Introduction

• Ecclesiastes 1:1

• Writer = Solomon

• Tone = Brutally realistic

• Vanity (37 times)

• Under the sun (30 times)

  • Ecclesiastes 4:3-4

Contrast with Proverbs:

Solomon has done the experimenting for us.

• Ecclesiastes 1:13-14

• Life?

  • Ecclesiastes 1:3-11

  • Life is repetitive.

• Pleasure?

  • Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

  • It was all striving after wind!

• Wisdom?

  • Ecclesiastes 2:12-15

  • Ecclesiastes 2:12

  • Ecclesiastes 9:13-16

  • Wisdom can only help you so much!

• Work?

  • Ecclesiastes 2:22-23; 5:10-16

• No lasting joy in pursuits under the sun.

Enjoy the moments you have because eternity is coming.

• Ecclesiastes 11:9

• Two universal truths

  • Time and chance overtake us all (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
    • Ecclesiastes 7:15
  • We all return to the dust (Ecclesiastes 3:19-22)

• And so … Ecclesiastes 2:24; 3:11-13; 5:1-2, 6-7, 18-20; 8:15; 11:8-10; 12:1, 13-14

• Ecclesiastes is better understood in the context of the whole Bible.

  • We learn how wonderful it is to look beyond the sun.

    • Matthew 6:19-20

    • Romans 8:18

Application:

• If you spend your life looking for lasting joy and fulfillment under the sun, you’ll be miserable.

• Eternity is everything!