Lesson 3
Ecclesiastes
The Things That Don't
Work!
CHAPTER ONE
This is a book of phenomenal wisdom which is pertinent to
all of us, it is for people in the trenches of life - living where situations
must be evaluated and decisions made.
The truth is that life is full of meaning when in
fellowship with the living God - the only sphere of living that truly satisfies
the soul.
1:1 The words of the Preacher, (teacher) (qoheleth)
- The 1st word in the txt is dabar - words = the communication, the msg, the content is what he is emphasizing.
- The Hebrew word Qoheleth, really means "the one who gathers,
assembles, or collects things" we must ask ourselves what is it that he
has assembled, or collected that is in view?
the son of David, king in
-
he's in the royal lineage of the king of kings
- Characterized by peace and prosperity (but this was lost
through spiritual adultery).
1:2 "Vanity
of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
- hebel habalim (actually hebel 2x) the repetition is for emphasis - Hebrew
superlative - a Heb idiom signifying the ultimate form of futility; (appears 33
times)
- The word itself means - vapor - breath (wind) -
worthless
- here is used in the emphatic sense = purposeless,
emptiness, meaningless, pointless, a
total zippo
- This is the conclusion that is required of every
question and every experiment in the book which seeks to find the answers to
life apart from God.
- Be careful - the subtle distortion and seductiveness of
the sin nature which says to us - OH NO it isn't - you really can do it your
way!!
1:3 Solomon presents his Thesis
What advantage does man have
in all his work Which he does under the sun?
- yatar = What is the gain or the profit therefore the
advantage; what is it that remains after a transaction is completed.
- work (lm'[' 'amal = work, toil, labor -
describes our pursuits in life under the sun
- Many today have things totally mixed up; We worship our work and play at our worship.
SUMMARY 1-3
1. At some point each of us has reached the point where we
ask ourselves the question -- What's the point? -- may even have the desire to just chuck it all,
drop out and do what ever - some totally selfish pursuit.
2. Through out each of our lives there will be effort -
toil - exhaustion - sorrow; at various
degrees at various times throughout each of our lives.
3. Most of us don't have the assets to just drop out and
do our own thing but Solomon did and he exercised his options in many ways as
he reports in this book.
4. Note some things about vanity - hebel; in Eccl it is used 3 ways.
#1 - in contexts where he states his inability to find
fulfillment in his various pursuits - here work.
#2 - to indicate an unknown or undefined anomaly about
life that he calls vanity i.e. senseless. (sinning one being prospered while
the righteous is not - is under the gun.) he struggles with this one.
#3 - in contexts dealing with the brevity and shortness of
life.
Life
in its QUALITY = empty - vacuous >> unsubstantial
Life
in its QUANTITY = transitory
There
are 2 Verses that give us some insight
into hebel and its implications in the life of an individual.
-
Jer 2:5; - walked after emptiness and became empty
- 2 Kg
Principles: #1 - Every person takes on to some degree the
character and nature of the god he worships.
#2 - The characteristic of all false gods is that they
destroy the ones worshiping them.
5. The search for happiness "under the sun"
leads away from the source of true happiness.
-
The surest way to miss or to lose happiness in life is to pursue it.
- DGP = fulfillment in your niche; while energy of the
flesh production = meaningless life, a hebel existence
6. The lust for something better tomorrow robs us of the
happiness offered today. The itch for things - the lust for more!
7. Seeking temporary escape in what ever overlooks the
long term consequences of moving away from the will of God.
8. If God is absent from my activities the final
destination, my objective will NOT satisfy my soul.
- emptiness - fleeting contentment - are all the kosmos
can provide even when monumental goals are reached.
- Solomon's our example - he had it ALL - and his
conclusion its all vanity - empty - it doesn't fulfill life.
- What we must do is look above the sun for DVPT
perspective.
9. The reason all things earthly and temporal are
transitory and do not satisfy is that they are a part of creation and because
of the fall and subsequent judgment are subjected to futility. Rom
In
vs:1:4-11 He presents proof of his thesis - illustrated thru natural phenomena
By
his labor man appears to lighten the burden of the curse, but the curse
persists, and all of man's inventions and the so called progress only hatches
new broods of trouble. Death reigns and is seen in what he says next.
1:4 A
generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.
- In the back drop of human life the earth remains stable
- from the human viewpoint this makes our life look even more meaningless.
- The good life, the satisfying life, exists when we stop
wanting beyond our capacity.
The How! Being able to say with Paul "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am." Phil 4:11