Week 29: Hevel, Hevel
Weekly Reading:
Proverbs 29 - Isaiah 3
Opening Prayer
Father God,
I praise You for Your guidance as we go through our week. Let my eyes be open to Your word, and Your voice as I read Your word. Give me direction and provide me with self-control as I continue my week. May I look to You for leadership and not lean on my own knowledge.
Amen
Study
A wise person once said to begin with the end in mind; or read the last chapter to solve the mystery of the story, as does the teacher of Ecclesiastes, which is where we will stay in this study.
Ecclesiastes is attributed to Solomon. This conclusion would make sense as Ecclesiastes 1:1 says son of David, ruler of Jerusalem. The text points to the numerous occasions of documented drama in Solomon’s life including wisdom, wealth, and women. The text refers to the search for understanding and wisdom for which we know Solomon asks God.
In the text, we see a man, a teacher, broken down by life. He is living true to the statement: the more you learn, the more you realize you do not know. For the teacher, what he did not know is the meaning of life. The teacher is someone broken down by pursuit and disappointment concluding that all of it is in vain.
The author speaks to history and its ability to repeat itself (Ecclesiastes 1:2-10). He speaks of wisdom and the more one learns, the more sorrow one finds because knowledge does not translate into happiness (1:12-18). The author speaks of wealth and possessions in power all resulting in nothing, vapor, all meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:11). He talks about the labor of work getting you nowhere as you leave it all when you die (Ecclesiastes 2:18-26).
The teacher is expressing that all the toil, the work, the possessions, the joy are all meaningless, or hevel, the word used in Hebrew meaning like smoke or vapor, like your breath on a wintry morning. Once your breath leaves your mouth it disappears and cannot be touched or caught, saved, or held onto. Such is life and experiences of life.
In Ecclesiastes 6:10, the teacher speaks to God’s power, God’s holiness, and His all-knowing, God determines where we will all be, and what our destiny is. The teacher says all the work to argue a different destiny is all hevel, meaningless, and useless.
The pessimism continues until chapter 11:7 when the tone changes.
Life is sweet, how pleasant to see a new day dawning.
Enjoy the day.
Enjoy your youth.
Take it all in.
Live in God.
Refuse worry.
Keep your body healthy.
But, remember your creator.
Remember God because all too soon we will return to dust, and to God, who gave us life.
Hevel.
The author, who has been reciting the words of the teacher, now speaks. He reminds us that the teacher is old, full of knowledge, learned, and lived a life of study trying to find the right words to be clear.
“The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.”
Ecclesiastes 12:11 NLT
The author wants us to hear the words of the teacher and let them counsel us;
“But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.”
Ecclesiastes 12:12 NLT
So
“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NLT
Skip to the end and you will find what is meaningful. God is holy, our Sovereign King.
Closing Prayer
Father God,
I know that this world is not my home. There is a kingdom waiting for me after this life, one with no more pain, no more trouble. There is a kingdom where we can praise You fully, forever. Father, knowing that what we go through here is temporary, gives us hope in You for eternity with You.
Amen
Homework
As you get older, what are you learning that you would have overlooked when you were younger?
What has changed in your thinking?
