The record continued: 1 Kings 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

The book of Ecclesiastes represents the frustration of Solomon in this period where he can find no meaning to life without God.

Solomon the wisest king and for that matter the wisest man ever forgot a simple and direct warning: Deut. 8:11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Solomon failed to heed this warning and in his pleasure and comfort he lost his spiritual discernment. And, as he seeks it through the things of the world he discovers that all is “meaningless” without the Lord!!!!!

So, to his future generations and to the future readers of the Bible Solomon writes the book of Ecclesiastes. In his life, he depends on human wisdom (remember he is the wisest man of all time), and worldly data to pursue fulfillment eventually discovering that the only path to fulfillment is the path that leads to God Using the best of human reasoning, not divine revelation, we will see his constant use of the words “under the sun” (earthly) and “wisdom” (that of men), that both help lead to Solomon’s inability to find meaning. He is constantly faced with choosing between two meaningless options.

Ecclesiastes is written to literally drive us to God. Solomon will show us that worldly pursuits are not fulfilling hopefully leading us to the understanding that life without God is meaningless. In this book we will see, the wisest man ever, in the latter years of his life, trying to warn us about the pitfalls, the trials and the “emptiness” of life without a sincere focus on God. He has traveled the road of life, experienced more then all of us put together will ever experience and he writes a book of warning filled with the mistakes he has made, Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes Overview Ecclesiastes = The Preacher Ecclesiastes was written to the wealthy and powerful people of the day… Why? They must of had access to the courts because: Their ability to pursue wisdom (common people had no time for this) The value placed on obtaining wealth The problems of the court that are mentioned

Ecclesiastes Overview If we keep this audience in mind – actually an audience similar to the one in this class, we can better understand the context of the scripture. Why, because the people of the court built their lives around the pursuit of wealth, power, success and intellectual reputation. Not so dissimilar to us!! In this context, Ecclesiastes will repeatedly point out the futility of this kind of life.

Ecclesiastes Overview Ecclesiastes is a realistic book. Ecclesiastes will make us consider death and in that consideration, point us to the real need of salvation through Jesus. Ecclesiastes speaks about: Time – The world – Wisdom – Wealth – Politics – Death Friendship – Religion – Evil and Contentment It was written in Jerusalem around 935 BCE. Written in Hebrew, with an Aramaic influence. Written as a lesson from an old man (father) to a younger man (son).

Outline: Prologue: The Author and Thesis, 1:1-3 The Thesis Demonstrated, 1:4-2:26 The Futility of the Cycles of Life, 1:4-11 The Futility of Human Wisdom, 1:12-18 The Futility of Pleasure and Wealth, 2:1-11 The Futility of Materialism, 2:12-23 Conclusion: Enjoy and be Content with the Providences of God, 2:24-26 God’s Design for Life, 3:1-22 He Gives Life’s Order of Events, 3:1-11 He Gives the Good Gifts of Life, 3:12-13 He Gives the Perspective of Future Judgment, 3:14-21 Conclusion: 3:22 The Futility of the Various Circumstances of Life, 4:1-5:20 Oppression, 4:1-3 Work, 4:4-12 Political Success, 4:13-16 False Worship, 5:1-17 Hoarded Riches, 5:8-17 Conclusion, 5:18-20 The Futility of Riches, 6:1-12 Counsel for Living, 7:1-12:8 Counsel in View of Man’s Wickedness, 7:1-29 Counsel in View of God’s Inscrutable Providences, 8:1-9:18 Counsel in View of the Uncertainties of Life, 10:1-20 Counsel in View of the Aging Process of Life, 11:1-12:8 Conclusion, 12:9-14

As we progress, our weekly purpose is to take a measure of our footprints. Measuring one against the other Or, in other words:

What is your Worldly footprint?

As compared with your Christian Footprint???

Are we looking at the things of the world???

Or, keeping our eyes on the things of God?

We must remember what Solomon forgot: Deut. 8:11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today ; 12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

What do we take home? How about a weekly challenge to seriously consider and evaluate each teaching from this perspective: Have I forgotten my Lord in my contentment and in my chasing the things of the world?