The structure of Ecclesiastes 1:1-11: The author introduces the Preacher 1:12-12:8: The voice of the Preacher himself 12:9 -14: The author’s conclusion about what the Preacher has said

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. Ecclesiastes 1:12: 12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. We are meant to associate the Preacher with King Solomon, the king who had it all and was very wise.

Ecclesiastes 1:13-18: 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1:13-18: 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 2:12-14a: 12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.

Proverbs 3:1-2: 1 My son, do not forget my teaching,     but let your heart keep my commandments, 2  for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Collective wisdom…that leads to thriving and flourishing.

Ecclesiastes 2:14-17: 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21: 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

The Preacher got something right: even the wise die

The Preacher didn’t see the entire picture: death is not the end Chapter 2: the Preacher said the wise and the foolish die Chapter 3: The Preacher is unsure of what happens at death Chapter 12: the author gives strong hope Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

There really is nothing new under the sun The Preacher’s wisdom was rooted in what he could know: Ecclesiastes 1:13-18: 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.

There really is nothing new under the sun Mark Larrimore: The modern approach “…presupposes not only that we are fit to judge the ways of God, but also that there is a life for us should we find God’s ways unacceptable.”

There really is nothing new under the sun Cornell University prof. Will Provine: “Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear…. There are no gods, no purposes, no goal- directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either.”

There really is nothing new under the sun Recent Psychology Today article: “An alarming rise in depression and anxiety and a 30% rise in suicides since 1999 point to a major crisis in our culture. Too many Americans are anxious, depressed, and discontent because they lack a sense of meaning.”

The goodness of God’s wisdom Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

The goodness of God’s wisdom 1 Corinthians 1:20-25: 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.