The Beginning of Wisdom Pt.3
The Beginning of Wisdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewThis is a survey of the books of wisdom for the Old and New Testament books.
Notes
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Hebel, Hebel, Hebel!
Hebel, Hebel, Hebel!
12 Be warned, my children, against anything more than these. People never stop writing books. Too much studying will wear out your body.
13 After having heard it all, this is the conclusion: Fear God, and keep his commands, because this applies to everyone.
14 God will certainly judge everything that is done. This includes every secret thing, whether it is good or bad.
This is important to grasp these verses as we start from the back of the Book. It will establish the importance of the Fear of the Lord. When we see what the teacher has taken us through in the front of the book we realize that all is vanity.
But what does he mean when he says all is vanity? All is vain? All is meaningless? All is hebel?
Well to understand what the author means and how he came to this closing conclusion we have to examine the front half.
So let’s go.
Qoheleth - Which is Hebrew for the teacher or leader of the assembly.
1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?
New Living Translation Study Bible Chapter 1
The Teacher begins by observing that each natural and historical activity is accentuated by its circular repetitive rhythm of coming and going, being and not being. This can lead to the despairing cry that everything is meaningless.
The word hebel here is used metaphorically to describe what is incomprehensible, futile, meaningless, false, or insubstantial. The term is often used to describe the insubstantiality, unreality, and worthlessness of false gods. Hebel stands for the way life is fleeting and momentary, like vapor. In other cases, it refers to the meaninglessness and frustration of life. The brevity, frustration, and apparent meaninglessness of life can be depressing.
So if life has no purpose, then what is the point in all of this?
To motivate us toward working more wisely and diligently and enjoying life while we can.
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.
7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.
8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (King James Version) A. The Great Disappointment of Life: Nothing on Earth Lasts, Endures, or Fully Satisfies the Human Heart, 1:1–2:26
Solomon’s primary purpose in writing Ecclesiastes was to communicate this one crucial, life-altering point: All things fail to fully satisfy the human heart.
Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (King James Version) A. The Great Disappointment of Life: Nothing on Earth Lasts, Endures, or Fully Satisfies the Human Heart, 1:1–2:26
Frail man’s life is filled with labor and activity, but where does it get him when all is said and done? He is on a treadmill, a tiresome round of motion without progress. You ask him why he works, and he replies, “To get money, of course.” But why does he want money? To buy food. And why does he want food? To maintain his strength. Yes, but why does he want strength? He wants strength so he can work. And so there he is, right back where he began.
13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
15 What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.
In this section the concluding verses is 13-15
Where Solomon exclaims that all is meaningless, but 15 summarizes it all.
There will always be problems, that’s just the way of life. Why because the world is sin stricken and broken.
17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.
19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
Man’s sin has cursed the perfect world that God created. Because of this, man suffers the consequences of his actions.
Work is not cursed, the actions of it are.
Stress
Anxiety
Tiring
Injustice
Lack of
Lay-offs
Cut backs
Shortages
These are the things that man has had to deal with since the fall of mankind.
1 I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
2 So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?”
3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards.
5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.
6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves.
7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me.
8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me.
10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors.
11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
Spending all of your time chasing after your desires is futile, it only produces a desire for more and more is really never enough.
16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.
17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’
18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.
19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
So Jesus tells this parable of a wealthy farmer who acquires much but shares little. Only to one day after a prideful conversation with himself, God decides to take his life that night.
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
So this why what the teacher is saying is so important, he has done all his hearts desire has allowed and because he has had it all, he could do it all. But only to find out, it is all meaningless.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work?
10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.
11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.
13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.
15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.
We must find happiness in the little things that we are blessed with. Only then can you truly appreciate the goodness of God.
20 Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.
15 The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied— no, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16 the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.
4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
5 “Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.”
6 And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”
7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.
8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.
10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?
12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
1 A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born.
2 Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.
4 A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
5 Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.
To get better, you need to be around better then you. Don’t ever arrive!
17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
11 Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.
12 To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry.
13 Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14 Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.
Tell the story of Joshua’s (my son) great wealth.
Learn to give with open hands and you will never be without.
God has given us all abilities to prosper, learn and use your talents.
11 When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.
12 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off.
Don’t ever think you can sin without penalty. As a man sows, so shall he reap.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.
8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
2 The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.
3 It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.
4 There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”
5 The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.
6 Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.
Enjoy life to the fullest now, because tomorrow you may not be able too.
1 Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.
13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.
14 There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
15 A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.
16 So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.
17 Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.
18 Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
Learn to shut-up and listen quietly to people, you’ll be surprised what they tell you about themselves.
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
10 Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.
12 But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.
13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.
14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
In the end all that really matters is keeping God the main thing. Make the main thing… The main thing.