Lessons from Ecclesiastes

LESSONS FROM ECCLESIASTES

DAY 1

Talk One: Everything is Meaningless Apart from God

Talk Song: The Heart of Worship, p.17

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Prayer: Lord God Almighty, You are the Fountain of All Truth. You are the Source of All Being. In You is Fullness of Wisdom. Teach us, please, Your lessons as we study Your Word today, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

INTRO: What is the meaning of life? What is the reality of the way things work out in the world.

Tradition that King Solomon wrote three books of the Old Testament, each a part of the Wisdom Literature: The Song of Songs when he was young, idealistic, and in love. Proverbs in middle age when he was seeking to make a mark upon the world and wanted to find out what were the wisest choices to make, and Ecclesiastes when he was old and disillusioned.
The author calls himself the Teacher or the Preacher, a son of David, and a king in Jerusalem.

I VANITY OF VANITIES

This phrase, also translated as "meaningless" reflects the author's utter disillusionment with life
When ideals do not bring forth desired results, when values seem to fail, when all the formulas for success fail, when human idols fall, then comes the cry "Vanity of Vanities"-utter disillusionment
A very pessimistic view of life

II THE CYCLICAL VIEW OF HISTORY

The pessimism of the preacher reflects one of the oldest views of the meaning of man's existence, the cyclical view of history
This is a view of the endless repetition over and over of birth and death, work and toil, over and over and over
Henry David Thoreau observed that most people live lives of quiet desperation, with the silent unanswered question, "Is this all there is?"
The philosophers down through the ages have tried to come to terms with this idea of the endless cycle, with some religions having the ideas of karma, reincarnation, and the seeking to come to a state of nirvana or emptiness to get out of the circle of vanity,
There is a poem about an ancient King of Egypt, Ozymandias, who had built great monuments to himself, now ruins in the desert. The inscription said, " I am Ozymandias, King of Kings, Loo on my works, ye mortals and despair!" Empires rise and fall with their tyrants, philosophies come in and out of vogue, and we find that the more things change the more they remain the same.
With all his wisdom, inventiveness, technological smarts, man still has not overcome his tendency to be cruel and evil. Today our technology just makes the destruction of humanity more possible and efficient. We can envision the death of man.
The truth is that without God there is no meaning for life, just an endless biological process guided purely by chance, no meaning to the individual in the struggle, all is darkness in the secular world, just eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die!

II THE MEANING IS THERE

Sometimes God has to allow our idols to fall before we can find the real meaning of life
When all our human plans and idols crash and there is nowhere else to go but to God, grace appears.
When we are at our bottom and become honest seekers of Truth, God promises, You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.
And the Truth is " From everlasting to everlasting God is, the Great I AM!"

CONCLUSION: Share how your disillusionment with life led you to true faith.

PRAYER: Lord, help us to see our world the way You do, but please do not leave us in despair, help us to see You as the Hope of each and all, through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Can you relate to what the Teacher is sharing about life without God being meaningless? How?

ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: a poster, song, or skit about the lessons of Ecclesiastes.

Talk Two: Human Wisdom is Meaningless Without God

TALK SONG: Be Thou My Vision, p.7

SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 1: 12-18; 2: 12-16

INTRODUCTION: One of the forms of literature in the Bible is called Wisdom writings.

Knowledge is the accumulation of information, while wisdom is the right application of that knowledge
Wisdom is contrasted with folly, the making of wrong choices
Important concept: Sophomore- a wise fool, " a little learning is a dangerous thing" just enough knowledge/ wisdom to make one dangerous, often a hazard among undergraduate college students who get to the place where they think they know it all

I THE TYPES OF WISDOM

Wisdom apart from God: based on envy, selfish ambition, pride: characteristics: earthly, unspiritual, evil, leading to disorder and every evil practice
Godly wisdom: pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere, producing a harvest of righteousness
By their fruits you shall know them: some of the smartest people are some of the most proud, cruel, and just plain evil. Education alone cannot change men's hearts

II SOURCE OF GODLY WISDOM

The fear (awe, reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, God has a better idea about all things than we do.
Wisdom is realizing that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways
A prerequisite to godly wisdom is a healthy dose of true humility in the sight of God and a willingness to learn from God
Ultimately wisdom comes not from what you know but from WHO you know

CONCLUSION: Testimony of how you came to humble yourself to receive God's wisdom.

