Just animals

Eccles. 3:18-22

18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

• How is man without God's influence different from the beasts of the earth?
  
• From Solomon's pre-Christ perspective, how are man and beast the same?
  - If man and beast are the same, why bother with being righteous?
  - If man and beast are the same, what is better than being happy in what you do?
  
• How did the coming of Christ make the difference between man and beast clearer and wider?
  - Without Christ, how is man's fate different from the beasts?
  - With Christ, how is man's fate different from the beasts?
  - Without Christ, how is man's motivations different from the beasts?
  - With Christ, how is man's motivations different from the beasts?

Harold's Musings:
Once again, Solomon concludes it is better to just rejoice in your work. At this stage in the journey, things are not looking hopeful. You bury a man and his dog; then dig them up years later, you see roughly the same thing: bones. As Solomon says, who knows if their fate was the same or different. If I look around me today, I hear people saying there is no difference; that when you die you are over. People are reaching the same conclusion that Solomon did. But we have insight that the wisest man on earth did not. We know that Christ came and that he provided a solution for the question posed here. I love my dogs, but God loved me enough to send His son to die for me and you. I am different than a beast because I am in Christ.

Where is justice?

Eccles. 3:16-17

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

• How different is your observation of life under the sun from Solomon's?
  - How has mankind changed in the thousands of years since Solomon?
  
• When have you been treated wickedly (or at least badly) instead of justly?
  
• When have you treated someone wickedly (or at least badly) instead of justly?
  
• When do you consider God's future judgment to be a promise?
  - What level of satisfaction do you have knowing that a wicked person will be punished later?
• When do you consider God's future judgment as something to dread?
  - How has Christ changed your view of the upcoming judgment?
  - When have you knowingly sinned because you were sure of Christ's forgiveness?

Harold's Musings:
I can easily get angry, especially when I see the evil that someone is doing. I was angry when the planes hit the World Trade Center. I was angry when I saw the photos of the puppy baked alive by two teenage boys. I continue to get angry when I see the insanity of the radical Muslims in Iraq. I want God to deliver justice now. But there will be a time when these things will be judged by the righteous and unbribable judge of all of us. While I may want justice for evildoers now, God knows best the time for judgment.

Rejoice and Do Good

Eccles. 3:12-15

12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. [1]

Footnotes
[1] 3:15 Hebrew what has been pursued

• Previously {Eccles. 2:24) Solomon stated that there was "nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good." What does he now add to the "nothing better" list?
  
• Why might it be hard to rejoice/be glad under the sun?
  - What influences your willingness to rejoice and be glad?
  - How does your life's quests influence your willingness or ability to rejoice?
  - How does comparing your efforts to those of others influence your rejoicing?
  
• Where does the rejoicing, doing good, eating, drinking, and seeing good in your work come from?
  - How does recognizing this influence your outlook on life?
  
• Why does Solomon move next to God's works?
  - Why is it important to remember the permanence of what God has done?
  - Why has God worked?
  - What are some of the results of mankind's ignoring that God has worked in the world?
  
• When might you want to add to or alter God's works?
  - When have you complained about God's design? [If I'd only been born with ...]
  - When have you complained about God's decisions? [Why did you let ...]
  - How does fearing God relate to rejoicing and being glad?

Eternity in your heart

Eccles. 3:9-11

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

• Since God has appointed times for everything, why should you strive and struggle to make a difference under the sun?
  - What profit do you seek from your work under the sun?
  
• What are some of the forces that drive people to work?
  
• According to Solomon, why did God give man labor to do?
  - What can happen when people are idle?
  - What is the difference between idleness and relaxation?
  - How does God's giving labor to man fit with His time table?
  
• What does it mean by God set eternity in man's heart?
  - How is this manifested?
  - How have you noticed this in your life?
• How might the following be the result of the "eternity setting"?
  - quest for fame
  - quest for heirs
  - quest to build and/or accomplish great things
  - sense of "why bother"
  
• How does the "eternity setting" relate to knowing what God has done?
  - How does the "eternity setting" relate to God's time table?

