Sermon Tone Analysis

Ecclesiastes Wisdom Series

Ecclesiastes

In this book we hear the skeptical voice of “the teacher.”

He observes that living by the book of Proverbs doesn’t always bring positive results.

Sometimes life is hard and defies neat explanations.

How do you live with that tension, and still strive for wisdom?

Ecclesiastes is the second of the biblical wisdom books.

About Ecclesiastes

The Book of Ecclesiastes is the critic's response to Proverbs, which states we live a good life when we fear God and follow wisdom.

This book's author and the teacher believe that life is hevel, temporary and fleeting like smoke or vapor.

We all try to build meaning and purpose in life apart from God, investing in pursuits and things that have no lasting meaning, but time marches on, we all die and bad things happen to good people.

In the end, the key to contentment comes from wisdom, accepting hevel, fearing God, keeping His commandments and putting our trust in Him.

We remain puzzled by life's mysteries, but He will bring true justice that fuels our ability to live lives of honesty and integrity.

Hevel The author of the Book of Ecclesiastes believes that life is hevel or beautiful and mysterious but unclear, confusing, disorienting and uncontrollable like the fog.

March of TimeOur existence is like a blur or blink of an eye and passes as a shadow compared to the longevity of God's creation and timeline.

We All DieNo matter what we do or who we are, we will die.

Death is the great equalizer that renders most of our daily activities meaningless.

Life's Random NatureLife is unpredictable, out of our control and nonsensical.

Good people suffer while evil people live long.

We fail if we try to master life.

Fear GodLife is mysterious, but we can fear God, keep His commandments, enjoy the moment and trust His judgment because one day He will clear hevel.Ecclesiastes

1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,

“Vanity of vanities!

All is vanity.”

3 What advantage does man have in all his work

New International Version (NIV)

Everything Is Meaningless

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.12

I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven.

It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.

14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.

15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.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.”

17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.

18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

1 The words of the Teacher,[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:

Chapter 2

1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure.

So enjoy yourself.”

And behold, it too was futility.

2 I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

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; 6 I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.

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.9

Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

My wisdom also stood by me. 10 All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them.

I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.

11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.12

So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?

13 And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.

14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.

And yet I know that one fate befalls them both.

15 Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me.

Why then have I been extremely wise?”

So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”

16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch asin the coming days all will be forgotten.

And how the wise man and the fool alike die! 17 So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.18

Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?

Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun.

This too is vanity.

20 Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them.

This too is vanity and a great evil.