PRAYER: Lord, I admit before You that without Your wisdom I am fool. I humble myself before YOU and ask that You make me teachable in Your presence. Lord, teach me Your ways, in Jesus' Name.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: What wisdom has God taught me?

ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: continue to work on a poster, song, or skit about the lessons of Ecclesiastes.

Talk Three: Pleasures are Meaningless Without God

TALK SONG: I Surrender All, p. 22

SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 2: 1-11

INTRO: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die? Grab for all the gusto? You only live once? We get bombarded with these encouragments to pursue pleasure. In the ancient world there was a philosophy that maintained that the pursuit of pleasure was the true meaning of life, Epicureanism.

We have a lot of epicures today, people who pursue women, sports, food, travel, all kinds of pleasures. Some people seem to look for a high from one extreme sport to another. Experience of new thrills is the guide to life for many.

I Solomon's experience

Disillusionment with laughter- did not last and did not accomplish anything
Disillusionment with folly- foolishness never works out
Disillusionment with building projects- just monuments to human pride which will crumble some day
Disillusionment with riches- can't take it with you
Disillusionment with sex- just temporary feelings without commitment
End result of it all was disillusionment, a conclusion that it was meaningless, a chasing after the wind, not fulfilling, nothing was really gained

II HISTORICAL AND BIBLICAL EXAMPLE

Belshazzar and the handwriting on the wall in Babylon
the rich man who dies and goes to Hell
the pleasures of the French kings destroyed by the revolution- one king squandered the resources of France and observed," After me the deluge."
observation of the British poet Kipling that the captains and the kings are swallowed up in history
"One life to live, soon it is past, only what's done for Jesus will truly last"
The works of our lives will pass through the fire, will they be wood, hay, or stumble, or will they be gold, silver, or jewels?

CONCLUSION: Your personal testimony of the folly of making the pursuit of pleasure the goal of life.

PRAYER: Lord, forgive me for the times I have made pleasures into idols I worshipped. Help me keep You first in my life, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: How can you keep free from being addicted to pleasure?

ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: a poster, song, or skit about the lessons of Ecclesiastes.

Talk Four: Labor is Meaningless Without God

TALK SONG: "I'm Counting on God" p. 22

SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 2: 17-26

INTRO: Are you a human being or a human doing? Problem is that most of us form our identity by what we do, our occupation, our hobbies, our recreation etc. as opposed to who we are.

I Identity

in ancient world you were identified by your tribe and family, ex Simon bar Jonah, (Simon son of Jonah) in the tribe of Judah.
today you are identified by what occupation you do primarily
society gives you value and worth by what you do
you are assigned to socioeconomic class by society on the basis of what you do and how much wealth you have, also expressed by where you live, what you drive, what you wear

II Value of Labor for the Believer

concept of vocation, a calling, instead of occupation
all honorable forms of work are considered vocations
work is done for the glory of God, not for the status of the individual working

CONCLUSION: Personal testimony of how you have found meaning in your work through Christ

PRAYER: Lord, help me to do my work for you and not for the praise of men and help me to find my true identity in being Your child, through Christ my Lord, Amen.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: How does your faith help you find meaning in your work?

ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: a poster, song, or skit about the lessons of Ecclesiastes

Talk Five: Ambition is Meaningless Without God

TALK SONG: "Nothing Without You" p. 28

SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 4: 4-8

INTRO: Alpha Males, those who seek the top position, who claw their way to the top of the pack, happens in animal groups and in human society. It shows up in the lust for power, for popularity, for fame.

I. Shocking insight in Ecclesiastes that all skill and work come from a person's envy of his neighbor.

envy, one up-manship, just plain old jealousy, the green-eyed monster, I can't stand for anyone to be better than me in any way.
danger of the push for achievement at any cost, getting ahead by crushing anyone and anything standing in one's way.
in all fields of work, there is competition for advancement, but there is danger that a jealous coworker could sabotage you on your way.
you might call this drive for dominance, ambition.

