Doctrinal Study: The Meaning and Purpose of Life based on Solomon's reflection in Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes is an interesting specimen to study and dissect. Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon as he was reflecting back on his life. The most proper phrase in Ecclesiastes is “Vanity, Vanity, Everything on Earth is Vanity.” The Main purpose of writing Ecclesiastes is saying that the meaning of life is not found in Earthly things, but found in heavenly things. The Key verse in Ecclesiastes is found in the last chapter of the book, when he delivers the punch line to his book. This Doctrinal Study will be focusing on the Purpose of Life and how Solomon purpose was found not in earthly things, but in God, the savior of the World.

Solomon had everything—fame, wealth, and above all Wisdom. However, he did not find meaning in anything. He even tried to self-indulge himself, however that did not give his life purpose. He was discouraged and cried out in laments because he was trying to find his purpose in life.

He finally recognizes that the meaning of life is found in God alone. He finally concluded, “The end of the matter; All has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14 ESV). This leads us to the doctrinal theme of the book the purpose of life is to Fear God in a reverent fear and keep his statues which is found in the word of God.

This doctrinal theme is important for the 21st century Americans. On many occasions, in the Hollywood Culture, we have seen many actors turn away from God and seeking after vanity. These vanity includes, changing our identity to be nonbinary, drugs, and Alcohol. The Biggest struggle for Solomon is his Alcohol addictions and his lest for woman. I believe it is recorded that Solomon had over 700 concubines, but I might be wrong. After his life was up, he reminced his life and found that his lust for woman, lust for pride, and lust for alcohol is vanity. The true meaning of life is by fearing God and seeking after God’s commandments.

In Today’s Culture, Demi Lovato, who is a well-known actress for playing Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2 the Final Jam. She was a very good actress, until that day she decided to be nonbinary. Instead of seeking God’s meaning and purpose in life, She decided to seek her own self and become nonbinary. Nonbinary means that she does not ascribe to being male nor female. This is wrong. However, she believed in vanity and caused her view to shift towards her own personal identity. This makes me sad. I grew up watching Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2. They were clean and nice. When Demi Lovato grew up, she decided to go away from her original purpose in God’s creation and pursue a Counterfeit Gospel. She did not fear God and seek after God’s commandments and this caused her to shift. Before we can deal with her symptom, we need to deal with her heart condition and her heart condition is bad. Solomon is right in that the first method to growing in the Knowledge of God is by fearing God and fearing the punishment of sin. Since Demi Lovato willingly rejected God’s original purpose for her life, she is now on the trajectory of going to Hell. I am not saying this meanly. I am also a sinner and sometimes I sin before God but I repent and draw closer to God as a result.

Here is a personal example of how when you pursue God, God can protect you from the punishments in some instances. Also, I found that my identity does not rest in being a person-pleaser but a God-pleaser. We need to do everything to the glory of God who is in us.

One day as I was on my way home from Friends University, I was stopped behind 10-15 cars, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to get into the other lane. I checked my blindspot 3 times, yet I did not see that white truck. So, I sideswiped him on accident. It was my first wreck. After I sideswiped him, I moved in the shoulder and waited in the truck for a little bit. Then I got out. Then, He knew that he was speeding. I knew that I was at fault for wrecking into him. As a result, we decided not to file a police report and my insurance did not peak. This was awesome. Even though I deserved a punishment, God enabled me to not endure the consequences of wrecking into the Truck. The man was very gracious and nice. I was really happy. I felt like an Angel was watching over me. This is an example of grace and how when you pursue God, he will spiritually bless you by providing you salvation and forgiveness of your sins (1 John 1:9).

In Conclusion, Solomon found his purpose to be fearing God and keeping his statues. As we have seen in this short paper, Solomon did not find his identity in things. However, he found his identity in fearing God and keeping God’s statues.