Daily Study Questions for Ecclesiastes 1-3

The Big Idea: Because life has no ultimate meaning apart from God, we must we enjoy what He gives us.

I. An Earthbound Letdown (1:1-2:17) / Key Idea: Nothing on this earth – wisdom, work, wealth, sex or pleasure – provides ultimate meaning.
1. Read Eccl 1:1-7. Who was the writer (v1), and what reality did he observe (v2)? What does this mean (v3) and how does he illustrate this (v4, 5, 6, 7)? / Ecclesiastes was written by the “son of David, king in Jerusalem”, which would imply Solomon. It could have been a later descendant of David, but most agree that Solomon, the writer of Proverbs and Song of Solomon, was the writer of Ecclesiastes. In his personal research he observed that life on this earth was “vanity”, or insubstantial and impermanent. The word is translated meaningless, but the idea is really that no matter what we do in this life we can’t add to what God has already done. This leads to frustration and a sense of dissatisfaction and incompleteness when we attempt to do life on our own, independent of God. Solomon illustrated the meaning of vanity by showing that generations come and they go, but the earth continues on as it was; the sun rises each day, and then sets each day, only to start the process all over the next day. The wind blows from the north to the south, then turns around and blows back to the north, just as all rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. The rivers fill up again and the process repeats itself perpetually.
2. In 1:8-11 what similar realities impressed the writer (v8, 9), and how were these illustrated (v8, 10-11)? Where was he looking (v3, 9)? / Solomon realized that, apart from God (seeing things only “under the sun”) the eyes are never satisfied with what they see, but always have to see more, and similarly that ears can never feel like they have heard all there is to hear, but must listen for something else. In looking at this, as well as the fact that there was nothing new “under the sun” – what is now present has been in the past – Solomon concluded that all things are wearisome. No matter how hard man tries he cannot make something new come out of what has already been. This is a sobering thought – even in our age of technology and information we have discovered nothing new, but only new things about what has already existed for ages long past. For example we may have discovered that the human cell is a highly complex organism, but that was already true; we haven’t brought about anything new, only newly discovered for ourselves what already existed. Mankind does not add anything new to God’s creation; he only discovers and rearranges what is already there. This leads to a very deep sense of futility if this life (“under the sun”) is all there is. It is only when we consider what (who) is above the sun that any progress can be made.
3. From 1:12-18 what was Solomon’s quest (v13, 16-17), and what did he conclude (v13, 14)? Why (v15, 18)? Where was he looking (v14)? Explain. / Solomon set out to explore all that had been done under heaven (on the earth), observing a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. His conclusion was that God had given man a grievous task to be afflicted with and that all was vanity and “striving after the wind”. In other words, as Solomon observed, man cannot really change anything God doesn’t want changed, and can’t control anything unless God gives him the ability to bring it under his control. Man’s original task was to rule over, or subdue, the earth, and as Solomon considered how that had gone he realized that this was very painful for man. He really didn’t have the power to control outcomes (like straightening that which was bent, or replenishing that which was lacking) unless God allowed it to be so. This knowledge, or wisdom, caused pain and grief because it reveals how weak man really is. There is nothing “new” under the sun; however, when we allow God to work through us, new life does occur, and this life is eternal, above the sun. These truths should not lead us to despair, but rather to balance; we must seek to subdue the earth as a stewardship to God, and be satisfied with tending that which He has created to the best of our God-given ability.
4. Using Eccl 2:1-11 in what other areas did Solomon try to find meaning (v1-2, 3, 4-8, 9-10)? What was his conclusion (v11)? / Solomon tried to find meaning in the areas of pleasure (hedonism as a philosophy of life), drugs (alcohol, wine), material wealth, and sex. There was nothing he withheld from himself and even did all of this with the eyes of wisdom so that he could discover if there was any independent meaning in any of these areas. His conclusion was that there was nothing under the sun which led to any gain or profit in an absolute sense. People look for the “key” or “secret” to life on this earth, and according to their own terms, but they will never find it. It is to be found above the sun, in Christ alone.
5. Based on 2:12-17 why is wisdom better than foolishness (v12-14). In the end what will happen to wise and foolish (v15-16)? What is the point (v17)? / Wisdom is superior to foolishness because it helps us see where we are going; it prepares us to better cope with potential problems in this life. However, all will die in the end; no amount of accumulated or applied wisdom can keep us from dying. Wisdom, therefore, is helpful in this life, but doesn’t avert man’s ultimate enemy, death. If we seek to gain wisdom in this life, then, for the purpose of lengthening our life span we will be frustrated and grieved. We will hate life because we can’t make it produce what we want. People are discontent because they try to gain something from life apart from God which is impossible. The only way we can add life to our life is by receiving the gift of life from God who is the source of life.
II. The Lift of God’s Gift (2:18-26) / Key Idea: Any joy that we have in our pursuits in life comes from God, so we must appreciate that gift.
