HoHum:
“In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in his cosmic loneliness. And God said, "Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done." And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat, looked around, and spoke. "What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely. "Everything must have a purpose?" asked God. "Certainly," said man."Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God. And He went away.” ― Kurt Vonnegut,
You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life. There's a time you got to go and show You're growin' now you know about The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life. When the world never seems to be livin up to your dreams And suddenly you're finding out the Facts of Life are all about you, you. It takes a lot to get 'em right When you're learning the Facts of Life.
Thesis: In a survey, summary fashion let’s go over Solomon’s facts of life from Ecclesiastes; these are the "goad" passages
Pointers to despair
The ceaseless round
In 1:2-11 there is a comparison between the cycle of nature and the history of man. Now this is not the view of history where it is a complete circle and history will continue to repeat itself again and again without end. But we see generations coming and going without any apparent purpose; each working for what cannot last or satisfy, eventually to fade from memory. Coming generations do not learn from previous generations and they are all the same. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it and no generation learns so all are doomed.
The fruitless search
In 1:12-2:24 we see that Solomon searched out the meaning of life from several areas that are not possible to search out for other men. He was in a unique position to indulge in pleasures and seek out knowledge and wisdom. Through his massive labor force he was also able to engage in building projects beyond compare. All of these things did not satisfy him. Vs. 17- So I hated life
The puzzling pattern of life
In 3:1-8 speaks of a time for this and that. Summary is vs. 9- for it is evident that we spend our days going back and forth in a pattern that we did not choose or ever fully understand, busy now with one thing, now with something else. OUr chances of seizing the right moment, or reaching a goal, or securing what we gain, are always overcome with uncertainty. Vs. 11 says that we cannot fathom all of this or ever completely seize the day.
Vs. 16 mentions that there is never justice in this life. Life is not fair.
The unmanageable: Misrule, mischance and mortality
Misrule- In 4:1-3 we see that Solomon has anguish for the tears of the oppressed. Solomon also has a sense of helplessness in the face of bureaucracy (5:8) and all degrees of tyranny where “man lords it over others to his own hurt.” Kings and officials have their uses but nothing is certain at this high level, and a land may find itself at any moment in the hands of fools and upstarts, the weak and the depraved (10:5-6, 16). Political uncertainty is the norm.
Mischance- Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 is the best verse. Also wealth “lost through some misfortune” (5:14), or wealth gained but not enjoyed (6:2). 8:14 is another good verse.
Mortality (death)- “No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no-one has power over the day of his death.” Ecclesiastes 8:8, NIV. Death comes to all (2:15-16). Whatever success a person may enjoy, his journey starts out naked and ends naked (5:15-16). J. S. Whale said, “If death means that all is over and there is nothing more, it is life which is pervaded with tragic irrationality. Every column in the great human ledger book adds up to precisely the same result, Zero.”
Transition: These are the goad passages that lead us to despair and hopelessness. No, there has to be more. The more is God. Ecclesiastes has much to say about God.
Thesis: What does Ecclesiastes say about God, the nail passages given by one Shepherd (12:11)?
God is Our Creator
“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” Ecclesiastes 12:1, NIV.
Ecclesiastes in line with the rest of bible grounds all existence in God. Look up 11:5; 12:7.
God appoints for everything its proper season. 3:11
God made man upright in the beginning; 7:29. God cannot be blamed for man’s corruption
God is one who sets our lives in order
Ecclesiastes 1:13- God cursed this world because of sin.
Might be displeased with our lives and circumstances but we must be taught our place. 3:14
Even so we should be thankful for what God gives. 2:24-26 and then 6:1-2. In the Jerusalem Talmud: “Every man must render an account before God of all the good things he beheld in life and did not enjoy.
7:14
God is unsearchable
We are not saying that God is beyond revealing himself to us. He is so transcendent that we can know nothing of him- agnostic.
However, we are not able to comprehend everything like God. 3:11 and 8:17
Ecclesiastes 9:1- Must have faith in God because He knows what is best.
God is the judge of all
This is a terror for the wicked; 8:13
Don’t go too far in the enjoyment of things. 11:9
Ecclesiastes 3:17
One day justice at last will be done. Ecclesiastes 12:14
Conclusion and invitation:
What about death? Ecclesiastes is somewhat vague on death. Says that the spirit goes back to God but also says in Ecclesiastes 3:19- 21. The OT is somewhat vague about what happens at death. Oh, there are some passages that talk about it but not like the NT.
We know there is life after death because Jesus came back from the dead to tell us all about it. He is the one who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26). When quoting these words of Jesus during a funeral service, I like to point out that there is a seeming contradiction if you look closely. First Jesus says that those who believe in him will live even though they die. Then he says those who believe will never die. So which is it? Do believers die or do we not die? The answer is yes! We die physically but we do not die spiritually. We bury the body but the soul goes into the presence of the Lord.
If we need an argument from experience, here is one we can trust. Before we can be sure, we need to talk to someone who has experienced death and come back to tell us about it. Unsure about all of these people who have had death experiences, resuscitated and they talk about this grand vision they had while they were dead. We can trust Jesus because he is someone who died, came back from the dead, and never died again. Only one person in history fits that description: Jesus Christ. When we face death, we need the assurance that the grave will not have the final word. “The most certain assurance of life after death for the Christian is the historical, literal resurrection of Christ. The Christian believes in life after death not because of an argument, first of all, but because of a witness” (Peter Kreeft).
In the movie Casualties of War, Michael J. Fox plays Private Erikson, a soldier in Vietnam who is part of a squad that abuses a young Vietnamese girl. Though Private Erikson doesn’t participate in the crime, he still struggles with what has happened. He tells "Just because each of us might at any second be blown away, we’re acting like we can do anything we want, as though it doesn’t matter what we do. I’m thinking it’s just the opposite. Because we might be dead in the next split-second, maybe we gotta be extra careful what we do. Because maybe it matters more. Maybe it matters more than we ever know."
On what does Ecclesiastes say about God; the last one is that God is to be reverenced Ecclesiastes 12:13. Why? Because of vs. 14. There is life after death and because of this nothing will go unregarded, unremembered or unvalued.
Notice something. Even though those verses talk about being judged for our conduct, our deeds, & for what we have done, the Bible clearly teaches that we are not saved by our works. We are saved by God’s grace, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, "not by works lest any man should boast." Romans 6:23 says that eternal life is a gift from God. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ." Invitation
So here is the problem. Because we are saved by grace & not by our works, many have de-emphasized the importance of works. And the word itself has become almost a dirty word in some Christian circles. But it shouldn’t be, for the Bible clearly teaches that while we are not saved by our works, our works will affect our eternity, not our eternal destiny, heaven or hell, but our eternity.
