O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 Victory Fellowship
February 11, 2024 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
I. Introduction: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
a. Loosely based on Homer's "Odyssey," the movie deals with the main character, Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) having difficulty adjusting to his hard-labor sentence in Mississippi. He scams his way off the chain gang with simple Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and maladjusted Pete (John Turturro). The trio then set out to pursue freedom and the promise of a fortune in buried treasure. With nothing to lose and still in shackles, their hasty run takes them on an incredible journey of awesome experiences and colorful characters. --among them sirens, a cyclops, bank robber George "Baby Face" Nelson (very annoyed by that nickname), a campaigning governor and his opponent, a negro boy who is a gifted musician, a KKK lynch mob, and a blind prophet who warns the trio that "the treasure you seek shall not be the treasure you find."
b. While their intentions are not always honorable, the boys find strength in their friendship. When they’re separated for a time, they realize that their triple-braided bond of friendship is stronger than when they are apart.
c. From King Solomon’s perspective, friendship is about the only thing under the sun that is not futile.
II. The Advantages of Companionship
a. What is the futility described in these verses? Going through life without a companion. He means having a friend.
b. A Cord of Three Strands
c. (vv. 9-10) The Cord of Accountability.
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.
i. Galatians 6:1-2; James 5:19-20
d. (vs. 11) The Cord of Unity.
Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? (This not a sexual reference)
i. Psalm 133:1-3
e. (vs. 12) The Cord of Resistance.
And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
i. Ephesians 6:10-13; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9
III. What a Friend we have in Jesus
a. We all need a friend. Many friends are best.
b. Often, in a marriage ceremony we envision Jesus Christ being the third strand in the marriage bond. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
c. Even if we are not married, Solomon’s advice is to bond ourselves many friends, and with God.
d. We need to call Jesus our Friend.
e. If we accept Him, Jesus has promised to be our Friend.
(John 15:14-15) You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
PRAYER
SONG: My Jesus
Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 (HCSB)
Again, I saw futility under the sun: There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task. Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
