Bible Buk Namba 21—Ecclesiastes
Man wea Raetem: Solomon
Ples Hem Raetem: Jerusalem
Taem Hem Finis Raetem: Bifor 1000 B.C.E.
OLKETA raetem buk bilong Ecclesiastes for wanfala spesol reason. Solomon, olsem leader bilong pipol wea dedicate long Jehovah, garem responsibility for keepim olketa tugeta for faithful long dedication bilong olketa. Hem lukaotem wei for fulfillim disfala responsibility thru long wise kaonsel bilong Ecclesiastes.
2 Long Ecclesiastes 1:1, Solomon storyim hemseleva olsem “man for kolem kam pipol.” Long Hebrew languis disfala word hem Qo·heʹleth, and long Hebrew Bible, olketa iusim nem hia for nemem datfala buk. Greek Septuagint givim datfala title olsem Ek·kle·si·a·stesʹ, wea minim “member bilong wanfala ecclesia (kongregeson; assembly),” wea datfala English nem Ecclesiastes hem kam from. Bat, hem moabeta for transleitim Qo·heʹleth olsem “Man for kolem kam pipol,” and diswan tu hem nem wea barava fitim Solomon. Hem showimaot goal bilong Solomon for raetem disfala buk.
3 Long wanem wei nao King Solomon hem man for kolem kam pipol, and wanem nao hem duim for kolem pipol kam? Hem wanfala man for kolem kam pipol bilong hem, olketa Israelite, and olketa fren bilong olketa, pipol wea stap for lelebet taem. Hem kolem kam olketa hia for worshipim God bilong hem, Jehovah. Firstaem hem buildim temple bilong Jehovah long Jerusalem, and long dedication bilong temple hem hipimap tugeta, or kolem kam, evriwan for worshipim God. (1 Ki. 8:1) Thru long Ecclesiastes, hem lukaotem wei for kolem kam pipol bilong hem for duim olketa gudfala waka and tanawe from olketa waka bilong disfala world wea iusles, no givim eni gud samting.—Eccl. 12:8-10.
4 Nomata olketa no talem nem bilong Solomon, samfala part bilong disfala buk hem showimaot klia hao hem nao man wea raetem Ecclesiastes. Datfala man wea kolem kam pipol introducem hemseleva olsem “son bilong David” wea “king ovarem Israel long Jerusalem.” Diswan fitim King Solomon nomoa, from olketa king wea changem hem long Jerusalem olketa king ovarem Judah nomoa. And tu, olsem datfala man for kolem kam pipol raetem: “Miseleva kasem moa wisdom winim eniwan wea stap bifor mi long Jerusalem, and heart bilong mi garem staka wisdom and savve.” (1:1, 12, 16) Diswan fitim Solomon nomoa. Ecclesiastes 12:9 talem iumi hao “hem ting raonem and barava lukaotem, mekem hem savve putim olketa proverb followim order.” King Solomon talemaot 3,000 proverb. (1 Ki. 4:32) Ecclesiastes 2:4-9 storyim building program bilong man wea raetem; olketa grape plantation, garden and park; wata system; wei wea hem arrangem man servant and gele servant; wei wea hem kasem silver and gold; and olketa nara samting wea hem win for duim. Solomon nao duim evri samting hia. Taem queen bilong Sheba lukim wisdom and gudfala living bilong Solomon, hem sei: “Olketa no talem mi full story.”—1 Ki. 10:7.
5 Datfala buk showimaot hao Jerusalem nao hem ples wea hem raetem taem hem sei datfala man for kolem kam pipol hem king “long Jerusalem.” Taem hia mas bifor year 1000 B.C.E., insaed long 40-year rul bilong Solomon, bihaen hem aftarem plande samting wea olketa storyim insaed datfala buk bat bifor hem foldaon long wei for worshipim olketa idol. Kam kasem distaem hem kasem finis bigfala savve abaotem waka bilong disfala world and wei for aftarem olketa material samting. Long datfala taem God hem still hapi long hem and iusim hem.
6 Hao nao iumi sure Ecclesiastes hem “kam from God”? Samfala maet daotem wei wea hem kam from God bikos no enitaem hem talem nem bilong God, Jehovah. Bat, hem sapotim trufala worship bilong God, and evritaem hem iusim datfala toktok ha·’Elo·himʹ, “datfala tru God.” Nara samting wea pipol maet iusim for againstim hem tu hem wei wea olketa nara Bible buk nating talem moa toktok bilong Ecclesiastes. Bat, olketa teaching and principle wea olketa raetem insaed datfala buk hem barava fit witim olketa kaonsel insaed Scripture. Commentary bilong Clarke, Volume III, page 799, hem sei: “Olketa Jew and Christian Church evriwan acceptim datfala buk, wea garem title Koheleth, or Ecclesiastes, olsem hem kam from Olmaeti; and olketa tingim olsem barava part bilong holy Scripture.”
7 Pipol wea tok daonem and garem wisdom bilong disfala world sei Ecclesiastes hem no raeting bilong Solomon or hem no wanfala tru part bilong “evri Scripture,” from olketa sei toktok and tingting wea hem iusim hem bilong taem bihaen. Olketa no tingim staka information wea Solomon kasem thru long wei wea hem duim bisnis, and from olketa important man wea travel and olketa narafala wei wea hem kaban witim pipol long farawe ples long world. (1 Ki. 4:30, 34; 9:26-28; 10:1, 23, 24) Olsem F. C. Cook insaed Bible Commentary bilong hem, Volume IV, page 622, hem raet: “Waka and samting wea datfala nambawan Hebrew king hem chus for aftarem mas tekem hem go farawe and ovarem spialaen bilong Hebrew laef, tingting and languis.”
