Plymothian

God odes not allow himself to take second place.  He suffers no rivals.  Jesus reflects this same sentiment in the New Testament.  If anyone puts anything else before Jesus, they are not worthy to be his disciple.  God’s ark was put in front of Dagon to show that Dagon had conquered Jehovah.  The situation is reversed when Dagon’s idol is found toppled and when it is found prostrate before the ark.  Just to make sure the Philistines got the message, the ark reeked havoc wherever it was taken.

1 Samuel 5

¹ After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. ³ When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. ⁵That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

 ⁶ The LORD’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors.^{[a] 7} When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” ⁸So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?”

   They answered, “Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

 ⁹ But after they had moved it, the LORD’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.^{[b] 10}So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

   As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it^[c] will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. ¹² Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

Questions

1. Where was the ark taken and what happened at each location?
2. What did this show about God?
3. What was the Philistine’s conclusion?
4. How does God show his transcendance today?
5. How does a story like this affect you?

Eli was looking for news about the war with the Philistines.  He was anxious about the ark seemingly more than he was anxious about his sons.  He knew that taking the ark into battle was a cheap trick with no automatic results.  He knew his sons were corrupt.  He knew a lot of things, but he didn’t act.  He knew that it was corrupt to claim the fat parts of a sacrifice before it was eaten.  He did that anyway and his weight contributed to his death.

If we know the good that we should do and do not do it, we sin.  Sin frequently carries its own consequences.

1 Samel 4:12-22

¹² That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. ¹³When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.

¹⁴Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?”

   The man hurried over to Eli, ¹⁵ who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. ¹⁶He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.”

   Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

¹⁷The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led^[b]Israel forty years.

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. ²⁰As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.

²¹ She named the boy Ichabod,^[c] saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

Questions

1. What news does the meseenger bring to Eli?
2. How does Eli react?
3. How does his daughter-in-law react?
4. When has someone you know persisted in sin and endured the consequences?
5. Is there something that you are aware of but are not changing?

The Israelites assumed that they were God’s people and so their actions did not matter.  They believed that gods could be manipulated by practicing cultic rituals.  In essence this is magic.  Magic manipulates supernatural forces to bend them to the will of the individual.  The people of Israel believed that God could be manipulated.  They believed that they could manipulate God by carrying him into battle in the form of the Ark of the Covenant.  The Ark ceased to be a symbol of God’s desire to dwell with his people, but it became a magic talisman to the Israelites.

Some people still treat God this way.  Rather than the pursuit of God and the discerning of His will, people will often use ‘faith’ and prayer as a tool to get what they want.  If their desired result does not come about it is seen as a failure of their faith to ‘believe for it’ or it is a failure of God.  Of course, these last two assumptions are ludicrous but still such views exist. Sometimes nations will try and manipulate God or assume God is on their side in a conflict when there is no real moral high-ground in the conflict.  This kind of attitude is the same as the attitude of the Israelites that caused theem to resort to using their Magic Ark.

1 Samuel 4:1-11

 Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. ² The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. ³When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

 ⁴So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

 ⁵ When the ark of the LORD’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. ⁶Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

   When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were afraid. “A god has^[a] come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ⁹Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

 ¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Questions

1. What shocking incident creates tension in this story?
2. What solution to the conflict do the Israelites choose?
3. Why do you think Samuel is not mentioned in this passage?
4. How do people look to talismans and charms to manipulate God?
5. How could you live a life that pleases God without trying to control him?

The story of little Samuel responding to God’s word is well known to anyone with just a cursory understanding of the Bible.  However, why did God give his word to Samuel in this way?  It seems that God was about a renewing work and Samuel was to be a central figure.  God’s truth was to be revealed to him and he was to speak it to the people of Israel so that they were informed and transformed.

Today we have prophets.  Prophets are those who speak God’s word so that we are informed and transformed.  The Bible provides us with transforming truth that can serve as prophesy for everyone.  Also, some people have a gift for speaking the truth into situations.  They provide insight and they explain the need for change.  The inability to change has sometimes been a definition of pride.  Pride says that we have arrived and we become callused and unable to move deeper with God.  Eli’s response to Samuel sounds like submission, but it has no plan for change.

As God’s word is revealed to you from others and from the Bible, are you able to make changes?  What changes have you made recently to move closer to the life God wants for you?

1 Samuel 3:1 – 4:1

¹The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.

 ² One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³ The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was. ⁴Then the LORD called Samuel.

