Ecclesiastes - Chapter 4

(Class Notes)

• The Vanity of Government (4:1-3)
  • Without GOD as the COMFORTER (John 14:16,26; John 15:26; John 16:7) there is only the MISERY of the OPPRESSED by their OPPRESSORS (4:1) and those that are ALIVE wish either to be DEAD (4:2) or to have not been BORN (4:3)

• The Vanity of Business (4:4-12)
  • Every SUCCESSFUL enterprise provokes ENVY (4:4)
  • A FOOL'S GREED consumes him (4:5), e.g. PROUD MAN - ANTICHRIST (Habakkuk 2:5-6 cf. Daniel 11:36-37)
  • It is better to be QUIETLY CONTENT with LITTLE than to be GRIEVOUSLY BURDENED with MUCH (4:6)
  • The lone MISER who HORDES riches is HAUNTED by the VANITY of such pursuit (4:7-8)
  • SHARED effort is BETTER THAN INDIVIDUAL effort, since it is MORE SECURE and yields GREATER PROFIT (4:9-12)

• The Vanity of Royalty (4:13-16)
  • An OLD and FOOLISH king will lose his throne to a poor and CUNNING YOUTH (4:13-14):
    • SOLOMON became an OLD and FOOLISH king who lost his throne to a poor and CUNNING YOUTH (JEROBOAM), because HE REFUSED to heed the DIVINE ADMONITIONS (I Kings 3:14; I Kings 6:12; I Kings 9:4-5)
      • SOLOMON LOVED MANY "STRANGE WOMEN" who "TURNED AWAY HIS HEART AFTER OTHER GODS" (I Kings 11:1-4) - in VIOLATION of the DIVINE ADMONITION set down in the LAW OF MOSES (Deuteronomy 7:3-4)
  • While the SECOND YOUTH MAY REIGN in his father's stead FOR AWHILE with the praise of the people, HE WILL LOSE POWER AND WEALTH when the people cease to follow him (4:15-16):
    • Though born in his father's house and INHERITING the POWER and WEALTH of his father, Rehoboam LOST the POWER to Jeroboam (I Kings 12:19-24) and LOST the WEALTH to Shishak, the king of Egypt (I Kings 14:25-26)

Study Outline

Audio Message #1

Audio Message #2