Ecclesiastes - Intro/Prologue

Wisdom Literature for application  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  38:30
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A look at the book

You cannot always tell a book by its cover, and Ecclesiastes is a very rich book that is oftentimes overlooked when looking at the Bible. There is much wisdom we can get from this book, but it starts with a brief look at the book.
(insert picture Koheleth) - already saved on computer
While the book is one of the most puzzling, but fascinating books in the Bible it is often overlooked for it does not flow the way many of the other books do. Some consider it just down right depressing while others don’t even think it should be in the canon of the bible and is uninspired.
It is a book that we should not overlook, should not ignore, in our society that is very materialistic it is very applicable today as it was then.
The word Koheleth is the Hebrew word meaning teacher and in the Septuagint (Hebrew Bible) it is defined as one who addresses the assembly of citizens.
The book consists of 12 chapters, 222 verses and 5,584 words.
Name of book derived from word Koheleth
Authorship: credited to Solomon due to (Ecc1:1) implied
Ecclesiastes 1:1 NASB95
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
There are some factions that believe Solomon as the author and that it was written postexilic (after captivity)
Further evidence of Solomon being the author his wisdom (Ecc1:16; 1Kig3:12); building activities (Ecc2:4-6; 1Kng7:1-12); wealth (Ecc2:7-9; 2Chr9:13-28)
Wisdom
Ecclesiastes 1:16 NASB95
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
His building of the temple and other building activities
Ecclesiastes 2:4–5 NASB95
4 I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;
Ecclesiastes 2:6 NASB95
6 I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.
His wealth
Ecclesiastes 2:7–8 NASB95
7 I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.
Ecclesiastes 2:9 NASB95
9 Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.
On your outline there are some other passages listed outside of ECC that you can look up if you choose.
Date: If Solomon is the writer then it would be around 945 BC
Like all other Old Testament books they are written for our learning (Rom15:4), admonition (1Cor10:11) and instructions in righteousness (2Tim3:16-17)
For our learning
Romans 15:4 NASB95
4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
For ouradmonition
1 Corinthians 10:11 NASB95
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
For our training
2 Timothy 3:16–17 NASB95
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Here is an interesting fact for you, there is no quotes in the N.T. from Ecclesiastes, though there are a couple of allusions to it (Rom8:20; Jam3:14)
The Message: Futility of life “under the sun” (Ecc1:2, 14); importance of serving God through life (Ecc11:9-12:1, 12:13-14)
Life under the sun is futile
Ecclesiastes 1:2 NASB95
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14 NASB95
14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
Serve God always
Ecclesiastes 11:9–10 NASB95
9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10 So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.
Ecclesiastes 12:1 NASB95
1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;
Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 NASB95
13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
Under the sun: Used 29 times in 27 verses: it means from an earthly point of view with no consideration of God.
Other notable things.
written in two opposite views of life. the Humanistic view with no divine revelation of God; the other as one whom God has revealed Himself too.
Goads and nails (Ecc12:11) - goads to goad the reader to think; nails to anchor the thinking to provide stability
Ecclesiastes 12:11 NASB95
11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.
It is believed that Solomon wrote Song of Solomon in his youth, Proverbs in his maturity; Ecclesiastes in his old age after 40 years on the throne
Teachings of the book (in general)
About God: Fear of God and the grace of God
About death; life is short, death is sure
About life: Life is hard and unfair, but joy found in God’s provision
About Christ: Indirectly, Christ is the greatest good; Christ is the One Shepherd.
about 10 vanities found in the book;
Human wisdom and human labor
Human purpose and human rivalry
Human avarice and human fame
Avarice: Extreme greed for wealth and material gain.
Human insatiety; human coveting
Insatiety is unsatisfied desire of clothing that would never be able to have and maintain.
Human frivolity; human rewards
Some of the people that are described, painted
The hedonist (Ecc2:1-11)
The workaholic (Ecc2:18-23)
the plutocrat (Ecc5:8-17)
The fool (Ecc7:1-8)
The unfaithful woman (Ecc7:26-29)
Ecclesiastes is a masterpiece in the describing, critiquing of secular humanism.