Harold's Musings:
Every once in awhile you get a glimpse of what is under your hood. You get to see your engine, the thing that drives you. You have eternity set in your heart but you have finite life. It is like having the fastest Ferrari made, but having a 30 mile per hour speed limit all around you. In our inner being we know: We were made for eternity. We were made for Eden. We were made for perfect relationships. Yet we groan because that is not what we have. Our groanings cause us to look for substitutes; yet Solomon has stated that the substitutes are vanity. Now that you know the "eternity setting" is on, you can live with a view to eternity; if you choose to not chase the wind.

To every thing ...

Eccles. 3:1-8

3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

• Which would you choose from each pair of opposites?
  - Which choices do you feel the most strongly about?
  
• Why do the "bad" things have appointed times like the "good" things?
  - What do you feel when it is time for the "bad" things? Why?
• How does this list reinforce the empty nature of life under the sun?
  - What bothers you most about the list: its basic futility or your lack of control?
  - What pleases you most about the list: that good will happen or that God controls?
  
• How do you know which thing it is time for?
  
• How does this list encourage increased dependence on God?
  - How might this list be discouraging in general?

Harold's Musings:
In 1965, the folk rock group the Byrds recorded Turn, Turn, Turn, a song based on this passage. I suspect that was the first time I ever looked at this book. As a high school student, I thought I knew what this passage was about. With many years of experience, I look back and see something much different. At first glance, it suggests everything is just fate and you cannot control it. Or maybe your first glance challenges you to know the right time for everything so that you can control it. I now see the futility of worrying about so much. God is in control and I am not. So what if I miss the right time to gather stones, God can deal with it. If God were not on my side, then life would be even more stressful. I'm so thankful that God loves me and cares for me.

Nothing Better

Eccles. 2:22-26

22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. 24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment [1] in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him [2] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Footnotes
[1] 2:24 Or and make his soul see good
[2] 2:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me

• What does it take to have true enjoyment in life?
  
• After Solomon evaluates labor under the sun and finds it futile and empty, what does he say that a man should do?
  
• Why would Solomon stress mere eating and drinking?
  - How many of us would be content with mere eating and drinking?
  
• Why should a man tell himself that his labor is good?
  - How often have you quested for the recognition of others?
  - How often have you labored so that others would tell you how well you did?
  - Is there anything wrong with receiving recognition?
  - What are the risks of seeking or questing for recognition?
  - How might Gal. 6:3-5 harmonize with v. 24?
• What is God's role in your enjoyment of life?
  - How much do you enjoy life?
  - Is your enjoyment based on the pleasures of life or God's part in your life?
  
• What does Solomon say is a result of being good in God's sight?
  - How does this reflect the promises of the God's covenant with Israel?
  - Should you expect this today? Why or why not?

Harold's Musings:
In this passage, we first find a pair of themes that will be repeated throughout the book: If God gives the ability to enjoy, then enjoy the simple things of life. It is not quite as straightforward here as it will be later, but it is there. Discontentment with our life is a tool that Satan uses to get us to strive after the wind. We buy something we have been wanting in the hope that it will make us happy and content. We get the Sunday ads or read a new online article and then we find the better, newer, greater thing is out. Our discontentment is back. According to Solomon, we should be content to eat, drink, and find enjoyment in our work under the sun. We should be content with the simple things and not fill our lives with empty stuff. God is the one who lets you enjoy life. Is this something we should be praying for each other?

What about work?

Eccles. 2:18-23

18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

• How did Solomon feel after his evaluation of wisdom and folly?
  - How did that affect his view of all that he had accomplished?
• Briefly, what was the problem that Solomon saw with accomplishing great things?
  - What are the risks of seeking to leave a legacy under the sun?
  - Why did Solomon conclude that leaving a legacy of accomplishments was vanity?
  
• What was Solomon's appraisal of a person's labor under the sun?
  - What was the curse that God put on man in the Garden?
  - How does that curse show up in Solomon's appraisal?
  
