Four Lies About Life

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

Four lies about life.

1.        Exposing four lies about life

a.       Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone.

b.      Everyday in every way our world is getting better and better.

c.       There is a light at the end of every tunnel.

d.      Things never are as bad as they seem so dream, dream, dream.

2.       Telling the truth about existence

a.       Solomon gives us straight facts about human existence regardless of how disturbing we may find them.

b.      He is a man with experience

                                                               i.      A basic premise v.1-3

1.       Solomon Identifies himself as what?

2.       What is his overall assessment of Hebrew literature: Words are life.

                                                             ii.      Examples of Futility

1.       The passing generations v.4

2.       The cycles of Nature v.5-8

3.       The curiosity of man v.8b

4.       The absence of something new v.9-11

c.        People fail to acknowledge the absence of newness because they do not remember former events and accomplishments. V.10b-11

d.      The searching/searcher and his pursuit. V.12-18

3.        Thinking through the practical ramifications.

a.       If there is nothing but nothing under the sun, our only hope must be above it.

b.      If a man had everything invested everything visible and found nothing of value, then the one thing he needed must have been invisible.

4.       Before we finish reading even the first three verses of Ecclesiastes we can sense fultility.

5.       Solomon muses, life can be as frustrating as chasing the wind.

6.       Solomon had to conclude that human wisdom does not bring relief from life’s frustrations.

Questions:

1.        How does intellectualism affect your life?

2.       Are you placing a higher value on the quest for knowledge than you should?  Or have you mistakenly opted for the opposite extreme, concluding that ignorance is bliss?

3.       Do you feel you have a healthy balanced approach toward learning?

Activity

My Pursuit of satisfaction through knowledge write down your feelings on the issue of knowledge.

CS Lewis – Mere Christianity p 120.