Ecclesiastes Bible Study: Week Two

Week 2

Word

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 4:16 (NRSV)

3For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

9 What gain have the workers from their toil? ¹⁰I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. ¹¹He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; ¹³moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. ¹⁴I know that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. ¹⁵That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by.

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well. ¹⁷I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. ¹⁸I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. ¹⁹For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. ²¹Who knows whether the human spirit goes upwards and the spirit of animals goes downwards to the earth? ²²So I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?

4Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them. ²And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; ³but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
⁵ Fools fold their hands
   and consume their own flesh.
⁶ Better is a handful with quiet
   than two handfuls with toil,
   and a chasing after wind.

7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: ⁸the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. ‘For whom am I toiling’, they ask, ‘and depriving myself of pleasure?’ This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. ¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. ¹¹Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? ¹²And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king, who will no longer take advice. ¹⁴One can indeed come out of prison to reign, even though born poor in the kingdom. ¹⁵I saw all the living who, moving about under the sun, follow that youth who replaced the king; ¹⁶there was no end to all those people whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

 

Information

·       The beginning of Chapter 3 is the most well-known portion of Ecclesiastes, partially because of the hit song we will listen to later.

·       Finding a balance in life, integrating one’s whole life together wisely is a question for the Teacher, though the author offers little commentary on the poetry verses

·       Part of the ongoing question is about our time on earth and how things change and heal through time, we believe we will have eternity with God, but we experience time on earth

·       The Teacher continues with questions of Justice, God’s justice versus human justice, wisdom is knowing that ultimately there is only God’s justice

·       Much of what humans do to each other is oppression and we lack the joy God intends for us

·       There is also a question about the balance of rest and busyness

·       The Teacher brings up human’s envy of one another as vanity

·       The Teacher speaks to the true value of relationships, with an interesting parable about a youth and a king

 

Silence

Wait for a minute

 

Discussion

1.     Have you found the poetic opening of Chapter 3 true? Is there a season for everything?

2.     How do you find balance in your life? What makes you feel whole?

3.     Do you struggle with finding joy in your life?

4.     What is your experience with human justice? How has that shaped your understanding of God’s justice?

5.     What purpose do you give your time on earth?

6.     What do you spend most of your time doing?

7.     What do you make of the parable of the wise youth and the foolish king?

8.     What do you envy in this world?

9.     What relationships do you truly value in your life?

10.  The more recent version of the “two are better than one” proverb in Ecclesiastes is “two heads are better than one.” Do you find this to be true? Why or why not?

 

Orans (Prayer)

Prayer from The Guidebook, a NRSV Student Bible, page 660 (the one I was given at Diocesan Church Camp and color in)

“God of all seasons,

Help me to remember the sun when rain is falling.

Help me to remember the rain when the sun is shining.

When I win on the field, let me remember the times I lost.

When I lose on the field, let me remember the times I won.

Guide me to appreciate studying when I’m taking a hard test.

Guide me to appreciate hard tests when I’m studying.

During times with friends, remind me of times alone.

During times alone, remind me of times with friends.

Help me to live all moments and remember there is a balance to life. Amen.

(Specifically, for students, but I feel like we are all taking a hard test, not one we even knew to study for, but something that has certainly had us all learning new things.)

 

Motivation (Art)

Music – Turn! Turn! Turn! Written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950’s, popularized by the Byrds in 1965