As Solomon nears the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, he begins to summarize what he has been saying the entire book. Much of the content in the last few sentences sounds like it belongs in the book of Proverbs. Solomon's desire in writing Ecclesiastes is to impart...
Life is short. This is the great truth of the book of Ecclesiastes. No matter how full of life one may feel, there will come a day when the life will go out of them. It is for this reason that Solomon writes, "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth"...
Nobody gets out of here alive. This may sound like the plot of a horror story, yet this is the reality of life. Every person who draws breath on this planet will, one day, cease to breathe. As we have seen previously in the book of Ecclesiastes, death is the great...
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. 3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the...
I’ve spent quite a bit of time working through the book of Ecclesiastes, and this passage remains one of the most puzzling to me. Maybe you’ve had some better luck understanding how 10:12–20 fits into the overall structure of the book. I hope so. At any rate, this...
In this brief section of Ecclesiastes, the author addresses one of the fundamental issues Christians face: the apparent exaltation of the wicked. We’ve all been there, right? We look around, and there seems to be a serious disconnect between what we think should...
There is a certain injustice in the world that the crummiest guys live long lives and the best are taken from us too soon. And I like that the Bible is honest about this reality. It doesn’t sugar coat things. It doesn’t tell you that if you’re good enough bad...
Unlike other sections of Ecclesiastes chapter 7:1-12 is a string of proverbs that does not have a unifying theme. There are many themes the Preacher strings together, whereas most of the chapters have a consistent line of thinking. This stringing together of wisdom...
“Ecclesiastes 6 is one of the Bible’s darkest chapters,” wrote one commentator. Next, to Job 3, I agree with him. The Preacher ended chapter five by describing how God gives everything we have to us, including the ability to enjoy it (Ecclesiastes 5:19). Enjoying...
In every society throughout history, it has been a misconception that wealth will bring contentment. The saying is true that “money solves problems.” Yet, it is more accurate that money can causes more problems than it solves. In many societies, it is the wealthy...
Examining Life Socrates is known for his famous quip that the unexamined life is not worth living. The book of Ecclesiastes offers a poignant reflection on this point. The book of Ecclesiastes is named after its central character, Qohelet (translated “the Preacher”...
Ecclesiastes 3:9-15, “9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot...
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, ESV, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time...
Work is a good gift from the Lord. In the order of creation, we see that it is instituted before the Fall. In Genesis 1, the Lord instructs Adam to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the...
Solomon is considered the wisest person in the ancient world, and possibly in world history. After David, his father, died he ascended to the throne of Israel. Early in his reign, the Lord appeared to him and promised to give him anything he asked. Wisely, the...
It is always amazing to ponder the timeliness of the Bible. Though it was written thousands of years ago in a language foreign to most people who read it today, it speaks to modern day issues with precision and clarity. This is no less true of the text at hand in...
Ecclesiastes 1:12–18, "I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen...
I never intend to watch the Oscars, but sure enough every year I seem to catch at least part of the award show. There’s something intriguing about seeing some of the world’s most famous people all glammed up desperately hoping their dreams of recognition will come...
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” It is a strange joy to have the privilege of opening this joint study of the book of Ecclesiastes for...
The book of Ecclesiastes is about living with joy because of the grace of God. Many miss that fact because of how sober-minded and honest “the Preacher” (Ecc 1:1, Heb., qohelet) of Ecclesiastes is about genuine pain, heartache, and suffering in this fallen and...
Imagine with me that you’re watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster action movie. An action flick set in ancient times. Huge marching armies. Warpaint. Spears, shields, and swords. Here’s the scene: the camera pans out to a wide lens view, and we see this massive...
There’s a famous saying that goes that in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except two things: death and taxes. Don’t worry we won’t be talking about taxes, but you might not be that excited about that other thing either which is death. But we know like...
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 What do you want on your tombstone? It was the catchphrase of a commercial a few years back for Tombstone Pizza. It is also a phrase that we relate to what is the way someone wants to be remembered. It signifies a message that is to be...
“Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Through sloth the roof sinks...
“But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the...
"Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows...
A CROOK IN THE LOT (Eccles. 6:10-7:14) 9/11 was a defining moment in the history of America. The terrorist attacks changed the way we view national security and air travel, forever. The attacks have even made some people think twice before entering a skyscraper....
“When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a...
"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep...
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 For believers and nonbelievers alike, the first eight verses of Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 is a well-known poem of the Bible. For you baby boomers, you might even be humming that familiar tune of “Turn! Turn! Turn!” from the 60’s band The Byrd’s who...
“I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity” (Ecc. 2:1). The writer takes many roads to find happiness, yet there was nothing worthwhile in any of the avenues he chose. He remained just as...
Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 “The Vanity of Wisdom” Intro: “I, the Preacher” (v.12) big shift This week Rick started us off in the book of Ecclesiastes by introducing us to Qohelet, the Preacher and King whose words make up this book and we were told he has one thing that...
Ecclesiastes 1:3-11 When I was younger, my mom used to tell my sisters and me that the kitchen was closed. This grand announcement would be made from time to time, but always in connection with a fully cleaned kitchen. All the dishes were washed and put away, and...