Part 1 of a 3-part focus on the story of Jonah and its relationship to our calling as modern-day believers to go into the ends of the earth and preach the gospel.

The fundamental reality of Scripture is that God is king of the world. We will trace the theme of the kingdom of God throughout the Old Testament, with examples from Adam and Eve, Samuel and the judges, King Saul and King David, the prophets and exile, Daniel’s apocalyptic, and Messianic expectations.

Part 1 of a 3-part focus on the story of Jonah and its relationship to our calling as modern-day believers to go into the ends of the earth and preach the gospel.

The fundamental reality of Scripture is that God is king of the world. We will trace the theme of the kingdom of God throughout the Old Testament, with examples from Adam and Eve, Samuel and the judges, King Saul and King David, the prophets and exile, Daniel’s apocalyptic, and Messianic expectations.

Many scholars believe that Ecclesiastes is edited by a narrator, who takes the questions assembled by the Teacher (Qoholet) and reframes them with some qualification. Chapter 12 is often seen as the ultimate reframing of the entire book of Ecclesiastes around the question: what is the most important thing in life?

Ecclesiastes falls within the wisdom writings, grouped along with other books in the Hebrew Bible in the Ketuvim. More specifically, Ecclesiastes is one of the five Megillot, connected with the festival of Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths. Throughout the book, the writer wrestles with how to find real wisdom. In a world where truth is up for grabs, where is real wisdom found?

We all at one time wrestle with the question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” The writer of Ecclesiastes is no different: “There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 8:14). Is there meaning in all this, or is life just random?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The litany of different seasons the Teacher explores can make it seem like life merely undulates along a path over which we have little control over and in which we may struggle to find meaning. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). Are we stuck in an endless cycle or is there something more?

The first few chapters of Ecclesiastes explore various pursuits in life, showing how any of them might become meaningless for us. Whether it’s the pursuit of pleasure, hard work, knowledge, or riches, any of these things apart from God can become sources of dissatisfaction. So, what can truly satisfy us?

One of the most pervasive themes in Ecclesiastes is what can seem like the apparent meaninglessness of life. The very beginning of the book centers on this theme: “Meaningless! Meaningless!’, says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless’” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). We can all feel like this sometimes. So, is life meaningless or meaningful?