The Book of Ecclesiastes.
Author:
Ecclesiastes is written by King Solomon, Israel’s oldest and wisest king.
Audience:
King Solomon is writing to the people in his kingdom.
Purpose:
Ecclesiastes is written to share how meaningless life is when we live apart from God. Ecclesiastes is raw and authentic. It is written in a voice that we can be uncomfortable hearing. However, it lets us be okay when we are not okay. It lets us sit in the fullness of how we feel without demonizing ourselves and reflect. It is from this position of power, that we can make lasting life changes.
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 NIV
King Solomon is saying he indulged all pleasures he could think of; and it all felt meaningless to him.
“‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?’
I said to myself,
‘This too is meaningless.’
For the wise, like the fool, will not be remembered;
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!”
Ecclesiastes 2:15-16 NIV
King Solomon states that being wise is better than being a fool, but neither matter, because we die. Our wisdom and our foolishness will die with us.
The Book of Luke
Author:
Luke was written by Luke, a Gentile Physician. It is the only book of the Bible written by a Gentile.
Audience:
Luke was written to the Gentiles.
Purpose:
Luke was written to present Jesus as perfectly human and perfectly our Savior. When we read the book of Luke, we are reading about the life of Jesus, his example of living, and his ministry.
“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.”
Luke 5:1-3 NIV
When we read the Biblical stories, we should ask ourselves the following questions:
Who are they?
What can they represent?
Simon is a fisherman. He is back from fishing and Jesus just got into his boat and is directing Simon. What can this represent? Simon can be us when we begin our relationship with God.
“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’
Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'”
Luke 5:4-5 NIV
Simon has been fishing all night and he doesn’t catch anything. Jesus asks him to do it again. Simon responds with obedience and trust. Obedience and trust are faith. I think most of us let Jesus on the boat, but we do we let him drive.? God is directing Simon to do the thing that he is already proficient at doing. It is the thing that he doesn’t need God’s help to do. God is directing Simon and Simon responds by being obedient.
“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full they began to sink.”
Luke 5:6-7 NIV
Simon is doing the thing that Jesus is directing him to do. He is doing the thing that was unproductive the night before. He fishes where Jesus takes him to and at the time that Jesus directs him to. The result is an abundance that he has to share. Luke is describing for us favor. When we are in full submission, our favor blesses us and others!
“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'”
Luke 5:8 NIV
Peter was blessed and favored by God, and he responds by feeling unworthy. We all struggle with unworthiness. We all struggle with being seen, accepted, and valued for who we are as people. However, God loves us and sees us. Blessings and favor come from God, and it’s not because of who we are. It comes from our ability to submit, follow God, and be obedient.
“Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed him.”
Luke 5:10-11 NIV
Simon found purpose in God. God uses the thing that we may not be successful at. He uses for His purpose, things that we are good at doing. God uses Simon’s strengths for kingdom building.
