Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 11:2-9 - Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

Psalm 139:14 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Application:

· Since I have plenty, am I generous?
· Do I comprehend this creature (me) that God has fashioned?
· Does the prospect of divine praise or blame give direction to my heart and discrimination to my eyes?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Cast Your Bread Upon The Waters

Ecclesiastes 11:1 - Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

Hosea 10:12 - Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.

Proverbs 11:24 - One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

Application:

· Am I adventurous or do I always play it safe?
· Do I do what is right? Am I unproductive or am I repentant? Am I loyal to God?
· Am I generous or am I stingy?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Whose King Was A Servant

Ecclesiastes 10:16-20 - Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness. If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything. Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

Hosea 7:7 - All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on me.

Proverbs 31:4-5 - "It is not for kings, O Lemuel—not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

Exodus 22:28 - "Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

Application:

· Do I call on the Lord to keep me away from shameful situations?
· Do I forget what God's Word decrees?
· Do I curse my rulers, God's representatives?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Does Not Know The Way To Town

Ecclesiastes 10:6-15 - Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones. I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves. Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them. If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success. If a snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips. At the beginning his words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness--and the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming—who can tell him what will happen after him? A fool's work wearies him; he does not know the way to town.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 - So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.

Ecclesiastes 5:4 - When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.

Application:

· Do I know whether my future will be good or bad?
· Do I refuse God's teaching?
· Can I learn? Do I refuse to learn?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Time And Chance

Ecclesiastes 9:8-11 - Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. 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.

Psalm 6:5 - No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?

Isaiah 38:18 - For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

Application:

· Do I remember God's mercies and celebrate His deliverances?
· Do I praise God, sing His praise and have hope for His faithfulness?
· Do I think I am in control of events in my life?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Live

Ecclesiastes 9:3-7 - This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.

Jeremiah 16:12 - But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me.

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

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.

Application:

· Do I try to blame the coming judgment on the sins of previous generations?
· Do I allow wickedness to take root in my heart?
· Am I grateful that I can eat, drink and be glad?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Common Destiny

Ecclesiastes 8:16-9:2 - When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth—his eyes not seeing sleep day or night-then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it. So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him. All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 - All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

Application:

· Do I comprehend all that God has done?
· Do I know whether my future will be good or bad?
· Is my conviction that God ultimately will see justice done?
· Is my observable destination a return to dust? What is my eternal destination?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV