Searching For Significance
Ecclesiastes
Rev. Brian Bill
2/17/08
I want you to know that I took a lot of grief last week for skipping around, or should I say selectively skimming, through the Song of Songs. I know of at least one small group that had a lot of laughter at my expense as I tiptoed through the tulips. That alone should be reason enough for you to join a group if you’re not in one.
Just as some wonder why the Song of Songs is in the Bible, so too many have questioned why Ecclesiastes is included because of its melancholy mood. If you’re still in the Song of Songs (some of you have been reading this all week), just go back one book to find Ecclesiastes, another book written by Solomon. Actually, it’s more like a journal with entries that summarize his various adventures and exploits in his search for significance.
Solomon was an amazing man. His reputation is known not just in the Bible -- even secular historians are impressed with his unusual wisdom. He was a man who had all the money, all the power, all the time, and all the energy to make his dreams come true. He could literally have and do anything he wanted. But, he was also restless. He wanted to figure out what life was all about. So he launched out on a no-holds barred, existential safari that cost him millions of dollars and many years of his life. He was on a search for his purpose in life. I’m going to give you the Reader’s Digest version today but I hope you’ll read the whole book for yourself because it addresses the big questions of life like: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?
I should tell you ahead of time that the journey he took, while mind-boggling, left him deflated, depressed and disillusioned. The best word to describe how he felt is empty. In fact, his motto appears right at the beginning of the book in 1:2: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” Says the Teacher, Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” This word is used 35 different times. In this type of literature, when the same word is repeated even once, it’s for the purpose of emphasis. It’s like our exclamation point. It’s as if he was saying, “Super empty. No substance. There’s nothing to it. Everything is blah!” In the Hebrew it’s the little word “hovel,” which sounds like someone clearing their throat. We could make the sound “phhtt” to capture the meaning. Let’s say that together: phhtt.
Freddie Mercury, former lead singer for Queen, died shortly after he wrote these words to his last song: “Does anybody know what we’re living for?” Tennis champion Boris Becker, who won three Wimbledon titles once said, “I had all the material possessions I needed: money, cars, women, everything…I had no inner peace because I was a puppet on a string, but I still don’t know who was manipulating the strings.” I’m told that a baseball player who made it the Hall of Fame said this: “I wish someone had told me that when you get to the top…there’s nothing there.” That’s exactly the conclusion that Solomon reached.
The word for “Teacher” in this verse is the Hebrew word Qoheleth, which literally means, “The one who gathers, assembles, or collects things.” We can translate this word into English and call him “the Searcher.” The Greek translation of the Hebrew title “Ecclesiastes” is from the word “ecclesia,” which means assembly or gathering. As God’s assembly here in Livingston County let’s pay attention to what the Searcher has to say to us today.
Let me clarify something. When Solomon wanted to experiment with the different things that life had to offer, there was nothing to hold him back. As king, no one could question him. As one of the richest individuals in the world, money was not a problem. He was convinced that he could find something that would ultimately satisfy him -- if he just looked hard enough.
In verse 3, the Searcher asks a question, “What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” The word, “gain” literally means, “That which is left over.” He had sucked the delight, joy, and pleasure out of everything. And now he wanted to know what would be left over, what would he have to show for himself when it was all said and done? The phrase “under the sun” is used 29 times to show that life on the earthly level is ultimately empty.
[Start Countdown Clock] Let me demonstrate by using this countdown timer. I’ll set it for 35 minutes. When it stops I’ll have to stop. Some of you are thinking, “Yeah, right! I’ll stay awake just to see that!”
