Free group study handout
Ecclesiastes 2: Group Study Handout
How to use: read Ecclesiastes 2 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.
Overview
The speaker tests pleasure, saying, "Come now, I will test you with mirth" (v. 1), but finds it vanity (v. 2).
Key verse
“Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 2:11 (WEB)
Outline
- Ecclesiastes 2:1–2 The Pursuit of Pleasure
- Ecclesiastes 2:3–11 Experiments with Possessions and Labor
- Ecclesiastes 2:12–16 Wisdom versus Folly
- Ecclesiastes 2:17–20 Despair Over Labor
- Ecclesiastes 2:21–23 The Burden of Toil
- Ecclesiastes 2:24–26 Finding Joy in God’s Gift
Discussion questions
- In v6, why does the author make 'pools of water'?
- What does the author say about 'laughter' in v2?
- In v11, why does the author conclude that all his works are 'vanity'?
- In v15, what does the author mean when he questions his own wisdom?
- How do you deal with 'vanity' when your work feels meaningless like in v11?
Go deeper
Passages that echo Ecclesiastes 2: Ecclesiastes 1, Ecclesiastes 3, Proverbs 13.
Before next time: read Ecclesiastes 3.