Ecclesiastes 11-12

Wisdom Literature

This is not the Bible you are used to reading.

In light of the Teacher's assessment of life's fleeting nature, what is one change you could make in how you approach your daily choices?

Embracing Life's Wonders: A Journey of Meaning

Bible Passage: Ecclesiastes 11, Ecclesiastes 12

Summary: The final chapters of Ecclesiastes encourage us to recognize the fleeting nature of life while embracing joy, wisdom, and our responsibilities, ultimately pointing to the need for a relationship with God.

Application: This passage helps Christians navigate life's uncertainties by encouraging them to enjoy the present, live wisely, and remember their Creator. In times of struggle, it offers a perspective that values joy and meaningful living in the face of mortality.

Teaching: The sermon teaches that life is a gift from God and urges believers to actively engage in the present, make wise choices, and maintain a God-centered perspective, especially in the context of inevitable aging and death.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the scope of Scripture, Christ fulfills the yearning for meaning in life and provides hope beyond the grave, showing that through Him, even the fleeting moments of life gain eternal significance.

Big Idea: Life is to be embraced as a gift, filled with joy and purpose, while recognizing our impermanence and God's eternal nature.

Recommended Study: Consider exploring the historical context of Ecclesiastes, focusing on the author’s intention and philosophical perspectives raised. Examine translations for nuanced meanings of key terms like 'meaningless' and 'enjoy'. In Logos, you could delve into the commentaries that provide insights on cultural practices surrounding grief and joy in ancient Israel to enrich your understanding and application.

1. Seize the Opportunities

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

You could emphasize the importance of living generously and casting your resources widely, trusting that God will bring forth fruit in unexpected ways. This point suggests that in embracing life's opportunities and uncertainties, believers can grow in faith and live with a joyful purpose, reflecting the eternal significance found in Christ's teachings. It aligns with the sermon's big idea by highlighting the act of embracing life as a gift from God.

2. Savor the Sunshine

Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

Perhaps focus on the joy of embracing the light of each day, even in youth, by living with intentionality and refraining from anxiety and bitterness. This sermon point encourages believers to appreciate life's moments in the light of God's truth, offering a Christ-centered view of life that acknowledges its impermanence but also its beauty and worth, consistent with living a God-centered life.

3. Reflect on Your Creator

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

You could suggest the value of remembering the Creator in the days of one's youth, highlighting the inevitable journey towards aging. This point underscores the importance of grounding life in a relationship with God, which aligns with the Christocentric focus on enduring meaning through Christ. It supports the big idea by recognizing our impermanence and the significance of purposeful living.

4. Rest in God's Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Maybe emphasize the conclusion of seeking wisdom and keeping God's commandments as essential to meaningful living. This wraps up the sermon by framing the search for wisdom and purpose as an ongoing journey that is realized in following God's guidance, culminating in eternal significance through Christ's fulfillment of our deepest longings. It solidifies the sermon's message of a life grounded in God's eternal nature.

Ecclesiastes 1:1 CSB

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 CSB

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

Ecclesiastes 11:1–2 CSB

Send your bread on the surface of the water, for after many days you may find it. Give a portion to seven or even to eight, for you don’t know what disaster may happen on earth.

Ecclesiastes 11:3–5 CSB

If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or the north, the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap. Just as you don’t know the path of the wind, or how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman, so also you don’t know the work of God who makes everything.

Ecclesiastes 11:6–8 CSB

In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don’t know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good. Light is sweet, and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun. Indeed, if someone lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many. All that comes is futile.

Ecclesiastes 11:9–10 CSB

Rejoice, young person, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the desire of your eyes; but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment. Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

Ecclesiastes 12:1–4 CSB

So remember your Creator in the days of your youth: Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain; on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind grain cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly, the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint.

Ecclesiastes 12:5–7 CSB

Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street; before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 CSB

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”

Ecclesiastes 12:9–11 CSB

In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs. The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately. The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.

Ecclesiastes 12:12–14 CSB

But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

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What does the Teacher mean by saying, 'All that comes is futile'?

How can we focus on meaningful actions instead of being paralyzed by life's uncertainties?

In light of the Teacher's assessment of life's fleeting nature, what is one change you could make in how you approach your daily choices?