Ecclesiastes
Life’s Purpose
I. Solomon’s Books
Proverbs – Middle age
Ecclesiastes – Elderly
Song of Songs – Young
II. Solomon’s Decision
Near the end of his life, Solomon lost his spiritual moorings and began to
worship the gods of his foreign wives. During this time Solomon decided
to search for life’s meaning.
Solomon writes:
“I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by
wisdom everything being done under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 1:13
Solomon would use his great intelligence to and test explore human
experience. But he would limit himself to all that is done under heaven.
Solomon would not consider truth revealed by God.
III. Solomon’s Search for Meaning
Solomon wants to find out if:
can provide meaning? • Ecclesiastes 1:12-18Knowledge
Pleasure can provide meaning? • Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Accomplishments can provide meaning? • Ecclesiastes 2:17-26
Human beings can make any real in the way things are?changes
• Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
Man’s fate suggests that life is • Ecclesiastes 4:1-16meaningless
Man’s inability to affect God’s works suggests that life is meaningless
• Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
can give meaning to life? • Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:2If possessions
IV. The Three Great Equalizers
Time: We are born, we die, and then we are forgotten.
Death: Everyone dies. Nobody can escape this fate no matter how they
live.
Chance: Life seems to have random quality about it so that you can’t
really predict what will happen.
V. Solomon’s Response:
Thirty-Eight times in the Book of Ecclesiastes Solomon says,
“Everything is completely meaningless; meaningless”
In Hebrew the phrase reads something like
“Hevel, Hevel, Everthing is utterly hevel.”
What does “hevel” Mean?
Hevel means: vapor or smoke
Solomon is suggesting that life is:
temporary or fleeting
An enigma or a paradox
In other words, like smoke life appears to be solid, something you can
grasp, but when you attempt to do just that you find that there is nothing
there and it slips through your fingers.
VI. Now What?
How to Make the Most of a Meaningless Life:
Make the best you can • Eccl. 7:1-12choices
Adopt a fatalistic attitude • Eccl. 7:13-14
Avoid extremes • Eccl. 7:15-22
Be wise, avoid folly • Ecclesiastes 7:23-8:1
Submit to • Eccl. 8:2-10authorities
Be God-fearing • Eccl. 8:11-13
Enjoy the good things life offers • Eccl. 8:14-15
Enjoy while you can: awaits • Eccl. 9:1-12life death
Follow wisdom • Eccl. 9:13-10:20
Prepare for the future • Eccl. 11:1-6
Enjoy your youth—old age is creeping up • Eccl. 11:7-12:8
VII. The Final Conclusion
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and
obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for
everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”
VIII. Implications
Try as we might to find meaning apart from God, we will fail. Apart from
and his for us, human life is meaningless.God loving purpose
Only by reconnecting with the of life can we expect to know life in source
its fullest. That connection is made through who proclaimed Jesus Christ
that He is “the way, truth, and Life” (john 14:6). Jesus also advocated that
His “purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10).
Song of Songs / Song of Solomon
The Greatest of all Love Songs
I. Song of Songs: Some Basics
The title of the book, “Song of Songs” is similar in construction to “Holy of
Holies” or “King of Kings.” In other words, this song of love is the greatest
of all songs.
Solomon is traditionally accepted as the author which is why the book is
sometimes call the “Song of Solomon.”
II. Three voices tell the story captured by this collection of love
poems:
The voice of the Lover: Solomon
The voice of the The ShulamiteBeloved:
The chorus of voices: The Shulamite’s friends.
The Song of Songs is a collection of that tell of the story of love poems
young love. It moves from courtship to a wedding to maturing
marriage.
Each poem highlights the intense but appropriate characterized desire
by and as well as the joy of seeking finding physical attraction.
III. What is Love: By Example
Love is Mutual
The two-way conversation in this book is between a man and a woman
who are deeply in love. Each contributes to the relationship. Each
desires the other. Their love is reciprocal.
Love is Exclusive
Sexual intimacy between a husband and wife is a beautiful experience
that expresses their oneness and the love they have for one another. It
is this love, within marriage, that produces genuine sexual liberation—
not liberation from marriage, but liberation in marriage.
Love is Total
Love is not just physical. Love is a commitment of heart, mind, soul,
and body. The Song reminds us that the man and woman become one
in every way, not just in the most obvious physical way. The two share
their passionate love, but they also share hopes, dreams, and
aspirations as companions in life. They are friends and companions.
Love is Beautiful
Song of Songs is a celebration of the beauty of the marriage
relationship. The beauty of their relationship does not consist only in
physical outward beauty, but also in the inward beauty of character
and in the spiritual dimension of their relationship expressed in their
commitment to God and his design for marriage. Each sees the other
person as a beautiful gift of God.
IV. What Is Love: In Words
Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
its jealousy as enduring as the grave.
Love flashes like fire,
the brightest kind of flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
nor can rivers drown it.
If a man tried to buy love
with all his wealth,
his offer would be utterly scorned.
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
A. The Desire of Love:
“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm.” Proverbs 8:6
Personally and inwardly devoted
Personally and outwardly displayed
B. Love’s Reasons:
1. The Power of love - Love is irresistibly powerful.
“For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave.”
Song of Songs 8:6
2. The of love: Love is intensely passionate.Intensity
“Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.” Song of Songs 8:6
3. The Desire of love: There is inside each of us an unquenchable
longing for love; to “know and be known” in love.
“Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it” Song of
Songs 8:7
4. The Value of love - Love cannot be purchased it can only be given.
“If a man tried to buy love his offer would be utterlywith all his wealth,
scorned.”
Song of Songs 8:7
V. Implications
Song of Songs provides wise counsel for both those who aren’t married
and those who are.
To those who aren’t married, the book says, “wait.”
“Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until
the time is right.” Song of Songs 8:4
To those who are married, the book says, “enjoy.” Chapter 6 is an
example of mutual delight in each other.
The Song of Songs shows us that the deepest, most intimate
relationships come from each person seeking to give what they can to
the other. Jesus embodies this kind of love. Out of God’s deep love for
us, He gives what costs him the most — his own Son.
“You can’t love until you’ve been loved and then only to the degree to
which you’ve been loved.” Steve Brown