• How does being aware of your mortality influence the decisions you make daily?
  - How much of your identity is attached to your work or accomplishments?
  - Why is it tempting to attach your identity to an accomplishment?
  
• How many nights have you lost sleep over some project at work?
  - What have you gotten from your lost sleep?
  - Why do some people obsess about their work and others don't care about their work?
  - What are the risks of each?

Harold's Musings:
Oh, this passage speaks to me at this point in my life! Nearly thirty years ago I had an idea for something at my job. Between 1980 and 1998, I had tried and failed 8 times to realize this idea. With full support of my employer, the idea came to partial fruition in late 2001. Much of my life, thoughts, and energy are tied up in this vision that I had. I've reached the age where retirement is something to think towards and one of the little nagging concerns is what will happen to my idea. Will the person who comes after me take the baton and continue the race or will they drop the baton and decide to clean their shoes? To deal with the vanity, I have had to change my identity. I have to see the idea as a good thing, not an eternal thing. It took almost 20 years of technological advancement for me to be able to move the idea forward. In another 20 years, my idea will undoubtedly be replaced by something better. Is what you are chasing simply a good thing or do you have your identity tied up in it? If the latter, it is just vanity.

Wisdom or folly or fame

Eccles. 2:12-17

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

• Why did Solomon consider wisdom, madness, and folly after his evaluation of pleasure?
  
• Which did Solomon consider best: wisdom or folly? Why?
  
• What is the fate of every person under the sun?
  - Why did Solomon find this frustrating?
  - How often do you find this frustrating in day-to-day life?
  
• Why did Solomon hate life?
  
• What is the problem with life under the sun?
• How is the quest for knowledge (and maybe wisdom) seen in today's culture?
  
• What is the purpose for seeking more knowledge today under the sun?
  
• How is the quest for fame seen in today's culture?
  
• What is the fate of most who seek fame?
  
• If life under the sun is so bad and frustrating, what hope does the average person have? What hope do you have?

Harold's Musings:
Interesting conclusion here. Wisdom is better than folly, but not really. At first glance, the passage seems to be about wisdom and folly, but then Solomon throws the curve. The foolish man and the wise man both die and no one remembers. For me, I would hope that wisdom would keep me from making foolish mistakes, like seeking fame. Yet it seems that others have their hope in this world and seek the fleeting warmth of fame. If Solomon was seeking fame, it seems that he was a fool walking in darkness. Yes, he was chasing the wind.

Who could ask for more?

Eccles. 2:4-11

4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the children of man.

9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

• What did Solomon do in his quest for pleasure?
  
• How often have you thought or even said that you would be happy if you had...
  - a new / larger / more luxurious house
  - your own park with swimming pools, gardens, and trees
  - someone to wait on you and serve you without question
  - a more money and better income
  - more CD's, DVD's, and videos
  - more lovers
  - more prestige and power
  - a new / sportier / larger / more luxurious car
  - more of whatever it is that turns you on
  
• How does Solomon's quest compare to the world's quest today?
  
• What pleasure did Solomon withhold from himself?
• How did Solomon feel about what he had done?
  
• What was Solomon's evaluation of what he had done?
  
• Why do you think he came to this conclusion?
  
• What is your conclusion about your quest for happiness?

How about pleasure?

Eccles. 2:1-3

2:1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

• What did Solomon set out to test after evaluating wisdom and knowledge?
  
• What was his basic purpose in doing this?
  
• Why are pleasures so appealing and enticing?
  
• Why is laughter so appealing and enticing?
  
• How is laughter related to pleasure?
  
• What is wrong with experiencing pleasure and/or laughter?
  
• When do pleasures under the sun become a physical problem? A spiritual problem?
  
• What does pleasure accomplish?
  
• How long does pleasure last?
  
• How long does the thing that produces pleasure satisfy?
  
• Why did Solomon use wine?
  
• How did Solomon plan his use of wine?
  
• How did wine help Solomon take hold of folly?

