never enjoy the present and live for the future.
4.What have you missed out on in life by looking to gain riches, knowledge, or power?
– I have always been wanting to gain good grades and this was most important thing in almost 15 years of my school life. and by doing so, I have missed out intimate relationship with God, friendship,and memories that I could have made through my adolescent period..
5. Pray that God will use the book of Ecclesiastes to enrich your daily awareness of his presence and his goodness.
1. Do you believe that Solomon or Qoholeth wrote Ecclesiastes?
I am not sure of the author. But i believe the son of David who gain wisdom from God wrote Ecclesiastes.
2. Does it bother you if Ecclesiastes is written as poetic musing rather than historical fact?
honestly it would probably do. since Ecclesiastes is already obscure to me .
3.How do people live for the future and miss the present?
we have easily missed thinking of the Gospel and applying it into our present lives. we all are liable to live pursuing meaningless things with a wrong motivation if we have not been pursuing the Gospel in every moment.
4.What have you missed out on in life by looking to gain riches, knowledge, or power?
when i was in highschool, i studied hard to enter a highly reputed secular college. I was lost. I did not try to find God’s purpose on my life. i was seeking to gain riches, knowledge and power as entering a renowned college.