INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. The book of Ecclesiastes shows in a very powerful way that there is more to life than just existing, and there is more to death than dying (there is a judgment).<\/p>\n
B. In our previous lesson we learned how Solomon began a search for “The True Meaning To Life”<\/p>\n
1. He observed the futility of this life as revealed in the “weariness of repetition” (1:4-11)<\/p>\n
2. Solomon also came to know the folly of “human wisdom” (1:12-18)<\/p>\n
3. Solomon realized that this is not where “The True Meaning To Life” is found – for these only brought grief and sorrow<\/p>\n
C. Solomon now will now in chapter 2 begin to look elsewhere for the “True Meaning To Life”<\/p>\n
1. Solomon begins to explore pleasure, wealth and great accomplishments<\/p>\n
2. Also in this chapter we will see Solomon’s conclusions<\/p>\n
3. Is “The True Meaning To Life” found in pleasure?<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. THE VANITY OF PLEASURE<\/p>\n
1. Solomon summarizes what he found<\/p>\n
a. Ecclesiastes 2:1-2<\/p>\n
b. Dissatisfied with the result of his pursuit of wisdom, Solomon now embarks on a journey in the acquisition of pleasure<\/p>\n
c. Solomon was in search of “The Good Life”<\/p>\n
d. His conclusion: It’s “vain” – It’s “madness”<\/p>\n
2. Solomon describes what he did:<\/p>\n
a. Gives himself to food and folly<\/p>\n
1) Ecclesiastes 2:3<\/p>\n
2) Laughter may relax and ease the mind, but when it becomes the totality of life it is madness and vanity.<\/p>\n
3) Mirth, merrymaking, reveling, and such like must not be the bench mark of one’s life.<\/p>\n
b. Gives himself to aesthetic improvements<\/p>\n
1) Ecclesiastes 2:4-6<\/p>\n
2) Solomon had a great passion for erecting magnificent buildings – he erected cities (1 Kgs. 9:15-19), and it took 13 years to build his own home (1 Kgs. 7:1-11).<\/p>\n
3) Solomon had a great love for nature planting many garden type parks<\/p>\n
4) Solomon also took great care to provide his capitol with water, and vast operations were undertaken for this purpose<\/p>\n
c. Gives himself to cultural improvements<\/p>\n
1) Ecclesiastes 2:7-8<\/p>\n
2) To give you an idea of the number of cattle that Solomon had note 1 Kings 8:63<\/p>\n
3) 1 Kings 10:14-27 give us an idea of his wealth<\/p>\n
4) Solomon also gave himself fully to the “Arts”<\/p>\n
d. The extent of Solomon’s indulgences<\/p>\n
1) Ecclesiastes 2:9-10<\/p>\n
2) Solomon had more than any before him, while retaining his wisdom<\/p>\n
3) He had everything he desired and could find pleasure in<\/p>\n
e. Solomon’s conclusion<\/p>\n
1) Ecclesiastes 2:11<\/p>\n
2) Solomon examined carefully all that he had acquired and concludes that it is all vanity<\/p>\n
3) There is no profit “under the sun” – mentioned 29 times in Ecclesiastes<\/p>\n
B. SOLOMON HATES LIFE “UNDER THE SUN”<\/p>\n
1. He reflects on his wisdom<\/p>\n
a. Ecclesiastes 2:12-17<\/p>\n
b. Solomon contemplated “wisdom” and “madness” and realized that “wisdom” far out weighed “madness and folly” in benefit – as the light excels the darkness<\/p>\n
1) Wisdom brings advantage over others (7:11)<\/p>\n
2) Wisdom brings protection (7:12)<\/p>\n
3) Wisdom brings strength (7:19)<\/p>\n
4) Wisdom is better than weapons (9:18)<\/p>\n
5) Wisdom brings success (10:10)<\/p>\n
c. But Solomon also realized that the ultimate advantage of wisdom is vanity – for both the wise and th efool die<\/p>\n
d. After death, there is no more remembrance of the wise than there is of the fool<\/p>\n
e. Thus, Solomon hated life, because of all the work done “under the sun” – it is a “striving after wind”<\/p>\n
2. He reflects on his labor<\/p>\n
a. Ecclesiastes 2:18-23<\/p>\n
b. Solomon came to hate his labor, for he realized that when he died he would be forced to leave it to another<\/p>\n
c. And who knows if who he leaves it to will be a fool or wise?<\/p>\n
d. And no only that, he will leave to one who has not had to labor for it – Solomon did not think this was right<\/p>\n
e. Solomon thinks, “In the end what do I have for all my labors – sorrows, grief, and restlessness.”<\/p>\n
3. Looking at life “under the sun,” trying to find “The True Meaning To Life” – Solomon comes to hate life.<\/p>\n
a. But as he said, “my wisdom remained with me” (2:9)<\/p>\n
b. With this wisdom he shares for the first time what one should do in life<\/p>\n
C. SOLOMON ACCEPTS LIFE “FROM THE HAND OF GOD”<\/p>\n
1. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26<\/p>\n
2. For the first time Solomon looks “above the sun”<\/p>\n
a. Solomon says it is good to enjoy the things of life<\/p>\n
b. We should enjoy what God has provided us with.<\/p>\n
c. 1 Timothy 6:16<\/p>\n
3. Solomon realized that true enjoyment of the things of this life come only we put God first in our lives -putting worldly things secondary<\/p>\n
a. Solomon, from a spiritual standpoint, saw that the ability to enjoy one’s labor is a gift from God<\/p>\n
b. No one can truly enjoy life without God<\/p>\n
4. God blesses the obedient with true wisdom and joy<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. For the first time Solomon introduces God into the picture<\/p>\n
1. He had been looking at life “from under the sun”<\/p>\n
2. “From under the sun” life was only “vanity and a striving after wind”<\/p>\n
B. “The True Meaning To Life” will be developed further as we work our way through Ecclesiastes – but for now realize that true happiness is not found in worldly wisdom and pleasure, it is only found in God<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INTRODUCTION: A. The book of Ecclesiastes shows in a very powerful way that there is more to life than just existing, and there is more to death than dying (there is a judgment). B. In our previous lesson we learned how Solomon began a search for “The True Meaning To Life” 1. He observed the … Continue reading “The True Meaning to Life #3. A Study in Ecclesiastes – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}