Rich Nelson Uncategorized

1: Everything is meaningless — Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

Get Ready

A few years ago the phrase, “same old same old” was the answer to, “How are you,” usually meaning things are just as they were, nothing is new. Have you felt this way recently? What aspects of your life seemed to be repeating themselves? How did you feel about the situation? Did you change anything?

The Word

1 The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher, 
“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all the toil
at which they toil under the sun?
4A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises and the sun goes down,
and hurries to the place where it rises.
6The wind blows to the south,
and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they continue to flow.
8All thingsare wearisome;
more than one can express;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
or the ear filled with hearing.
9What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been,
in the ages before us.
11The people of long ago are not remembered,
nor will there be any remembrance
of people yet to come
by those who come after them.

12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. 14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. 

15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16 I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind.

18 For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. From the brief introduction, what can you conclude about the author [there’s more in the Introduction and Notes]?

2. What is the writer’s main point? How does the he reinforce this idea? What images does the writer use? Which image seems strongest to you? Why?

3. How does the author feel about history? About creativity? About memory?

4. What task did the writer undertake? How did he deal with it? What was the result of his efforts? What image does he use?

Get Personal

1. Do you agree “nothing under the sun is truly new?” Why do you think this way? What difference would thinking the other way make in your life?

2. How would you reconcile v. 18 with the statement that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom?” How does our relationship with Christ affect our view of life? Of the world? Of the future? 

Notes . . .

1:1. Teacher – this is the only book that uses this particular Hebrew word, so its exact meaning is not clear. Other translations use “preacher” or “leader of the assembly.”
King David’s son – most scholars accept Solomon as the author, although some argue that the literary style comes from a period at least 500 years after the time of Solomon.
1:2. Meaningless – the Hebrew is even stronger, incorporating futile, worthless, empty, without value. NOTE: The NRSV retains the archaic language of the King James Version: Vanity of vanities,” says the Teacher, “vanity of vanities! All is vanity. Verse 2, above, is the New International Version (2011).
1:3. Gain – the Hebrew word refers to profit: what is left over, what value has increased.
Toil – the Hebrew phrase actually means “hard to do,” and includes concepts like burdensome, difficult, unpleasant or troublesome. David expressed a similar frustration: Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil, [Psalm 39:6, also Psalm 144:4].
Under the sun – the first use of this phrase (there are 28 more – sometimes it’s translated “under heaven”) limits the scope of the Solomon’s exploration and analysis to the natural world, with no examination of its spiritual aspect or future. Paul provides an interesting counterpoint to this picture: We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have he first fruits of the Spirit, [Rom 8:22-23]. 
1:4-8. A generation . . . sun . . . wind . . . streams – remember, Solomon is relying only on what he can observe. And what he sees is the apparently endless cycle of people and nature going through the “same old same old.” He also sees very little purpose to this activity, describing it as wearisome more than one can express, [v. 8]. In this, Solomon is confirming the prophecy of Genesis 3:19: By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

1:8. Not satisfied — an echo of Proverbs 27:20: Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and human eyes are never satisfied. 
1:9-11. Nothing new — the individuals may change, the location may change, the technology may be different, but the nature of the events and their outcomes are the same as before. Solomon had watched military campaigns change from his fathers foot soldiers to the horse-driven chariots his warriors used. He would definitely be surprised by the HumVee’s and radio-controlled unmanned aircraft in use today, but not by the objectives of the fighting.
Is this new — only God can do something that really has never been done before: I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, [Isa 43:19].
1:13. Wisdom — this is not the wisdom of Job [28:28] or Proverbs [1:7], which involves knowing our relationship to God. Solomon is here referring only to what he can understand with his five senses and his analytical ability. Paul put it bluntly in his first letter to the Corinthian church: Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; that they are futile,” [3:18-20].
1:14. Chasing after wind — a very appropriate visual image of meaningless effort with no gain. Solomon used it nine times in this book.
Interestingly, Jesus says the wind refers to the Holy Spirit: The wind blows where is chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Sprit, [John 3:18].
1:18. Wisdom . . . vexation — with his human wisdom and great resources Solomon could study much more than most people of his day (even without Wikipedia). But the only “reward” for his effort was more certainty that everything is meaning-less and the resulting increase in his grief, [v. 18].

