Is Everything Meaningless?
Ecclesiastes part 1
Hands on illustration:
Have a timer with on the pulpit – set it for 30 minutes in front of everyone. The lesson from the timer is what motivated Solomon to write the book of Ecclesiastes because time was running out for him and for many others. It made him think about eternity and where he was going. The lesson from the timer is this for us today:
* 562 children died in 3rd world poverty ridden countries in the 30 minutes this timer ticks.
* 5 people died of aids in the US in the 30 minutes.
* 18 people in the US died from injuries in the last 30 minutes.
* 2 people in the US committed suicide in the last 30 minutes.
* 4 people died of a heart attack in the US in the last 30 minutes.
When the timer goes off share how many people have died in that time frame and ask them to think about how many people lived useless – meaningless lives! They wasted their time and have nothing to show for their lifetime. How many senseless deaths have occurred in the last 30 minutes across the world.
Opening thought:
We started here on Sept. 21st and have seen God do awesome things at New Life Community Church. We have jokingly stated that God sent us to the Promise Land because New Life has been filled with wonderful experiences and awesome opportunities to see lives changed by the power of the Gospel. I have often sat and pondered how quickly this time speed by? I stand before you today and think about how my kids are all grown up and how soon we will be experiencing the empty nest syndrome. My little girls have grown into wonderful women of God. Life has continued to move forward and it has brought many opportunities, blessings, hardships, teaching moments, miracle moments, prayerful moments, sorrowful moments and times of loss and gain. So many memories even right now are flashing across my mind. Memories are time etched into our minds!
Reflections on time gone by:
Memories of time are frozen in our minds and they are picture frames of happiness – sadness – and joy. They bring pieces of learning to our lives – they help us grow and to think clearer. They etch lessons and concepts into our hearts to be drawn on again and again in the future. They help us to learn and to grow in life. They are precious moments of time that will never be forgotten or discarded. They are to be used by us tapered with wisdom and insight from God. I have learned many things in my 10 years since I have been here – I have learned to fail forward, to lead more like Jesus, to prayer more fervently, to trust God more completely, to die to my self more daily, and most of all to use my time wisely because once it is gone - it is gone.
This last lesson is what I would like to talk to you about today.
Thesis: Solomon proposes some questions to us in Chapter one and he says, “Is everything meaningless? Is life one big bore! Can you agree with me that life can be boring and even senseless?” The answer to these questions is really dependent on your relationship with God and how you view the precious commodity of you time.
Opening Illustration: “I am bored!” from sermon spice!
Have you ever heard the phrase from someone “I am bored with life – because I feel like I am doing nothing of eternal value or worth. So then the bored person goes out and does something stupid instead of finding a meaningful existence! Lets look at this clip.
Scripture Text: Ecclesiastes 1
1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is twisted cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16I thought to myself, “Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
Introduction:
Is the life we live meaningless? Do people live meaningless lives? The answer is “Yes” for some people and “No” for others. The truth is some people do live meaningless lives. But the answer is an absolute “no” if you are a believer in Jesus Christ and living for God. He takes a meaningless life with no value to it AND makes it a life filled with eternal value. God takes a life and actually makes it have eternal value and worth.
Solomon the author of this book reveals that a life without God is a meaningless worthless life!
The story behind our author Solomon: 2 Chronicles 1:8-15: In this story we discover that Solomon was made king by God and God communicated that to David his father. David was his father and his mother was Bathsheba. Now let’s get a little more background on mom and dad. David first spotted Bathsheba while she was taking a bath on top of her roof naked. Why because he was bored one night because he was not doing what he was suppose to be doing as a king. David sent for her with one thing in mind and they had an adulterous affair with each other. She was married to Uriah who was off fighting for David. She informs David later that she is pregnant from their night of lustful sin. David tries to cover it up by sending for Uriah so he can sleep with his wife and conceal the whole sinful act. Uriah is loyal to David and his men and refuses to go home but sleeps at the palace door. David finds out that he did not go home so he sets him up to be killed in battle. Yes, David a man after God’s own heart ordered the death of this loyal servant to conceal his sin. David’s plan works and Uriah is killed in battle. David then takes Bathsheba to be his wife and in the eyes of many he is looked on as a hero for providing for this widow but the whole ordeal is a charade covering up their sin. David thinks he got away with it but he forgot about God who promised to bring sin into the light. God reveals the truth to Nathan the prophet and exposes David for his sinful act. God then sends judgment onto to David and his household for his sin. The baby in Bathsheba dies and David is exposed and humiliated. David repents of his sin and morns his loss but judgment still falls. After a time of prayer and morning he moves on with life and sleeps with his wife Bathsheba and this time Solomon is conceived. He is David’s tenth son and God chooses him to be the next king of Israel. This in turn will cause family issues down the road for David.
