The Bible has something for everyone. Children love the story of Noah’s Ark with the animals entering two by two. Young lovers can relate to the Song of Songs with its beautiful imagery. And the Book of Ecclesiastes is the place for grumpy, old men. The author, Qoheleth, basically says “Bah, humbug.” He claims, for example, that “Nothing is new under the sun.” To which we might say: what about jet planes, what about the internet, what about — to get down to basics — the flush toilet. I suspect Qoheleth would respond: you might have new stuff but pride, anger, greed, sloth, selfishness are the same as they’ve ever been. Nothing new. We can only answer: but in Jesus we have God’s mercy and compassion making all things new.
