So today, I decided to publish (some of) my sheet cheats from the time I started speaking in and for our church.
I am starting with my insights about the book of Ecclesiastes which I shared to the youth in our church.
BACKGROUND
Ecclesiastes comes from the Greek word Ekklesiastou; and if translated: “Teacher.” Some books say it’s preacher, but either way, those are mysterious name to indicate the writer’s identity.
In Ecclesiastes Chapter 1 Verse 1, it is said that [in the book of Ecclesiastes, you can find] the words of the Teacher, the Son of David, king of Jerusalem. Arguments persist until this day on who the writer possibly is; and some books hold evidence that King Solomon authored it; being the wisest man ever lived, but still, there is no definite records on who this wise man is.
If you read this book, the author relates his experiences and draws [life] lessons from them.
The book has a collection of wise teachings BUT this teacher is claiming that ALL THINGS IN LIFE IS POINTLESS; IT IS ALL IN VAIN. LIFE IS MEANINGLESS AND ABSURD.
Then, does working hard bring happiness?
The preacher has everything. He is rich and famous. He is even regarded as “greater than anyone who ever lived in Jerusalem.” His wisdom has always been there; and anything his eyes saw and wanted, he gets.
But most of the good things in life that he sees, he always has to say something negative, like: “I decided it was all a waste of time. It was like trying to catch the wind, there is nothing to gain from anything we do in this life.” [2:11]
So at the earlier part of the book, he thought that maybe wisdom is the answer. “Wise people use their minds like eyes to see where they are going, but for fools, it is as if they are walking in the dark. But at the end, he still said that being wise is useless, we all die in the end.
So is there a happiness in life for this preacher?
In Chapter 2:17 – He hated life. It was depressing to think that everything in this life is useless, again LIKE TRYING TO CATCH THE WIND.
He began hating all the things he worked hard for.
2:20 – people can work hard using all their wisdom and knowledge and skill. But they will die and other people will enjoy the things they worked hard for. He said that they do not work but they will get everything. It is also not fair and it’s senseless.
So in Ecclesisates 3, his message is: THERE IS TIME FOR EVERYTHING and everything on earth will happen in the right time.
Time to be born and time to die
Kill, and heal
Destroy and build
Time to cry and time to laugh
Time to be sad and time to dance with joy
Time to throw the weapons down and time to pick them up
Time to hug someone and time to stop holding us so tightly
To be silent and to speak
To love and to hate
For war and time for peace
Then in 3:9, he says:
God controls His World. God gave us the ability to think about his world BUT WE CAN NEVER COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING HE DOES. And yet, he does everything in the right time.
Ecclesiastes gives us the chance to see the world through the eyes of a person, who, though very wise, is trying to find meaning in temporary, human things. Most every form of worldly pleasure is explored by the preacher and none of it gives him meaning.
WHAT WE CAN SEE AND WHAT WE SIMILARLY DO AS HUMANS:
- Yearning (Human yearning) – constant unsatisfaction. The preacher always yearns for ambition, fame, wealth, and pleasure. Comparing himself to people “lower” than him”. He craves for wisdom and knowledge and meaning, for justice, and for knowing what the future holds.
TAKEAWAY ON THIS
Even though he sees negative in everything, he agrees that —
1. FAMILY AND FRIENDS GIVE STRENGTH.
4:12– An enemy might be able to defeat one person, but two people can stand back to back to defend each other. And three are even stronger. They are like a rope that has three parts wrapped together — it is very hard to get.
- Wealth does not bring happiness – people work and work to feed themselves, but they are never satisfied. IT IS BETTER TO BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE THAN TO ALWAYS WANT MORE AND MORE.
- People cannot really be good -God made people good, but they have found many ways to be bad. DO NOT LISTEN TO EVERYTHING PEOPLE SAY.A They might told bad things about you, and you to them.
- PEOPLE WILL BE SAFE IF THEY OBEY His COMMAND.
- Every job has its dangers: For those woking: DO NOY QUIT YOUR JOB SIMPLY BECAUSE THE BOSS IS ANGRY WITH YOU. IF YOU REMAIN CALM AND HELPFUL, YOU CAN CORRECT EVEN GREAT MISTAKES.
- Do good wherever you go and after a while the good you do will come back to you.
- There is right time and right way to do everything. You must decide what you should do. Even if it might cause problems, and you are not sure what will happen. No one can tell what happens in the future.
- BUT WE CAN NEVER COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING HE DOES. And yet, he does everything in the right time.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO
Enjoy life while you can because life isn’t fair. Go and eat and enjoy eat, drink your wine and be happy. Do whatever you want but remember God will judge you for everything you do.
- SERVE GOD WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG. Youth shall devote time with Jesus. WE HAVE THE STRENGTH, WISDOM, AND KNOWLEDGE.
- Never compare yourself to anyone. YOU ARE UNIQUE.
- Life is brief and ultimately worthless without God.. Preacher advises the reader to focus on eternal God instead of temporary pleasure.
- Faith in God is the only way to find personal meaning.
- Have Faith
- Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING A PERSON CAN DO IS TO RESPECT GOD and obey his commands. Even though most of the time we don’t understand why bad things happen, rest assured it is for our own good.
God knows about everything people do-– even the secret things. He knows about all the good and the bad.
Neyziellewanders 