Message Theme & Verses: Ecclesiastes
Memory Verse: Ecclesiastes 12:13 Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecclesiastes is written by “the Preacher” or teacher who most believe to be King Solomon, the wise son of King David. The original Hebrew title means to gather those to be taught and the English word comes from the Latin Vulgate Bible translation which refers to “the assembly of people.” This book is asking people to come around and learn about life.
The author is a master of image and metaphor and uses poetry and prose to create moods and emotions in the reader as he tells the story of attempting to find satisfaction in life. This quest for satisfaction builds through a series of dead ends as the Preacher faces the realities of sin and death and the ultimate lack of satisfaction from working in our human efforts or accumulating wealth or even knowledge.
The Preacher is educating us on life “under the sun.” He uses this phrase 28 times, referring to life on this earth stained by sin. We live in a fallen world. God made the world good, but when sin entered through Adam’s disobedience, the ground became cursed and life became more difficult. Ecclesiastes explores living a life of “vanity.” This Hebrew word “hebel,” used 38 times, means something like frustrating, perplexing, of fleeting, but there is no English word that really captures the sad confusion that comes with living in a world marred by sin. The word literally means “vapor,” like a mist that quickly fades away. There is frustration, anger, or sorrow, as we realize that the pleasures of life are a vapor and “the present form of this world is passing away.”
Ecclesiastes is complex work and does not offer a simple solution to navigating life. He offers situations and examples for us to examine and determine general truths. He offers several paradoxes and seemingly contradicting ideas challenging us to figure out the wise way to live. At the same time, he acknowledges that as humans we are limited in what we can “find out” because we are creatures, not the Creator, and our minds are limited by sin. But, the Preacher does give glimpses of finding joy and satisfaction in this life, taking pleasure in God’s gifts.
The only solution to the emptiness one can feel in this life is to know and fear the Lord. Everything God does is to lead His people to know Him, even in the frustrations of this fleeting and fallen world. In the end, faith is what allows us to live a life of satisfaction. Even when things seem terrible and when our efforts seem worthless, our duty is to “fear God and keep His commandments,” trusting that God will set things right, punish the wicked, and rescue His people from this broken place.
Read Ecclesiastes 3
Jesus in Psalms
Ecclesiastes asks us to trust God to be good and just even when we cannot understand how He is working out His plan. Later, in Romans 8:20, Paul agrees with the Preacher that this world is subject to futility, this fleeting frustration of vanity. But, Paul does not despair. We are to wait in patience with hope, living lives pleasing to God. For the Christian, our faith is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the guarantee of the Holy Spirit that we too will rise again from this broken and sin polluted world. Because of Jesus, the true Son of David and wisdom of God, we can know that for those who follow Him, our labor is not in vain.
Questions
Share something that is frustrating to you in this life.
Share something that is beautiful to you in this life.
Where do you find your satisfaction? What brings you joy in life?
What does is mean that God has “put eternity in to man’s heart (3:11)? (Some interpret this as a simple desire to know the future. However, it seems more likely that this means men know that this world is not all that there is. We have a longing to know God and realize that there is more to existence than a sinful life that seems in vain. God is holy, He is different than us, higher and set apart. We can never fully know all of who God is, but He at the same time draws near to us and Jesus is the perfect representation of God. We can reach into this eternity and know God better by studying His Word and knowing Jesus.)
What are some ways people try to find happiness outside of God?
Do you think life has a point, or is it just a boring repetitive cycle?
What is the meaning of life and its purpose? (The Westminster Catechism in summarizing Scriptures reminds us, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”)
How can we have a right relationship with God and make our lives worth living? (A right relationship with God comes only through the perfect Mediator and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our sin separates us from our holy God whose name is shamed by our sin. God is perfectly just and must punish sin. Thankfully, he is also perfectly loving and full of mercy and grace. God sent his Son Jesus to take the punishment we had earned with our sin. All those who believe in him are transformed, given new hearts able to repent, turning from sin toward following Jesus. When Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, satisfying the Father’s wrath, he also imputed to us the righteousness from his perfect obedience. Though we have been made righteous through the blood of Jesus, we still are in the process of being transformed, being made holy by the inner workings of the Holy Spirit. We can experience this newness of life in the presence of our holy God.)