Ecclesiastes 4

Ecclesiastes 4 Ecclesiastes 4: Key verse – “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil” 9 Read Ecclesiastes 4 Ecclesiastes 4 deals with loneliness. Our world creates loneliness. More and more parts of our lives can be done from home without interaction with anyone else. The Teacher talks about loneliness in life and the remedy. In verse 1 he says that he sees the tears of the oppressed and they have no comforter. In verse 8 he describes a person who has no companion, not a son or a brother. In verses 13-16 he envisions a scenario in which a foolish king transfers his rule to an upstart youth producing discontinuity in the kingdom. No comforter, no companion, no continuity—each a piece of loneliness. The Teacher helps us to analyze loneliness from five angles: Give Me Death: --In v.1-3 he sees all the oppression that is going on. In the world, power is on the side of the oppressor and few step in to help the oppressed. This leads him to think that the dead are better off than the living and that those who have never been born have it even better off than the dead because such oppression under the sun—that is apart from God—make for a miserable existence. How much oppression do you see around you? Envy, Poverty, and Contentment: --v.4: The Teacher observes that our motivation to work is a desire to outshine those around us. When our motivation is to keep up with the Joneses we will never be satisfied because the Joneses will always be a step ahead of us. If satisfaction comes from that we will always be disappointed because our reach will always exceed our grasp. How does our society encourage outshining others? A House Too Large For One: --v.7-8: The Teacher sees a man who is all alone and yet is so driven by more riches that he never asks “For whom am I toiling and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This can be a commentary on our workaholic culture. A beautiful home set in the midst of acreage, filled with all sorts of entertainment and amenities yet the person in it alone, lost marriage or never there to enjoy it because “there was no end to his toil”. How would you describe the life of a workaholic? Is it desirable? Why do so many do it? Companionship --v.9-12: The Teacher makes many references to having companionship and why it is good. There is a better return for labor, one can be helped up by another if he falls down, two can keep warm together, one may be overpowered but two can defend themselves, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. What is an example of where companionship has been valuable for you? It’s Lonely At The Top --v.13-16: The Teacher tells us that it is lonely at the top. The old king has grown apathetic and doesn’t pay attention to warnings and he sees the same displeasure heading the way of the youth who became king after him. All in leadership will be criticized. Ephesians 2:12-13 tells that we were separated from Christ, excluded from citizenship and foreigners to the covenants of the promise—in short, lonely. But we have a remedy for the loneliness: “But now in Christ Jesus you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” The lonely are invited to be welcomed into God’s loving arms. In Christ we have the prospect of a constant companionship to remedy our lonely conditions.