Bible Study Ecclesiastes, A Bible Study by Chopper & Reba.

[Rollo Tamasi]

This true.
How do you remember 700 anniversaries?

I have to question that.
Until you've had 700 wives.....

 

[Jethro Bodine]

How hard it must have been on Solomon the wisest man in the world to realize his vanity

I agree, because I think hardship and failure is usually how men/women get there eyes opened to the ugliness of self. He was utterly successful and, yet, discovered what the rest of us discover through want, failure, and hardship.

 

[Christ_empowered]

Good stuff, Jethro.

I've actually been pondering that verse lately. I read somewhere that to "hate" in a lot of Biblical references means to reject. So, God "hated" Esau in that he rejected him. Makes sense to me.

I think the Book of Ecclesiastes is beautiful and neglected. It probably isn't good for anybody under 25. I'm 31, and I think I don't see it the same way I will in 10, 15, 20 years.

To me, the point is...Solomon lived a life of excess and had everything at his finger tips, and was left...empty. I think that more churches should emphasize The Book of Ecclesiastes in the US, because now even the middle classes have waaay more stuff and experiences than in years, generations past. We're all encouraged to live The American Dream. Some can't make a go of it, some do...only to find it can easily be The American Nightmare, or...The Great American Disillusionment, lol.

Plus, in 21st century America, I think there's a very real sense of alienation. Work is drudgery, friends aren't friends, the relatives are scattered, marriages are fragile, we're always at each other's throats in a hyper-competitive, hyper-individualistic environment that discourages 1-on-1 connections, and definitely nixes community bonds. Solomon's wisdom, I think, encourages everybody to take a step back and ponder for a minute: what's this all about? For Christians, we look to Christ, and Him crucified for meaning, so Ecclesiastes might make one feel a bit melancholy, but that's no big thing. For the rest of the world...not so much :-( .

 

[Jethro Bodine]

I have to question that.
Until you've had 700 wives.....

700 wives...
....anniversaries, your first slow dance, your first kiss, where those happened. I often can't even remember what I opened a new tab in my browser to search for let alone all of that information about 700 wives.

 

[Christ_empowered]

Patriarchal culture...the wives for there for reproduction and political connections.

 

[reba]

Beyond the 'things' he had he had knowledge what is knowledge without God He had wisdom but again without God. We see many world leaders today with out God and what a sad mess they are ..

Sorry i mentioned the wives

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

700 wives...
....anniversaries, your first slow dance, your first kiss, where those happened. I often can't even remember what I opened a new tab in my browser to search for let alone all of that information about 700 wives.

Who cares?
As long they all want you and you can afford them.
I think I might have done as Solomon did.
Or at least thought about it as being something good.
Maybe.
When your body is young you think a little different than when it gets old.

 

[Malachi]

I assure you one does not have to leave the straight and narrow to make the observations he made

Jethro,
You might have misunderstood what I was trying to get across. Life without Christ is vanity on earth. Vanity is the experience of the natural man as described in Ecclesiastes.

But life in the Spirit is exactly the opposite, since spiritual Christians know without the shadow of a doubt that eternity with Christ awaits them. Therefore life on earth is full of meaning and purpose. That is why Paul encourages the brethren to labor diligently (while Solomon says that all labor is vain).

King James Bible (1 Cor 15:58).
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

I still wonder about verse 5:

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

Jethro,
You might have misunderstood what I was trying to get across. Life without Christ is vanity on earth. Vanity is the experience of the natural man as described in Ecclesiastes.

But life in the Spirit is exactly the opposite, since spiritual Christians know without the shadow of a doubt that eternity with Christ awaits them. Therefore life on earth is full of meaning and purpose. That is why Paul encourages the brethren to labor diligently (while Solomon says that all labor is vain).

King James Bible (1 Cor 15:58).
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

I see Solomon saying these things.

1. Love God.
2. Love your neighbor.
3. Try to find a job you love to do so that it doesn't feel like you have to go to work everyday, it's enjoyment instead.
4. Enjoy life. Eat, drink, and be merry for you know not what tomorrow brings.
5. This is man's lot in life.


It all sounds good to me.

 

[Angel]

Agreed

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Patriarchal culture...the wives for there for reproduction and political connections.

Glad you said this, because I think they understood marriage more for what it truly is.....a practical matter sewn into the fabric of humanity, not an outlet for our personal preferences and desires for romantic attraction and love.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

Glad you said this, because I think they understood marriage more for what it truly is.....a practical matter sewn into the fabric of humanity, not an outlet for our personal preferences and desires for romantic attraction and love.

And that brings us to Song of Songs.
Some people say it's all about Jesus and the church.
But is it really?

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

I'm in the classroom.
The teacher is in and out.
Others talk but no one listens to me.
No one wants to hear what I say.
I am in the midst of a group of students, yet I feel so alone.
I get up and walk out.
No one notices.
With my head hung low, another day passes through the night.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Vanity is the experience of the natural man as described in Ecclesiastes.

Vanity is the experience of every single human alive, saved and unsaved.

We all have to work just to turn it all over to someone else--if we even have anything to turn over when we die, we all toil and labor at mundane things that we have to toil and labor at, but which will fade away with this life, but have to be done nonetheless, irregardless of our spiritual condition. We all start the day and do the things we need to do before the sun sets, just to turn right around and do it all again the next day, as if what we did yesterday didn't count for anything.

Perhaps a good understanding of 'vanity' has to be understood first. Something that is vain is something that in the end has no lasting usefulness or value. Life if FULL of those kinds of things. We instantly think of 'pride' as being vain, and it certainly is, but it is only one thing that is vain, having no lasting value in this life.

 

[Angel]

I'm in the classroom.
The teacher is in and out.
Others talk but no one listens to me.
No one wants to hear what I say.
I am in the midst of a group of students, yet I feel so alone.
I get up and walk out.
No one notices.
With my head hung low, another day passes through the night.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

And that brings us to Song of Songs.
Some people say it's all about Jesus and the church.
But is it really?

Romance is the icing on the cake in marriage, but in our western society we have made romance the meat and potatoes of marriage. We have it backwards. That's why our society is so unhappy and dissatisfied with marriage. Romance was never meant to be the foundation of marriage. It's what you get when you have a firm foundation of loyalty, selflessness. But we decide to be loyal and selfless if we get the romance.

 

[reba]

'm in the classroom.
The teacher is in and out.
Others talk but no one listens to me.
No one wants to hear what I say.
I am in the midst of a group of students, yet I feel so alone.
I get up and walk out.
No one notices.
With my head hung low, another day passes through the night.

Your vanity is showing

 

[Jethro Bodine]

I'm in the classroom.
The teacher is in and out.
Others talk but no one listens to me.
No one wants to hear what I say.
I am in the midst of a group of students, yet I feel so alone.
I get up and walk out.
No one notices.
With my head hung low, another day passes through the night.

I've been reading your posts....and responding to them.
Your contribution is essential to us having an edifying discussion.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

I see Solomon saying these things.

1. Love God.
2. Love your neighbor.
3. Try to find a job you love to do so that it doesn't feel like you have to go to work everyday, it's enjoyment instead.
4. Enjoy life. Eat, drink, and be merry for you know not what tomorrow brings.
5. This is man's lot in life.


It all sounds good to me.

I'd say you have a good grasp on the book of Ecc.