Leader Lesson
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:29
DATE: March 22, 2015
In Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:29, Solomon writes about the brevity of the human life, the
pursuit of wisdom instead of folly, and the brokenness of humanity. All is vanity, and
though wisdom is a worthy pursuit, it cannot provide purpose to the people of the
earth. God has made us upright, or righteous, but we scheme evil and our brokenness
requires that we rely on Jesus alone for salvation.
We must pursue wise, righteous living in the world despite its vanity and brokenness.
As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. Read
through the questions and have a funny story prepared yourself to get the group talking if
need be.
-What does wisdom look like in our everyday lives? What about foolishness; what does
foolishness look like? What is the difference?
- Have you ever been in a position where you didn’t know what you were supposed to
do? What hard decisions have you faced in life? What made those decisions so hard?
-As Christians, because Jesus saves us, we are called to follow God as Lord and Savior of
our lives. In our everyday lives, how do we “follow God” and how might that make our
lives easier or more difficult?
Leader Lesson
Spend time beforehand reading through the text and answering these questions so you are
prepared when you lead. Also, think through the potential questions your people may ask.
Immediate Context: Ecclesiastes is a book without an explicitly-named author, but
millennia of Christian and Jewish tradition attribute the letter to Solomon, rightfully so.
We are in the sixth and seventh chapters of Ecclesiastes today. In the broader context of
this morning’s text, Solomon is observing the vanities of life and how we might think
and live wisely amidst the vanity.
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HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ Ecclesiastes 6:10-12
In verse 10, Solomon writes, “Whatever has come to be has already been named, and
it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he”
(ESV). What does this mean, in your own words?
The “naming” idea at the beginning of the verse is meant to show authority.
Solomon is saying that there is only one Authority over creation, God, and to argue
with him about wisdom, folly, or the pointlessness of life would be vanity.
In verse 12, Solomon asks two questions. Try to summarize what he’s asking in that
verse. Share with your group and try to reach a conclusion.
Solomon is basically asking, “Who can tell man what is right and wrong or what
comes after death?” The point being that no wise counsel is perfect, and Solomon
knows, he’s probably had a good number of wise men counseling him. Also, this
verse serves as a transition into chapter seven in which Solomon lists a number of
proverbs about wisdom and folly.
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HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ Ecclesiastes 7:1-13
What does this section remind you of? Why is that significant?
Verses one through 13 are a series of Proverbs, which calls to mind the written
wisdom of Solomon in the book of Proverbs.
Which of the wise sayings in verses one through 13 stick out to you? Why?
[Group gives their own answers. Encourage some discussion around these.]
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HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ Ecclesiastes 7:14-29
Solomon’s list of proverbs continue into this portion of the text, but let’s focus on the
last few verses of the chapter, verses 25-29. In verse 25, Solomon writes, “I turned
my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things,
and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness” (ESV). What
is Solomon saying, and how do we follow his lead on this?
Solomon is saying, “I looked for wisdom. I tried to figure out how the world works. I
tried to learn what is foolish and how foolishness leads to insanity.” We can follow
Solomon’s lead here by praying and asking the Lord to give us wisdom and give us
discernment to identify foolishness.
Leader Lesson
Solomon makes a big statement in the final verse of chapter seven when he says,
“God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” What is Solomon
saying, and how does this play into God’s plan for the world?
Solomon is saying that in all of his life: his riches, his wisdom, his folly, his pursuit
of knowledge, that what he has learned is that God made man righteous, but man
has rebelled against God, throwing everything out of whack. Because of our
rebellion and “scheming” against God, he sent his Son Jesus to save us from our
sins, providing meaning to life.
Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their
lives. Create some talking points for the group by looking at the practical implications of
the lesson. Get group members to talk about the real life implications of the passage. Look
also at what can be applied specifically in context to the faith family at Fairview.
1. Look at the list of wisdom sayings in Ecclesiastes 7:1-13 again. Which of these
might you write down and look at a few times this week? Which one of these
could be most helpful in your pursuit of wisdom?
2. At the end of Ecclesiastes 7, Solomon says that one thing he has learned in his
pursuit of riches and wisdom is that though God made man upright, or righteous,
we are broken. This week, how might you rely on God to uphold you despite
your brokenness?
3. Throughout our study of Ecclesiastes, it’s been pretty clear that not much of our
lives has much purpose outside of Jesus. How does following Jesus give your life
purpose? Think about what your upcoming week looks like. How can you live
with eternal purpose this week?
Ecclesiastes 7:29: “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have
sought out many schemes.” (ESV)
Close your time in prayer. Pray that each of you would find ways to share Christ and
glorify God in the ordinary tasks of life and work. Pray that your community group would
find ways to encourage and support each member to work and seek wisdom in such a way
that points others to Jesus. Pray that all of us ordinary, unexpected people at Fairview
Church will would be used by God to make a difference in our community, nation, and
world through our work.
Leader Lesson
Midway through this week, you might consider sending a follow-up note/phone call/email to your group with some application points you group came up with from the
lesson.
Challenge them to memorize Ecclesiastes 7:29.
Next week’s sermon is from Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14.