Easy Reading Edition February 3-9

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READ FOR THIS WEEK’S STUDY: Ecclesiastes 5.

MEMORY VERSE: “Anyone who loves money never has enough. Anyonewho loves wealth is never satisfied with what he gets. That doesn’t [doesnot] have any meaning either” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, NIrV).

LEO TOLSTOY, A RUSSIAN WRITER, WROTE A SHORT STORY CALLED“HOW MUCH LAND DOES A MAN NEED?” It was about a poor man namedPahom. Pahom said, “If I had plenty of land, I should not fear the devil himself.”Pahom then heard about the Bahkirs, a group of people who sold land cheaply.Pahom went to them.They offered him land at “a thousand rubles [dollars] a day.”The Bahkirs told him: “We sell land by the day. As much land as you can goaround on your feet in a day is yours. There is only one condition. If you did notreturn on the same day to the spot where you started, your money will be lost.”Pahom started walking and walking and walking. . . . He was getting so muchland! He kept going, all day, only to realize that he had better get back before theday ended. But he had gone too far. He had to rush, or he would lose his money!He hurried and hurried. But he dropped dead just before he got to where hestarted.

Pahom’s servants dug a grave and buried him. How much land does a manneed? “His grave was all the land he needed,” wrote Tolstoy.

This week, we will look a little more at what Solomon says about wealth andpoverty.1

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SABBATH—FEBRUARY 3

Rich People, Poor People

1poverty—poorness; the quality of being poor.

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Lesson 6 Rich People, Poor People

GOD IN HEAVEN; PEOPLE ONEARTH (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7)

Summarize the basic messageof Ecclesiastes 5:1-7.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon focuseson useful living and advice on spirit-ual matters with the presence of Godin mind. In Ecclesiastes 5:1-7Solomon shows how God is real andclose to us. God cares how you cometo Him. God cares how you talk toHim. And God cares if you keep yourpromises to Him. Solomon’s God, theGod of the Bible, is not the God ofdeists.2 So Solomon is talking abouthow we should relate to God.

How does Matthew 21:18-31 com-pare3 with Ecclesiastes 5:1-7?

The point is clear. If we tell God thatwe plan on doing something, we hadbetter do it. But that is easier saidthan done. How often have we madepromises to God, that we will stopdoing something, but then failed?

How do Matthew 18:21-23, Ro-mans 2:4, and 1 John 2:1 help usunderstand the hope we can have,even if we fail many times?

Have you made promises to Godthat you have not kept? If so, whatis the only thing you can do?

POOR PEOPLE (Ecclesiastes 5:8;Matthew 26:11)

Solomon now returns to a keytheme of Ecclesiastes: money, andpeople who have a lot and peoplewho do not.

Read Ecclesiastes 5:8. These arestrange words! After all, it wasSolomon himself who set up taxes forhis nation. In Ecclesiastes, Solomonnoticed some of the problems thepoor had under these heavy taxes.

Solomon offers no answer to theseproblems. All he says is, “Do not besurprised by it.”

What do the following verses sayabout how we should treat thepoor? What common theme ap-pears in all of these verses?

SUNDAY—FEBRUARY 4

2deists—people who are deists believe God created the world and then left it alone.3compare—show how things are the same.

MONDAY—FEBRUARY 5

Do not be like the fig tree (Matthew 21:19).Keep your promises.

Lesson 6 Rich People, Poor People

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Exodus 23:6___________________

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Leviticus 19:15_________________

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Leviticus 25:39-43_______________

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Deuteronomy 15:7, 11___________

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Deuteronomy 24:14, 15__________

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In Ecclesiastes 4:1, Solomon com-plained about oppression.4 We saw,too, that there were different wayspeople could oppress5 others. A com-mon way of oppression is for richpeople to oppress poor people. ButGod recognizes that there are poorpeople. So He gave strict rules onhow we should treat them. All hu-mans are equal before God. TheCross is proof of this. But it is so easyfor those who have money to oppressthose who do not. The Bible does notencourage such actions.

When Jesus came to this world,did He come as someone rich orpoor? What does your answer sayto you about how you shouldrelate to those who are poor?

(PIX #22)

THE KING AND THE FIELD(Ecclesiastes 5:9)

What message should everyonereceive from Ecclesiastes 5:9? Alsoread Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalm8:6; Psalm 24:1; Psalm 115:16.

There is one thing we all have thatis the same: We all live on this planet.We all breathe its air, drink its water,eat the food that grows out of itsground. Some people might havecleaner air, purer water, better food.But in the end, we are all equallydependent upon what God has givento us.

TUESDAY—FEBRUARY 6

4oppression—pressure on people to do things against their will.5oppress—to pressure people to do things against their will.

Jesus was not wealthy. When He lived athome, He worked hard for a living.

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Lesson 6 Rich People, Poor People

But this has not stopped the injus-tices we see in the world today, justas Solomon saw them in his day.

What would Solomon say about aworld in which people can spendalmost $13,000 a night for a room ata hotel in Paris while millions of otherpeople are homeless?

What would Solomon say about aworld in which people can spend$370,000 on a Ferrari while others donot even have shoes?

(PIX #23)

What would Solomon say about anauction a few years ago during whichsomeone paid $85,000 for a bottle of1735 wine while billions of people donot even have fresh drinking water?

Solomon would be shocked. Godhas given more than enough ofeverything for humans here. Thecauses of poverty are many. There isno doubt that greed and selfishnessare two reasons why there is poverty.

Those who have made themselvesrich by oppressing the poor will findthemselves face to face with an angryGod.

What principle6 is in James 5:1-5that we could use in how we treatothers? Whether rich or poor, askyourself, What could this verse besaying to you?

