Failure of Mans Wisdom and Philosophy - Essay Example

Failure of Man’s Wisdom and Philosophy 1. Some of the main themes from the Book of Ecclesiastes include: Failure of man’s wisdom and philosophy, everything is meaningless under the sun if we do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, man continues to seek material possessions and personal wealth only to find despair as well as Fatalism – Live for today mentality of man.  2. “Is life worth living?” The Book of Ecclesiastes will make one think about this question in hopeless despair if he or she subscribes to the empty philosophy and limited wisdom of man. However, to the Christians, we see how hopeless life would be without Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Everything in this world seems meaningless and foolish without Christ in our lives and the Holy Spirit to Guide our paths (Hebert p 12.research paper). 3. The problem with living for health, wealth and power is that one will never be satisfied – the sinful nature will always crave for more. The only way to have peace and contentment is through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. As the Holy Spirit walks with us, we will grow in Christ. Living in the flesh will never bring complete joy. 4. The book of Ecclesiastes mirrors our postmodern world where people live for the moment and for themselves. The world system now is all about power, prestige, wealth and position. However, all this is meaningless unless our position is in Christ Jesus. Furthermore, many individuals are looking for something, which means that even religion does not save. It is only God’s Grace and faith through Christ Jesus that save. Anything else is hopeless and meaningless. 5. After Solomon had experienced all that this life had to offer, he concluded that living for one self is meaningless and foolish. Solomon wrote Proverbs, which contain wisdom. However, Ecclesiastes included man’s foolish wisdom and folly. The conclusion therefore is serving God with fear, worshipping Him with reverence and awe, persevering and being obedient. Furthermore, Wisdom only comes through a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit, who is the Helper, will teach us all things. Proverbs speak many times about the dangers of pride. If you boil all sin down, you have pride. 6. The Book of Songs of Songs has few central themes. The first theme is the glory of love in marriage. This not only stresses on the love between husband and wife, but also on love between Christ and His bride – the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Another theme is the drawing power of love, which also expresses the close relationship between husband and wife as well as believers and Christ. There is also the theme of celebration because at the end of the book, praise is offered to the Lord. 7. Many theologians have interpreted the book of Song of Songs as a lyrical poem that has a logical progression and unity. The story line begins with courtship, which is followed by a relationship that grows or matures into marriage. The relationship closely relates to Christ and the believer. The book concludes with praise and love. 8. The book of Song of Songs shows that sex in marriage is not “dirty” and that it is honorable and natural for married men and women. Furthermore, the Word praises moral purity for men and women prior to marriage. In the modern society, which is full of perversion, fornication and adultery, the Book of Song of Songs is here to teach us about sex and marriage – that God made man and woman to be fruitful and multiply and to enjoy each other. The word says that the two will become one flesh. 9. The “Foxes” that Song of Songs describes refer to the so-called small/little sins that can sneak up and destroy a marriage. Furthermore, fox-like individuals try to drag people into corruption. We have to stand firm in Christ to protect our marriages from little foxes. Even Christ used the term in Luke 13:30-32: “At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day, I will reach my goal.’ 10. God has ordained sex in marriage. Both Jews and Christians see life and the physical pleasures inside marriage as gifts from God. In the Jewish culture, sex was taken seriously and was a binding relationship. Premarital sex was therefore extremely sinful. Weddings lasted one week and the union of husband and wife was expected to last a lifetime. Therefore, the Jews accepted God’s gift of sex and marriage and were not ashamed. Furthermore, they saw the nation of Israel as married to “Jehovah.” 11. Walvoord’s commentary states that marriage is the most important event in a person’s life. It then speaks about the procession to the bride’s home led by the groom. This shows how Christ will come and get his bride one day – he will lead a beautiful procession to escort the bride home. There are many parallels between our human relationship with our wives and the relationship between the believers and Christ. 12. The Wiersbe commentary has a great interpretation of the Book of Song of Songs. From the standpoint of the Jewish people, the book shows human love and sex in marriage. The Jewish people saw the book as an illustration of God’s love for His people. Furthermore, Christians take the same view, seeing the Song of Songs and the love relationship between Christ and His church: the bride. Therefore, the Holy Spirit will teach us the deeper meaning of the relationship between the bride and the Bridegroom. 13. The website “Old Testament Gateway” had interesting material concerning Solomon and the period around which the book of Ecclesiastes was written. The website states, “If one holds to Solomonic authorship, then the date is between 970-931 BC. Within the span of Solomonic kingship, it is more likely that this book was written toward the end of his life than at an earlier time; Kaiser writes, “Therefore, given the Solomonic authorship of the book, it will be best placed not before his apostasy, for the questions and sins of Ecclesiastes did not trouble him then, nor during his years of rebellion, for then he had no occasion to use the language of spiritual things. Ecclesiastes was best placed after his apostasy, when both his recent turmoil and repentance were still fresh in his mind (Malick, p1).” This website has other useful material concerning all Old Testament Scriptures. 14. The course material that I found enlightening was Wiersbe. His commentary discussed the book of Song of Songs not only on the surface, but also on a deeper level. I enjoyed the way he described the relationship between Christ and the Church. There are so many parallels between our earthly relationship with our wives and our heavenly relationship with Christ Jesus. 15. One student in particular mentioned how the Book of Ecclesiastes causes us to reflect on our lives. In some way, Ecclesiastes relates to the way we either think now or used to think. When we see the way Christ has changed our thinking from futile wisdom of man to thinking and ruminating on the things of God, we see God’s grace in abundance and the way we were helpless and deprived in our previous lives. Now that we are in Christ, we can see and have the blessed hope of eternal life with Him. 16. This week’s readings showed God’s wisdom in comparison to man’s empty philosophy. The book of Ecclesiastes shows that man, ever since the creation of the world, has searched for happiness. The things of this world will all pass away. Consequently, we must put our faith in Christ, our eternal God and Savior. The other book, Song of Songs, shows how sex in marriage is honorable in the eyes of the Lord. Furthermore, the scripture shows the beautiful relationship between husband and wife. Therefore, we see a parallel between the bride (the church) and the Bridegroom (Christ). Our earthly relationship is based on a deep love from the heart. As well, our relationship with God through Christ Jesus is based on a deep and true love from the heart. Work cited Malick, D. (2009).Old Testament Gateway. Retrieved 19th February, 2010, from http://bible.org/article/introduction-book-ecclesiastes Read More