ECCLESIASTES: Lesson 2

The key to understanding the wisdom found in the Book of Ecclesiastes is hidden in three words: "Under the Sun".

 

At a time when Israel was a peace, King Solomon, with all his wisdom and wealth, decided to dedicate his life to find the answer to the question: "What is the purpose of life?" To do this, he attempted to experience all that life had to offer--good and bad.

"And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 1:17)

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes makes it clear that life "Under the Sun", without God, is a paradox--in pursuit of what is believed to be the answer when it is not (Proverbs 14:12). It is vanity. It is vexation (a grasping for the wind). It is meaningless. It is hevel!

This brilliantly written book takes the many ways man attempts to find meaning and purpose apart from God (wealth, pleasure, status, career, etc.) and shows how they are all like chasing the wind. A hamster spinning mindlessly on a wheel within a cage going nowhere. Hevel!

In the end Solomon summarized his findings in one simple, yet powerful verse:

"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of every human being." (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

Regardless of our particular trials and struggles we are to "fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of every human being."

ECCLESIASTES: Lesson 1

Ecclesiastes - "How to enjoy life"

There are two voices in the book of Ecclesiastes--the author (son of David) and the teacher (Qohelet: Hebrew word for one who gathers people, or a teacher/preacher).

 

Another Hebrew word, HEVEL, is used 38 times in the Book. It means smoke or vapor (sometimes misinterpreted as "meaningless"). Life is hevel, not meaningless, but confusing, disorienting, and uncontrollable.

As you read the 12 chapters in Ecclesiastes, the voice of the "teacher" draws you towards three very disturbing, hopeless conclusions--each an apparent attempt to support his thesis: "You think using Wisdom will bring you success...you'd better think again because life under the sun is meaningless (hevel)."

1. TIME: Generations come and go and in the end you, and everything you have done, will be forgotten. The march of time will eventually erase you and me and everything we care about.

2. CHANCE: Life is random and nothing can be controlled. Since you can't control your life you should stop trying.

3. DEATH: Death is the great equalizer and it renders meaningless most of our daily activities. It devours the wise and the fool; the rich and the poor, no matter who you are, what you've done--good or bad--we're all gonna die and it is inescapable.

The teacher seeks to answer one main question in this book: "What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?" (1:3)

Even with his hopeless outlook, the teacher knows that learning wisdom and living in the fear of the Lord is the right thing to do. The author collects the teacher's words and at the end of the Book summarizes everything.

The two main messages found in this book are:
1. The vanity of life under the sun (life purely from an earthly perspective);
2. The importance of fearing God and keeping His commandments.

Ecclesiastes is a very effective book designed to show us that we need to stop worrying and choose to enjoy the simple things of life--both good and bad--which are gifts from God. Learn to hold things with an open hand. Your attitude toward the present moment is really the only thing you have control over.