II Example of unholy ambition

Biblical: King Saul feels threatened by David and seeks his destruction; King Herod feels threatened by the birth of Jesus and kills the little boys of Bethlehem; Pharaoh is threatened by the Hebrews and orders the death of the baby boys; David's son Absalom wants to take the throne away from his dad.
Unholy competition: jealousy at the success of another; gossip, tale bearing, undermining of colleagues
Pride- thinking that by one's own skill and worth one has reached the top.
End justifies the means- I will do anything I can to get on the top of the heap

III Vanity of Ambition

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall
Restlessness, lack of peace, always watching over one's shoulder
Lack of contentment, always wanting more
Coming to the point when one realizes that despite all the struggles, fame and power end when death comes, the end, you can't take it with you.
the fall of all empires and emperors, Pharaoh, Caesar, Genghis Khan, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin are all nothing but history--gone, gone, gone!

CONCLUSION: Personal witness of how you came to your senses about the vanity of ambition.

PRAYER: Lord, forgive me when I think more of myself than I ought to think. Forgive me when I am jealous of the successes of others. Take away any sinful desires I have to crawl over others to the top. Make me humble in Your sight, Lord, through Christ my Lord. Amen.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: How do I deal with any ambition in my life, how do I get rid of unholy competition?

ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: a poster, song, or skit about the lessons of Ecclesiastes

SHARING OF ACTIVITIES FOR FIRST DAY

DAY 2 ACTIVITIES

Talk Six: Riches are Meaningless Without God

TALK SONG: Seek Ye First, p.31

SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes : 10-17

INTRO: The vanity of riches. Economic power comes and goes, wealth is often short lived, vanishes quickly, easy come and easy go. One of the worst idols of humanity is Mammon, wealth.

I Jesus made it very clear that we cannot serve both God and Mammon.

Jesus spoke a lot about money and its dangers"
Easier for a camel to get through a very narrow night gate to a city (eye of a needle) than a for a rich man to get into heaven
Parable of the rich man who accumulated lots of riches then died suddenly and lost it all
Rich man who did not help poor Lazarus went to Hell
Jesus asked the rich young ruler to sell all he had, give to the poor, then come follow Him
Jesus warned that earthly riches will fail
Where your treasure really is, there your heart is also

II BASIC PRINCIPLES ON THE GODLY USE OF WEALTH

Remember that God owns it all
God gives you the power to get wealth
The tithe and offerings are done in obedience to God
Wealth is not a goal but a tool to bless others
Giving is a blessing
You give and God gives you a blessing you cannot contain

CONCLUSION: Share lessons you have learned about being a good steward of your material possessions.

PRAYER: All blessings come down from You, Father of Light. Help me to be a good steward of what You have provided me,through Christ my Lord, Amen.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: What have I learned about the godly use of material possessions?

ACTIVITY FOR THE DAY: a poster, song, or skit about the lessons of Ecclesiastes

Talk Seven: God's Timing is Always Perfect

TALK SONG: "Turn, Turn, Turn" from CD

SCRIPTURE: Eccl: 3:1-11

Intro: This passage is a beautiful overview of the passage of time: birth and death, plant and uproot, love and hate, closeness and distance, sorrow and joy, tearing and mending.

two views of time: chronos, which is clock time, and Kairos, which is God's time
two views of the meaning of history: cyclical, which is the endless round of birth, life, and death over and over, and linear, which is the movement of history toward an overriding purpose.

I Some Thoughts about Time

God created time
God lives both in and beyond time, He is eternal and infinite, not bound by our four dimensional world
God has a purpose and plan for His world, His people, and each individual
God makes all things beautiful in His time
Sometimes God makes us wait
God is never late, always on time

II Application

Somethings are now things: now is the time of salvation, now is the time to draw close to God, now is the time to decide to obey God.
Some things we must wait for, in the development of people's lives and in the working out of various situations involving many people.
Don't be like Abraham and Sarah who tried to help God out in providing a child by having Abraham have a child with Hagar, not in God's perfect plan.
Remember that Jesus shows up in the fullness (Kairos) of time

Conclusion: Share your story about how you had to trust God for an answer to prayer.