---

Welcome to another installment of “Well That’s Interesting” (you can find the first post with a detailed explanation of the series here, or bookmark this page to keep track of the whole series).

---

You may have noticed right off the bat from the title that I’ve done something with today’s post that I generally discourage, by cherry-picking a couple different, individual verses for us to study in lieu of an entire section. When I knew I wanted to write on Ecclesiastes, I spent some time trying to pick a passage, considering a number of different verses that fall within my (admittedly) vague criteria of “interesting”. However, every time I tried to land on one section, the context led me to another, and that to another, until the options were: abandon the book and start over, write on multiple chapters, or do what I did today and choose a couple verses that highlight or summarize some of the themes I wanted to explore.

Suffice to say, today’s post may read a bit differently than usual, as I won’t be going as in-depth into the context and background of the text as usual. Instead, maybe view today’s post as an appetizer to whet your appetite, or a springboard to help you dive into your own study on this incredible Old Testament book.

Some Background

Now, with all of that being said, I’d be remiss if I ignored the background explanation entirely. Just let me reiterate that this is a primer at best, and would be woefully incomplete as a picture of Ecclesiastes as a whole. The verses I picked for today are not entirely unrelated to each other, and in fact, they serve almost as bookends to Solomon’s concluding remarks (with the latter two actually being the last verses of the book). I’ll include them here, but I highly recommend taking some time with a hard-copy Bible, where you can have chapter 11 and 12 open together to read and see how the verses flow into each other. But let’s start by taking a moment to read today’s verses:

Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 NASB

The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 NASB

If you’ve spent any time following this blog or studying the Bible, I’m sure you noticed the recurring theme in these verses: judgement. It’s a topic I’ve found myself unintentionally writing about quite often, possibly because it’s a term with some seriously negative yet misunderstood connotations, and often, it is a major theme of some very interesting Bible passages. But before we get into that, let’s consider these verses in connection with some of the themes of Ecclesiastes as a whole.

Throughout the book, Solomon presents a picture of what it looks like to live your life and view the world in light of God’s reality. He does so through a series of rhetorical questions, bold philosophical statements, and poetic illustrations which encapsulate a wide range of emotions. There are times when it can feel as though he is ping-ponging back and forth between euphoria and depression as he wrestles through his purpose, experiences, and existence. This can be commonly noted in the fact that passages from this book are often read at both weddings and funerals (not usually the same passages, but still!) As such, it can be confusing when in one passage Solomon refers to something as “meaningless” or “futile”, yet later seems to be making the case that the same referent ought to be a primary focus of our time here on Earth.

What can make matters even more difficult is the fact that Ecclesiastes is an Old Testament book. That is to say, it’s clear that Solomon emphasizes engaging in certain actions with a pre-messianic view that life is short and death is inevitable (see 11:8 or 12:1 for example). However, some use this fact to dismiss this writing as useless or irrelevant, since New Testament believers ought to live their earthly life in light of eternity (for more on the topic of our eternal future impacting our present, check out an excellent podcast on eschatology here, featuring Dr. Paul Benware ).

To consider Ecclesiastes (or any Old Testament book) as irrelevant for Christians is incredibly unfortunate, and betrays a drastic mischaracterization and misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration with regards to the divine authorship of scripture. A (very oversimplified) summary of Solomon’s perspective here might be: “Enjoy life and work hard, because you don’t know how much time you have left in this life“, referring to the inevitability of death. Yet I would argue these principles are still relevant to a New Testament believer who applies the same statement, referring to the coming of eternity. That is to say, whether in view of death or a view of eternal life, the reality still stands that we don’t know how much time we have left in this life.

Remember that time when I said “I won’t be going as in-depth into the context and background of the text as usual”? I honestly believed that when I started writing. Perhaps a more accurate statement might have been “the lines between background, context, and the meat of the post will be more blurry than usual”. Let’s go back to today’s first verse.

