Ecclesiastes (Wisdom When it Comes to Life's Ultimate Meaning)
The Smartest Man in the Room – Part 3
Senior Pastor Keith Stewart
January 28, 2024
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In the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon asks the question, “How can anyone discover the meaning of life?” (Ecclesiastes 7.24). At some point, it’s a question we all have to answer. Why am I here? What’s it all about? Because every one of us longs to find the meaning of life. Ecclesiastes is a deliberate attempt to explore all the options available to us to see what, if anything, gives life ultimate meaning.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. As Pastor Keith pointed out, when Solomon says, everything is meaningless or vanity, the original Hebrew word was havel. Havel literally means “vapor, breath, or wind” in Hebrew. Think of a mere puff of air, the vapor on a coffee cup, or a passing sigh. That’s havel. Figuratively speaking, havel refers to something that is empty of genuine gain, something that is fleeting and doesn’t last, or is past the full understanding that you can’t wrap your mind around. If you’ve done some reading in Ecclesiastes, what are some things that fall into this category? Now how about for you personally, what are things that are fleeting, don’t last, or things that you just can’t get your mind wrapped around?
2. The perspective that must be kept in mind as you read Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s perspective of life “under the sun.” In other words, from a purely human standpoint, a view of things if you take God out of the picture, life as we see it, and experience it apart from God. In the message notes online, you can re-read the quotes from numerous celebrities who discovered that having money, fame or beauty was not all they thought it would be. Why do you suppose that is? Why is it so difficult to find satisfaction in life?
3. We’re impacted by two universal laws. The law of unfulfilled expectations is all about achieving what we set out to do only to discover that it’s not everything we dreamed it would be. And the law of diminishing returns is about how over time, the return we get from various activities and accomplishments is lessened. So it takes more and more to get the same level of high or euphoria. How do you see these two laws played out in society or among your friends? How have you experienced them in your personal life?
4. Think of work or money or pleasure as balloons. We fill them with our time, our energy, and our hope. We watch them expand. From the outside, they look to gain mass and you might even assume weight. But inside it’s still only vapor. Death is the needle that shows the truth. It can all be taken away in a moment. This is part of Solomon’s learning and something we seem to have forgotten in our death-denying, death-avoidant culture. How does the idea of death, facing our own mortality, teach us to live better and more intentionally?
5. Pleasures are not goals to live for, but they are bonuses or consolations that we learn to accept with gratitude. The things talked about in Ecclesiastes are not inherently bad; they are just passing away. And because of that, they can never provide a permanent basis for happiness, contentment, or fulfillment. They’re not bad things, just not a good foundation. So pleasure and happiness can never be our aim, not our goal, not our purpose. But they can be enjoyed when they come into your life. How does this inform the way you live?
6. As we have immersed ourselves in the wisdom literature of Solomon over the last three weeks, what have been your biggest takeaways? Where have you been c