In chapter one, Solomon observes the cycles of life as generations come and go, as the sun goes up and then goes down, as the wind blows and as the streams flow in verses 4-7: “Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.” Nothing seems to change. It’s the “same old, same old.” In verse 8 he concludes: “All things are wearisome, more than one can say.” The Hebrew word actually means, “Full of weariness.” And in verse 9 you can almost hear him say phhtt: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
In chapter 2 the king kicked his comprehensive study into hyper-speed as he embarked on an excessively extravagant lifestyle. Let me remind you that Solomon was smart but he was also stupid. But thankfully he came to some pretty solid conclusions before his time ran out. The first thing he tried was pleasure. He decided that life was just one big party. He watched Comedy Central and liked it when people made him laugh. After all, if he could just chuckle all the time, he would be happy, right? Listen to his admission in 2:2: “I said of laughter, ‘It is madness,’ and of pleasure, ‘What does it accomplish?’”
His next stop was the world of alcohol in verse 3: “I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly…” He experimented with the finest wines and liquor available from all over the world. But, when the buzz wore off, he was still empty. I was troubled by an article I read last Sunday in the Chicago Tribune (2/10/08) that found that “teenage girls now equal or outpace boys in alcohol consumption, drug use and smoking.” When asked why they drink, two of the teen girls paused before responding: “Life is better with a buzz.”
After the hangover, his next layover was a massive building project. He designed and constructed several cities and homes. His palatial home took 13 years to build. He then purchased hundreds of servants and possessed flocks and herds that were larger than anyone had ever owned. He then moved into collecting precious gems and silver and gold. He even brought in the best musicians and soloists in the world to entertain him.
Solomon had accumulated the best possessions and even gave great gifts to others in the hopes of finding satisfaction. That reminds me of a wealthy son who was determined to give his mother a birthday present that would outshine all others. He read of a bird that had a vocabulary of 4000 words, could speak in numerous languages and was able to perform 3 complete musicals. He immediately bought the bird for $50,000 and had it delivered to his mother. The next day he phoned to see if she had received the gift. “What did you think of the bird?” he asked. She replied, “It was delicious.”
Wait, there’s even more. Next, Solomon turned to the pleasures of intimate relationships. In fact, we know that he had 700 wives and 300 mistresses. They were available to him any time of the day or night. Yet his boredom could not be described.
Listen to these honest words from his journal in 2:10: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” This is hard to comprehend! Everything he coveted, he eventually owned. Every fantasy was fulfilled on the spot! And yet, it still wasn’t enough. He continues in 2:11: “When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
When none of this brought him lasting satisfaction, he turned to something that is still very popular today -- his career. He threw himself into his job. Work became everything for him. None of his 700 wives ever knew when he would be home! He was always texting the Queen of Sheba, checking his Blackberry, or surfing the Net. After keeping up the frenzied pace of workaholism, Solomon writes in 2:22-23: “What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.”
Solomon had more money than he could spend, more power than he could wield, more material possessions than he could enjoy, and more relationships than he could handle. And yet he was empty and found life to be worthless and meaningless.
In chapter 3, Solomon sees that the clock is counting down [look at timer on screen]. This section of the book with fourteen opposites is fairly well-known: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die…a time to weep and a time to laugh…a time to be silent and a time to speak.” In verse 11 Solomon catches a glimpse of God’s work in the midst of that which looks meaningless: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” God has a fitting time for everything to be done. The point here is that all things serve God’s purposes, but that the clock keeps ticking.
The Futility of it All
As the Searcher neared the end of his extravagant excursion, he realized that many of his fantasies had turned out to be nothing more than bad dreams. From a human perspective life is futile and fleeting. James 4:14: “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
Solomon was looking for something of substance in life. Nothing ultimately satisfied. It’s as if he woke up one day and looked around. There were beer bottles all over the floor of his beautiful home. Women were everywhere. Each room of his house was filled with artifacts from around the world. As he looked out the window over his immaculately landscaped yard, he said to himself, “This is crazy. There has to be more to this life. I’m on a dead-end road here.”
I suspect that some of you feel the same way that Solomon did as you realize that your life lacks meaning and purpose. Those things that you always thought would bring you happiness -- laughter, alcohol, partying, hobbies, buying things, relationships, and work -- have left you feeling empty. It’s like chasing after the wind. You can’t seem to get hold of that which will ultimately provide your life with meaning. Everything that you’ve tried has left you feeling blah and unfulfilled – phhtt! We’re left with two choices – give in to apathy or give in to the
Almighty.
