January 2, 2023
READ: Ecclesiastes 1 (Focus vs. 1–11)
MEMORY VERSE
“The sun also rises, and the sun goes down.” Ecclesiastes 1:5 nkjv
BACKGROUND
Ernest Hemingway’s first full-length novel features hard-drinking friends who’ve recently endured World War I.
They bear the literal and figurative scars of the war’s devastation and try to cope with it via parties, grand adventures, and sleeping around. Always, there is alcohol to numb the pain. No one is happy.
Hemingway’s title for his book The Sun Also Rises comes straight from the pages of Ecclesiastes (1:5). In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon refers to himself as “the Teacher” (v. 1). He observes, “Everything is meaningless” (v. 2) and asks, “What do people gain from all their labors?” (v. 3).
Solomon saw how the sun rises and sets, the wind blows to and fro, the rivers flow endlessly into a never satisfied sea (vv. 5–7). Ultimately, all is forgotten (v. 11).
Both Hemingway and Ecclesiastes confront us with the stark futility of living for this life only. Solomon, however, weaves bright hints of the divine into his book. There is permanence—and real hope.
Ecclesiastes shows us as we truly are, but it also shows God as He is. “Everything God does will endure forever,” said Solomon (3:14), and therein lies our great hope. For God has given us the gift of us His Son, Jesus.
Apart from God, we’re adrift in an endless, never satisfied sea. Through His risen Son, Jesus, we’re reconciled to Him, and we discover our meaning, value, and purpose.
By: Tim Gustafson
INSIGHT
The author of the book of Ecclesiastes is unknown, but many Bible scholars believe it’s Solomon. The writer refers to himself as Qoheleth, a Hebrew word commonly translated as “the Teacher,” or “the Preacher” (1:1).
As a “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (v. 1), he certainly qualifies. And as a king with the reputation as the wisest and wealthiest, he would’ve lived the themes of the book; hence, he becomes the plausible choice.
Regardless of authorship, along with Job, Proverbs, and the poetry books of Psalms and Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes makes an invaluable contribution to the Bible’s Wisdom Literature.
By: Tim Gustafson
APPLICATION
What occupies your time and what meaning does it hold? How might you change your priorities to follow Jesus?
PR’s RE-EMPHASIS (From Post)
“Ecclesiastes shows us as we truly are, but it also shows God as He is. “Everything God does will endure forever,”
PR’s (PASTOR RICHARD) TAKE
“You have made us for yourself, O lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you” St. Augustine
PRAYER
“Loving Father, help me find my fulfillment in You.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“IN CHRIST ALONE” Hillsong
In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
READING THROUGH THE ENTIRE BIBLE THIS YEAR
Genesis 5-7
