Wouldn’t you like to do something meaningful? To contribute something significant to this world and be remembered for your work? According to Solomon, all our efforts are like striving after the wind—attempts for immortality that inevitably fail. We have to come to grips with this unsettling truth before we can grasp the hope that Christ gives us in the midst of such futility.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
HEAD: QUESTIONS AIMED AT OUR MINDS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD.
In 1:2, the Preacher (Hebrew Qoheleth) twice employs the phrase “vanity of vanities.” The Hebrew term translated here, hebel, can refer to vanity, breath, mist, or meaninglessness and is used more than 30 times in Ecclesiastes. What does this phrase picture?
At the end of verse 2, the Preacher indicates, “All is vanity.” Looking at the rest of chapter 1, why would the Preacher make this statement?
HEART: QUESTIONS AIMED AT OUR AFFECTIONS TO HELP US LOVE GOD
In verse 11, the Preacher communicates that our lives will eventually fade from memory. What’s your emotional response to this?
How might such a stark message as this be an expression of God’s love for us?
HANDS: QUESTIONS AIMED AT OUR HANDS TO HELP US LIVE FOR GOD (PERSONALLY, COMMUNALLY, AND MISSIONALLY)
In verse 3 the Preacher asks, “What gain is toil?” This question is repeated in various ways throughout Ecclesiastes (3:9; 5:15; 6:11; 10:11). Why is the Preacher questioning the significance of people’s work and asserting the pointlessness of life and creation?
Read Mark 8:34-37. How do the words of Christ reflect the teachings of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11? How does this point us to hope in Christ?
Some Questions adapted from Knowing The Bible: Ecclesiastes