Harold's Musings:
So Solomon found hurt in seeking wisdom. What is the opposite of hurt? Pleasure. So he sought out pleasure and laughter. How often do we do that? We are hurt in some way so we seek comfort. Maybe it is food. Maybe a video game. Maybe sex. Maybe drugs or alcohol. You fill in the blank. Yet we all know what Solomon learned. It is vanity. It is empty. It is foolishness. The ice cream and chocolate only last a short while. The sex only lasts a short while. The alcohol only lasts a short while. Soon we want more. The hurt has not gone away but the relief has. It is all just vanity.

Wisdom hurts

Eccles. 1:16-18

16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

18 For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

• God caused Solomon to be the wisest man that ever lived. How would you like God to do that for you?
  
• What did Solomon set out to know?
  
• Why would you want to know wisdom?
  
• What does it mean to know wisdom?
  
• Why would you want to know madness and folly?
  
• How would you set out to know wisdom?
  
• How would you set out to know madness and folly?
  
• Why did Solomon decide his quest was like chasing the wind?
  
• When is the quest for wisdom over?
  
• If you are seeking folly, when is your search over?
  
• Why does wisdom contain much grief or vexation?
  
• Why does increasing knowledge increase pain and sorrow?
  
• When have you known that hurt and sadness were heading at you but could not avoid it?
  
• When have you watched those you love do what you knew to be foolish things?
  
• How did your knowing it was foolish cause you grief?
  
• Why is resting your identity, pride, and hope on knowledge unwise?
  
• Why is resting your identity, pride, and hope on earthly wisdom foolish?
  
• What was the main temptation that Satan used on Eve?
  
• Why was one of the curses of eating the fruit actually the believed benefit of eating the fruit?
  
• How does having to make wise choices cause grief when you don't?

Unhappy business

Eccles. 1:12-15

12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I applied my heart [1] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.[2]

15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.

Footnotes
[1] 1:13 The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions
[2] 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (so throughout Ecclesiastes)

• What did Solomon set out to do?
  
• What is the unhappy business that God has given mankind?
  
• How did the events in the Garden of Eden result in the vanity Solomon saw?
  
• Why is it important to keep in mind that Solomon is looking at things "under heaven" or "under the sun"?
  
• Would you agree or disagree with Solomon? Why?
  
• Why might Solomon conclude that all the works done under the sun are empty and like chasing the wind?
  
• Does your experience on earth lead you to agree with Solomon or not? Why?
  
• What is crooked in this world?
  
• Why can't it be straightened?
  
• What is lacking under the sun?
  
• Why can't it be counted?

Harold's Musings:
Ecclesiastes is one of those books that stands the test of time. It is not one of the more common books for us to study, but that is our oversight. Every time I read it I find myself agreeing with Solomon yet again. My life has had so many "vanity/emptiness" events. Chasing professional recognition, striving for breakthrough innovation, struggling with inner wants and desires, all vanity. As you have seen so far, there are likely to be more questions than my musings in this study. Please seriously think through your answers. We have unhappy business to tend to.

Nothing new

Eccles. 1:9-11

9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things, [1]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things [2] yet to be
among those who come after.

Footnotes
[1] 1:11 Or former people
[2] 1:11 Or later people

• How important is newness to you?
  
• What is the most common reason you want to replace something with its newer counterpart?
  
• How often do you want the newest version of whatever interests you?
  
• How does newness influence satisfaction?
  
• How important is novelty to you?
  
• How often do you seek out things you have not seen, tasted, felt or otherwise experienced?
  
• Why might being overly interested in novelty be risky spiritually?
  
• How many of today's cultural fads are truly new?
  
• How many of today's spiritual fads are truly new?
  
• What problems arise from focusing on newness?
  
• How often do people look at what happened to other fads before committing to the new one?
  
• How well do you learn from your past experiences?
  
• How well do you learn from the past experiences of others?
  
• How many new discoveries are more than just uncovering what God put there in the beginning?
  
• How many inventions are more than replicating something God put here in the beginning?
  
• When is man's God-given creativity a problem?
  
• Why does man want to move from copying or understanding God's work to being Creator?