The Prologue

As we now start our study, look at Ecclesiastes and the vanity of all things, just tonight we have 3 things to still look at: The assertion (Ecc1:2-3); the illustration (Ecc1:4-8) and the application (Ecc1:9-11)
The assertion (Ecc1:2-3)
Ecclesiastes 1:2–3 NASB95
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” 3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?
Vanity used 39 times and primary definition is “a breath” or a “vapor” similar to the describer used of life in (Jam4:14)
James 4:14 NASB95
14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
the word shows the fleeting, perishable, transitory frail and unsatisfying of our efforts, our life here. Man gets little out of the effort, little reward
This is displayed in the negative sense but what he is really portraying throughout the book is if one leaves out the heavenly (spiritual; God) what does he have left in life?
Solomon writing from, what seems to be his own life experiences finding out what vanity truly is and what it did to him when he was away from God (1Kng11:1-13) to then have the return and the sum of all things (Ecc12:13-14)
1 Kings 11:1–2 NASB95
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love.
1 Kings 11:3–4 NASB95
3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
1 Kings 11:5–6 NASB95
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done.
1 Kings 11:7–8 NASB95
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
1 Kings 11:9–10 NASB95
9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded.
and the end result
1 Kings 11:11 NASB95
11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.
I know that was a long passage but I could not leave it out it helps us to paint the picture so we can get a better understanding of the book we are studying
We see the theme displayed; everything is vanity, futile, useless, meaningless (under the sun that is)
We see the question posed: Why bother, to what profit? He is setting things up to answer this question from his personal life throughout the book.
This section sets up some of the big questions of life
Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here, what am I to be doing since I’m here?
The Illustration (Ecc1:4-8)
Ecclesiastes 1:4–5 NASB95
4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. 5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.
Ecclesiastes 1:6–7 NASB95
6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. 7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.
Ecclesiastes 1:8 NASB95
8 All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
Like a carousel horse that is always in motion but never getting anywhere here we see four illustrations of ceaseless, but yet still futile activity
Generation to generation (v.4)
Have you ever seen a 2000 year old man walking around?
Man comes and goes, generations come and Go
(insert generations picture already saved on the computer)
While man may have been given dominion over the earth (Gen1:26) man still is only here for a short time in the scheme of things. Man replaces man, generation replaces generation.
As man enters grows, impacts and as he is departing the next is entering to take over.
The one constant is the earth, it remains forever (keep in mind this is written from humanistic view with God not in the picture at all)
Rising and setting, rising of the sun (v.5)
(insert Sunrise Sunset picture already saved on computer)
The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West and each day it does it again, and again, a monotonous routine.
Maybe you have said this “As sure as the sun rises and sets I will . . . “ It does not change, it makes no changes, makes no progress.
The movement, circuits of the wind (v.6)
(insert blowing wind picture already saved on computer)
This powerful force that we cannot see (for most part) it appears to be the freest of all the created things. Nonetheless it is predictable (for the most part) it has a pattern, it accomplishes nothing. It repeats itself (for the most part)
The flow of the streams, unending to the ocean (v.7)
(insert stream to the ocean picture already saved on the computer)
The rivers, the streams continue to flow to the ocean but the ocean never fills, is never full.
Teacher (Koheleth) is showing through the illustrations the futility of this world and that it is monotonous, sameness and purposelessness. It is tiresome to do the work and accomplish nothing.
This is one of his negative items that was introduced in the introduction today. That can be downright depressing and that now leads to the application section
The Application (Ecc1:9-11)
Ecclesiastes 1:9–10 NASB95
9 That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.
Ecclesiastes 1:11 NASB95
11 There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.
The more things change, the more they are the same (v.9)
After the illustrations of nature, comes now the point that this transpires with human history too. Things repeat themselves. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Again monotony is brought in.
There is nothing new; everything already existed long ago (v.10)
From his view there is nothing new under the sun, what appears to be new has already been and will continue to be
Man is forgetful of the past and irresponsible on passing on for the future (v.11; Deu6:6-9)
If we forget the past we are sure to repeat it, aren’t we? I’m sure we have heard that before, but we are apt to forget the past. We have short memories.
We also fail to pass onto the next generation much regarding history that we should pass on, eventhough God in the Law of Moses told man to do that
Deuteronomy 6:6–7 NASB95
6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
Deuteronomy 6:8–9 NASB95
8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Conclusion: While it may appear that Koheleth is just unhappy, despondent, gloomy, a pessimist. May we remember he is writing from humanistic view, from life on ground level without God. Speaking of things “under the sun.” Without God human activity is futile and there is no future, but with God everything changes and may we not forget when and how.
(Encouragement/invitation slide 1) Encouragement (Encouragement slide 2) - prayer (exit slide)
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