Groundhog day

Ecclesiastes: An honest look at life – Session 1i To show that if we take an honest look at life, we’re only here for 5 minutes on the timescale of history, we’re bored while we are here, nothing is new or original, and no one will remember us. Is there anything that can give us meaning and purpose in life? - from Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. “Groundhog day” was a 1993 movie starring Bill Murray. He gets snowed in an American town and by some twist is forced to repeat the same day over and over. Q1. Does your life ever feel like “groundhog day” to you? The book of Ecclesiastes is part of the “Wisdom Literature” of the Old Testament. The Wisdom Literature takes a break from the main storyline of the Bible (God rescuing his people and remaking creation). The “Wisdom Literature” is all about understanding how we can live wisely in our world. The book “Song of Solomon” is all about being in love (and makes for an interesting read!). The book of “Proverbs” is all about cause and effect – the wise live well, while the foolish suffer. The book of “Job” is all about when life isn’t that predicable – Job, as an innocent man, suffers. The book of “Ecclesiastes” is all about how we make sense of life and find meaning and purpose. The name “Ecclesiastes” comes from the fact that the Teacher teaches in the assembly or gathering – the Greek word for assembly is “Ecclesia” (See footnote for Ecclesiastes 1:1-11). The Teacher could be Solomon, David’s son, legendary for his wisdom. That would date the book to about 1000 BC. Or the book could have been written another teacher at a later period, through the events of Solomon (which could explain why the author’s identity in Ecclesiastes 1:11 is in some ways a bit vague). It’s also helpful to know that the Teacher is a believer in God, but interested in working out things from his observations of life. Ecclesiastes 1:1 -11 – 1000 years before Jesus 1 The words of the Teacher,[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” 3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. 8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. 11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. Footnotes:

a. Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12 The word translated as “meaningless” in the original language (Hebrew) is “hebel”. “Hebel” means vapour or mist – something that is fleeting or temporary and doesn’t last. (Some versions of the Bible use the word “vanity of vanities” in the sense of everything being in vain). The question the Teacher raises in Ecclesiastes 1:3 is a really important one. He says: “What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?”. “Under the sun” is an expression that means: “from what you can observe”. So using his eyes and ears, the Teacher is questioning whether people gain or profit from their hard work or struggle. He then goes on to give a couple of reasons why he thinks nothing much is gained, making life fleeting or meaningless. Reason #1: On the timescale of history, we’re only here for 5 minutes “Our lives are like bugs on the windscreen of eternity” – Al Stewart

Q2. Based on Ecclesiastes 1:4-7, do you think the Teacher would agree with Al? • Yes, by comparison our lives are so brief and inconsequential. The world keeps on turning, even after we are gone. • Note: the earth existing “forever” is a comparative statement with the human life span. Reason #2: For the 5 minutes we are here, we are bored “90% of life is just turning up” – Woody Allen Q2. Based on Ecclesiastes 1:8, do you think the Teacher would agree with Woody? • Yes. Woody is saying that a lot of life is pretty bland. The Teacher is saying that much of life is boring. • “The eye never has enough of seeing” is a way of saying we still want more because we’re not satisfied. For example, we may want to see new places, but a year of travel doesn’t kill the travel bug! “The ear its fill of hearing”…as an interesting piece of trivia, approximately 2 million songs have been recorded since 1940 – you’d think we would have enough songs in the world… Reason #3: There’s nothing new or original Q3. Do you agree with Ecclesiastes 1:9-10? • One “new” thing could be technology. Certainly technology makes a difference to our experience of life. But it’s a question of how you look at it. The rise of technology isn’t new! Everything from the fishing net to the internet…the rise of technology isn’t new, even if some of the applications are. Plus we would be to question whether human beings are still basically the same, struggling with greed and self-interest etc. Reason #4: No one will remember us Q4. In light of Ecclesiastes 1:11, how much do you know of your family history? • Most people would be pushing to know anything about the lives of their great-great-grandparents. Does the rest of the Bible agree with the Teacher’s analysis? The words of James (Jesus’ half-brother and disciple) – just after Jesus’ lifetime James 4:13-15 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Q5. If our life is like a mist, what is James’ advice about how to live wisely in this world? The words of Paul (apostle of Jesus) – probably 30 – 60 years after Jesus 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. The word “frustration” here is the same word as “meaningless” from Ecclesiastes. It is frustrating to live in our world because that is God’s deliberate choice to make life like that. It was God’s judgment on our world. The tragedies, boredom and disappointments we suffer wasn’t how it was meant to be. Q6. How could this deliberate act of God (to make life in our world frustrating) actually be a good thing? • Because it forces us to ask the big questions of what gives meaning and purpose in life – and to consider what God has to say about these. If life wasn’t frustrating then we wouldn’t bother looking any further! The Teacher has raised the question (what do we profit) and given some thoughts (not much, since we’re only here for 5 minutes, we’re bored while we are here, nothing we do is new or original, no one will remember us)…but maybe there is something “under the sun” that could give life purpose and meaning that he hasn’t yet thought about. So in the next sessions, we will look at some experiments that the Teacher undertakes, and the conclusions he draws. Is there anything in life that has real value and will last? i COPYRIGHT City Bible Forum (www.citybibleforum.org) a ministry of Evangelising Commerce Inc (NSW), 2013. This material may be reproduced free-of-charge for non-profit use only as long as this copyright notice appears, and the study is not modified in any way. For any other use, or to modify the material, please contact us to arrange copyright permission, which may involve a small fee to help finance the production of such resources by the staff of City Bible Forum. Contact info@citybibleforum.org or tel: (02) 9251 1166 or GPO Box 3266, Sydney NSW 2001.