Weekly Sermons

The Unhappy Task

I didn’t realize it until later but I was on a journey working through an “unhappy task” that God sets before every person as He leads them toward ultimate meaning in life through asking and answering the great questions.

In Ecclesiastes Solomon brilliantly testifies of his own search for meaning in life, and how it brought him full circle back to the faith of his father David.

Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 The Unhappy Task Let’s Pray!

The title Ecclesiastes comes to us from the Greek and Latin translations. Ecclesia is the word for church – it means assembly. Ecclesiastes is one who addresses an assembly, a Preacher. The word for Preacher in Hebrew is Qoheleth.

Solomon’s life and writings V. 1

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people.” -1 Kings 3:9

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

Solomon’s theme in his wisdom writings is basically how there are 2 ways to live - With wisdom that leads to righteousness, or with folly (foolishness) that leads to wickedness (just like David had taught in Psalm 1).

The Great Question: What is the meaning of life V. 2-3

The word vanity in verse 2 is the word Hebel. Hebel occurs 68 verses in the Old Testament, a whopping 36 of them in Ecclesiastes. It’s basic meaning is “Vapor” or “smoke.” It is also translated as emptiness, fleeting, worthless, and meaningless. The first 3 times it appears in the O. T. it is translated “idols.”

The good news Solomon will come to is that there is a God who exists “over the sun,” so this sinful world is not all there is. Ecclesiastes will speak of God at least 40 times. Life is meaningless “under the sun” when God is not factored in.

The Great questions everyone asks:

Why am I here?

Where did I come from?

Am I here by accident or by design. If design, whose design?

What’s the point of there being a me?

What am I supposed to do while I am here?

What brings meaning or significance – how will I know I am living a good life?

What happens when I die?

Mankind’s seeming insignificance in the circle of life V. 4-11

The unhappy task God has given mankind V. 12-13

Warning label for the Ecclesiastes journey V. 14-18

Knowledge makes you accountable to act on what you now understand – you can’t say you didn’t know. God will judge you one day based on what you have done with His truth.