Andrew Stepp Ecclesiastes

Transcription

1 Andrew Stepp Ecclesiastes

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3 The Bible didn t invent wisdom it was all over the ancient world and all over the modern world. So what sets biblical Proverbs apart from all the other proverbs (proverb ers) of the world??? And why does Pastor Stepp recommend that every Christian should read Proverbs once a year every year, starting when you turn 14

4 Purpose and Prologue 2 For learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, 3 for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young 5 let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill, 6 to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

5 GODLY Wisdom is the ability to make godly choices in life. What the inspired biblical wisdom added to the wisdom genre was the crucial idea that the only good choices are godly choices. The very first step in biblical wisdom is knowing God and committing your life to Him.

6 Why you should read Proverbs once a year every year, starting when you turn 14 What a fool looks like vs. What a wise person looks like Wisdom vs. Foolishness = Righteousness vs. Wickedness Why do you need to know this???

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8 The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Eccl. 1:1 Qoheleth = teacher, preacher, assembler Ἐκκλησιαστής is Greek for Qoheleth Probably Solomon, but not necessarily But it s just a compiler anyways!

9 Eccl. 1:2-11

10 Wisdom is Meaningless (1:12ff) Pleasures are Meaningless (2:1ff) Wisdom and Folly are Meaningless (2:12ff) Work is Meaningless (2:17ff) Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness (4:1ff) Advancement is Meaningless (4:!3ff) Riches are Meaningless (5:8ff) A Common Destiny for All (9:1ff)

11 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

12 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

13 I thought in my heart, The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise? I said in my heart, This too is meaningless. 16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!

14 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless

15 I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors and they have no comforter. 2 And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. 4 And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

16 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

17 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? 12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.

18 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

19 Hebel 37x in this book (73x total in the OT) wisp of air, vapor, meaninglessness, vanity

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21 There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest - whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories - comes afterwards. These are games. Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus Where can we find satisfaction? What is the meaning of life? Is contentment possible? If life is so fleeting, then what s the point of ANYTHING???? Is it just East, drink, and be happy for tomorrow we die?

22 God is the single indisputable reality as the Creator of all and the one from who all life is given even the hard stuff. (3:12-14) God s ways are not always, if ever, understandable (3:11; 8:17) In our lives on earth, things are not simple and tidy; they often don t add up or necessarily make sense. (They way things should be are not necessarily how they are.) (Eccl. 3 The song will be stuck in your head!) The great equalizer is death which happens to the rich and the poor, the size and the foolish alike. Life is a vapor!

23 Eccl. 11:7-12:14 Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job essentially all have the same key theme

24 I. Problem stated: All is vanity, Chapter 1:1-3 II. Experiment made, Chapters 1:4 12:12 Seeking satisfaction in the following: A. Science (the laws of nature), Chapter 1:4-11 B. Wisdom and philosophy, Chapter 1:12-18 C. Pleasure, Chapter 2:1-11 D. Materialism (living for the now ), Chapter 2:12-26 E. Fatalism, Chapter 3:1-15 F. Egoism, Chapters 3:16 4:16 G. Religion, Chapter 5:1-8 H. Wealth, Chapters 5:9 6:12 I. Morality (the good life ), Chapters 7:1 12:12 III. Result of experiment, Chapter 12:13, 14

25 Why do we need all these voices in a biblical understanding of wisdom? Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes

26 Ecclesiastes was written before the cross and the empty tomb. Yes, there was meaning and purpose to be found in God BC; HOWEVER the life, death, and resurrection of JC added to that satisfaction infinitely!!! It provides a more robust understanding of God s providence and wisdom and what it means for us to fear him (See Heidelberg Catechism, Days 9 and 10)

27 What do you believe when you say: I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and all that is in them, and who still upholds and governs them by his eternal counsel and providence, is, for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father. In him I trust so completely as to have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul, and will also turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this life of sorrow. He is able to do so as almighty God, and willing also as a faithful Father.

28 What do you understand by the providence of God? God's providence is his almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

29 What does it benefit us to know that God has created all things and still upholds them by his providence? We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from his love; for all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they cannot so much as move.

30 This is the point fo the class! Ecclesiastes = 12 chapters 3 ch/day for 4 days Other Options: Just read the whole thing!