Ecclesiastes and the Workplace (Part 2)

The Preacher's Method

Before exploring the meaning of labor in the book of Ecclesiastes we need to understand the Preacher’s method. The issue here is that it can be a confusing book. It can be frustrating to us. We can think that it is somehow not true; it’s so dark, and so different from anything else we read in our Bibles. It can raise more questions for us than it solves. Other books raise similar questions for us. How are we to interpret Job for example? A lot of what his so-called comforters say seems right to us, but they are indicted in the end (Job 42:7-9). And, Job himself says early on that we ought to overlook the ranting of a depressed man (Job 6:26). So how much of what he says should we take seriously? The point is simply that we need to understand the purpose and function of the different types of literature we have in scripture. We need to be careful in our interpretation. So, we need to be sure we understand what the Preacher is trying to do.

The Preacher sets out to examine the meaning of life by reason (1:13a,17; 2:3,12; 7:25; 8:16; 9:1), experimentation (2:1; 7:23), and observation (3:10,12,14,16; 4:1,4,7,15; 5:13,18; 6:1; 7:15; 8:9,10,17; 9:11,13; 10:5,7) In other words, the Preacher, the wisest of all men, engaged in empirical research into the meaning of human activity. In this book he reports his observations, and offers his own theistic interpretation of the meaning of life. His observations are common to us all. We all with similar wisdom ought to be able to see the same things. We all, whether we accept the revelation contained in the Bible or not, are able to weigh the truth of his assertions.

The Method's Limits

Even though the Preacher asserts our accountability to God, and engages in his examination under the self-conscious awareness of the superintendence of God over the world, his conclusions do not go beyond what is revealed about God in nature and in our consciences.[i] Romans 1 tells us that the revelation of God in nature, that is, apart from the Bible, is enough to constrain us to worship him, to provoke thanksgiving, and to make us accountable to him, knowing that our moral obedience is a matter of life or death.

²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Rom 1:20, 21 NASB)

³² Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Rom 1:32 NASB)

The Preacher’s conclusions, even those that describe our accountability to God and describe work as a gift from God, are consistent with the inferences we would draw from common human experience. The tone of Ecclesiastes, then, is very different from the Prophets or the Law. And, we have something far greater in the New Testament.

We also need to understand that since Ecclesiastes is a record of observation there’s a built-in limitation to the Preacher’s observations. He describes the world as it is rather than as it ought to be. In other words, the Preacher describes a fallen world, a world under a curse, a world subject to futility; not the world as it was meant to be, or as it will one day be. (see Rom 8:20-22, and compare Ecc 3:20 with Gen 3:19)

²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Rom 8:20-22 NASB)

All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. (Ecc 3:20 NASB)

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (Gen 3:19 NASB)

The book of Ecclesiastes in some ways mimics the world and its activity. It is full of beauty while at times being frustratingly obscure: celebration is juxtaposed with mourning, joy-filled poetry with hopeless prose. Mere observation reveals aspiration and aberration: eternity in our hearts compelling to create combined with despair about the significance of our creations.

Ecclesiastes rings true. It accurately portrays our experience. But, it raises many questions without fully answering them. The answers await the New Testament.

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[i] This needs to be qualified. The Preacher writes in light of prior revelation, especially Genesis 2-3. All we need to do to verify this is to compare Ecc 3:20 and Gen 3:19. So, it is wrong to say that there is nothing in Ecclesiastes that goes beyond God’s revelation of himself in nature. I still think, however, that this statement is generally true and consistent with the intent of the book.