8 Bat, waswe, iumi really need for iusim olketa difren wei olsem for trae pruvim hao Ecclesiastes hem part bilong Bible? Wei for lukluk gud insaed disfala buk bae showimaot wei wea olketa toktok insaed hem wan mind bat tu wei wea hem wan mind fitim full Bible, buk wea hem part long hem.
WEI WEA HEM HELPEM IUMI
15 No olsem wanfala buk wea storyim nogud saed, Ecclesiastes hem fulap witim olketa nambawan samting abaotem wisdom bilong God. Taem hem listim olketa samting wea hem duim wea hem kolem iusles, Solomon no sei datfala building bilong temple bilong Jehovah long Maunt Moriah long Jerusalem hem insaed diswan, or klinfala worship bilong Jehovah. Hem nating storyim present bilong laef wea God givim olsem iusles, bat hem showimaot hao diswan hem for mekem man hapi and duim gudfala samting. (3:12, 13; 5:18-20; 8:15) Olketa waka wea no followim God nao bringim bigfala trabol. Wanfala dadi maet hipimap olketa rich samting for pikinini bilong hem, bat wanfala disaster savve distroem evriwan and no eni samting savve stap for hem. Hem moabeta for provaedem wanfala spiritual riches wea savve stap olowe. Hem bigfala trabol sapos man garem staka samting bat hem no savve enjoyim olketa. Trabol nao tekova long evri rich man bilong world taem olketa “go awe” long dae, and no holem go eni samting.—5:13-15; 6:1, 2.
16 Long Matthew 12:42, Christ Jesus hem storyim hemseleva olsem “samting wea winim Solomon.” From Solomon piksarem Jesus, waswe, iumi faendem hao olketa toktok bilong Solomon insaed datfala buk Qo·heʹleth hem semsem fitim teaching bilong Jesus? Iumi faendem plande samting wea semsem! Olsem example, Jesus hem showimaot wei wea waka bilong God hem big tumas taem hem sei, “Dadi bilong mi waka kam kasem distaem, and mi go ahed for waka tu.” (John 5:17) Solomon storyim tu olketa waka bilong God: “And mi lukim olketa waka bilong tru God, hao olketa man no fit for faendem aot waka wea hem duim andanit long sun; nomata olketa man go ahed for waka hard for lukaotem, bat olketa no savve faendemaot. And nomata olketa sei olketa wise for minim, olketa bae no fit for faendemaot.”—Eccl. 8:17.
17 Jesus and Solomon encouragem olketa tru worshiper for hipap tugeta. (Matt. 18:20; Eccl. 4:9-12; 5:1) Olketa toktok bilong Jesus abaotem “end bilong disfala world” and “taem bilong olketa nation wea set finis” hem semsem witim toktok bilong Solomon hao “evriting garem wanfala taem wea set finis, wanfala taem tu for evri samting anda long heven.”—Matt. 24:3; Luke 21:24; Eccl. 3:1.
18 Nara samting tu, Jesus and olketa disaepol bilong hem joinim Solomon for givim warning abaotem olketa trap bilong material samting. Solomon sei wisdom hem tru protection, from hem “keepim laef olketa wea ownim hem.” Jesus hem sei: “Go ahed for lukaotem firstaem kingdom and raeteous fasin bilong hem, and iufala bae kasem olketa narafala samting hia.” (Eccl. 7:12; Matt. 6:33) Olketa raet olsem long Ecclesiastes 5:10: “Man wea lovem silver bae no satisfae witim silver nomoa, olsem eniwan wea lovem richfala samting bae no satisfae witim wages. Diswan tu hem iusles.” Kaonsel wea Paul givim long 1 Timothy 6:6-19 barava semsem hao “fasin for lovem selen hem start bilong plande nogud samting.” Samfala part long olketa narafala point abaotem instruction bilong Bible wea semsem stap tu.—Eccl. 3:17—Acts 17:31; Eccl. 4:1—Jas. 5:4; Eccl. 5:1, 2—Jas. 1:19; Eccl. 6:12—Jas. 4:14; Eccl. 7:20—Rom. 3:23; Eccl. 8:17—Rom. 11:33.
19 Kingdom rul bilong Son bilong God wea hem lovem tumas, Jesus Christ, wea saed long flesh hem kam from laen bilong wise King Solomon, bae mekem wanfala niu sekson bilong pipol long earth kamap. (Rev. 21:1-5) Samting wea Solomon raetem for leadim olketa wea stap anda long gavman bilong hem, hem barava important for evriwan distaem wea putim hope bilong olketa long Kingdom bilong God anda long Christ Jesus. Anda long rul bilong hem olketa man bae live followim olketa sem wise principle wea datfala man for kolem kam pipol talemaot and olketa bae hapi olowe long present from God bilong hapi laef. Distaem nao hem taem for hipap tugeta long worship bilong Jehovah, mekem iumi kasem evribit hapi bilong laef anda long Kingdom bilong hem.—Eccl. 3:12, 13; 12:13, 14.