   Samuel answered, “Here I am.” ⁵And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

   But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

 ⁶Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

   “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

 ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

 ⁸A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

   Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. ⁹So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

 ¹⁰The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

   Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

 ¹¹ And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. ¹² At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. ¹³ For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,^[a] and he failed to restrain them. ¹⁴Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

 ¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”

   Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

 ¹⁷ “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

 ¹⁹ The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. ²¹ The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

¹ And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

Questions

1. What is said about the word of the LORD in this passage?
2. How is it ironic that Samuel hears God’s word and Eli does not?
3. What does the passage reveal about who God chooses to speak to and through?
4. How can we develop a posture in reading God’s word where it leads to real change?
5. How can we distinguish God’s voice from the many other voices that are in our lives?

We don’t know how Eli, in the Bible, raised his sons.  It is implied that he spoiled them.  In fact sons were seen as such a blessing that many men spoiled their sons.  Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, seem to have at best a deist view of God.  Deism beieves that God exists but that he has no real involvement in day-to-day events.  Because they do not think God is imminent or present, they think that they can modify God’s laws for their own benefit.  They start taking the best meat from the sacrifices and they start to sexually abuse the women at Shiloh. 

Samuel is a contrast.  Samuel is a picture of innocense.  He faithfully goes about his duties and keeps himself from sin.  Although many people I know go into ministry these contrasting attitude are still present.  Some grow increasingly unaware of the God they say they serve.  Their actions betray less holiness and they excuse their failings.  Others remember why they were called and they live more and more in the present moment with God.  Is your faith diluted over time or is it becoming stronger?

1 Samuel 2

¹Then Hannah prayed and said:

   “My heart rejoices in the LORD;
   in the LORD my horn^[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
   for I delight in your deliverance.

 ² “There is no one holy like the LORD;
   there is no one besides you;
   there is no Rock like our God.

 ³ “Do not keep talking so proudly
   or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
   and by him deeds are weighed.

 ⁴ “The bows of the warriors are broken,
   but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
⁵ Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
   but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
   but she who has had many sons pines away.

 ⁶ “The LORD brings death and makes alive;
   he brings down to the grave and raises up.
⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
   he humbles and he exalts.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
   and has them inherit a throne of honor.

   “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
   on them he has set the world.
⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
   but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

   “It is not by strength that one prevails;
 ¹⁰ those who oppose the LORD will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
   the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

   “He will give strength to his king
   and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

 ¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.

Eli’s Wicked Sons

 ¹² Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the LORD. ¹³ Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled ¹⁴ and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ¹⁵But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

 ¹⁶If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

 ¹⁷ This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD’s sight, for they^[b]were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.

 ¹⁸ But Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to^[c] the LORD.” Then they would go home. ²¹And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.

 ²² Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. ²⁴ No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the LORD’s people is not good. ²⁵ If one person sins against another, God^[d]may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the LORD, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the LORD’s will to put them to death.

 ²⁶And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with people.

Prophecy Against the House of Eli

 ²⁷ Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? ²⁸ I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites. ²⁹ Why do you^[e]scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’

 ³⁰ “Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. ³¹ The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, ³² and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. ³³Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.

 ³⁴ “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day. ³⁵ I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. ³⁶ Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.”’”

Questions

1. How are Hannah and Samuel contrasted with Eli, Hophni and Phineas?
2. How do Hannah’s song and the song of David at the end of 2 Samuel serve as bookends to 1 & 2 Samuel?
3. Why does God tell Eli what will happen to his sons?
4. Have you seen church leaders who seem to live as though there is no God?  How would such a person stay in the church?
5. How might you drift into church attendance whilst living a life that is not pleasing to God?

God provides.  However, this must be understood well.  On the one hand, the Lord does not give us whatever we ask for.  We have to ask in his name for those things that we want.  There is an assumption here that our desires and will are aligned with God.  Not every infertile mother will receive a son or daughter as Hannah did.  The issue is not one of whether I have enough faith.  The view of faith in some circles is like it is a means to control God.  If I generate enough faith, so the theory goes, God will heal me or give me the desires of my heart.

The Lord does provide, but he provides in accordance with his will.  His plan is not always easy to discern.  For my wife and myself, going through infertility like Hannah seemed like punishment.  I thought maybe my sin was the cause.  However, because one path was closed to us God has taken us on a remarkable path that has changed us and been gracious in ways that we did not imagine.

God had a plan for Israel.  God chose a remarkable birth to highlight his chosen avenue of deliverence.  God used a remarkable woman who was looking to him.  The two desires were aligned and so Hannah received her desire.

