2018 Ken Miller Momentum – a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

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WEEK 4: God Gives – Ecclesiastes 7-8 • Better than… – 7:1-13

- Solomon makes seven comparative statements: o A good name is better than ointment o The day of death is better than the day of birth o The house or mourning is better than the house of feasting o Sorrow is better than laughter o The rebuke of the wise is better than the song of fools o Better is the end of a thing than its beginning o The patient is spirit is better than the proud in spirit

- Are these things really better? - They seem to contradict human reason - They are NOT what we would choose

Good name vs ointment - Is a good name really better than precious ointment?

name – shem (Hebrew) – reputation, glory, fame ointment – shemen (Hebrew) – anointing oil, perfume Being good is better than smelling good. – Ken Miller Translation (KMT) - This is all about how we view “life under the sun” - God gives a proper perspective to life

o Perfume can cover up a stench, but not get rid of it o One can use cologne in an attempt to hide the truth o This is hypocrisy – willingly and knowingly living a lie

Day of birth vs day of death - A birth is marked by feasting and rejoicing - It “masks” the hurt and heartache that lie ahead - A baby is born without a reputation - They have accomplished nothing with their life - And no one knows how their life is going to turn out

2018 Ken Miller Momentum – a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

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House of mourning vs house of feasting - The house of mourning is where a life lived well is celebrated - Death is the end of all mankind - It is the end of one’s life that truly matters - The goal is to end with a good name – a good reputation - At the birth of a child, we feast and celebrate what may be - At the death of a friend, we celebrate what has been - A life lived well brings tears to the eyes and joy to the heart - A birth looks forward in hopeful anticipation - Death allows us to look back in grateful recollection

What gets said out our funeral has far more influence than what gets said at our birth.

The “perfumes” of life - God gives us the ability to see life differently - But we tend to see life from our own limited perspective

o We prefer birth over death o We would always choose the house of feasting over the house of mourning o We would rather laugh than cry o We love being praised, but not rebuked o We life the beginning more than the end o We exhibit pride more than we do patience

- THESE ARE THE PERFUMES OF LIFE o They make us “smell” good o They make us feel good o They represent those things we acquire and accumulate o The “ointment” of achievement and visible success o Homes, cares, clothes, portfolios, resumes, 401ks, etc. o We prefer the sweet-smelling, short-lived perfume of a self-indulgent lifestyle

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. – Ecclesiastes 7:14 ESV – We prefer …joy to sorrow

…pleasure to pain …happiness to heartache …a good time to a good name

…when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. – James 1:2-4 NLT

2018 Ken Miller Momentum – a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

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“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” – Matthew 5:11-12 NLT

A God-focused perspective Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? – Ecclesiastes 7:13 ESV Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked? – NLT - God is in the extremes of life

o The good and the bad o The pleasant and the painful o In death and life o In poverty and wealth o In joy and sorrow

- Look for God in everything and you will find him - But we tend to set our sights on finding joy, pleasure, satisfaction, and significance - But miss God in the process

• God gives to those who desire Him more than the things they can get from Him – 7:15-29

- The incongruities of life: o The righteous man dies unexpectedly o The wicked man seems to enjoy long life So …don’t make righteousness your goal

…don’t waste your time pursuing wisdom, hoping God rewards you with long life

And…don’t pursue a life of wickedness, thinking it’s the key to getting what you want

What Solomon seems to be saying is that if we pursue righteousness and wisdom thinking these things will provide us with a long and prosperous, free from troubles and trials, we will be highly disappointed. A life of righteousness, marked by wisdom, is no guarantee of immunity from difficulty.

- The gift of wisdom o Solomon treated wisdom like another commodity o He pursued it like silver or gold o But he tended to forget that it was a gift from God o He elevated the gift over the Giver

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. – Proverbs 2:6 ESV

2018 Ken Miller Momentum – a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

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– The limits of wisdom – 8:1-17

Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. – Ecclesiastes 8:1 ESV

o Wisdom is beneficial – it makes the face shine o It can come in handy in life o But it has its limits o It can’t explain the incongruities of life o It can’t foresee the future o It can’t forestall death

7 For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? 8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. – Ecclesiastes 8:7-8 ESV o Explain this!

§ The wicked get memorialized at death – vs 10 § In life, they go unpunished for their wickedness – vs 11 § They live long lives in spite of their wickedness – vs 13 § The righteous sometimes get what the wicked deserve – vs 14

o Man can spend his whole life trying to make sense out of life, and die trying o Seeking the power to know is not the same as seeking the One who knows all

- The ignorance of man

…then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. – Ecclesiastes 8:17 ESV

o God has limited our ability to understand it all o We are hampered by our temporal perspective o AND YET…we can know

12 …yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. – Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 ESV

o The fear of God is where wisdom begins o Understanding His sovereignty and control over all things o Learning to see life from His perspective

2018 Ken Miller Momentum – a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

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Week 5 Homework

• Sometime this week, read pages 50-64 of the Devotionary™ study on Ecclesiastes. • Read Ecclesiastes 9-10.

• Look at Ecclesiastes 9:1-3. Solomon portrays a pretty pessimistic attitude about life in these

verses. Write down in your own words the conclusions Solomon has reached about life. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

• Now read verses 4-6. What do you think Solomon means when he says “a living dog is better than a dead lion”? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Based on verse 5, what would you say Solomon’s view is about death? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

If Solomon believed in God, why do you think he had such a pessimistic outlook on death? What about it does he seem to fear?

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Take a look at verse 10. What further insight does this tell you about his views on death? It might help to know that, in the Hebrew mindset, Sheol was considered the abode of the

dead. It is not heaven. In their view, Sheol was a place of confinement and there was no clear idea what the existence in this place was like.

2018 Ken Miller Momentum – a ministry of Christ Chapel Bible Church

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__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

• Take a look at verses 11-13. What less-than-uplifting conclusion does Solomon seem to be reaching in these verses? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ If you agree with his conclusion, what are some ways we can approach it from a more positive perspective because of our knowledge of the gospel? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

• Now, take a look at Ecclesiastes 10:1-7. What in the world do you think Solomon’s point is in these verses? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

• In verses 8-11, Solomon seems to take an abrupt detour and starts talking about certain occupations. Once again, what do you think he is trying to convey in these verses? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

• Spend the rest of your time in Ecclesiastes 10:12-18. Write down of the characteristics he provides for but the foolish man and the wise man: __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Look closely at verses 16-17. What are the key differences you see between these two types of leaders? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________