Wisdom Is Better Than Folly

Ecclesiastes 2:13-19 - I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless." For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die! So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

Psalm 49:10 - For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 - I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

Ecclesiastes 3:21 - Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?"

Application:

· Have I obtained my wealth through foolish wisdom?
· I do not ultimately control events!
· I know the spirit of a righteous man rises upward because the gospel tells me so!

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Pleasures Are Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 2:2-12 - "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done?

Ecclesiastes 8:15 - So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:15,18 - What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted…For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

Application:

· Do I enjoy life?
· Does my wisdom (without God) lead to grief and sorrow?
· Do I accept things the way they are and accept my divinely appointed lot in life?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Wisdom Is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:3-12,15,18 - What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow. I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem…What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted…For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

Mark 8:38 - If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Application:

· Am I more concerned about fitting into and pleasing my own generation than about following and pleasing Christ?
· Do I happily accept things the way they are and accept my divinely appointed lot in life?
· Does my wisdom without God lead to grief and sorrow?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Teacher

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 - The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

Ecclesiastes 7:27-28 - "Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-while I was still searching but not finding—I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 - "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!"

Application:

· Does my human wisdom and understanding always yield to revealed truth?
· Is my life based on God and His word?
· Is my life rightly related to God? (If not, life is meaningless, useless, hollow, futile and vain)

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Restore Us

Lamentations 5:21-22 - Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

Isaiah 60:20-21 - Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.

Application:

· Christ's presence will be the light of joy and salvation!
· Am I evidence of God's redemptive work?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Hung

Lamentations 5:8-18 - Slaves rule over us, and there is none to free us from their hands. We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the desert. Our skin is hot as an oven, feverish from hunger. Women have been ravished in Zion, and virgins in the towns of Judah. Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect. Young men toil at the millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood. The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped their music. Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it.

Nehemiah 5:15 - But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 - If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Application:

· Do I abuse my authority?
· Christ accepted my sins and became a curse for me!

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Land of Uz

Lamentations 4:12-21 - The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem. But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous. Now they grope through the streets like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments. "Go away! You are unclean!" men cry to them. "Away! Away! Don't touch us!" When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, "They can stay here no longer." The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor. Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us. Men stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come. Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert. The LORD's anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations. Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked.

Jeremiah 19:4 - For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

Psalm 16:5 - LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.

Obadiah 1:16 - Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.

Job 1:1 - In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Application:

· Do I combine worship of idols with worship of the one true God?
· Has the Lord offered me a cup of blessing or a cup of wrath?
· Have I profaned anything the Lord has proclaimed as holy?
· Am I spiritually and morally upright?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Than Rubies

Lamentations 4:3-11 - Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert. Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them. Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps. The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her. Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires. But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick. Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field. With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed. The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.

Job 28:18 - Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

Nahum 1:6 - Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.

Jeremiah 17:27 - But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.' "

Application:

· Am I wise? Do I fear the Lord?
· Do I think I am not vulnerable before the Lord?
· Am I disobedient and rebellious?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Worth Their Weight In Gold

Lamentations 4:2 - How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands!

Isaiah 51:18 - Of all the sons she bore there was none to guide her; of all the sons she reared there was none to take her by the hand.

Job 28:18 - Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

Isaiah 60:21 - Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.

Application:

· Do I take care of my parent?
· Am I wise? Do I fear the Lord?
· Am I evidence of God's redemptive work?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Become Dull

Lamentations 3:58 - 4:1 - O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life. You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause! You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me. O LORD, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me--what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long. Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs. Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, for what their hands have done. Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them! Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD. How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street.

Psalm 5:10 - Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

Isaiah 6:10 - Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Malachi 3:6 - "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Application:

· Do I leave vengeance to the Lord?
· Is my heart calloused?
· Do I have a history of unfaithfulness?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Depths Of The Pit

Lamentations 3:55-57 - I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief." You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."

Psalm 30:1 - I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Psalm 116:2 - Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

Jeremiah 1:8 - Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

Application:

· Do I exalt the Lord?
· Do I trust in Him?
· Does the promise of God's presence calm my fears?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Great Is His Unfailing Love

Lamentations 3:22-23,32 - Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness…Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

Application:

• He is my Judge, my Restorer, He is faithful and He unfailingly loves me!
• The Lord is faithful to His promises!
• God's faithfulness is beyond measure!

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

The Lord Is My Portion

Lamentations 3:24 - I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Psalm 73:26 - My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Genesis 15:1 - After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

Application:

• Do I wait for the Lord?
• Do I confess the Lord as my Sustainer, My Preserver, my very life?
• Though I am rich, is God Himself my greatest treasure?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Tears Flow Like A River

Lamentations 2:18-3:3 - The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest. Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street. "Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? "Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and maidens have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity. "As you summon to a feast day, so you summoned against me terrors on every side. In the day of the LORD's anger no one escaped or survived; those I cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed." I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.

Jeremiah 9:1 - Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.

Lamentations 3:22 - Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

Psalm 82:5 - "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Application:

• Do I weep for others?
• The Lord is faithful to His promises!
• Do I share in the wisdom of God or am I devoid of understanding?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Long Ago

Lamentations 2:15-17 - All who pass your way clap their hands at you; they scoff and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?" All your enemies open their mouths wide against you; they scoff and gnash their teeth and say, "We have swallowed her up. This is the day we have waited for; we have lived to see it." The LORD has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago. He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes.

Nahum 3:19 - Nothing can heal your wound; your injury is fatal. Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?

Deuteronomy 28:58-59 - If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God--the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

1 Samuel 2:1 - Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.

Application:

• Do I clap my hands when people fall?
• Do I revere the glorious and awesome name of the Lord my God?
• Is my supreme joy in God who answers my prayers?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

False Prophets

Lamentations 2:11-14 - My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, "Where is bread and wine?" as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms. What can I say for you? With what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you? The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.

Jeremiah 9:1 - Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.

Jeremiah 23:10,23,28-29, The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the desert are withered. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly…"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away?... Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Application:

• Do you weep for others?
• Do you mislead people?
• Do you feed and nourish others?
• Has God's Word tested your work and judged your heart?
• Have you violated the Lord's covenant?
• God lives in a high and holy place and…He lives with you!

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Prophets No Longer Find Visions

Lamentations 2:7-10 - The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has handed over to the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have raised a shout in the house of the LORD as on the day of an appointed feast. The LORD determined to tear down the wall around the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withhold his hand from destroying. He made ramparts and walls lament; together they wasted away. Her gates have sunk into the ground; their bars he has broken and destroyed. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the LORD. The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.

Amos 8:11 - "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

Job 2:13 - Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Application:

• How is the Lord communicating to me?
• In my distress, does God answer with hope and guidance or silence?
• When encountering those who are suffering, do I comfort people with my presence, or do I take a chance by adding words?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible