ECCLESIASTES Chasing the Wind

ECCLESIASTES Chasing the Wind CAB BOOK STUDY (PART 1) Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

VANITY : HEBREW TERM HEBEL, TRANSLATED VANITY, REFERS TO A MIST, VAPOR, OR MERE BREATH, AND METAPHORICALLY TO SOMETHING THAT IS FLEETING OR ELUSIVE

THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES Introduction The title Ecclesiastes comes from the Latin translation of the Hebrew word Qoholeth. The word Qoholeth translated as the Preacher in the opening verse of the book means assembler or one who convenes or gathers. Historically, the church has believed that the author of the book is Solomon, son of King David. This seems to make most sense since the writer is identified as the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (1:1) Furthermore, the author says, I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. (1:16) This appears to fit the profile of Solomon when God gave him wisdom that surpassed all others. (1 Kings 3:12) Some scholars have tried to argue that we do not know who wrote the book, and was most likely someone much later than Solomon. There are other resources you can access to think through this for yourself. 1 We will assume that Solomon wrote the book based upon the plain Scriptural evidence given above. Theme of the Book One question runs like a thread throughout the entire book: What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? (1:3) This question repeats itself throughout the book (2:22; 3:9; 5:16). In other words, What s the point of all our efforts? Why even try? The reason for this question is that Solomon had set his heart to pursue all that life has to offer, but at the end of each venture he crashed into the unbreakable wall of the curse: un-fulfillment under the sun. Thus, Solomon constructed this book as one with many scars from an unfulfilled life, which testifies to the truth that the only life worth living is over the sun where the fear of the Lord is. 1 Miles V. Van Pelt, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 439-442.

WEEK 1 PART 1 WHAT S THE POINT? Begin with the following prayer: Father, apart from you my heart lies dead and callous to your word. I need the help of you Spirit to revive my heart toward your Scriptures. I trust that you will grant this good gift of understanding to one of your blood-built children. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 (ESV) Personal Notes 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, See, this is new? It has been already in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after

Answer the following questions for v. 1-11. 1. The first verse says these are the words of the son of David, king in Jerusalem. This is referring to King Solomon who reigned at the economic and political height of the nation of Israel. No king prior to him or after him ever came close to resembling his power, wealth, and wisdom. Why would this make Solomon a reliable source to tell us about the fleetingness of life and its inability to fulfill? 2. Verse 2 describes everything as vanity. The word vanity comes from the Hebrew word hebel, which can mean mere breath, vapor, or mist. Read the following verses and write down anything else you can learn about the relationship between life and mere breath: Psalm 39:11; Psalm 94:11; Psalm 144:3-4; and James 4:13-14. 3. Verse 3 is the main question addressed throughout the whole book. It comes up 3 other times: 2:22; 3:9; 5:16. What is the relationship between verse 3 and verses 4-11? 4. What seems to be the repeating theme of verses 4-11? Write down specific phrases that support your answer. 5. Verses 5-7 address the natural realm, while verses 8-11 address the human realm. Which of the ones listed in 8-11 stands out to you the most? Why? How have you personally felt the vanity mere breath-ness of everyday life?

UNDER THE SUN : THE MEANINGLESSNESS OF LIFE LIVED ONLY FOR SELF AND THE MOMENT, WITHOUT GRATITUDE TO OR REGARD TO GOD AND HIS WAYS.

PART 2 UNHAPPY BUSINESS Begin with the following prayer: Father, there is none holy like you. There is none besides you. I desperately need the power of your Spirit to see your glory through your word. Incline my heart to your Scriptures so that I might enjoy you more deeply. Free me to courageously do whatever you call me to do. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 (ESV) Personal Notes 12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 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. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said in my heart, I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Answer the following questions for v. 12-18. 1. Verses 13-15 can be summarized as Solomon s attempt to search out and understand everything that people busy themselves with under the sun. What specifically is the relationship between verse 13 and verse 14? 2. Solomon says in verse 13 that God is the one who has given this unhappy business to the children of man. The unhappy business is all that is done under the sun without God. (v. 13) This results in utter futility and is equivalent to chasing the wind. (v. 14) After the Fall in Genesis 3, God subjected humanity to this futility. Read Genesis 3:17-19 and make note of anything that strikes you as similar to Solomon s point here. Examine your own daily life/routine. Do you find yourself feeling burdened and fatigued under God s curse for sin? How so? 3. Read Romans 8:18-23. How does Paul describe the unhappy business that humanity has been subjected to by God? 4. Verse 15 is Solomon s conclusion about the futility of life. It states that many things in life are simply un-fixable ( crooked cannot be made straight ) and uncountable ( lacking cannot be counted ). How have you personally experienced the way that life can seem irreparable (i.e. relationships, work, family, etc.)? 5. Verses 16-18 is Solomon s evaluation of the moral life ( wisdom and folly ), but Solomon discovers something discouraging: much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. (v. 18) This is why Paul will tell us, Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. (1 Cor. 14:20) What do you think it practically looks like to be mature in our thinking, but infants in evil?