Life Lessons
I’d like to draw four life lessons from this amazing book.
1. Recognize the reality of eternity. Turn back to 3:11 for a moment: “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” God has put within each of us a desire to find our purpose, and yet that search will be elusive until we realize that we’re made for another place. Augustine said it well: “Thou hast created us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” This truth should help us when we talk to those who are far from Christ. Even the most hardened skeptic has eternity set in his heart. Too many of us get way too tied to this place. This is not meant to be our home. We should always feel a bit restless here because we are made for another place.
2. Remember God before it’s too late. Please turn to Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them.’” The word “remember” is more than just recalling that God exists; it means to live your life in the conscious presence of God. In addition, it’s not passive but active. To remember our Creator means that we live according to this truth in every aspect of our lives. That means you were created by a Creator who has every right to reign in your life. Remember that He is God and you are not. I talked to someone this week that has gone through a lot of challenges this past year. She told me that what has helped her the most is to remember that she is a sheep and He is the shepherd.
Check out this amazing description of aging in 12:2-7. I’ll insert the interpretation of each image as I read: “Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; when the keepers of the house tremble, [the arms weaken] and the strong men stoop, [the legs become frail] when the grinders cease because they are few, [the teeth fall out] and those looking through the windows grow dim; [eyesight fails] when the doors to the street are closed [hard-of-hearing] and the sound of grinding fades; [speech becomes unintelligible] when men rise up at the sound of birds, [elderly are easily awakened – that’s me!] but all their songs grow faint; [hearing loss] when men are afraid of heights [fear of heights] and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms [gray hair] and the grasshopper drags himself along [we bend over the older we get] and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, [the spinal cord] or the golden bowl is broken;[the skull] before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, [the heart] or the wheel broken at the well, [the pelvis] and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Because we’re all getting older, Psalm 90:12 challenges us: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Students, get serious now! Don’t just think about the future to live out your faith. Don’t waste your life by just getting wasted. Be a Ruth, an Esther or a Mary. Be a Joseph, a Daniel or a Timothy: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). As Pastor Jeff says, “Live out loud now. You are not the future of the church…you are the church.”
3. Reflect on what really matters. 12:8 is called an “inclusio,” which is a literary device used to bookend or bracket a thesis: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!’” This is exactly how the book begins in 1:2: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ Says the Teacher, ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!’” Do you hear it? Phhtt! Phhtt! Phhtt!
The good thing about Solomon’s journal is that it doesn’t end on a note of despair. After experimenting with everything he could think of, he realized that there had to be more to life. If life is only lived on the horizontal level we will be empty. In his wisdom, Solomon concluded that life is also meant to be lived on the vertical level. To use Solomon’s expression, nothing under the sun will satisfy because we have been created to live in an interactive relationship with the loving and faithful God of the universe.
In 12:11, Solomon concludes by saying that only Scripture can point us in the right direction: “The words of the wise are like goads…” A goad was a rod about 8-foot long, with a sharp point on it that was used for guiding oxen. Scripture is like a goad – it prods us and pokes us; we cannot get it out of our mind. Sometimes it guides us gently; other times it hits us in the gut. Verse 11 continues: “their collected sayings are like firmly embedded nails – given by one Shepherd.” Like a nail that is hammered deeply into a 4x4, you can hang onto Scripture and hold fast in times of danger and temptation. When we read His word, it sinks deeply into our minds and hearts like a sharp nail that is embedded in the wall. Scripture provides stability and is dependable because it is “given by one Shepherd.” I hope you’ve been using our 40th Anniversary New Testament Reading Guide. There’s still time to jump in.
Verse 12 challenges us to not go beyond the Bible. While there are books everywhere, and they will never end, Ecclesiastes reminds us that God is the secret of life, and He is the answer to the reason for our existence. Until we discover God, our study and the reading of many books will never be of any lasting value to us. That’s why we must be selective in what we read.
