Ecclesiastes 8:2-17; Obey the King
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 8:2-17.  Please join us in study.

‘Obey the President’ just doesn’t carry the same ring as ‘Obey the king’.  The whole idea of a king is foreign to us as citizens of the United States.  If you are a citizen of the United States, you have never sworn an oath to obey the President.  The President’s word is not supreme.  You can ask him ‘What are you doing’?  We have a tradition of ‘civil disobedience’ where it is culturally acceptable to disobey the President.  We can even remove the President from his office without bloody revolution.

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Ecclesiastes 7:13-8:1; Wisdom (Part 2)
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 7:13-8:1.  Please join us in study.

One of the themes that we have been dealing with up to this point is the work of man.  Of what use and purpose is that work?  Now we turn to consider the work of God and our relationship to that work.
Several of the ideas the Teacher deals with in these verses were introduced back in chapter 1, specifically vv.15-18.

In vv.16 & 17, the Teacher talks about being ‘overrighteous’, ‘overwise’ and ‘overwicked’.  The word that the NIV translates as over is the same word that we saw in 7:11 where wisdom and inheritance are a benefit, an advantage, with the implication being that being overrighteous, overwise and overwicked is to take advantage of our righteousness, wisdom or wickedness in a way that God did not intend.

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Ecclesiastes 7:1-12; Wisdom (Part 1)
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 7:1-12.  Please join us in study.

The heart gets mentioned five times in today’s passage, in vv. 2, 3, twice in v.4 & in v.7.  This same word gets translated as ‘mind’ in 2:2 (“…my mind still guiding me with wisdom…” NIV) and 2:23 (“…even at night his mind does not rest…” NIV).

The ancients saw the heart as the seat of thought, the place where the ‘inner self’ resided.  The heart was where one pondered, contemplated and put two in two together in order to see what it looks like.  Our culture tends to see the heart as the seat of emotion, where one feels, rather than thinks.

One of the themes that we noticed studying through this passage is the idea of long-term vs. short-term.  Many of the ideas and concepts that the Teacher contrasts and asks us to think about deal with this whole idea of short-term, immediate gratification vs. a long-term approach, which in turn suggested the whole idea God setting the ‘eternal’ in every man’s heart (3:11) and the conflict we have with it.

A second, related theme is that of beginnings and endings.

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Ecclesiastes 6:1-12; Riches are Meaningless (Part 2)
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 6:1-12.  Please join us in study.

The word ‘appetite’ is used twice (vv.7,9) in these verses.  The same Hebrew word translated here as ‘appetite’ is used many, many times in the Old Testament and is translated as ‘life’ 129 times and as ‘soul’ 105 times.  The contexts of it’s use range from the Jacob speaking of how his life was spared when he saw God face to face (Genesis 32:30) to the Law (Exodus 21:23) to Hannah pouring out her soul to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15) to most anytime seeking the Lord with all your heart and soul is spoken of (Deuteronomy 4:29; 2 Kings 23:3; 1 Chronicle 22:19).
I would suggest that the translation here as ‘appetite’ implies one’s life or soul ‘on the hunt’ for satisfaction in much the same way as when our physical hunger flairs up and seeks satisfaction.
There are also repeated themes and questions in these verses, ideas that the Teacher has addressed before.  What was he talking about the first time through and how does that apply to what he is trying to teach us here?
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Ecclesiastes 5:8-20; Riches are Meaningless (Part 1)
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 5:8-20.  Please join us in study.

A few observations:  1) the subject of oppression is again brought up with the king himself profiting 2) the word used for the sleep of the laborer carries the implication of rest and differs from the word used for the sleep denied the rich man 3) The idea that there is nothing better for a man than to eat, drink and find satisfaction in his work is repeated again as is 4) the idea that man has a lot assigned to him and it is a gift from God to be able to accept and enjoy it 5) verses 8 and 9 are especially challenging both textually and culturally
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Ecclesiastes 5:1-7; Stand in Awe of God
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 5:1-7.  Please join us in study.

In today’s passage there are several things to notice.  The first is that words of some type are mention in every verse except v.1.  The second is that fools are mentioned three times, in vv. 1, 3, & 4.  The third is that this passage as a whole is bracketed by positive injunctions; ‘Guard your steps…’ (NASB & NIV) in v.1 and ‘stand in awe’ (NIV) or ‘fear God’ (NASB & NLT) in v.7.

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