So Solomon is raised by a mom and dad who both committed adultery and he is the son of a murder. Solomon is loved by God we are told in Scripture. Solomon is placed on the throne to be king by God instead of David’s eldest son. Nathan the prophet once again enters the picture and directs Solomon into the position to be the next King of Israel. When Solomon was made king and he had offered up sacrifices to the Lord he prayed to the Lord in 2 Chronicles and asked God to give him wisdom and knowledge. He asked because he knew he could not lead the people of God without the insight of God. Listen to the heartbeat of this new king:
2 Chronicles 1:8-15: Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 11God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.” 13Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting. And he reigned over Israel. 14Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 15The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.
T.S. - So we now know a little background on the author of this book. So let’s re-look at his question in chapter one “Is life a meaningless cycle because our time has no eternal value?”
I. The big question- “Is life a meaningless senseless cycle?”
a. Solomon observed that everything in life has a cycle that it goes through and it really does not make a lot of sense.
i. Man’s daily labor and toil – the same day after day after day.
1. For what purpose does a man work so hard? To just get to next pay check and the next day to do it all over again?
2. To just get enough money to pay another payment on the house and then start all over again?
ii. Generations come and go yet the earth stays the same.
1. Many people have tried to make a difference but then they die and everything stays the same.
iii. The rising and the setting of the sun is even senseless.
1. It just hurries to repeat the cycle the next day!
iv. The wind blows around in circles
1. And for what purpose?
v. The streams of water flow the same over and over.
1. In a sense he is saying the water in the sea evaporates and then cause storms clouds to carry it back to the land and to rain again and it flows into the stream and right back into the ocean to go through the same cycle again and again.
vi. Life becomes wearisome as it repeats itself over and over with nothing new ever happening!
1. Life is senseless!
2. “All of life is far more boring than words could ever say!”
3. Nothing new ever happens in this life he says!
vii. There is no memory of men who have died and left this place – their memories fade, their work is forgotten and they fade off into the realm of nothingness.
1. Everyone will be forgotten!
2. Playboy moggle - Hugh Hefner– I watched a report on his life which said that, “He is obsessed with creating a history of his life so he will not be forgotten for all his great accomplishments.”
a. People say he is totally obsessed with the fact that he wants to be remembered.
i. So he labors many hour’s everyday writing his memoirs and noting his accomplishments and life achievements.
b. But trust me – He will be forgotten because he is investing his life in things that are temporary. He is not investing in eternal values and eternal meaning.
i. So his life will be meaningless and senseless in the end when he stands before the Judgment seat of God.
b. Solomon was considered a very successful king of Israel – don’t miss this point because it is important:
i. He was considered very wise and very intelligent and people would come from far and wide to hear his decisions on certain cases.
1. He was considered very wise and he set his life on the task of attaining wisdom.
2. His pursuit of wisdom opened his eyes to a life that is filled with meaningless existence - a life so pointless that it is trying to chase the wind and catch it.
a. No one can catch the wind!
b. It’s an impossible task!
c. It’s humanly impossible!
3. Solomon helped Israel to prosper and he took her into the “Golden Age.” He was personally prosperous beyond measure. He would have been considered a millionaire in his day.
a. He had a huge family. He knew what it was like to have 700 wives and 300 concubines.
b. He had a palace to live in which was grandiose. He built great architectural masterpieces.
c. He had fame which stretched worldwide.
d. He had power and a huge army at his disposal. He had it all you could say!
c. He had what many Americans strive for today - power, fame and fortune!
i. You could say that Solomon lived the American - Israelite dream.
ii. He experienced all of life’s pleasures and then toward the end of his life he wrote this thought provoking book. Remember God gave Solomon wisdom and his wisdom is revealed in this thought provoking Old Testament book.
1. Solomon desired to pursue what the meaning of life was all about – his pursuit for meaning in life led him in many directions and into many circumstances which he writes about in this book -- but in the end meaning for life was only found in connection with God he concludes.
2. This book helps us to understand how to come to terms with the reality of life.
a. Life can become a cycle of meaninglessness if our heart is no in the right place.
3. This book is about real life experiences etched into the mind of Solomon. Solomon had lived life and he endured all of its toil, its hardships and he gleamed lessons from his life which he shares in this book.
d. He opens his book with this observation about life in Ecc. 1: 2 “Meaningless! Meaningless! …everything is meaningless.”
i. When I first read this I thought, “He sounds rather distraught even overwhelmed with life!” I hear him saying life is boring!