Memory Verse
For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow. [1:18]

Next Lesson
The futility of self-indulgence — Ecclesiastes 2

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

Ecclesiastes

This will be a bit of a change. We’re in the Jewish Scriptures (we call it the “Old Testament”). We’re roughly a thousand years before Jesus showed up in Galilee. And we’re looking through an entirely different lens (more like looking backward through a telescope).

Introduction

Ecclesiastes is one of the most unusual books in the whole Bible. 

Most of the Bible gives us God’s perspective on things. Just look at the opening of Genesis: “In the beginning God . . .” And at the end of Revelation we read that God has finished this part of his creation. The Bible is by God, about God and his creation, so that we can understand who God is and our relationship with him

And then, in the middle of the Old Testament there is this book that is essentially about us, from our perspective. Ecclesiastes has a human point of view.

Let’s take a closer look.

Author

In the Jewish tradition, King Solomon, David’s son, is the author of Ecclesiastes. We get this from the description in the first chapter. The writer says he is “King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem,” in verse 1, and then says “I . . . was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem,” in verse 12. He also says he is “wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 

Now we know that actually there was only one king in Jerusalem before him – his father David. But we also know that God gave Solomon greater knowledge and wisdom than any other person alive at that time, (you can get the details in 1 Kings 3 or 2 Chronicles 1).

The writer also says Ecclesiastes is the work of “the teacher.” The Hebrew word here is not used anywhere else in the Bible. The closest scholars have gotten is the Hebrew word for “assembly,” so the English take on this one has been “teacher,” “preacher,” or even “leader of the assembly,” depending on the translation.

Over the years some scholars have concluded that Solomon did not write this book. They argue that the vocabulary and style of writing is different than most writings from the time of Solomon, and is closer to the linguistic style of later writing – sometime between 450 BCE and 250 BCE. But some more recent studies have questioned that earlier conclusion.

Theme and Purpose

Solomon’s theme is very obvious. He hits us with it right after he identifies himself: “Everything is meaningless,” [1:2]. He closes the book with the same phrase, [12:8]. And in between he uses it 28 other times. (NOTE: the NRSV retains the poetic imagery of the King James translation, “vanities,” but the New International Version, along with most contemporary translations, uses the clearer “meaningless.”)

There is some irony in the fact that the wisest person in the world, not to mention the wealthiest person in the world at that time, looks at the world and can only conclude that nothing is worthwhile – “Everything is meaningless.”

We have to dig a little deeper, however, to understand why Solomon wrote this book, and why it is part of the Bible.

First, a little background on Solomon.

Many are familiar with the beginning of his reign. His father, David, appointed Solomon as his heir and successor. Shortly after David’s death God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted as Israel’s king. Solomon replied that, “here am I among your own chosen people, a nation so great they are too numerous to count! Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great nation of yours?” God granted his request and included “riches and honor” as well, “And if you follow me and obey my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life,” [1 Kings 3:8-14].

Well, Solomon followed God for a long time, but eventually he began ignoring God’s commands. He built up a huge standing army and built lavish palaces. He took 700 wives, many of them from the nations God had told the Israelites not to marry. And, as God had warned, they led Solomon away from trusting God to worship their gods. God told Solomon that was the end of his help and the end of the kingdom of Israel; the kingdom would be divided during his son’s reign, [1 Kings 11:1-13]. 

Without trust in God, Solomon had to rely only on his human wisdom.

Ecclesiastes is the record of Solomon’s exploration and evaluation of this world.

In addition to the primary conclusion, “everything is meaningless,” Solomon uses two other phrases that show his purpose and his method.

The first is “under the sun,” (sometimes “under heaven”). The writer uses this phrase to identify the scope of his search: information or data that is available to our senses, that is part of this world. Unlike Proverbs, there is no discussion of spiritual things, and no mention of any type of revelation.

The second phrase is “I thought in my heart,” or “I thought to myself.” This is Solomon’s intent to use only his own, admittedly great, powers of reason and analysis. He may have examined much of the world as he knew it, but he used only his own intelligence to evaluate it.

Ecclesiastes is the record of Solomon’s search for meaning in this life on this planet. He concludes that, without God, there is none.

Many people have considered Ecclesiastes the counterpoint to Proverbs, but I disagree. I believe that Ecclesiastes is the counterpoint to the Psalms – Solomon’s intellectual response to what he can see and analyze versus David’s emotional and spiritual response to God’s actions (or sometimes apparent lack of action) in his life.

Next Lesson
Everything is meaningless – Ecclesiastes 1