Probably the Most Misunderstood Book

After a long absence from the blog world, I feel compelled to explore the Book of Ecclesiastes - probably the most misunderstood book in the Bible. Ecclesiastes is part of the Hebrew Scripture and, therefore, part of the Christian Old Testament.

In Hebrew Scripture the book is transliterated as Koholet, Koholeth, Qoholet and Qoholeth. The Hebrew root means to gather, assemble or convene. The English title comes from the Greek translation of the word "ekklesia" which meant to gather and in the New Testament vernacular came to be the common reference to the church. Qoholet or Ecclesiastes - referencing a gathering - has come to be thought of as the Preacher or the Speaker.

The Preacher is thought to be Solomon. The author refers to himself as the son of David and King of Israel in Jerusalem. This could only be Solomon since Israel split into two kingdoms - Israel and Judah. Solomon's successors were kings over Judah only. We'll proceed under the assumption that King Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes and let the scholars pick at the bones of arguments over authorship that have long ago lost any meaning or amusement for me.

Many Christians avoid this book because, on its face, it seems to set a tone of meaningless and futility in life. It is, however, an answer to the meaningless and futility to which it seems to condemn us. Solomon had indeed gone through what Jung called "the night sea journey" or St. John of the Cross called "the dark night of the soul." This is a report from a man who was supposedly the wisest man who ever lived. He had descended into his dark night of the soul and emerged with his sanity (unlike Nietzsche), wisdom, and faith intact.

This isn't a commentary. It isn't a research paper. It is common sense for common people - people to whom life may have dealt a bag-over-the-head-punch-in-the-face, people who think their life lacks meaning or that there should be something more, people who are wondering what to try next, or people who just sit down at the end of the day and scratch their heads and wonder "What the hell?"

So join me for this excursion. There are nuggets of gold in Ecclesiastes for everyone regardless of where you're at. The "human condition," if you will, is put on display. All the joy, sadness, humor, irony, and just plain madness is hanging out for all the world to see.