Look for an Advantage

For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down […]

Two All-Important Conclusions

What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. […]

All-Pervading Opposites

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 reads: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is […]

A Flash of Insight

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realised that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? Ecclesiastes 2:24–25 Solomon gets a rare flash of insight that suddenly grabs his attention. […]

More Miles of Bad Road

I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! So I gave […]

It’s Time to Face the Truth

After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. Ecclesiastes 2:3 Solomon’s wrap-up counsel deserves prime-time exposure. It belongs on the marquee of every X-rated theatre. Like a note, it could be inserted inside every bottle of drugs. It would be a great neon sign […]

Eat, Drink, and Be What?

I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” Ecclesiastes 2:1–2 The slogan of the strictly secular lifestyle can be reduced to six single-syllable words: […]

Chasing the Wind

I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind. Ecclesiastes 1:13–14 As we learned previously, many […]

A Man and His Perspective

These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem. “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” Ecclesiastes 1:1–2 There once lived a man who had the time, money, and energy to take a prolonged, searching journey. Not just a mind trip. Not across the imaginary back roads of his […]

Friendships

The world in which one person lives is too limited and restricted. When rubbing shoulders with another, we gain a panoramic view, which allows us to see the whole picture. “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man” (Prov. 27:19). That’s so picturesque! People provide a clear reflection of what is in the heart. A mirror goes only skin deep. The counsel of a friend reflects what is down inside.

Tag Archives: Ecclesiastes