THAT’S in the Bible?!

Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes.

Ecclesiastes 11:9a NASB

This is the verse that ultimately drew my attention to this section of Ecclesiastes. What a fascinating statement to make, that, at first glance, seems to fly in the face of so much of what we know and believe about Christianity. But, of course, that’s only when you miss the second half of the verse:

Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

Ecclesiastes 11:9b NASB

So rather than a statement on pursuing selfish, hedonistic pleasure and youthful lusts as it might appear (keeping in mind 2 Tim. 2:22 makes very clear the Bible’s stance on such things), it is more-so an invitation to enjoy the pleasures of this life within the realm of what God has said is good. Herein lies why I included the second set of verses for study today. A statement like “God will bring you to judgment for all these things” can carry with it quite the negative tone, when one considers the way that most people talk about judgement these days. It can make it seem as though Solomon is saying something like “Sure, pursue your heart’s impulses, and your eyes’ desires. But you will suffer the consequences.” But let’s go back to the way Ecclesiastes ends, in 12:14.

For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 NASB

God’s judgement isn’t just about punishing humans for their wrongdoings, but it refers to rewards for the good actions as well. Obedience and faithfulness. The reality is that everything we say and do (and even think) in this life, in public or in private, will be judged by God. Of course that carries negativity when we think about how sinful we don’t want to admit that we are. But it is also a statement of wonder and excitement, first of all when we understand the freedom granted to us in knowing our salvation has been secured by Christ and isn’t a matter of weighing divine scales. And second, when we appreciate what it is that people like Solomon are getting at: there are pleasures in this life that are good!

Now, if “judgement” has negative connotations, it may only be equaled in comparison with the words “pleasure” and “desire”. Maybe I’m reading too much into things, or making too many assumptions, but for me it can be hard to read words like these without my own preconceived notions creeping in. Again, maybe this isn’t the case for you, but after years of my life being taught the legalism focused on “what not to do”, I have ingrained in me that “pleasure” and “desires” refer to something selfish, inappropriate, and misguided. Definitely not something to be pursued, or “followed” as Solomon writes in 11:9! At that is true, if our pleasures and desires are selfish, inappropriate, or misguided. But part of what Ecclesiastes is getting at is the reality that God, who created us and the world we live in, created pleasures and desires that are not sinful, and are to be enjoyed!

And so again we loop back to the beginning, to the fact that Solomon is encouraging his readers, in view of the unknowns of this life and the certainties of God, to enjoy themselves! To rejoice in the freedom which God has given them! But to do so within the bounds which God has put in place, knowing that he sees, and will ultimately judge, all. Or as Solomon writes in 12:13,

The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB

To put it somewhat flippantly, it’s his world, we’re just living in it! And yet he has invited us to truly live in it, following the passions, pleasures, and desires that he has given us to enjoy, as long as we are following his commandments. We need to crush within us the notion that following God and being obedient is boring, dull, or joyless; and that enjoying the pleasures that God has given us in this life must mean we are doing something wrong.

Why Does it Matter?

Once again, I feel like the sections of this post have sort of been blending in together, and I question whether I even need a “Why Does it Matter” portion. So allow me to instead end with an illustration.

Imagine a child whose parents get him a fresh, new basketball. They explain to him that a gift like this obviously comes with rules and responsibilities: he can’t miss his homework or dinner to shoot hoops, and he obviously shouldn’t use the ball violently by throwing it at his siblings. Now imagine, having heard the rules, that the child takes his fresh new basketball, and stashes it on the shelf, never to be played with. Put aside and deflated. The child would obviously be missing out on the meaning of the gift.

God created the world. He gave us life, and from the very beginning has given clear and specific instructions and responsibilities (cf. Gen. 2:16–17). But if those instructions keep us from enjoying that which God has given us, we too, are missing out. Now, of course for believers, there is an infinitely better gift coming in the future, but in the meantime let’s enjoy what we’ve been given!