Series: Lost Plot  
Message: Seeking Meaning & Purpose this New Year 
Preacher: David Smith

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read of listen to Psalm 47:4-9.

Read:  Ecclesiastes 12 - Read the Message paraphrase, and note 1-3 insights/questions that arise. 

Reflect:  Much of the book of Ecclesiastes can come across as cynical and pessimistic, but by the time we arrive at chapter 12 it feels as if we are concluding with a more positive tone. We are told to “remember our Creator” before we get too old. The idea seems to be implied that the answer to all of this cynicism is remembering God. But this positive momentum is killed when verse 8 concludes: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”

What is that about? What’s even the point of paying any attention to God if everything is meaningless? The word hebel that is translated as “meaningless” here is used frequently throughout the book. In fact, it’s found in nearly every chapter creating what seems to be a central theme. The Hebrew word originally meant breath which eventually came to convey the ideas of that which is “insubstantial, transitory, and of fleeting value.” While meaningless and the KJV’s translation as “vanity” certainly conveys part the idea behind hebel, it seems in this context that the focus is on the brevity of life. For example, in Psalm 39:5, 11 hebel is used to describe human life as “a vapor” or “breath”. This seems to be more in line with what this chapter is talking about. Remember God in the days of your youth…because life is but a breath. With this concept in mind, the author seems to be conveying an sense of urgency rather than pointlessness. 

Recalibrate: ​

1. How would your life look differently if you continually recognized that it is but a “breath” in time?

Respond: Pray that God leads you in living intentionally today.

Research: How many times does the word “hebel” appear in Ecclesiastes vs. the entire Bible?