… then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it. – Ecclesiastes 8:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 3, 2016): Ecclesiastes 8

In Monty Python’s “The Meaning of Life,” the meaning of life is given at the end of the film in an envelope handed to one of the characters who then reads it to the audience. "Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."

Douglas Adams in his book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” insists that the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is “42.” In the book, the answer is derived by a supercomputer named “Deep Thought” which spent seven and a half million years considering the question. Of course, 42 does not sound like much of an answer and the people are disappointed in the computer’s performance, to which the Deep Thought replies; “I think the problem, to be honest with you, is that you have never actually known what the question is.”

Knowing the question would seem to be important. And it is the question with which Solomon seems to be struggling. Scholars have noted that Solomon was not a very good king. For all of his wisdom, his thoughts were not very focused. He built the first Temple, but most of the dreaming and preparation had been done by his Dad. Solomon seemed to lack purpose and ultimately sowed the seeds for the civil conflict that would end up dividing the nation during the reign of his son. Much of what we find in the book of Ecclesiastes seems to be Solomon struggling to find answers to some far-reaching questions growing out of his own inadequacy. Why was he king, instead of one of his older brothers? Why was he alive, when a few of his brothers were dead, and his older full brother never lived past childhood? How could he ever live up to the kind of man that his dad was? What was the essential difference between the king and the slave? Why is it that he should be so blessed in this life?

Each question was a hard one – and an unanswerable one. And so Solomon declares that even the wise cannot understand the meaning of life – because even the wise cannot answer his questions. In the mind of Solomon, God seems to unaware of the trials and efforts given “under the sun.” He does not react the way that Solomon believes that he should. After all, God had made Solomon King.

We still wrestle with all of Solomon’s questions. We believe that at some point, maybe after this drama on the earth has been played past the final act, that there will be an accounting. But meaning might be beyond our ability to understand. Monty Python might have it right. And he might be rephrased this way. “Meaning to life can only be found when we make the most of the opportunities that God has given to us. After all, that is the way that we can truly glorify Him.”

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 9