The document is an overview of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes presented by Christopher R. Smith. It summarizes that Ecclesiastes uses the Hebrew term "hevel" to describe things in life that are fleeting and temporary rather than enduring sources of meaning. However, relationships and finding joy in the present moment are paradoxically enduring and what truly provide meaning and significance. The overall message is not to let the pursuit of future rewards prevent you from living fully today and finding meaning through relationships and present experiences.

1. Overview of
Ecclesiastes
Presented by Christopher R. Smith
To Capital City Vineyard, Lansing, Michigan
June 9, 2013

2. I have good news for you:
The Bible doesn’t say that
life is meaningless!

3. “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
Even though Ecclesiastes begins and ends
with this statement,
and it appears many times throughout the book,
when we explore the Hebrew term it uses,
we discover a hopeful and liberating message.

4. The Hebrew term is hebel ( )
It refers literally to breath, mist or vapor:
“If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.” (Psalm 62:9)

5. Hebrew writers use hebel in figures of speech
to describe how temporary and fleeting things are,
like the morning mist that quickly disappears.
“Mortals are like a breath;
their days are like a fleeting shadow.”
(Psalm 144:4)

6. Hebel is used in a descriptive sense
in biblical wisdom literature
with the meaning “fleeting.”
“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
(Proverbs 31:30)
“Banish anxiety from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are [fleeting].”
(Ecclesiastes 11:10)

7. This is how we should understand the term hebel
throughout Ecclesiastes:
It describes things that are short-lived,
not enduring, not dependable.
The things most people spend their lives pursuing
—wealth, position, pleasure, reputation—
are not enduring or dependable sources of
meaning and significance.
“Fleeting! Fleeting!”
says the Teacher.
“Everything is fleeting.”

8. This realization frees us to pursue
the things that truly are meaningful and enduring:
1. Relationships
• With God: “Remember your Creator”
• With the significant people in our lives:
“Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love”
(and with children, friends, parents, etc.)

9. 2. The joys of the moment
• Enjoy your work while you’re doing it.
“Find satisfaction in your labor.”
• Enjoy your food and drink. (Taste it!)
“Eat your food with gladness,
and drink your wine with a joyful heart.”

10. Ecclesiastes engages in a series of seven “reflections.”
It comes back around to this conclusion
(the importance of relationships & the joys of the moment)
at the end of each reflection.
Title: “The words of the Teacher”
Theme Statement: “Meaningless! Meaningless . . .”
Poem: “Generations come and generations go . . .”
Reflection #1
Poem: “There is a time for everything . . .”
Reflections #2-7
Poem: “Remember your Creator . . .”
Theme Statement: “Meaningless! Meaningless . . .”
Epilogue: “Not only was the Teacher wise . . .”

11. The bottom line:
Don’t let the life you should be living today
be held hostage to the presumed rewards of the future.
You have no guarantee that they’ll ever come.
And even if they do,
they won’t give meaning to life.
Those presumed rewards are meaningless in that sense.
But relationships and the joys of the moment are paradoxically
enduring.