Life Under the Sun: The Unexpectedly Good News of Ecclesiastesنموونە

The first verse of Ecclesiastes tells us that we will be reading the words of “the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.” But if we are reading the words of the Teacher, who wrote the words that tell us we are reading the Teacher’s words? Who is quoting the Teacher? Exactly who are we listening to?

Scholars believe that Ecclesiastes is best understood as an example of frame literature or a “story-within-a-story.” In frame literature, the main part of the book or essay is wrapped by an introduction and conclusion which is often voiced by someone other than the main speaker. Ecclesiastes opens and closes with a Narrator framing the words of the Teacher.

Ecclesiastes opens with the Narrator introducing the Teacher and his work. It ends with the Narrator summarizing the message of the book that holds “the words of the Teacher.” But we still haven’t answered a pretty basic question: Who is the Teacher?

Traditionally, Solomon has been identified as the Teacher. However, the Bible does not explicitly name Solomon as the Teacher even though it does name him as the author of other wisdom literature. (See Prov. 1:1.) To complicate things even further, some textual inconsistencies make it difficult to definitely claim Solomon is the Teacher. Consequently, the writer of Ecclesiastes technically remains anonymous.

The goal of Ecclesiastes is to provide timeless wisdom to the reader about how to live life under the sun. Keeping the Teacher anonymous helps achieve this goal because the Teacher’s wisdom cannot be restricted to a specific time and place. This keeps the book’s message surprisingly fresh and relevant. The Teacher becomes a kind of “everyman” who gives voice to the struggles we all experience—regardless of where we sit in human history.

We’re going to need the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to understand the message and application of Ecclesiastes. We’ll face questions we didn’t know we had and hopefully find answers for ones we do. Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, and ask God to grant you the insight and perspective that you need to understand His words in Ecclesiastes and how they may apply to you today.