Bible Study -- Ecclesiastes

Lesson 1:

Read Ecclesiastes 1 and then answer the following questions:

Section 2: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

1. In 1:2 (and throughout Ecclesiastes) the Hebrew word translated into “meaningless” is also sometimes translated to the word “vanity,” but it also could mean “vapor.” What do all of these words have in common? (use a dictionary if you need to) 

2.“Under the sun” (1:3, and throughout. Also, “under heaven.”) refers to a life without God in it. With this in mind, what is the outlook for a life without God, as seen in this section?

 

3. There is a pattern of repetition within this section. What seems to be repeated?

4. Look at verse 8. Have you seen a situation like this “under the sun?” 

5. Look up Romans 8:18-25. What can we hope for?

Bible Study - Ecclesiastes

Lesson 1:

Read Ecclesiastes 1 and then answer the following questions:

Section 1: Ecclesiastes 1:1

1. Whose words are these? (See 1 Chronicles 29:23)

2. What are some characteristics of a good teacher?

Bible Study - Ecclesiastes Introduction

Welcome to a Bible study on the book of Ecclesiastes! 

This study is designed to help you become well-practiced and more knowledgable in navigating your Bible, to gain a love for Scripture, and of course to learn about and appreciate the wonderful, mysterious book of Ecclesiastes. 

Through this study, it is my hope that you would grow more in your faith and relationship with the Lord. There are twelve lessons, filled with questions to answer on your own throughout the week. Each lesson is broken up into sections, to help you to pace yourself. Do a little bit each day, and on the questions with several Scripture passages to look up -- look up at least one of the passages, but try to look up as many as time and interest allow. 

Each week will have Scripture to memorize (at the end of the lesson). This is to help you to really know Scripture, so that you can always have it with you as a guide. All of the memory verses and the questions were written with the New Living Translation in mind, but you are welcome to do the study in whichever translation of the Bible you already use. At the end of each lesson is a “departing thought.” This is an opportunity for you to apply what you have been studying to your life. Go as deep as you would like. The departing thought could also be used as a journal prompt.


Introduction to Ecclesiastes:
Authorship and Date: Traditionally, the author was identified as Solomon, but given the date of the book, and other indicators within the text, the most we can conclude is that it probably was not Solomon, but someone who was familiar with Solomon who was “a wise man, who taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs. This description suggests that he was a teacher...”

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when Ecclesiastes was written, but “the language of the book shows that it cannot have been written in the age of Solomon. ... Dates proposed for the book range from the Persian (5th-4th century B.C.E) to the Hellenistic period (3rd or early 2nd century B.C.E). ... As in the case of other Wisdom books, however, exact dating is not crucial here. The author is primarily concerned with aspects of life, and death, that are pertinent to all times and places.”

Literary Context, Genre, Structure, etc: Ecclesiastes belongs to what is called Wisdom literature.

“Ecclesiastes is one of the most rigidly structured books in the Bible. The principle of organization is dialectical, that is, based on a conflict between opposites. ... The narrative conflict underlying the dialectical structure is the contrast between a God-centered worldview and all the other worldviews. ...In addition to giving his work dialectical structure, the author has seized upon one of the oldest of all literary devices, the quest motif.”

Intended Audience and Purpose: Ecclesiastes is a timeless book written to all generations.

“It is an essay in apologetics. It defends the life of faith in a generous God by pointing out the grimness of the alternative.”

Overall Message: “...this book espouses the most basic theme of biblical literature -- that life lived by purely earthly or human values, without faith in God and supernatural values, is meaningless and futile. The key term in the book is the phrase ‘under the sun.’ This phrase, or its equivalent ‘under the heaven,’ occurs thirty times in the book and denotes that which is only earthly. To be ‘under the sun’ is to be earth-bound cut off from the supernatural order.”

So we must read Ecclesiastes with this in mind, that though it may seem like some of it is contradicting itself, we must keep in mind which worldview is being portrayed, life under the sun, or life with God. “When the narrator voices dispair over the futility of life under the sun, he is not affirming this as his final answer to life’s existence.”


Be blessed as you begin your study in Ecclesiastes!

Bible Study - Ecclesiastes

This has been an interesting summer without having the internet at home (minus phones...which are handy for checking social media and googling something...not so great for consistent blogging). It has been nice to have a break, but I will be grateful when we do get the internet back in our house (probably at least another month until that happens). Anyway, I am at a coffee shop today, utilizing their wireless and air conditioning (and a latte of course), to bring back to the world a regular daily blog post...for a little while anyway. Thanks, coffee shop! Thanks, scheduled posting!

So what will I post? I have taken some time to go back and read some lectionary postings, and would really like to get back in the groove of doing those again...but that is easier with a more consistent internet connection. I can only schedule so many of those in advance before I lose steam. So, next best thing: a daily posting of the Ecclesiastes Bible Study that I wrote in seminary. Hopefully it will be a daily encouragement for anyone who happens to stumble upon it.

Come back tomorrow for the introduction, and then daily for Bible study questions and things to reflect upon. Should be enough material to cover the month of August (and then some).

Cheers!

Ecclesiastes -- Works Cited

Here are the sources that I used for this study. I don't know how to do footnotes on this blog, so if you have a question about a specific quote, ask, and I can give you the source, page number, etc.

Works Cited and Consulted

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version

The Holy Bible, New Living Translation

Chambers, Oswald. Shade of His Hand, Discovery House Publishers; Grand Rapids, MI; 1991

Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, Fortress Press; Minneapolis, MN, 2004

Davis, Ellen F. Getting Involved With God, Cowley Publications; Boston, MA; 2001

Eaton, Michael A. Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, IVP; Downers Grove, IL; 1983

Estes, Daniel J. Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms, Baker Academic; Grand Rapids, MI; 2005

Guinness, Alma E. (editor), Reader’s Digest Mysteries of the Bible: The Enduring Questions of the Scriptures, The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.; Pleasantville, NY; 1988

Kidner, Derek. A Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance, IVP; Downers Grove, IL; 1976

Lohfink, Norbert. Qoheleth, Fortress Press; Minneapolis, MN; 2003

Longman III, Tremper & Enns Peter, editors. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, Writings, IVP; Downers Grove, IL; 2008

Perry, T.A. Dialogues with Kohelet: The Book of Ecclesiastes, Translation and Commentary, The Pennsylvania State University Press; University Park, PA; 1993

Ryken,Leland. The Literature of the Bible, Zondervan Publishing House; Grand Rapids, MI, 1974

Rykon, Leland, Wilhoit, James C. and Longman III, Tremper, editors. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, IVP; Downers Grove, IL; 1998

Tamez, Elsa. When the Horizons Close: Rereading Ecclesiastes, Orbis Books; Maryknoll, NY; 2000