A study of the Book of Ecclesiastes
Finding Satisfaction In Life
“The Search for Meaning”
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
As I looked at what I wanted to preach as a new series I was amazed to discover that I had never preached through the book of Ecclesiastes. In fact after a closer examination I discovered that in 30 years here I have preached exactly two messages from the book of Ecclesiastes. Well we by God’s grace will rectify that starting tonight.
Perhaps part of the hesitation in preaching through Ecclesiastes as the book seems to takes such a gloomy view of life. One commentator says, “think of Ecclesiastes as the only book of the Bible written on Monday morning.” [Philip Graham Ryken. “Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters.” (Wheaton, ILL: Crossway, 2010) p.14]
Tonight will be principally an introduction and overview and cover the first eleven verses of Chapter one. The name “Ecclesiastes” stems from the title given in the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Greek term ekklesiastes means “preacher” and is derived from the word ekklesia is not a church building but a congregation or assembly of people for the worship of God. The Hebrew title,
(Qoheleth – Koheleth), is a rare term found only seven times in Ecclesiastes (1:1, 2, 12; 7:27; 12:8, 9, 10). It comes from the word qahal meaning “to convoke an assembly, to assemble.” Thus, it means “one who addresses an assembly, a preacher.”
First, The Author.
Though some modern scholars believe it was written by someone writing as Solomon. I believe that the author of Ecclesiastes is Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah – the general who was murdered on the orders of David the King. Solomon ruled Israel for forty years in peace and prosperity.
• Great Beginning.
Solomon began well as a young king God appear-ed to him in a dream and said, “Ask what you wish of me to give you.” (I Kings 3:5) Solomon responded by saying, that God had already blessed him by allowing him to follow his father as king but knowing the immense responsibility before him he asked, “Give they servant an understanding to judge they people to discern between good and evil.” (1 Kings 3:9). Solo-mon’s answer pleased God because he could have asked for anything. “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, (12) behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and under-standing heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.” (1 Kings 3:11-12)
• A Downward Spiral.
Solomon’s downward spiral began with compro-mise and rationalization. Although Israelites has been specifically warned about intermarriage with unbelievers, He took an Egyptian wife for political purposes (1 Kings 3:1). He rationalized that this marriage was good for the country. Solomon took his wife to the city of Jerusalem where the Temple was already under construction. But because the Temple was not yet finished the people sacrifice as their neighbors did on the high places of the pagan gods. Solomon sacrificed there as well (1 Kings 3:3). Solomon’s spiritual decline was also evidenced in his personal relationships. Hiriam king of Tyre provided significant labor and materials for the construction of the Temple and Solomon repaid him by giving him twenty worthless cities in Galilee (1 Kings 9:10-13). In effect he insulted and cheated this old friend of his father.
Solomon’s life became marked by exorbitant living. (1 Kings 10:24-26) Solomon also amassed a harem of foreign wives (some 700 wives and 300 concubines) these wives contributed his spiritual decline, as he is led away by the idolatry of his foreign born wives.
Second, The Perspective.
•Life is fleeting!
Solomon began with such great promise, he had great gifts of wisdom, discernment, riches and honor and yet toward the end of his life, he wrote, “Vanity, Vanity – all is vanity” (Eccles. 1:2) this often translated as meaningless or empty. But taken literally, the Heb-rew word (hevel) translated vanity refers to life as a vapor or a puff of smoking rising from a chimney, or a cloud of steam that comes from hot breath on a frosty morning. Life is like that - it is elusive - it is transitory. The Apostle James said something similar when he described life as “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). According to the Psalmist we are “mere breath” (Psalm 39:5); our days “vanish like a breath” (Psalm 78:3, Job 7:7).
So in every place that your Bible translation speaks of “vanity” or “meaningless” we can substitute the idea of vapor or transitory. So when Solomon speaks of “youth” it is not vanity but it is passing (11:10). When he speaks of “work” it not vanity but it is passing. It is not that work is meaningless but it is passing or transitory.
“Vanity” speaks of the futile emptiness of trying to be happy apart from God. Solomon liked this word. He used it 38 times in Ecclesiastes as he wrote about “life under the sun”. From the human point of view life does appear futile. It’s easy to get pessimistic. I saw one bumper sticker that read “Work, eat, sleep, Work, eat, sleep, then you die”. The American poet Carl Sand-burg “compared life to an onion – you peel one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep!”
How this happened is chronicled by Solomon himself, in the three books of the Bible that he wrote at different time periods in his life. As young man he wrote “The Song of Songs or The Song of Solomon.” It is a romantic love story of one man and one woman, a groom and his pride. In his middle-years Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs which is bits of practical wisdom. The elderly Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes when he was old, confused and empty – having dis-covered that the things of this world do not satisfy. Ecclesiastes is essentially Solomon’s memoir – an autobiographical account of what he learned from his futile attempt to live without God.
• Life without God has no purpose.
A reoccurring phrase in Ecclesiastes is the phrase "under the sun” which occurs almost thirty times. As he describes the absurdity and futility of work and wisdom and pleasure and everything else, he says this is what things are like “under the sun” (v. 3). In other words this is what life is like when viewed from a merely human perspective. Ecclesiastes gives us a true assess-ment of what life is like apart from the grace of God.
G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “This man (Solomon) had been living through all these experiences ‘under the sun’ concerned with nothing above the sun…until there came a moment in which he had seen the whole of life. And there was nothing ‘under the sun.’ It is only as a man takes account of that which is over the sun as well as that which is under the sun that things under the sun are seen in their true light.”
Third, The Relevance for today.
Yes, because it reads like todays newspaper. He writes about injustice to the poor (4:1-3); crooked politics(5:8); materialism(5:10), guilty people allowed to commit more crime(8:11), incompetent leaders (10:6,7).
Forbes Magazine devoted its seventy-fifth anniversary issue to a single topic: “Why we feel so bad when we have it so good.” Noting that Americans live better than any other people on the planet, …why then are we so depressed.
Ecclesiastes, “… addresses the questions that people always have; What is the meaning of life? why am I so unhappy? Does God really care? Why is there so much suffering and injustice in the world? Is life really worth living? These are the kinds of intellectual and practical questions that the writer wants to ask.” [Ryken. pp. 14-15]
• Life is unoriginal and repetitive.
Now Solomon explains why life leaves us breathless and is so frustrating. “What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? (v. 3) Life is full of Labor and Toil – two good words – always working it! At the end of the day – what do you have to show for all your LABOR. Sleep a few hours and start it all again. Here is the point- “We work our whole lives and what do we have to show for it?” What is left over – all the labor a man does “under the sun” – this term used 29 times in this book = life on this earth.
This truth is the same for every generation “One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.” (v. 4) Every single day 11 thousand people are born in American and almost 7 thousand die (6775). (According to latest information -2008) And yet every Generation is the same - - Every Generation comes along saying – we are going to get it right. We will fix things – we will make this world a better place. One Generation comes another goes but they face the same issues and problems. There is no utopia. Solomon is saying that the earth is like an exercise bike. “You get on them and then …you go nowhere. In fact going nowhere is part of the design. The point is not to get somewhere –the point is to expend as much energy as possible for as long as possible while you are going nowhere. Every time you step off the treadmill or the bike you are in the same place as where you began.” [Ed Young. “Been There Done That Now What?” p. 21]
As one generation dies another is born and they hop on the bike. He peddles like crazy – until he falls over and dies the next generation hops on the bike determined to peddle even harder. We mistake move-ment for progress but that is not really any progress.
It could be argued but we have advanced in quantum leaps in technology, which is true, but we have the same problems with Man. But mankind is still characterized by lust, greed, and selfishness. Mankind is not getting better, mankind is declining – not progress-ing – but getting more evil, more perverse than ever. Solomon tells us to take our cues from the earth wind and the fire. (vv.5-7)“The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. (6) The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. (7) All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.”
Solomon uses the example of the sun, the wind, and the rivers to illustrative the repetitiveness of life. Let’s just examine one, the rivers. For example, the Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico and then into the Atlantic Ocean, but the ocean never over-flows or get any deeper as a result. Or an example that Solomon may have been thinking of, the Dead Sea. The Jordan River has continued to flow for eons into the Dead Sea and though the Dead Sea has no outlet, it never overflows. We think we are making such a dif-ference but the reality is the Earth remains the same and we die. Life is not moving linear – in a line
No life is going around in circles in the sense we are born of the earth, we live, we die, we go back into the earth. The sun rises, the sun sets and it is another day - another day to work. That is the nature of life when our focus is “under the sun.” – here on Earth life is a continual grind!
To quote a modern philosopher, Pink Floyd, “So you run and you run to catch the sun but it is sinking racing around to come up again. The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older, shorter of breath and one day closer to death.” [Pink Floyd. “Dark Side Of the Moon.” 1978]
Jeremiah gives another perspective in Lament-ations 3:23 – the Sun rising every morning reminds us of the faithfulness of God, the mercies of God are new every morning. The answers to life are found above the sun, not under the sun! When my focus is under the sun, here on Earth, life is a rut. You ladies know that no matter how efficiently you wash your families clothes they will not stay clean, it will all be to over again next week.
One writer describes it this way, “The straight life for a homemaker is washing dishes…it is cleaning sinks and scouring toilets and waxing floors; it’s chasing toddlers and mediating fights between preschool siblings. The straight life is driving your car to school and back twenty-three times per week; it is grocery shopping and baking cupcakes for your children school party….Certainly, the straight life for homemakers can be an exhausting experience at times.
The straight life for a working man is not much simpler it pulling your tired frame out of bed, five days a week, fifty weeks out of a year. It is earning a two-week vacation in August and choosing a trip that will please the kids. The straight life is spending your money wisely when you’d rather indulge in a new whatever. …Its cleaning the garage out on you day off after working sixty hours the prior week…Its taking your family to church on Sunday when you’ve heard every idea the pastor has to offer; its giving a portion of your income to God’s work when you already wonder how you will make ends meet. The straight life for the ordinary, garden variety husband and father is everything I have listed and more….much more.”
[James Dobson. “Straight Talk For Men And Women.” [Waco, TX: Word Books, 1980]
Each generation thinks they are going to be different. We have a plan, a new angle. But in reality we only take old ideas and recycle them for there nothing new under the sun.
• No One Remembers. (vv. 8-11)
“All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing Nor the ear filled with hearing. (9) That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. (10) Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. (11) There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come, by those who will come after.”
No one remembers and if we think it seems there is really something new under the sun, it is only because we have forgotten what happened before. The problem is that we really don’t learn from history? It we did we would realize there really is nothing new. Everything comes back around. Hang on to your out of style clothes because fashion will come back around and they will be back is style. We don’t know history and so we repeat the same old things. We want to argue – but look the progress we have made, we have put a man on the Moon, we computer that do amazing things. But the Problem is man is still the same – still greedy, selfish, and prideful. We wrestle with the same issues and problems , just a little more sophisti-cated. Now Porn is found on Internet instead of just magazines. People have emotional affairs via computer with people they that they have never met. But there really is nothing new under the Sun! Some of you might be thinking – this is a depressing Bible study Bro John– thank very much! –
Is it depressing, or just honest? Solomon does us a great service here because he picks the most popular things that pursue to try and find meaning, value and purpose in life. He pursued those things with unparal-leled energy.
Money – Every year fleets of ships brought huge amounts of gold – tribute from other kings. Solomon was perhaps the richest man on earth, perhaps even in history of man. But that didn’t do it! Some people live in this myth. If I could just make more money I will be happy. Some of you are making more than you ever have dreamed and you still NEED MORE.
Power – For the 40yrs Solomon reigned as King over Israel. He was one of the most powerful King on the Earth. Israel reached its zenith under his rule and increased both in territory and power.
Religion and Spirituality – It seems as if Solomon dabbled into everything, that with each new foreign wife he added a different god or goddess as well.
Career achievements – Builder extraordinary
History tells us that Queen of Sheba traveled 1500miles just to see his kingdom. He built palaces, ships, green-houses, gardens and perhaps most impressive of all he built the Temple in Jerusalem.
wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32-34). He pursued wisdom and education – with an unabated enthusiasm.
Yet Solomon found no fulfillment in any of these.
Two final deductions:
1. If there is nothing but nothing under the sun, our only hope must be above it.
2. If the man who had everything and investigated everything visible says it is all vanity. Then the one thing needed must be invisible.
Conclusion
So is there any way to get off this treadmill, off this exercise bike? Is there an alternative? St. Augustine suggested there is when he wrote, “He who has God has everything. He who does not have God has nothing. He who has God and everything has no more than he who has God alone.” Solomon concluded that life under the sun has no purpose. But God says life is full of purpose.
The Apostle Paul wrote “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:1-4)
“Remember this life is not our final existence. We are made for a better world. The very fact that we are weary of life is pointing us to the only God who can satisfy our souls.” [Ryken. p. 33]
“Finding Satisfaction In Life”
“The Search for Meaning”
Intro. - Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
First, The Author.
• Great Beginning. (I Kings 3:5, 9, 11-12)
• A Downward Spiral.
Compromise
foreign wife for political purposes (1 Ki. 3:1).
Solomon sacrificed where the pagans worshipped
(1 Kings 3:3).
personal relationships. (1 Kings 9:10-13)
Exorbitant living. (1 Kings 10:24-26)
Harem of foreign wives (700 wives and 300 concubines)
Second, The Perspective.
• Life is fleeting.(Eccles. 1:2)
(James 4:14, Psalm 39:5, 78:3, Job 7:7). “vanity” literally is
transitory.
As young man he wrote “The Song of Songs.”
In his middle-years he wrote the book of Proverbs.
As an elderly man he wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes – having discovered that the things of this world do not satisfy.
• Life without God is without purpose.
Third, The Relevance for today.
• injustice to the poor (4:1-3)
• crooked politics (5:8)
• materialism (5:10)
• guilty people allowed to commit more crime (8:11)
• incompetent leaders(10:6,7)
