SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON PLAN - 7-25-2021 - ECCL. 2:12-26 - WHAT'S THE USE?
INTRODUCTION: Today we move from the story of Job to the first of six lessons from the Book of Ecclesiastes. The title of the Book comes from the Greek word ekklēsiastēs, which mean assembly, and the Hebrew title qōhelet, literally means one who assembles. Although the Book identifies no author, it was most likely written by Solomon towards the end of his reign in about 935 B.C. A word of warning: Unlike Solomon's Proverbs, this Book doesn't give us a collection of straightforward, memorable, and easy to apply wise sayings. Told from the viewpoint of the "Preacher" or the "Teacher," Ecclesiastes give us the perspective of a man in his later years who, though very wise, has recognized the utter futility of seeking satisfaction in all the things that the world has to offer. He explores most every form of worldly endeavor and pleasure and ultimately concludes that none of it gives him a true sense of meaning or fulfillment. In the end, the Preacher comes to accept that faith in God is the only way to find true personal meaning. As we go through the Book, we'll hear the Preacher or Teacher use the term "vanity" over and over again. We tend to associate it with the word vain, in terms being superficial or pretentious; however, the Hebrew word used here for it, heh'bel, literally means vapor or breath and more accurately describes short-lived things that are really meaningless, empty, or pointless. For Christians, the study of Ecclesiastes offers us the opportunity to understand the emptiness and ultimately, the despair of those who don't know God, who are faced with living a life that will ultimately end without meaning or purpose.
THIS WEEK: In Eccl. Chapter 1, which we skip, Solomon introduces the overall theme of the Book in the first three verses: "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" He goes on to give us a personal account of all his endeavors in what he referred to as "chasing after the wind." In his quest for wisdom, he not only realized how pointless his pursuits were, but that they were exhausting both physically and spiritually. Although he acquired more knowledge than anyone in Israelite history, he realized that he had gained neither the personal gratification nor the power to alleviate other people's misery. In the first eleven verses of Chapter 2, which we likewise skip, the preacher concludes that out of all his extensive pursuits of pleasure and possessions, that "there was nothing to be gained [from them] under the sun" (2:11). In today's text, Eccl. 2:12-26, the Preacher's two main themes will be (1) The Vanity of Living Wisely and (2) The Vanity of Toil (i.e., labor or work).
Read Eccl. 2:12-17 - THERE IS MORE GAIN IN WISDOM THAN IN FOLLY
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.
v. 12a: "So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly" - The Hebrew word that Solomon uses for wisdom here, chakam (khaw-kham) refers to acquiring skill and knowledge, in other words, worldly or human wisdom, as opposed to the godly wisdom (Heb. hakmah) we studied in Proverbs. This pertains mainly to knowledge and skill acquired through education, training, and self-study.
v. 12b: "For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done." - Solomon, maybe the smartest man in the world, ponders how the king who follows him would rule. Under Solomon's rule, Israel became a prosperous and powerful nation, so who might do better?
v. 13: "Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness." - The preacher concludes that secular wisdom, even with all its limitations, is far better than foolishness (folly), which he compares to trying to find your way in the dark.
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." - The "eyes" in the head of a wise person give him or her understanding, the ability to perceive what's around them, while the fool is left to stumble through life, making mistake after mistake. The "same event" is death.
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." - Although wisdom may be infinitely better than foolishness (folly), it does not affect the mortality of those who possess it, so that when death does finally arrive, all of the human effort dies with it and becomes meaningless, which the Preacher concludes just becomes meaningless, in other words, "vanity."
v. 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!" - Here, the Preacher is saying that not only will all of the wise man's understanding and abilities die with him, but he will also have no enduring remembrance (i.e., will be forgotten by others). I have to take issue with Solomon here: He and many other OT figures are well-remembered by the written records they left, which became canonized on the Bible. So, if you want to be remembered, leave a useful book behind. (Tell of 38-page chronicle written about dad, a decorated Marine Corps combat pilot in WWII and Korea.)
v. 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." - Modern translaters say that "hated" (Heb. wəśānêṯî) can also mean disgusted with. So we that can interpret this to say that the Preacher doesn't hate life per se (in fact) but has become disgusted with life in the sense that he finds it deeply disappointing in certain key aspects, which has made life lose much of the contentment it formerly had.
APPLICATION 1: Acquiring worldly wisdom in order to earn a living is better than the alternative. Secular wisdom-education, training, self-study, etc.-even with all its limitations, is far better than never preparing yourself to succeed in the workplace. Although, as Solomon rightly point out, it's just a means to an end while we're passing through this life, it's a much "wiser" way to live it. Yes?
Read Eccl. 2:18-23 - WHAT HAS A MAN FROM ALL THE TOIL AND STRIVING OF HEART?
