Purpose and Process

Purpose

Early in Ecclesiastes, Solomon tells us what he tried to accomplish.

I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. (2:3)

He wanted to find and share the best way for people to live. He repeats this idea later in the book: “For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow… (6:12)?” Solomon wanted to figure out what makes life worthwhile. He could then turn to his readers and say, “Listen, this is how you should live.” 

Both passages use the phrase all the days of his life. Solomon wasn’t looking for hacks that might improve life under certain circumstances. He sought a unified theory of life, a human heuristic [A commonsense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem.] everyone could apply. Put another way, Solomon wanted to know what would profit people. That question permeates Ecclesiastes. 

• What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? (1:3) 
• For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart… (2:22)
• What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? (3:9)
• …what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? (5:16)

Solomon tells us about his servants and cattle (2:7), silver and gold (2:8), and how he increased more than all who were before him in Jerusalem (2:9). We’d say Solomon’s ventures were profitable. But that wasn’t Solomon’s idea of profit. We know that because he tells us none of it profited him:

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. (2:11)

Solomon sought fulfillment, meaning and purpose. He was asking, “What makes life worth living?” Clearly, his answer wasn’t more stuff. That tracks with what Jesus said. Christ’s offer of life more abundantly (Joh 10:10) wasn’t a promise to load us up with material possessions. That’s not abundant life according to Jesus:

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (Luk 12:15)

Process

How did Solomon try to figure out life’s meaning? What tools and techniques did he use to reach his conclusions? Knowing Solomon’s research methods helps us see what’s profitable and what’s problematic. (We’ll consider the problems in the next chapter.) In summary, Solomon used:

• Experience and Experiment
• Observation
• Contemplation and Reason

Experience and Experiment

Much of Solomon’s data comes from personal experience. Here are examples from chapter two that reveal how much his own experience factored into his quest (2:4-8):

• I made me great works; 
• I builded me houses; 
• I planted me vineyards
• I made me gardens and orchards
• I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits
• I made me pools of water
• I got me servants and maidens
• I had great possessions of great and small cattle
• I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings
• I gat me men singers and women singers

As we all do, Solomon drew conclusions about life from personal experience. He considered the meaning of his experience up to that point. But some proposed pathways to purpose remained to be explored. 

So Solomon also did things outside his normal experience to see if they had value. He sought first-hand experience of everything. He tested every idea practically. He tried new things:

I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. (2:1)

I will prove thee with mirth, was future tense. That is, he would do in the future what he hadn’t done in the past. He did this with other experiences.

I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. (2:3)

The phrases give my self unto and lay hold on speak of experiencing these things personally and fully. He asked, “What happens if I let wine flow freely in my life?” “What happens if I behave foolishly? Maybe being open to anything, no matter how foolish it seems, is the path to purpose.” Maybe those who say, “If it feels good, do it,” are onto something. He decided to find out for himself.

Solomon put every theory to the test, no matter how unlikely it was to produce a positive outcome. No one could tell him, “Don’t knock it until you try it.” He could honestly reply, “Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.”

Observation

I don’t have to run with the bulls at Pamplona to decide it’s a bad idea. Seeing participants trampled and gored tells me all I need to know. Solomon didn’t have to learn everything the hard way. He was wise enough to leverage the experiences of others. He learned by seeing what they did and how it turned out. Phrases like I have seen, I saw, I looked, or I beheld appear twenty-seven times over twelve chapters. Solomon leaned hard on what he could observe.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. (Ecc 1:14)

He records what he could see under the sun. The phrase appears twenty-seven times in Ecclesiastes and refers to what is observable. Nothing done in darkness. Nothing of the spirit realm here. Every time he uses this phrase, Solomon is basically saying, “If you don’t believe me, see for yourself. The evidence is there for anyone willing to look.”

Contemplation and Reason

Solomon thought deeply about the significance of his experience, experiments, and observations. Self-talk and contemplation abound in Ecclesiastes.

• And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven… (1:13)
• I communed with mine own heart, saying… (1:16)
• And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived… (1:17)
• I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee… (2:1)
• I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things… (7:25)

Solomon brought impressive tools to bear on the question of meaning. His unparalleled wisdom, wealth, and power positioned him to fully explore the human condition. He was ideally equipped to discover the secrets of living with purpose. Despite his supreme qualifications, though, his approach had limitations and problems. We’ll consider those in the next chapter.