1. But he opens up this book with a phrase that pricks at your heart and then he takes the reader through his own journey of life. He points out what he did, what he accomplished, what he learned, what he experienced, what he regrets, and compares that to what is really the most meaningful part of life.
ii. He takes you through a thrill ride of his life and ends with a poignant thought on the true meaning of life.
1. He actually ends his book with an observation of what matters most in life.
a. He concludes his book by making a very clear point in Ecc. 12:13-14, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
2. His power, fame, wealth, huge family, and extravagant lifestyle really was meaningless even pointless. What mattered most in life according to our wise King Solomon was having a relationship with the Lord and following after His purpose and plan for his life - time.
e. Solomon discovered that meaning for life was connected with a relationship with God.
f. Point - When we have a personal relationship with God life has eternal meaning and value but if we do not have a personal relationship with God then life has no meaning and no eternal value.
i. Life with meaning is connected to a life in touch with God.
ii. Life without God is meaningless like trying to chase the wind and catch it – it’s pointless even insane to think that you can.
T.S. – Solomon the wise king discovered that meaning in life and a life which counts for something is connected with God – it also connected with an understanding of time in itself. Solomon shows that time and how we use it is what determines if it has any eternal worth or value.
II. Life is hard without God and it is a heavy burden!
a. Solomon in his pursuit of wisdom discovered how hard life is without God in it.
i. He tried it with God and without and discovered that life outside the realm of God is senseless.
1. It’s like trying to catch the wind – it’s impossible and senseless to even try!
ii. It’s as if you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and it becomes overwhelming.
1. Romans 12:1: “Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God.”
b. Life is a heavy burden that God lays on those who are chasing after the wind – in other words pursuing the things of this world instead of Him.
i. Life becomes hopeless.
1. Without God – life becomes hopeless!
a. Share the story of Evel K.’s testimony at the Crystal Cathedral.
ii. Life becomes boring and lacks any meaning.
1. I run into so many people who say that their life is boring – it has no value – they feel that it is empty and void of meaning.
iii. Life becomes top heavy and it gets harder and harder to get up and to face another meaningless senseless day.
1. When we live for the next day we soon discover the emptiness involved in this type of belief system.
c. He saw what can happen to men and women who labor under the sun and have no connection with God.
i. They cannot fix anything in life or in society.
ii. They cannot untwist anything in life.
iii. They cannot achieve anything in life
iv. They cannot even count what is lacking because they have no clue what they are missing.
d. Solomon grew in wisdom and knowledge and he was honored all over the then known world for it.
i. But even his pursuit of wisdom – human wisdom and knowledge became meaningless.
1. He even tried pursuing foolishness and found this to be point less.
ii. He tried both extremes without God and discovered the shear madness in all of it.
1. Did you know that knowledge and insight outside of God can cause you to go mad?
iii. It can also bring grief beyond measure because the more you know the more you discover that you don’t know!
1. When we learn so much that we come to the conclusion that we cannot create life, change a life, change a person or change the environment on our own then we can become discouraged.
2. If we get to the point where we really grow in wisdom and knowledge we soon discover how little we can do on our own.
a. We see the task at hand and we lose heart!
3. But with God all things are possible!
e. Solomon discovered that the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom without God can cause you much grief and heartache.
i. You can spend your life getting a doctor degree and then die and your life had no meaning because you never lived your life with any eternal value.
ii. CEV reads like this “The more you know, the more you hurt; the more you understand, the more you suffer.” (vs. 18).
Conclusion:
The book of Ecclesiastes is a book which is searching for meaning in life. Solomon is on a quest for meaning in life and pulls the reader along with him in his journey. The book addresses for us humans how we will truly find satisfaction and happiness in life. It tells us that the pursuit of life is not happiness or worldly desires but it is God. This book begins with a gloomy start but it will end with a divine revelation.
2 lessons learned from Solomon today:
Life is meaningless and senseless without the presence of God in our lives. When we strive to live for ourselves we will soon discover that life is senseless and filled with emptiness day after day.
Life will become a heavy burden if we try to live it without God – many have discovered the tragedy of a life without God’s intervention and guidance. It has lead far too many to the point of suicide to the point of nervous breakdowns and to mental institutes and counselors.
Psalm 90:12 (NLT) “Teach us to make the most of our time…and make our efforts successful. Yes, our efforts successful!”
Closing Illustration: Blue Fish TV – “Wake”
