Teaching Plan
EXPLORE THE BIBLE

		   	Date: July 21, 2013
		   	Lesson Title: “Can I Find Meaning?”
Lesson Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:1-4,12-18; 2:1-14,24-26

ABOUT THIS LESSON

The language of Ecclesiastes might seem strange to modern readers,
but the basic issue that troubled the ancient writer is as relevant
as today’s newspaper. Put simply, he was grappling with the question,
“How does one find meaning in life?” Many people pursue goals that
turn out to be mirages; they “chase after the wind” in their fruitless
quest for meaning. The application of a lesson doesn’t always have to come at the end; sometimes it’s better to begin with the application.
This week’s lesson is a case in point. This lesson plan begins with an attempt to establish the basic theme of Ecclesiastes in the minds of class members.

TEACHING-LEARNING GOALS

(1) Summarize the main theme of Ecclesiastes. (2) Name some things
that seem to answer the writer’s question, “What makes life worth
living?”, but prove to be superficial answers in the end.

BEGINNING THE LESSON

First, ask class members to explain the meaning of the contemporary
saying, “Get a life!” (It means something like, “Find something worth
living for, instead of wasting your life on trivialities.”) Then ask them to jot down three things that make life worth living, things that fill life with meaning for them. (This might take two or three minutes. Give them time to think about it.) Point out that the writer of Ecclesiastes was struggling with this very question, i.e., “What makes life worthwhile?”

TEACHING PROCEDURES

	1. Follow up the introduction by noting some of the ways in which
the writer tried to answer the question, “What makes life worth living?” (1) He has probed the reservoir of accumulated human knowledge
(1:13). (2) He has cultivated wisdom (1:16). (3) He has indulged in pleasure (2:1). (4) He has attempted to cheer himself with wine (2:3). (5) He has accumulated wealth (2:7-8). (6) He has acquired power (2:9). (7) He has sought meaning in productive work (2:4-6, 10-11).

	2. Refer class members to Ecclesiastes 1:14, 1:17, 2:1-2, 2:11,
2:15, and 2:17. Ask them to find evidence that all of the things mentioned above (in Teaching Procedure 1) led to disappointment.

	3. Suggest that Eccles. 1:2 sums up the attitude that permeates
the book of Ecclesiastes. Share this information: The word “vanity”

(in the KJV and RSV) translates a Hebrew word that means “emptiness”
or “worthlessness.” Literally, the word means “breath” or “vapor.” It
stands for temporariness. That which is “vanity” soon disappears,
like the vapor from one’s breath on a cold day. ILLUSTRATION: At one
time, Howard Hughes was one of the richest men in America. The New York Times estimated his wealth at $1.5 billion. Yet, his closest associates reported that he lived the final years of his life in seclusion in his Desert Inn Hotel in Las Vegas, in a continual state of anxiety driven by an obsessive fear of germs. When his body was brought to Houston on April 5, 1976, it was wretchedly unkempt to a grotesque degree. Hughes had found, as the writer of Ecclesiastes did, that wealth cannot buy satisfaction in life; all he had accumulated turned out to be “vanity.” Apart from the spiritual vitality that Jesus called “life more abundant,” life can be empty indeed.

	4. Observe that the brevity of life was one of the things that
troubled the writer of Ecclesiastes (Eccles. 1:4 and 2:3b). Read
these words from the 5th stanza of the hymn, “O God our Help in Ages
Past”: “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the op’ning day.” Note that these words reflect the pessimistic tone of Ecclesiastes; but, then, go on to read the message of faith and hope in the first stanza of the hymn: “O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.”

	5. Comment on Eccles. 1:17-18: (1) “Koheleth” [the Hebrew name of
the writer of Ecclesiastes, a term in Eccles. 1:2 that is often
translated “Preacher”] was a thinking man. (2) He not only applied
his mind to a quest for wisdom (Eccles. 1:17), he also analyzed the
errors in thought that lead to “madness and folly,” the opposite of
wisdom. (3) The truth of verse 18 is suggested by the familiar saying,
“ignorance is bliss.” In other words, “the less one knows, the less he has to worry about.” APPLICATION: While avoiding serious thought might be a way to keep the mind unburdened, that isn’t necessarily good. Some people retreat into ignorance in order to avoid the “vexation” the writer is talking about in 1:18. 

	6. Explore the meaning of Eccles. 2:24-26: The key thought in these verses is that we should not let failure to reach our highest goals (wisdom, power, wealth, success) obscure our enjoyment of more mundane blessings, like food and the hunger that makes food enjoyable (see vv. 24b-25). Both are from the hand of God. (Read 1 Cor. 10:31.) 

CLOSING THE SESSION
 
Closing thoughts: Life without meaning is a serious malady of the soul. But many adults experience just the opposite problem. They have too many meanings. They live their lives like the man who “jumped on his horse and galloped off in all directions,” with a confusing array of activities competing for their time and energy. The Christian’s answer to this dilemma is to make Christ the focal point, the center, then harmonizing everything else with that commitment.

L. Coleman PO Box 1346, Mineral Wells TX 76068 luciencoleman@gmail.com