Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:16
Book Overview
WHAT TIME IS IT?
Do you have anyone in your life who loves to give advice, but you’d rather not take it? Why is that?
How have you learned to listen to them?
Who do you turn to for advice?
What makes you seek out what they have to say over someone else?
The Teacher observes many different, difficult things. What are some of them?
Do any of them stand out as particularly important or pressing to you? Why?
What do you make of his observations? Spot on? Way off? A mixed bag? Why?
What observations would you add or change based on what you’ve seen?
What do you make of The Teacher’s advice (what he encourages us to do) in light of those observations? Is it good (true and/or wise) advice?
What would you add, subtract, or change to it? Why?
While The Teacher may get some things right and some things wrong, what does it all reveal about the world we’re living in?
Read 4:13-16 (Eugene Peterson’s translation is below). What does this reveal about humanity—and the nature of our deepest problem?
How does the gospel—and all the promises that are fulfilled and will be fulfilled in Jesus—bring us real hope (good news!), not just observations and advice?
Because of Jesus, how can we live differently today in a world with so much bad stuff to observe? …so much advice that can’t actually solve the problem?
Does the gospel change the way you feel about whatever difficult thing might stand out as particularly important or pressing?
Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 (The Message)
A poor child with some wisdom is better off than an old but foolish king who doesn’t know which end is up. I saw a youth just like this start with nothing and go from rags to riches, and I saw everyone rally to the rule of this young successor to the king. Even so, the excitement died quickly, the throngs of people soon lost interest. Can’t you see it’s only smoke? And spitting into the wind?