WEEK 2 PART 1 PLEASURE Begin with the following prayer: Lord, you are mighty in grace and wondrous in glory. I come to you empty, poor, and needy. Yet I am eager for my cup to be filled, for you are an overflowing stream of strength and goodness for sinners. I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ my intercessor who validates my salvation. Help me to understand and enjoy your word like honey on my lips. Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 (ESV) 1 I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself. But behold, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, It is mad, and of pleasure, What use is it? 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine my heart still guiding me with wisdom and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. 4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. 9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. Personal Notes

Answer the following questions for v. 1-11. 1. Read through verses 1-11 and underline anything that relates to the idea, feeling, or cause of pleasure. 2. Notice that Solomon is specifically talking to his own heart in verse 1? He tells his heart, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself. Then in verse 10 he says, I kept my heart from no pleasure. Pretend that you were to say this to your heart today, then complete the following sentence, The thought of letting my heart pursue as much pleasure as possible makes me feel, because 3. Look back at the reason that you gave for your feeling. This means that your reason caused the feeling that you had (not the other way around). What is a different reason that you could think of that would cause a different feeling? 4. Read through all the different sources that Solomon derives pleasure from (i.e. wine, work, wealth, sex, etc.). Which of them do you think you would go after most? Why? 5. Solomon s conclusion in verse 11 is just as he is has always said, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. Which of the following options do you think is the best way to be liberated from pursuing a life a pleasure that results in feeling like all is vanity. Explain. a. Keep pursuing pleasure b. Don t pursue pleasure at all c. Pursue pleasure moderately d. Pursue a different pleasure 6. Read Psalm 16:11 and Psalm 37:4. Based on these, what do you think God s view of pleasure is? How does this affect your answer to #5?

PART 2 SAME DESTINATION Begin with the following prayer: Father, truly you are my rock, my shield, my glory, and the lifter of my head. Though I am weak and broken inside, I rejoice that you are the kind of God who inclines toward and is near the brokenhearted. For the sake of your compassion and steadfast love, help me to hear from your word. Your word is truth for heart and food for my soul. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 2:12-17 (ESV) 12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness Personal Notes and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise? And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Answer these questions for v. 12-17 1. This passage can be divided into two sections. Can you see the dividing line in the passage? Look for a turning point in focus, tone, or subject. How would you divide it? Explain. Section 1: verses through Section 2: verses through Explain why you divided it like that. 2. The depressing thing Solomon discovers is that no matter how good ( wise ) or bad ( foolish ) you are, everyone dies. Death is utterly indifferent and impartial to your age, race, sex, or even your pristine integrity. Without God, Solomon realizes that there will be no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. (16) If you did not believe in God and truly believed v. 16, how do you think you would live differently? Why? 3. Paul makes his own conclusion if there were no such thing as the resurrection from the dead, If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. (1 Cor. 15:32) In other words, if what Solomon says is true, then the most logical thing we should do is live as comfortable and safe lives as we can! Or to put it in today s terms: get a good job, a good retirement, a padded house, a safe neighborhood, eat healthy, make sure your body looks nice, and don t ever live in such a way that would sacrifice your comfort and safety because this life is all there is! What do you think life should look like for someone who believes in the resurrection of the dead? Compare this to your own life. Does this reveal anything to you about what you practically believe? MEMORY VERSE: 25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26)

PART 3 HARD WORK PAYS OFF? Opening Prayer: My Lord and my God, you alone are worthy of adoration, exhilaration, and exultation. I present my heart before you as a dry and weary land without water. I come humbly to request that you would revive my soul to rejoice in your word. Give me understanding that I may walk with delight in your commandments all the days of my life. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 2:18-26 (ESV) 18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, Personal Notes seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. 24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Answer these questions for v. 18-26 1. Tagging on to the theme of death in v. 12-17, Solomon reflects on what will come of all his accomplishments considering the inevitability of the grave. Read through verses 18-23 and summarize what seems to be the main cause of Solomon s disdain of life without God ( under the sun ). 2. No matter how hard you work or how productive or influential you are, sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. (21) Has this thought every troubled your heart? If not, why not? If so, why would it if you believe that your treasure is in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy. (Matthew 6:20) 3. In verses 24-26 Solomon takes a surprising turn. He inserts the joy that God gives into the meaninglessness of the daily grind. The Hebrew phrase for find enjoyment in verse 25 is make his soul see good. Therefore, the enjoyment that God gives is not the temporary pleasures of this world, but a deeper thrill of the soul that only the godly experience. Consider your own life, when you want relief from the futility of the daily grind, do you reach out for the fleeting joys of the world or the enduring joys of heaven? Why or why not? 4. Look up the following verses and take note of anything you find nourishing for your own soul when you sense the exhaustion of daily life: Hebrews 11:24-26; Psalm 16:11; and 1 Corinthians 15:58.

WEEK 3 PART 1 SEASONS OF LIFE Opening Prayer: Father, without you I can do nothing. Open the eyes of my heart that I may behold wondrous things out of your word. May your Spirit grant me understanding and joy in your word. Nourish my soul with the truth of the gospel, for it alone gives me life eternal. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-15 (ESV) For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 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 find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil this is God's gift to man. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. Personal Notes

Answer the following questions for v. 1-15. 1. This is a very popular passage in the Bible, the problem is that it has become popular for the wrong reason. Typically the alternative pairs in verses 2-8 are believed to be things that we are to do, but actually these are things that God does and appoints for all of us according to his will. In God s sovereign wisdom he has appointed all things for their proper time (see 3:11 to confirm this point). Read through the list yourself. Which of them do you find hardest to accept that God would appoint for you? Why? 2. Look up the following passages and identify the overwhelming theme through them all: Job 14:5; Job 34:14-15; Acts 17:25-26. How do these verses encapsulate the point of Ecclesiastes 3:2-8? 3. Jesus Christ himself was the perfect embodiment of one who surrendered to the Father s appointed plan for his life. Jesus Christ knew that every single moment of his existence was appointed for his death (Luke 18:31-33). There are three applications of this for our own lives. Read through these 2 and reflect on which of them are most important for your own soul to digest. a. Wait for God s time. (Eccl. 3:9-11) b. Live your life knowing that there is a set time for you to die. (Eccl. 3:12) c. Make good use of whatever time you have. (Eccl. 3:13) 4. Reflect on verses 14-15. How does this describe the character of God in a way that might free you to rest in his infinite, sovereign, and wise counsel? 2 Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes, by Philip Ryken; p. 67-69.

PART 2 JOY AND JUSTICE Opening Prayer: Lord, truly you are the great God above all gods. No king, no lord, no ruler compares to your greatness and majesty. I confess to you the rebellion of my heart and it s constant wandering. Please use your word to awaken my soul s longing for more of your presence and power in my life. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 (ESV) 16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the Personal Notes place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Answer all the following questions for verses 16-22. 1. What does Solomon seem to be wrestling with in this passage? 2. Verse 16 states the problem of in-justice that is so prevalent in life. What is Solomon s first response to this issue? (hint: I said in my heart ) How would you summarize this in your own words? If you were to be (have been?) the victim of injustice, do you think that the doctrine of the future judgment of God would be powerful enough for you to persevere under trial? Why or why not? 3. The second response Solomon gives to injustice in the world is that God is testing [man] that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. (v. 18) In other words, God is using life as a means of revealing that we have the same destiny as animals. ( All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Eccl. 3:20) This eventually leads Solomon to a place of agnosticism. Life can appear brutally unfair, especially since we are eventually going back to dust. What s strange is that the section ends with Solomon basically saying, Well, I m not sure if justice will be done, and we re all going back into the ground anyways. I guess I will just block it out and pour into my work. (paraphrase of v. 22) This is characteristic of a person who thinks very little of heavenly things and becomes wrapped up in the day-to-day hustle and bustle of the weekly routine. How frequently do you find your mind drifting toward heavenly things throughout the day? Do you find a growing sense of longing to depart and be with Christ? 4. Read Colossians 3:1-3. What is the cause of a mind that gets liberated from earthly things and fixed upon things above? Consider memorizing this passage and meditating upon throughout the week. Memory Verse: Colossians 3:1-3 18

WEEK 4 THE POISON OF ENVY Opening Prayer Heavenly Father, I come again into your presence with great need and helplessness. For my heart drifts towards dullness to your word. According to your steadfast love, pour out your Spirit that I may understand and delight in all that you reveal through your word. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 1 Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. 4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. 6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure? This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 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! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 13 Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 14 For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king s place. 16 There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Personal Notes 19

