ECCLESIASTES LESSON 1

     In my opinion, the book of Ecclesiastes was penned by Solomon.
The descriptions the penman gives are of the very same things Solomon
experienced. The word "Ecclesiastes" means preacher, or one who
addresses an assembly. The penman is looking back over his life with
many regrets. He believes, and expresses over and over, that all is
vanity.

     We will now begin with the verse by verse study in Ecclesiastes
1:1 "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem."

     This verse validates the fact that this is Solomon.

     Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity
of vanities; all [is] vanity."

     "Vanity", in the above Scripture, means emptiness, or something
transistory. In other words, it is like sighing, because there is
nothing to hope for. It speaks of hopelessness. Vanity seems to be the
keynote for this entire book. Solomon is looking back, and believes
that his life has been in vain.

     Ecclesiastes 1:3 "What profit hath a man of all his labour which
he taketh under the sun?"

     This is such a strange statement for a man with all the
advantages that Solomon had. Of earthly Old Testament people, Solomon
was the wisest man that ever lived. God showered him with great wealth
and fame, because he asked for neither. The statement he makes, here,
is appropriate for mankind as a whole. It seems we work our life away
and at the end of the road, when we look back over our life, many of
us think; what was this all about? Many people wonder what they have
accomplished toward helping society. "Under the sun" is an expression
he uses often. It has to do with things of this earth.

     Ecclesiastes 1:4 "[One] generation passeth away, and [another]
generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever."

     His observations are very true about the generations passing. It
was not, however, the intention of God for man to die. Man brought
death of his body, when sin entered the picture in the garden of Eden.
The spirit of man can live on in the new man in heaven. On this earth,
the life span of a person is just under a 100 years, and then the
children take over. The earth has lasted a very long time, and would
have been the permanent dwelling place of Adam and Eve had they not
sinned. We know that Moses wandered with the children of Israel 40
years, until that generation, who disobeyed God, died off. The next
generation went into the promised land.

     Ecclesiastes 1:5 "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down,
and hasteth to his place where he arose."

     This just speaks of the continuation of day and night upon the
earth. One day follows another, on and on, but they are each separated
by a period of night. The sameness is interrupted by the opposite
sameness. It seems endless to Solomon.

     Ecclesiastes 1:6 "The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth
about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind
returneth again according to his circuits."

     This speaks of the movement of the wind, which seems to be in a
never ending cycle. This truly speaks of our orderly God, but Solomon
sees futility in even the change of the wind.

     Ecclesiastes 1:7 "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea
[is] not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither
they return again."

     Solomon can see no results from the endless running of the rivers
into the sea. The truth is, that the water is drawn by the sun, and
replenishes the earth with rain. If he is speaking of the Dead Sea,
which is actually the lowest point on the earth, it seems to absorb
the flow off and turns into solids. I believe he really is saying,
that water somehow goes back to its origination point and starts
again. To Solomon, it seems like an endless cycle.

     Ecclesiastes 1:8 "All things [are] full of labour; man cannot
utter [it]: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled
with hearing."

     There is no way for man to speak every word. Even the fact of
man's education to be able to speak properly, is work. The more one
speaks, the more he is aware there is more to learn, to speak better.
The eye never tires of looking. No one with sight, decides they would
rather be blind. The same is true with hearing. No one who can hear,
chooses to be deaf, because they are tired of hearing. These are
continuous things in our lives, until the day we shed this body of
flesh. It seems the more we see, the more we want to see.

     Ecclesiastes 1:9 "The thing that hath been, it [is that] which
shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and
[there is] no new [thing] under the sun."

     Solomon says, it is like treading water. We are getting nowhere
fast. Solomon sees life as a never ending circle of events. It seems,
to me, in all of this, that Solomon would like to improve the
situation around him. He finds he is not able to do that, and it
leaves him with a feeling of futility. He believes that each
generation faces the very same problems of life that the generation
before them did. It is as if all that he does is in vain.

     Ecclesiastes 1:10 "Is there [any] thing whereof it may be said,
See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before
us."

     This certainly did seem to be the case for thousands of years.
Even in our time, some things are the same. Our people have gotten so
far away from God, He is almost sorry He created them. Luke 17:26 "And
as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of man." Our generation has seen more real change, however, than
any generation in history.  For thousands of years men rode horses to
get to their destination.  Just in the last 100 years, the automobile
and airplane have become a more useful way to get from point to point.
The computer age that we are in now, is another break-through with
knowledge. This is a fulfillment of that very thing. Daniel 12:4 "But
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the
time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased."

     Ecclesiastes 1:11 "[There is] no remembrance of former [things];
neither shall there be [any] remembrance of [things] that are to come
with [those] that shall come after."

     This really is saying, that one generation seems not to learn
from the mistakes of the generation before them. They come along and
get involved in the very same sins their fathers did. One really good
reason for this, is we do not study our Bible enough, and learn what
they did wrong.