4. Revere God. Let’s go back to 5:1-7 for a moment because we always need reminders about how we’re to approach God in worship: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. [Worship with wonder] Go near to listen [Draw near to hear] rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong [God wants us to offer ourselves]. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words. [Be careful about our words in worship] When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the [temple] messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? [Keep your commitments]. Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God. [Approach the Almighty with a sense of awe]
These are good words for those who are not committed to make corporate worship a priority. Years ago, Ann Landers printed a piece about all the excuses people have for not going to church and it ran again a week ago in the Daily Leader. She listed ten, but for the sake of time, I’ll mention only five. I want to thank Jim Carley for telling me about this.
* Cots will be placed in the vestibule of the church for those who say, “Sunday is my only day for sleeping in.”
* Eye drops will be available for those whose eyes are tired from watching TV too late on Saturday night.
* We will have steel helmets for those who believe the roof will cave in if they show up for church services.
* Scorecards will be provided for those who wish to count the hypocrites present.
* The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who have never seen the church without them.
5. Respond to God. Solomon’s bottom line is really just a simple statement recorded at the end of his diary. Take a look at 12:13: “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.”
The meaning here is this: Respect God and keep his commandments, for this is the wholeness of man. This is how we learn to be a whole person. It can also be translated this way: “This is what we were made for.” None of us want to be easily upset, unstable, wigged out, maxed out, or stressed out. Who wants to go through life being unsatisfied and unfulfilled? To be whole is only possible if we honor God for who He is and obey what He tells us to do.
Friends, God expects us to give Him the rightful place He deserves in our lives because He knows that if we don’t worship Him we will find something else to worship -- whether it be a job, a family, money, a sport, or ourselves. Solomon’s final conclusion is that we need to do what God says. Because He is God, we need to obey Him. It can all be summarized this way: Trust and obey for there is no better way. Verse 14 challenges us with these closing words from his journal: “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
Friends, let’s learn from Solomon’s experience. He repented at the end of his life but he sure wasted a number of years before he did. Let’s recognize, remember, reflect, revere and respond. The purpose of life is found only in the One who resides above the Sun and who sent His Son.
A Do-Over
In the movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal plays a radio-advertising salesman going through a mid-life crisis. Like Solomon, he realizes that there has to be more to life. He and his friends deal with the predictability and emptiness of their lives by going on a cattle drive. At the end of the movie as they prepare to return to New York and the familiar routine, Billy Crystal explains the concept of a “do-over” to one of his friends:
“Do you remember when you used to play ball as a kid? Sometimes when you fouled things up, you would get a ‘do-over.’ It was a second chance to swing at the ball. That’s what is happening to you now. You’re getting a ‘do-over’ in life.”
I have good news for you this morning. You can have a “do-over,” a fresh start, a new beginning through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 puts it this way: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” You matter to God more than you can ever know. He cares deeply for you -- no matter what you’ve said, what you’ve thought, or what you’ve done.
Leo Tolstoy, who wrote War and Peace, also wrote a book called, “A Confession.” As he reflected on his life, he wrote this: “It is a meaningless, regrettable failure.” He had a made a mess of his life as he drank heavily, womanized and gambled away all the money he had, looking for meaning and purpose. He wanted to become wealthy and famous, but he was haunted with this question: “Is there any meaning to my life, which will not be annihilated by the inevitability of death?” In his book called “The Questions of Life,” Nicky Gumbel explained what eventually triggered Tolstoy’s conversion: “The only people he knew that had answered those questions were the poor, ignorant peasant people in Russia, and they answered those questions through their faith in Jesus Christ.”
Satisfaction and significance are only possible through salvation in the Son. The incarnation was God’s breakthrough of the barrier between us and Him. He entered time at just the right time as Galatians 4:4 says: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son…” Don’t let the clock run out on you. 2 Corinthians 6:2: “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
The shootings at NIU this past week are a grim reminder about how fragile life really is. Don’t let time run out on you. Love the Lord with everything you’ve got.
Closing Song: “Love the Lord”
