That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14)
With Israel’s ancient monarch as our guide, we have journeyed the extremities of experience, and we have plumbed the depths of despair. Nothing has been restrained. The man has recorded his escapades, admitted his doubts, attempted to find fulfilment in various philosophies, and stopped at nothing to gain some sense of satisfaction—all to no avail. Lasting pleasure eluded him. Not until he returned to square one, coming to terms with reality, did he derive any measure of contentment.
In the final analysis he was forced to confess that there is no lasting happiness without a vital, authentic relationship with the living God. Trying to find purpose and meaning under the sun apart from Him is a tragic and depressing study in futility. Despair stalks the steps of those who deny this fact. But to those who accept it and respond to it, God brings joy, encouragement, and the one ingredient we want most, inner peace—genuine and lasting shalom. Interestingly, it is not until the end of the journey, after all the dust has settled, that Solomon returns to the most basic of all truths. That is often the case.
I stated in my introduction that this is a volume for people “in the trenches.” Now you see why. I told you that it is for those whose lives are fixed on planet Earth, “down there in the dirt of responsibility, where the grit of reality and the grind of accountability hold their feet to the fire.”
Solomon’s words, phrases, and conclusions have punched holes in our easy answers as he has wrestled with issues we’d much rather skirt.
But that is life. And that brings a healthy and necessary kind of pressure upon us. It forces from us the decisions required to move us off the wastelands of empty cliches. It is only when we have learned how to survive in the harsh arena of reality that we change from mediocrity to greatness, from passive surrender to victorious excellence.
So thank you, Solomon, for recording the whole truth. Thank you for admitting the struggles. Thank you for not deceiving us into thinking that the lifelong journey from earth to heaven is merely a hot-air balloon ride full of ecstasy, free of friction, and protected from pain. Thank you for helping us come to terms with reality, for teaching us profound lessons in a simple, straightforward manner. Most of all, thank you for the quiet confidence that comes from knowing that “the Bible tells us so.”