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.
v. 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." - As with v. 17, the Hebrew verb for "hated" (wəśānêṯî) can also mean disgusted or disappointed. Solomon hates all his toil (work) because he knows that the day will come when he will die and will have to leave all the proceeds of his toil to someone else. Under this premise, the coming of death seemed to trouble Solomon, not in the sense the he was afraid to die but despaired that death would make all his life's work meaningless. I think it's safe to say that many of us feel differently on this issue-that we are happy to leave our children an inheritance. I certainly don't allow myself to worry over what they will do with their inheritance, but hope it will be something beneficial, like paying off a home mortgage or sending a grandchild to college without debt.
v. 19: "and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? - The idea that Solomon might leave all his material wealth and work to a fool seemed to worry him deeply, and this concern was well founded, because after his death, his son, Rehoboam, turned out to be a fool in many ways. (see 1 Kings 12 generally and 1 Kings 14:21-31).
v. 20: "So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun" - At this point, knowing that he will surely die, the Preacher assumes the worst about the future of his work and all the possessions he's amassed and falls into state of gloom and doom-wallowing in a pit of pessimism. The often-repeated term "under the sun," used 20 times in this book, refers to events or life here on the earth
v. 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. - Besides leaving behind all his work (a prosperous and powerful nation) and all of the personal wealth he has amassed from it, the Preacher realizes he has to leave it to someone who never had to lift a finger to earn any of it. When he says its "vanity" (meaningless and pointless) and a "great evil," the latter phrase could translate to great injustice, in other words, not fair! This makes me think of the cliché, "when you die, you can't take it with you." Guess that one came after Solomon's day.
v. 22: "What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?" - This is actually a rhetorical question, the answer to which is the man has NOTHING! Toil and striving are two aspects of work: Toil is the effort expended doing the work itself and striving refers the thought, planning, and stress behind to the work. At death, all of those things cease to exist.
v. 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." - This verse answers the question of v. 22: These hardworking, dedicated people ultimately end up with nothing for all their efforts. Do any of you disagree with this assessment? (This is really philosophy, not Bible doctrine). I can say that I get a lot of satisfaction from knowing that my work often left people in a much better position than when I found them.
APPLICATION 2: Trying to find true happiness and meaning in life through your work is pointless. Yes, being successful in the workplace is better and wiser (chakam) than being a failure, but it doesn't give us the hope and peace that comes with a right relationship with God. As Solomon rightly points out, everything we achieve on this earth will count for nothing when this life is over.
Read Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 - A PERSON SHOULD EAT AND DRINK AND FIND ENJOYMENT IN HIS TOIL
24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him 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.
v. 24: "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God," - The Preacher is telling us to enjoy and experience contentment from the simple pleasures of life-eating and drinking-which is God's provision to us. Dinnertimes can be a wonderful time of family conversation and fellowship.
v. 25: "for apart from him [God] who can eat or who can have enjoyment?" - We might take for granted the cool water running out of a faucet, or meat from animals, or vegetables from a garden, but the fact is that apart from God, they wouldn't exist-in fact, we wouldn't even have air to breath. Without God's constant provision, the whole world would fall apart instantly. Enjoying these things minute-by-minute and day-by-day is true contentment. The big, complicated, and expensive things that we work ourselves to death to possess are ultimately empty. Solomon learned this in a big way.
v. 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." - We just established in vv. 24-25 that contentment and enjoyment come only from god. Now the question is whom does God give these gifts? God gives gifts of wisdom (that's godly wisdom), knowledge, and joy to "the one who pleases" Him. This would apply to godly OT Jews in Solomon's day and to Christian believers today. These are earthly blessings that the Preacher includes as vanities and striving after the wind, which implies that even the simple pleasures have no meaning in the end, so enjoy them while you can.
APPLICATION 3: One of the things that can give us happiness and contentment in this life are the simple pleasures that only God can supply. The simple things provided by God-eating and drinking-are what give us our day-to-day pleasure and contentment in life. Apart from God's sovereign control of all things, these simple pleasures, including the air we breath, wouldn't exist.
APPLICATION 4: In the final analysis, true happiness in this life can only be found by living it in a manner that honors and pleases God. As Solomon correctly points out, God is going to judge us for our deeds and misdeeds in this life. Jesus explained this to His disciples when He said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Mt. 6:19-21.
PRAYER: Father, we thank You once again for the privilege of gathering together to study and learn from the truth of your Word. We thank you for this good church and all the Christian brothers and sisters who come here as a family of God. Lord, as we undertake this new study in the Book of Ecclesiastes, You've given another hard assignment, this book of wisdom written by Solomon, one of the smartest men who ever lived. This book, Lord, it asks a lot of hard questions about many things in this life without giving us easy answers to them. It's requires us to seriously think and contemplate the words we're hearing or reading. It requires to see and understand things that aren't always obvious. So, we all need you help, Dear Lord, for me as a teacher, and for these good folks as my class. In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I ask all these things, AMEN.
