The Poverty of Power

Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

13 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. 14 Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. 15 But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. 16 Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

The preacher has arrived at the top and he sadly discovers the view isn't as good as he hoped it would be. Power, prestige, and position are poor goals for life. These three delicacies are the desire of many, but once the meal is consumed, the person is left hungry, unsatisfied, and longing for more. Basing our lives on the where we stand in relationship to others is a sure recipe for failure. An alternative and better plan is to seek God's approval. His love never changes.

A Cord of Three Strands

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

1 Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. 2 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 3 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

5 “Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.”

6 And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”

7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

The preacher's bad day continues. He recalls the tears and the loneliness of the oppressed. By the depths of his words (saying the dead were better off than the living and the best case scenario is not to be born - see verses 2 and 3), I have a feeling that the preacher was the one who felt isolated and alone. Like the preacher, we have both observed and experienced isolation.

The broken promise of the world emerges in verses 7 and 8. The preacher discloses that wealth doesn't provide the contentment, satisfaction, and meaning he was looking for. Jesus pretty much says the same thing when he says: What does profit to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul? - Mark 8:6

Then the preacher writes one of the greatest truths of life and some of the most profound words ever written in verse 12: A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. The preacher is looking back on his life with lament and regret. He had everything he didn't need and didn't have the one thing he needed: the love of others and the love of God. The preacher discovered, the hard way, the people are meant to live in community with each other and with God. No replacement exists for such things.

A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work?
10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.
11 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.
12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.
13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.
15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.
16 I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!
17 I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”
18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals.
19 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!
20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust.
21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth?
22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here! No one will bring us back from death to enjoy life after we die.



You would be hard pressed to find more beautiful words than the words written in verses 1 to 8. Three lessons can be learned.

1. Life is varied. Life has laughter and life has tears. Sometimes we embrace. Sometimes we turn away. Each day is a new journey.
2. Life is cyclical. We are born and we die. We plant and we harvest. We face good days and not so good days.
3. Truth is paradox. Death makes life more meaningful and urgent. War makes peace more desirable. God takes the bad and makes it good.

Working for the Weekend

Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

12 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?). 13 I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. 15 Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” 16 For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

17 So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

18 I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 19 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! 20 So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.

21 Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22 So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.

24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.

Verse 24 is as relevant today as it was when the preacher penned these words thousands of years ago. The words remind me of that old Loverboy song, Working for the Weekend. We work so we can eat, drink, and be merry so that we can recharge ourselves to work so we can have the resources to eat, drink, and be merry. And then we repeat the process over and over and over again. The preacher tried this pattern of life and it didn't work for him. We try it and it doesn't work for us either. We all have this feeling in our heart that more exists to life that working, eating, and drinking.

The finding here is simple: satisfaction, meaning, and contentment in life is tragically and ironically lost as one searches for ultimate satisfaction, meaning, and contentment in earthly things. True satisfaction, meaning, and contentment in life cannot be found apart from God.

The Absurdity of Pleasure

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

1 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. 2 So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.

4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

The teacher tried pleasure to find meaning and contentment in live. Simkhah is the Hebrew word for pleasure. It means self-indulgent and foolish pleasure as opposed to legitimate enjoyment of life. The self-indulgent and foolish pleasures are found in his laundry list of pleasures:

• Silly laughter
• Wine
• Foolishness
• Large houses
• Vineyards and gardens
• Slaves
• Greed
• Power
• Sex

The teacher was the judge who convicted himself of excess. He was the jury as well and the sentence was among the cruelest of sentences: the meaningless life.

We can learn two things learn from the teacher's mistakes:

1. More is not necessarily better. Modesty, humility, and balance are essential to a life full of contentment, purpose, and satisfaction.
2. Short-tern decisions effect our long-term well-being. We often make the easy and convenient choice that gives us instant gratification instead of the difficult and right choice that gives us long-term contentment.

The Folly of Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 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. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

15 What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.

16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.

18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

The word wisdom first appears in verse 13 and reappears 25 additional times in the book. It should be noted that wisdom (hokma) is different from knowledge (da 'at) in verse 18. Knowledge refers to cognitive thinking: knowing something in one's head. Wisdom (hokma) is a complex word. It is a combination of knowledge and truth which is used for moral choices and social interaction. It is cognitive and affective knowledge. It is knowledge of the head and the heart.

Verse 12 is a plea that materialism and power will not provide contentment and satisfaction. He was a king and lived in Jerusalem. The wealth and power associated with this position still left him feeling empty.

Verse 13 deals with frustration. The teacher is frustrated that he isn't able to fully comprehend God (under heaven). Paul deals with partial knowledge in 1 Corinthians 13:12 - Now we see a poor reflection in a mirror...now I know in part. In frustration, the teacher writes words of despair and describes life as a tragic existence. Note similar observations from the New Testament coupled with grace: Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. -John 16:33 and And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39 The teacher has yet to experience the comic overcoming the tragic, love overcoming hate, and grace overcoming sin.

The remaining verses discuss the folly of wisdom. The teacher made a false assumption that wisdom would provide him what he desired in life. He was wrong. He uses a wonderful play on the word wind which can also be translated as Spirit of God. Chasing God is a what he was doing, but he found chasing God to be like chasing the wind.

Materialism and wisdom, the teacher says, don't lead to satisfaction and contentment in life. Both possessions and wisdom can be (and are) beneficial, but neither of them can replace a loving relationship with God. In a cruel form of irony, the loving, ongoing relationship with God is the one thing the teacher didn't have and it was the one thing he needed.

The Meaningless Life

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.

2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

The teacher woke up on the wrong side of the bed and it went downhill from there.

He starts off in verse 2 with the word hebel which translates into the English word meaningless. Hebel is best translated as useless, unreliable, or meaningless. What is meaningless? The word in verse 2 is kol which means all or everything. The bottom line is that the preacher is struggling to find any meaning in life. Have you ever been there before?

The word work in verse 3 is amal. It doesn't mean honest labor. Rather it has negative connotations such as being tired, troubled, or oppressed. The phrase under the sun means of this world as opposed to heaven. It is the physical world and not the spiritual world.

The teacher is troubled by the world he lives in. He lays his head on the pillow at night and has this feeling deep in his gut that there has got to be more to life than what he is currently experiencing. He longs for satisfaction and contentment (verse 8).

Nothing being new is a theme for verses 9 to 11. Obviously change and invention happens in the physical world, but the writer just sees matter being reorganized. Life to him is predictable and boring. Verse 11 also notes the teacher's feelings of insignificance.

So, if you feel the life is meaningless, you are not alone. If you are tired, troubled, and oppressed, you are not alone. If you long for satisfaction and contentment, you are not alone. If you feel bored and insignificant, you are not alone.

We are all of the above some of the time and some of the above most of the time. The teacher gives us a raw and honest picture of who he is and most likely a decent snapshot of who we are. He longs for meaning, rest, peace, justice, satisfaction, contentment, excitement, and significance. He doesn't find it under the sun. He, and we, should look elsewhere.