Post on 23-Feb-2016
description
What Do You Do When Conventional Wisdom
Fails?
Lou Di Lorenzo
1st Jan 2012
Ecclesiastes 1
Introduction
• Ecclesiastes means one who addresses an assembly, as a preacher
• Author - An unknown narrator writing for king Solomon or narrator writing Solomon’s wisdom in his own words and style
• Journal a man's search for meaning. Much happens apart from God. Conclusionthat life apart from God is empty
Ecclesiastes 1
Introduction
• Book seeks to answer; ?
• All is meaningless under the sun (1:14; 2:17) • It doesn’t matter what you do, achieve or
accumulate in life. Death robs it all • Fear God, keep his commandments, this is
the whole duty of man (12:13)
Ecclesiastes 1
Ecclesiastes
“I would say that Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writingI have ever known, and the wisdomexpressed in it the most lasting andprofound.” Tom Wolfe - American 20th Century novelist
Ecclesiastes 1
Cycles Of Life•Monotonous nature of life (1:4-7)•Continuing Nature of the Earth (1:4)•Rising and Setting of the Sun (1:5)•Regular weather patterns (1:6)•Cycle of evaporation and condensation (1:7)•Cyclic motions of futile activity•Meaning of life not in creation
Ecclesiastes 1
WisdomThe wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Ecclesiastes 1
Wisdom
Spiritual requirements for Gaining wisdom: • Humility (Prov 11:2, 15:33)• Teachability (Prov 9:9, 15:31)• Diligence (Prov 8:17, 2:4-5)• Uprightness (Prov 2:7)• Faith (James 1:5-8)
Ecclesiastes 1
Ecclesiastes 1
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance. T.S. Eliot