Bible study · Ecclesiastes 8:1-17
Ecclesiastes 8: Who is like the wise man?
Read Ecclesiastes 8:1-17 before you meet.
In a few lines
The king's word is "supreme" (8:4), and no man has "power over the day of death" (8:8): in Hebrew both are shilton, a word found only in these two verses. And the Preacher says "surely I know" (8:12) two verses before "this also is vanity" (8:14), and the chapter keeps both.
The verse to carry
“Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.”
Ecclesiastes 8:1
To talk about
1. "A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed" (8:1). Have you seen wisdom show on someone's face? What did it look like?
2. "For he doesn’t know that which will be" (8:7). What helps you live well when you can't see what's coming?
3. The Preacher says, "surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God" (8:12), and two verses later calls it vanity that some righteous men get what the work of the wicked brings (8:14). Which of these two sayings do you find harder to hold on to, and why?