NEVER ENOUGH (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

A poster once read, “Money doesnot make you happy, but it suremakes unhappiness a lot more com-fortable.”

Most people would agree. ButEcclesiastes shows that money andwealth do not solve all our problems.They do not guarantee happiness.And they do not come without prob-lems of their own.

What point is Ecclesiastes 5:10making? How can we use this pointin other situations? Also readProverbs 27:20; Isaiah 56:11, 12.

Any desire, feeling, or ambition thatis not under God’s control is nevereasily satisfied, no matter how muchof it we have. Drug addicts are a goodexample of this problem. Before long,the amount of drug a person neededbefore is not enough. He or shekeeps needing more and more. Thisworks with a lot of other things,including money.

What is the point of the parable7

in Luke 12:13-21?

WEDNESDAY—FEBRUARY 7

6principle—a basic rule.7parable—a story that teaches a lesson.

Lesson 6 Rich People, Poor People

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The key to understanding this para-ble is found at the end of verse 21.Jesus is warning about people whoare not “rich toward God.” Jesus doesnot explain this, but He seems to bewarning about people who are mostlyinterested in adding up riches, ratherthan accepting one’s responsibility toGod. Jesus said in Luke 12:48 that towhom much is given “much [is]required.” In the same way, someonewho has riches has a responsibility touse them wisely. Often, people whoare very rich are the most selfish,while people who are poor are willingto share the little they have.

(PIX #24)

What are your attitudes8 towardmoney? Are you more interestedin being rich, rather than in being“rich toward God”? If so, how can you change? Why must youchange?

NAKED IN THE DUST(Ecclesiastes 5:15)

Ecclesiastes has challenged Biblestudents for many hundreds of years.But there is one message that comeswith a very good point.This message isin Ecclesiastes 5:15. Solomon is talk-ing about some of the foolishness andchallenges of wealth. For example, onemay gain much money only to lose it allbefore it can be passed on to the nextgeneration9 (Ecclesiastes 5:14).

In the original Hebrew, Ecclesi-astes 5:15 reads: “He came forthfrom his mother’s womb. But he willgo again naked as he came. He willnot carry in his hand anything of hiswork when he does go.”—Adapted.

The point is clear: The rich diealong with the rest of us. In death, alltheir money becomes useless. But,the message is bigger than that.Solomon’s whole point in the book is“Look at your life. What are you livingfor? Life is not important if it is filledwith nothing.” So what are the impor-tant things we should be focusing on?

What is Jesus saying to us inMatthew 16:24-26?

What shall someone give for his orher soul? Money, fame, power, desires,love? These things may be important.Often, they are gifts from God (Eccle-siastes 5:18). But they also can be the

THURSDAY—FEBRUARY 8

Are you rich with worldly goods, but poorin the things of God?

8attitudes—how a person thinks and feels toward God, other people, or things.9generation—all the people born about the same time.Your parents belong to one generation.You belong to

the next generation.

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Lesson 6 Rich People, Poor People

devil’s tool to trap our souls. In this life,things are as temporary as we are.When we die, that is it! The next thingwe know is eternity.10 It is either “thekingdom prepared for [us] since theworld was created” (Matthew 25:34,NIrV) or “sob [cry] and grind your teeth”(Luke 13:28, NIrV) and everlasting11 de-struction (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Whattemporary earthly things will be worth itwhen “you see those who are in God’skingdom. You will see Abraham, Isaacand Jacob and all the prophets there.But you yourselves will be thrown out”(Luke 13:28, NIrV)?

What are the cords (ropes) thatSatan uses to tie you to this world?What things do you find very tempt-ing? What Bible promises can youclaim to keep your soul from sinand from giving up on yourself?

ADDITIONAL STUDY: Read Ecclesi-astes 5 again. Focus on the parts wedid not get to discuss this week.

About the rich man in Luke 12:13-21, Ellen White wrote, “The situationof the poor, the orphan, the widow, thesuffering, the afflicted, was brought tothis rich man’s attention. . . . But thisman’s aims were no higher than theaims of the beasts that die. He livedas if there were no God, no heaven,no future life. He lived as if everythinghe had were his own. He lived as if

he owed nothing to God or man.”—Adapted from Ellen G. White,Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 256–258.

“In giving ourselves to God, we mustgive up all that would separate us fromHim. The Savior says, ‘In the sameway, you must give up everything youhave. If you don’t [do not] you can’t[cannot] be my disciple.’ Luke 14:33,NIrV. Whatever makes the heart forgetGod must be given up. Mammon[money] is the idol of many.The love ofmoney, the desire for wealth, is thegolden chain that ties people to Satan.Reputation12 and worldly honor areworshiped by another group.The life ofselfish comfort and freedom fromresponsibility is the idol of others. Butthese idols must be broken.We cannotbe half God’s and half the world’s. Weare not God’s children if we are notfully His.”—Adapted from Ellen G.White, Steps to Christ, p. 44.

(PIX #25)

FRIDAY—FEBRUARY 9

We cannot be half God’s and half theworld’s.

10eternity—life without end; forever.11everlasting—lasting forever; eternal; without beginning or end.12reputation—what people think about you.

Lesson 6 Rich People, Poor People

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• In your own society, how do therich make the poor suffer? How canwe, as a church, help the poor inthese situations?

• In what ways might some of you,even as Christians, be oppressing13

the poor?

• Money remains one of the greatchallenges for Christians. How can weclaim to be “strangers and pilgrims[wanderers] on the earth” (Hebrews11:13) while building up riches here?At the same time, we have to live. Wehave to pay the bills. We have to feedourselves. This all takes money. Howmuch money is enough? As a class,discuss the challenges we face withthis difficult subject.

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13oppressing—pressuring people to do things against their will.