Answer the following questions for chapter 4. 1. What are the two sides of Solomon s agony in verse 1? 2. What are the two sides of Solomon s shocking conclusion that he makes in verses 2-3? 3. Solomon used the following phrase twice about the oppressed: they had no one to comfort them. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. What are the specific ways that God works through the affliction of those who are in Christ (e.g. being oppressed)? 4. What does Solomon identify as the fuel which drives all the work of the oppressors in verse 4? 5. Some people might think that the answer is to simply sit back and do nothing, so as not to arouse envy. Therefore verse 5 renders the slothful man as foolish too, for in the end he eats his own flesh. What does he say is the balance between sloth and envious striving? Read Proverbs 15:16 for a fuller explanation of this. 6. Read verses 7-8 and identify the key phrase that seems to link with envy in verse 4? What then is another poisonous consequence of envy? 7. Read verses 9-16 and identify all the reasons why fellowship and friendship are better than isolation and seclusion? 8. Read Mark 15:6-15 and identify the heart-fuel that handed Christ over to be crucified. How does this affect your own view of the cross and the gospel? How does this expose or encourage the expulsion of envy in your own heart? 20

WEEK 5 PART 1 TALK IS CHEAP Opening Prayer My Lord and my God, with humble confidence I approach your throne, pleading the blood of Christ. It is only by your Spirit working in and through your written Word that I can be shaped more into the image of your glorious Son. Make my heart tremble at your word and receive it with all eagerness. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of Personal Notes God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words. 4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. 21

Answer all the following questions for v. 1-7. 1. Verse 3 and verse 7 state the obvious theme of this section of Scripture: fools speak with many words. Look up the following verses and take note of all that you can learn about foolishness and talking too much: Proverbs 10:19; Proverbs 17:28; and Proverbs 18:2. 2. Read back through verses 1-7 and identify the two ways that talking too much expresses itself in the heart of a fool. 3. Compare what is written in verses 1-3 with Matthew 6:7-8. What seems to be the purpose of having simple prayers with few words? 4. Notice that there is nothing against praying for a long time, for even Jesus prayed all night (Luke 6:12). Rather the prohibition is against praying with too many words. Do you find this encouraging or challenging? Why? 5. Looking back over verses 4-7, what do you think is the heart/root issue of making hasty and rash vows before God? Have you ever been guilty of this? When and why did you do it? What were you trying to accomplish? 22

PART 2 MONEY NEVER QUENCHES Opening Prayer God of grace, apart from you I can do nothing. Therefore, incline my heart to your word and not to selfish gain. Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things in your law. Help my unbelief and renew my strength like the eagles. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields. 10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. 13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. 18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. Personal Notes 23

Answer these questions for verses 8-20. 1. Read slowly and carefully through verses 8-17. Take note of all that this passage says about money and riches and write them down. 2. Looking back at those that you wrote, which of them stands out to you the most? Why? Do you think there might be any reason that the Lord is bringing that one to mind? 3. Compare 1 Timothy 6:6-10 with Ecclesiastes 5:15. What are some similarities? What new insights do you see or gain? 4. What seems to be the theme of verses 18-20? What is the key to being delivered from the seduction of being satisfied with an income? 5. How does this gospel preserve and protect us from love of money and stinginess? See 2 Corinthians 8:9. 24

WEEK 6 WANDERING APPETITE Opening Prayer Bless you, O Lord, for you are the great satisfier of the soul. To live a vain life is to experience all the satisfaction this world has to offer, but never taste and see that You alone are good. Grant that I would taste that your steadfast love is better than life. Help me see you through your word. Amen. Read Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good do not all go to the one place? 7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. 10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun? Personal Notes 25

Answer the following questions for Ecclesiastes 6:1-12. 1. Reading through this entire chapter, what seems to be the theme that Solomon is addressing. Look for words or phrases that repeat themselves. 2. Why do you think Solomon would say that a perpetually unsatisfied man is worse off than a stillborn child? Does he say anything that would help you answer the question? 3. Solomon refers to what this man does (i.e. is never satisfied in life) as a grievous evil. (end of v. 2) What do you typically associate with the term grievous evil? 4. How can Solomon consider never being fully satisfied as a grievous evil? Look up Jeremiah 2:12-13 to see how the prophet Jeremiah explains it. 5. Look up the following verses and identify all the ways that the Scriptures say God is the one who truly satisfies the soul: Psalm 63:5-6; Psalm 90:14; Psalm 107:9; Psalm 145:16; Isaiah 58:11; Jeremiah 31:25. 6. According to Ecclesiastes 6:2 (see also Psalm 4:7), why is the man unable to enjoy all that God has given him? What do you think are the implications of this for the way that joy relates to the Christian life? 26

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