1. Ecclesiastes 7:16. How can we be too righteous and ruin our life?

We have all known people who took “religion” too far. There were strict Jews who died on the Sabbath rather than defend themselves against an enemy. Customs arise within the religious community that the over-scrupulous feel they must obey. There are legalistic restrictions which seem to come from the Scriptures but which do not. There are those in the “ministry” who have ruined their lives by neglecting their family responsibilities in the name of “serving Jesus.” Oh the list goes on. The call is not to lukewarmness or compromise, but to a walk in the Spirit. One can never be too much into God, but we all are susceptible to hearing things that God never said and doing them with all of our heart, only to find there was no fruit in it at all, at least not good fruit.

2. Ecclesiastes 8:15. Eat, drink, and be merry? And, this life is all there is?

Jesus told a story about a man who decided to live by Solomon’s advice, or so the man thought. Jesus called that man a fool. Yet Solomon was considered the most wise man of all, was he not?

No, he was not. Jesus made it clear that a greater than Solomon had arrived (Luke 11:31). So, yes, if for this life only we must live, that is, if “under the sun” is all we have in view, living it to its full should be the measure. This is the “wisdom” of this world, and Solomon was full of that wisdom. But Jesus was greater and could see farther. If for this life only we live, we now are considered fools. For there is an eternity after all. Under the sun is not the whole picture after all. Being rich and wise toward God is far better a goal now, since the “greater than Solomon has been speaking to us.

So we must take “the wisdom of Solomon” very cautiously, here and in other passages, knowing that Jesus Christ must have the last say in these matters.

It must be added here that Solomon was no atheist. He truly believed in, and early-on, served the God of Heaven. He was blessed with great riches and saw no problem with them, recommending them to all. But the correction and limitation that Jesus gives to Solomon’s teachings are vital for our success as believers.

Riches may come and go in your life. Set not your heart on them, neither condemn them in yourself and others, but always keep focused on the Giver, not the Gift.

3. Ecclesiastes 8:16. Never sleep?

Two possibilities here. Solomon is either saying that he observed that some people in doing their various busy tasks, and seeking the best answers to life, don’t even take time to sleep, or he is commenting on his own long search for the truth about life which kept him up day and night. Verse 17 comments that no matter how hard people work at it, figuring out life is a thankless task.

4. Ecclesiastes 9:2-6. Same fate for all? The dead have no knowledge?

Asaph the Psalmist took Solomon’s view a bit farther. Solomon is looking here only at human bodies, graveyards, and the constant disappearing of people from the earth and saying, there’s no difference. 100% of the human race is going to die, no matter what!

Asaph could see their end (Psalm 73) and could see that evil men will indeed pay a serious price for their playing with God.

It’s all a matter of perspective. Though Ecclesiastes is a true account of a King of Israel, it is a king who sees only part of the truth at times, and cannot visualize things that are not “under the sun.” It is human, temporal life of which he speaks.

Physically speaking, the dead are dead. Their bodies disintegrate. Their fine brains turn to dust. He speaks of their soul later in the book, but not here.

5. Ecclesiastes 9:11. There is no use trying?