6. In 2:18-23 what further frustrated Solomon about this life (v18-19, 21)? If our life were limited to this world only what would be the logical conclusion (v20, 22-23)? / Solomon was frustrated that the result of all his hard work would be left to someone who might not appreciate it or know how to use it wisely. This shows that when we live only for this world we will be filled with despair, pain and grief. All we labor for will be insubstantial and empty – vain. This is one of the ways that God leads us to Himself – we intuitively long for and believe there must be more.
7. Look at 2:24-26. Where does pleasure in our life’s work come from (v24-25) and how does God take care of those He approves (v26)? How can we apply this? / It is only when God gives us the ability to enjoy the results of our hard work that we can actually have enjoyment from it. Apart from God we keep striving for more and more and are never satisfied. But through God, and in Christ, we can truly be thankful and content for what He has given us and celebrate it. For those who are “good” in God’s sight (they walk by faith in His righteousness – through Jesus Christ) He has given wisdom, knowledge and joy; but for those who are sinners, who do not live according to God’s truth, He has given them the task of gathering and collecting for His people. For them their gathering and collecting, then, is a vanity and striving after the wind; it adds nothing to them. The obvious application is to live in the way of faith that God considers good, and to be thankful for the gifts that God has given us. This includes the gift of enjoying the fruit of our labor. God is pleased when we enjoy His pleasure.
III. A Corrective Perspective (3:1-22) / Key Idea: From God’s perspective every event in life has a good and enduring purpose, although we can’t always discover what it is.
8. Read 3:1-8. List the contrasting pairs of life events (v2-8) and put down what you think they refer to. What is the point (v1)? / There is a time appointed by God for every event under heaven (in this life, under the sun). These events are birth and death, planting and uprooting, killing and healing, tearing down and building up, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing, throwing stones (to ruin a field) and gathering stones (to make a field usable), embracing and shunning embracing, searching and giving up the search, keeping things and throwing them away, tearing things apart and sewing them together, remaining silent and speaking up, loving and hating, and making war and establishing peace. These are literal things, but they are also metaphors for other things. For example there is a time to go ahead and uproot something that is not working, or rendering an arena in which we are working as no longer productive. There is a time to unite, but also a time to not give ourselves away, to draw boundaries. There is a time to hold on to things, but also a time to accept and grieve a loss and move on. There is a time to tear things down and start over – sometimes with projects, sometimes with issues in our lives. We can’t always just improve things – we have to completely demolish and start over. There are times to laugh, dance, and embrace, but it is not always appropriate to do these things. The wise person aligns with the moment and experiences what God intends in that time. There is a time to love things, but certainly there is a time to hate the enemy that you are battling, or to hate the sin that causes damage to the one you love. There is finally a time for war – defeating the enemy – but also a time for peace. But peace is not for all times. The point of this is that we must discern what “time” we are in, and then walk in that time until it is over with the acceptance that it is God’s best for that time. The wise life is one of balance.
9. Based on 3:9-15 since our work here accomplishes so little (v9-10) what does God want us to gain or learn from this process (v11, 12-13, 14, 15)? / God wants us to accept (really appreciate) where we are during each time of our lives without needing to know the ultimate outcome of it. We can’t know the eternal outcome of the things we do in this life, although we can know that serving God will lead to the best outcomes. This keeps us in a state of dependence on Him. He wants us to enjoy the gift of productive labor and to enjoy the fruit of that labor – that is a gift from Him. He also wants us to understand that what He does will last forever, and this should lead us to relate everything we do to Him – we are thus to fear, or respect and consider Him in everything. God seeks what has passed by – meaning that God has already worked and revealed Himself, and our responsibility is to understand His ways and conform to them.
10. According to 3:16-22 what is everyone’s (good or bad, man or beast) destination (v20)? How should we treat life then (v22)? Does what we then do matter or not (v17)? Apply. / Bottom line: everyone and everything dies. This means that all of our pursuits to make long life our goal or to forestall the inevitable are misguided. Obviously it is not wrong to live in a way that promotes long life, but we cannot control that. Our goal in this life should be to make the most of it, to be happy in all our activities. We don’t know what will happen after us; we have faith that God will give us eternal life, but we don’t know what the results of our labor will be in the next generation. If we are striving to leave our name to the next generation, to make a name for ourselves, we are foolish. Our goal must be to make the most of this life for God because that is all we have control over.
11. From Eccl 1-3 what is life like “under the sun”? Why do you think God has let it be like that (2:11-15)? Identify some ways you can apply these truths to your life each day. / Life “under the sun” is very unfulfilling when it is lived as the point to our existence. We cannot add anything to life here; we are not creators, only managers and stewards of the life God has given us. He wants us to understand that there is more to this life than what we see – He has set eternity in our hearts. We must submit to what He is doing at each stage of our lives, reverencing Him, and enjoy what He gives to us. Life without God is very empty and frustrating because we really have no control over what will happen as a result of our labors. We must live each day to the fullest with God as our reference point, and appreciate the gift of life He has given.