To What Extent Does Solomon Keep The Commandments

In this essay I will attempt to explain why Solomon begins Ecclesiastes with “All is Vanity” and ends with “Keep the Commandments.” Throughout the whole book Solomon takes a nihilistic approach on life by writing how everything that happens under the sun is completely meaningless. His view that all is vanity never changes as the book goes on. Some may call Solomon a pessimist because of this, but his frequent use of the words “good/goodness”, “wisdom/wise”, eternity and judgment suggest an optimistic view. At the end of the book we learn that Solomon must believe in the Second Coming, because he speaks of judgment in Ecclesiastes 11:9 “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in

That lesson being that everything that we do here on Earth is meaningless unless we keep God’s commandments. We should keep His commandments, because we will all eventually die and face judgment. Solomon shows us this by telling us of the things he has witnessed such as: the futility of wealth and pleasure, history repeating itself and the futility of work. In Ecclesiastes 5:8-20, we learn that Solomon really believes wealth without God is pointless. He knows what he is talking about because he was very wealthy. He says, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5: 10). He talks about how people who work hard for less money sleep well, but the rich with all of the money in the world, can’t even get a good night’s sleep. “ As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may

He realized that his life without God was meaningless, which is why he started & ended the book by saying, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2,12:8). He later adds his final conclusion which says, “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Solomon shows us how he comes to this realization by telling us of the different things that he has discovered such as: history repeating itself, the futility of pleasure, and the futility of work. History will repeat itself, no matter what we do. We can leave a mark on this world, but regardless of what we do, it’s all meaningless if we are not saved at the end of the day. If God is not in our hearts, then we are out of luck. Trying to accumulate wealth, cattle and all of these great things on Earth to seek pleasure is also meaningless if God is not in our lives. Lastly, working to make great lives for ourselves also means nothing if God is not in our lives. In conclusion, Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes this way to teach us all that we need God in our hearts because at the end of the day we will all die and God will come to judge us whether we are ready or not. “All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to