Life Under the Sun

ONE way to understand the enigmatic Book of Ecclesiastes is to read it as a contrast between two very different outlooks on life—either acknowledging and depending on God, or failing to do so.

Failing to honor God is life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:3, 9, 14; 2:11, 17), “on earth” (Ecclesiastes 1:4; 5:2; 8:14), and “under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 1:13). It is a life filled with pain, toil, disillusionment, and sadness. By contrast, living life in relationship to God is to live by the “hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24), which leads to harmony and joy (Ecclesiastes 2:26; 3:13; 5:19).

These opposing lifestyles are similar to the contrasting lives that Adam and Eve lived before and after sinning. Originally, all of creation was good (Genesis 1:26-31) and there was no shame between man and woman (Genesis 2:24-25). But after the first couple’s rebellion (Genesis 3:1-7), the history was filled with pain and toil (Genesis 3:8-24), murder (Genesis 4:1-24), rampant evil (Genesis 6:5-7), drunkenness, shame, and curses (Genesis 9:20-27), and ultimately worldwide confusion (Genesis 11:1-9). The world that God had designed for people’s good became evil and destructive.

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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