     Ecclesiastes 1:12  "I the Preacher was king over Israel in
Jerusalem."

     This is speaking of the 40 years that Solomon reigned as king. I
personally believe this is spoken toward the end of Solomon's reign.
He is looking back over his reign as king, as if he failed as king.

     Ecclesiastes 1:13 "And I gave my heart to seek and search out by
wisdom concerning all [things] that are done under heaven: this sore
travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith."

     When God offered Solomon a gift, Solomon asked for wisdom to lead
his people. God granted that wish. I Kings 3:12 "Behold, I have done
according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an
understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee,
neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee."  The following is
one of Solomon's comments. Proverbs 2:2 "So that thou incline thine
ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding;"  Solomon
sought the secret of life through earthly wisdom. The secret of life
is found in Jesus Christ. He is Life.

     Ecclesiastes 1:14 "I have seen all the works that are done under
the sun; and, behold, all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit."

     I Kings 4:30 "And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the
children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt." I Kings
4:31 "For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and
Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in
all nations round about." I Kings 4:32 "And he spake three thousand
proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five."  Solomon soon
forgot that he built the temple in Jerusalem. It seems, that even that
had not given him fulfillment for his life. It is as if he is saying,
my life of work was in vain.

     Ecclesiastes 1:15 "[That which is] crooked cannot be made
straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered."

     This is speaking of the events in a person's life. It is as if we
have no control of our destiny. This is definitely a cause for a
person to seek Jesus Christ as his Saviour. It is saying, that all his
efforts to save himself are in vain.

     Ecclesiastes 1:16 "I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I
am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all [they]
that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great
experience of wisdom and knowledge."

     Solomon's wisdom was a gift from God. The same is true with all
of us. Knowledge is accumulated learning, but wisdom is a gift from
God. We see from the following Scriptures, that Solomon's wisdom and
knowledge was given to him by God, and that it far excelled every
other person's on the earth. I Kings 3:12 "Behold, I have done
according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an
understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee,
neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee." I Kings 3:13 "And
I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches,
and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto
thee all thy days."  He was appreciative of all of this, but still,
this did not fill that need that each of us has, until we are in
fellowship with Jesus.

     Ecclesiastes 1:17 "And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to
know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of
spirit."

     All of the wisdom in the world cannot bring peace, unless the
person who has it, uses it to come to Christ as his Saviour. On his
search for bringing peace to his world, Solomon married many women.
This was folly. It did not bring peace. It brought false gods of these
women. His quest for peace, at any cost, brought the worship of false
gods into his land. All such attempts, aside from God, fail. Only
Jesus {King of Peace} can bring the peace Solomon searched for.

     Ecclesiastes 1:18 "For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he
that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow."

     The more we understand about the society we live in, the more
troubling it is. This is certainly the case with Solomon, as well. In
that sense, the more we know, the more we grieve. I Corinthians 3:18
"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise
in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise."  I
Corinthians 3:19 "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with
God.  For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness."
I Corinthians 3:20 "And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the
wise, that they are vain."
                       Ecclesiastes 1 Questions


1.  Who penned Ecclesiastes?
2.  What does "Ecclesiastes" mean?
3.  What does the penman express, over and over, in this book?
4.  Who was the penman's father?
5.  Where was he king?
6.  What does verse 1 validate?
7.  What does "vanity", in theses Scriptures, mean?
8.  What is vanity like in these Scriptures.
9.  What does Solomon look back and believe about his life?
10. What were some of the advantages that Solomon had?
11. The statement Solomon makes, in verse 3, is appropriate for
    _________ as a whole.
12. What is an expression Solomon uses so often in this book?
13. Man brought death of his body when?
14. The life span of man on this earth is just under _______ years.
15. Why did Moses wander 40 years in the wilderness?
16. What is verse 5 saying?
17. What does the wind, in verse 6, speak of?
18. All the rivers run into the ________.
19. What is the lowest point of the earth.
20. The eye is not satisfied with ____________.
21. Solomon sees life, as a never ending __________ of events.
22. Quote Luke chapter 17 verse 26.
23. Quote Daniel chapter 12 verse 4.
24. Why do we not learn from the mistakes of those other Bible
    characters?
25. How many years did Solomon reign?
26. When God offered Solomon a gift, what did Solomon ask for?
27. Quote Proverbs chapter 2 verse 2.
28. Whose wisdom did Solomon's wisdom excel?
29. How many proverbs did Solomon speak?
30. How many songs did he write?
31. Solomon's ____________ was a gift from God?
32. What is knowledge?
33. What did God give Solomon, besides wisdom?
34. Who can bring the peace that Solomon sought for?
35. The wisdom of this world is _____________ with God.