1 Samuel 1

¹ There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite^[a] from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

 ³ Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. ⁴ Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. ⁶ Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. ⁷ This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. ⁸Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

 ⁹ Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD’s house. ¹⁰ In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. ¹¹And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

 ¹² As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

 ¹⁵ “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. ¹⁶Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

 ¹⁷Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

 ¹⁸She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

 ¹⁹ Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. ²⁰ So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,^[b]saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”

 ²¹ When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, ²² Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”^[c]

 ²³ “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his^[d]word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

 ²⁴ After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,^[e] an ephah^[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. ²⁵ When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶ and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.

Questions

1. What is the contrast between Elkanah’s wives?
2. How does God work a plan for redemption on two different levels?
3. How do you think infertility was viewed in the time of the passage?
4. With what kind of attitude or expectancy should we come to God in times of need?
5. How is this passage misapplied in a consumerist environment?

Going Deeper

My own experience with infertility was an opportunity for personal transformation.  There is a dying to self that occurs as we give up our own desires.  We then have to make sense of God’s goodness in a world where goodness is not the same as we had pictured.  However, when we see the work that God is doing through the pain we are left in awe.

How have you experienced transformation through painful surrender?

I titled this Samuel Intro and left of the numbers in front because both the books of Samuel in the Bible act as a unit.  I will be reading from the NIV Application Commentary from Bill Arnold each day.  He puts both the books together as a unit written by Jewish historians.  However, we should view the reading of Jewish historical books as much more than a dry catalog of names and places.  The people of Israel’s history is recorded in the way that all history should be evaluated.  What was the point of the events that happened?  What was God doing through the people of Israel as they transitioned to a monarchy?

As Bill Arnold says:

Though the literary genre of these books is historical narratve, we should remember their real nature as sermonic tracts.  They invite us to follow the historical acts of God in early Israel, but they do much more besides.  The narrative in 1-2 Samuel invites us to enter into the story, to become part of the continuing saga of God’s work in the world.

Reading:

Skim through the boks of Samuel in your Bible.  Look at the paragraph headings that your Bible uses.

Questions:

1. How can people reduce the events of the Bible to dry facts?
2. Which stories have you heard before from 1 & 2 Samuel?  Why do you think they are in the Bible?
3. Do you see yourself in the characters of the stories you read?
4. How can you read 1 & 2 Samuel in the most dynamic way?
5. How does it change our perspective to think about God working his purposes in history?

G

We will be studying the book of 1 Samuel.  Initially 1 Samuel was a unified book with 2 Samuel, but people have split them up and called hem various names for a long time.

Using a study Bible read through an introduction to 1 Samuel and write down five things that you find out.  Things to look for are:

• When was the book written?
• Who were the original audience?
• Why was the book written?
• What are some themes in the book?
• Who was Samuel?

After reading the book of Ecclesiastes the following themes should have come through.

Meaninglessness: The term ‘meaningless’ refers to the brevity of existence.  There are things, like breath, that come for a moment an then disappear.  Compared with the permanence of God and His creation we are meaningless and appear for a moment until we are gone.

Wisdom:  Wisdom is a useful tool for analysis, but it does not enable you to beat the system.  All the stories of people who find the source of never-ending life are just stories.  We should be wise enough to see that in the day-to-day living of this life wisdom is better than stupidity, however, we should not think that our fate is then different from anyone else’s.  We all die.

Living in the Moment:  Life is best lived when we are fully present and enjoy the things that we have in front of us right now.  We should remember that there is a God and live our lives accordingly.  Things like family, friends, food and fun are to be particularly enjoyed.

Questions

Scan Ecclesiastes as a review:

1. What things does the author count as wise?
2. In what verses does the author call life meaningless, vanity, or passing?
3. In which verses does the author remind us to enjoy life?
4. What things are in your life that you must take time to enjoy?
5. What vain things draw your attention from God?

The writer of Ecclesiastes lets his mind wander through what it would be like to chase after all the things that the world has to offer.  He imagines what it is like to have great wealth, to have knowledge, to have eternal youth.  So where do we find meaning in a life that passes so quickly?  We must focus on the present moment that is given to us by God.  What we do now will determine the future and reshape the past.  In this moment we should look to God and consider him.  Life is meaningful as we are fully present and God is fully present with us.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

 ⁹ Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. ¹⁰The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

 ¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.^{[b] 12}Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

   Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

 ¹³ Now all has been heard;
   here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
   for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
   including every hidden thing,
   whether it is good or evil.

Questions

1. What actions did the Teacher perform to improve his life and the life of the people?
2. How is the making of books described?
3. What is the end of the matter?
4. How is it possible to remember continuously that we live life under God?
5. What is the most important lesson that you have learned from Ecclesiastes?