Who Wrote This Book:  It is believed that Solomon is the author of this book, a belief supported by the following references within the writings:

1.  The author identifies himself as "the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (1:1; see also 1:12).

2.  His wisdom.  He describes himself as having "magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me" (1:16).

3.  His building activities.  He tells of building houses, planting vineyards, making gardens and parks and irrigating an entire forest.

4.  His wealth.  He relates the greatness of his wealth, stating twice that it was more than all who preceded him in Jerusalem (2:7; 2:9).

 Date of Writing:  Assuming that Solomon is indeed the author, the book would have been written around 945 B.C., apparently during the latter part of Solomon's life.

Why It Was Written: 

Solomon was one of the greatest of the Hebrew kings; his reign was one of peace and prosperity.  It has been said that what David won through war, Solomon preserved through peace.  And yet, there was a dark side to Solomon's reign.  With all of his reputed wisdom, he found himself turning away from the Lord.  This process began very gradually.  Solomon entered into marital alliances with the surrounding countries, taking as his wives the royal daughters from pagan nations.  As those wives came to Israel, they brought with them their pagan gods and accompanying worship practices.

Ecclesiastes is the journal of a man's search for meaning in life.  Much of that search takes place apart from God, with the ultimate conclusion that life apart from God is empty.

     1.  Ecclesiastes 1:2, 14 expresses the futility of life "under the sun".  Life without God is meaningless.  When we take God out of the equation, the world makes absolutely no sense.  A person is born in one hospital and dies in another hospital and what happens in the "between time" doesn't change either of those facts.  To make matters worse, the world is a bad place; life is often unjust.  Good people suffer and bad people prosper.

     2. The importance of serving God throughout life is revealed in verses 11:9 - 12:1, 13-14.  The author shows that the meaning of life is not to be found in experiencing the things of this world. True meaning is found only in serving the Creator.

Facts: 

The title Ecclesiastes is taken from the very first sentence of the book - "the words of the PREACHER."  The Qahal is the assembly, the congregation; the Qohelet is the one who addresses that assembly.

Ecclesiastes is essentially a sermon that includes both bad news and good news. The "bad news" arises from the fact that the Preacher does not given simple ‘pat’ answers to complex problems.  Instead, one must read, study and commune with God on such issues.

Ecclesiastes contains a total of 222 verses. In the Bible, the number two is the number of division. Therefore, 222 indicates great division just as 666 is the number of man in Revelation 13:18. The book of Ecclesiastes prominently displays the separation between heaven and earth. Compare this to the second day of creation. On that day (day number two) the firmament was created to divide between the heaven and earth. And, just as on this day God never declared His creation to be good, so the book of Ecclesiastes is clearly the most pessimistic book of the Bible.

Key Words and Phrases:

Ecclesiastes is one of five books known as the Megilloth - the "Rolls".  These five books are read at special feast days throughout the year.

The focus of this book is to show that nothing in this life will satisfy the needs of man's heart. Only the enjoyment and the service of God will bring lasting happiness.

Where is the wise man?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  (1 Corinthians 1:20).

This passage in Corinthians restates the same message brought in Ecclesiastes hundreds of years earlier.  It teaches us that the wisdom of the world does not bring true knowledge.

Our wisdom is founded in Christ; and the Gospel is the wisdom and the power of God. The ultimate answers to questions raised in Ecclesiastes are found through Jesus Christ.

 Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

 ¹ There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 ² a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal, 
a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.