The End of the Matter
Ecclesiastes: The Search For Meaning • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 42:26
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The End of the Matter
The End of the Matter
When I first started looking at our study through Ecc. I planned for the Sermon Series to take roughly 12 weeks.
When I looked at other pastors and their studies through the series that’s what they had done, and I was like, yeah, that sounds like a good amount of time.
Then I actually started to dive into Ecc. I started to look at the depths and riches of this wisdom Literature.
And I knew I was in trouble when the first 2 chapters took us 5 weeks to get through.
And here we are this morning on Episode 21 of Ecclesiastes: The Search for Meaning Sermon Series.
My hope and prayer is that you have enjoyed it as much as I have.
God has shown and taught me a lot through this book.
Over these last 21 weeks I have been poked, prodded, convicted, and challenged.
I hope you have too.
I pray that God has used Ecc. to help you find more meaning, purpose, and direction in your life.
One of the interesting things that Solomon does here is he began and ends his teaching in the same way.
2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
8 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”
Everything is Futile
Everything is Futile
This is what we call an inclusio.
We’ve talked about it before, but imagine that these two verses are bookends holding up the entirety of the teaching.
It bears repeating, but the translation here of futile and meaningless in other translations isn’t the best way to translate this word.
The word in Hebrew is hevel- meaning vapor, breath, wind, or even puff of smoke.
This word has been uses nearly 40 times throughout Ecc, so it’s important for us to understand that what Solomon wants us to see is that life is simply a breath.
That all existence is like grasping at the wind and trying to hold on to it.
We are here one minute and gone the next.
This does make it sound like life is meaningless, if our lives are simply a vapor or breath, then what’s the point of all this.
Why do we toil.
Why do we strive.
What is the point.
Solomon even took us on a journey through this search for meaning.
Using his own life experience he told us that pleasure will never satisfy.
Material possessions will never satisfy.
Learning will never satisfy.
Wisdom will never satisfy.
Money will never satisfy
In fact, nothing that we chase after in life will ever make us complete.
Life is a big circle of things that never change.
Our existence is chasing after the wind in fruitless pursuits of the things under the sun.
As it was yesterday, it is today, and will be tomorrow.
Not only that, but life is full of dangers, injustice, unfairness, and ultimately the futility of futility death.
You’re born, you live, you get old, you die, and you are forgotten.
That’s some pretty heavy reflection on life.
Solomon doesn’t try and pull any punches.
He doesn’t sugar coat the realities of life.
These are all things that we don’t like to hear, but they are necessary for our growth.
They are necessary to help us see that if we place our faith, hope, and trust in the things of this world we will end up empty, void, and miserable.
What’s interesting though, throughout his teaching, he also encourages his hearers to enjoy life, to have friendships, to embrace loved ones, to eat, drink and be merry.
Everything under the sun is just like us.
Smoke, vapor, and a fleeting breath.
Ps 39.5 “5 In fact, you have made my days just inches long, and my life span is as nothing to you. Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor. Selah”
This is the vexation that many of us face.
We try and try to find satisfaction in the things of this world.
We believe that new relationship, new friendships, new jobs, new adventures, better kids, better spouses.
A bigger bank account, a new environment, a new town.
We believe that we can find satisfaction in this world, but there is only one place where we can find true joy, hope, and satisfaction.
And it is in the arms of Jesus.
Let’s be honest, after studying through Ecc, Solomon had more power, money, fame, fortune, wine, women, and access then you and I will ever have.
And for much of Ecc, he is looking for joy under the sun, it isn’t until he zooms out and looks for satisfaction outside of the world that he gains proper perspective.
The futility, meaninglessness, and vanity of the world is real if all we do is look at it from an earthly or “under the sun” perspective.
Ecc 2.24 “24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,”
Ecc 3.14 “14 I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him.”
Ecc 5.19-20 “19 Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God, 20 for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.”
Ecc 7:14 “14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.”
Ecc 8.15 “15 So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.”
So Solomon doesn’t tell us to avoid the good things in life, but we must enjoy and pursue them with the proper perspective.
We must enjoy them in light of God’s goodness, else they will be absolutely futile.
You see here, God gives meaning to everything.
Without God there is no meaning.
And with v.8, Solomon’s words have ended.
But Ecc hasn’t concluded.
There’s a lot of scholarly debate about v.9-14.
But one thing that is accepted by most is that the words in these six verses are not Solomon’s or the teachers.
There’s a shift that happens and now The Teacher/Solomon is spoken about not with first person pronouns, but third person.
Meaning that these verses are an epilogue added by someone else.
These verses help to put everything we have read up to this point in perspective.
They are a commentary on Solomon’s search.
They are written to spur the reader onto the true meaning of life.
In the midst of all that Solomon wrote, what’s the point.
Where is the meaning of life?
How can we trust the Teacher/Solomon?
9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs.
10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately.
Solomon’s Search
Solomon’s Search
Here the author of this epilogue wants us to see that Solomon was trying his best to compile and teach knowledge to people.
One of the things that we want to notice in this epilogue is that it doesn’t in any way negate the truth of what Solomon has written up to this point.
He doesn’t try to correct or polish what Ecc has said up to this point.
In fact, if we look closely we will see that he affirms what Solomon wrote.
The teacher is a wise man.
Meaning that he has wisdom.
He knows the way that the world works.
He had an extreme amount of knowledge and he wanted to share it with anyone who would listen.
We see that he wasn’t wise for his own benefit, but rather his pursuit of wisdom was for the benefit of others.
He didn’t want to hoard what he had gained.
He was a teacher at heart, wanting to share his insights.
Wanting to spur people on to being wise.
Solomon saw that it was beneficial to the world that his wisdom be passed on to future generations.
He saw the benefit of the world around him living wisely.
If more people pursued wisdom, then less foolishness would abound.
This is a simple statement. And it’s pretty obvious, but let me ask you, have you instilled wisdom to those you influence.
Not in a know-it-all and condescending way.
But do you actually offer wisdom to those around you.
Or do you simply roll your eyes and think, they’ll figure it out eventually?
Now, to be sure, not everyone will heed the wisdom that is given, but as a follower of Jesus.
As one who is attached to the source of pure wisdom, do you share it with others, not just in the way you teach it, but also in the way you live it.
If others looked at you would they recognize wise living?
Would they see someone who is making an impact on the world around them?
Someone who is living wholly devoted to Jesus.
Now here’s the thing, gaining wisdom isn’t something that just happens.
Notice what is said about Solomon here in v. 9
Ecc 12.9 “...he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs.”
Solomon listened to, studied, then arranged proverbs.
But it took time and energy for him to get to the point where he could instruct on living wisely.
Not only that, but wisdom had to come from the source.
The wisdom, true wisdom, had to come from God himself.
There’s no way to live wisely apart from God.
God is the only one who can take what is crooked and make it straight.
That’s what we see in Ecc 1:15 “15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.”
Ecc 7:13 “13 Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked?”
God alone is the only one who has the power, wisdom, and foresight to take what is broken here in this world and redeem it.
Now the beautiful thing is that he allows us to walk alongside him and redeem some of the brokenness of the world through our actions and through preaching the gospel.
And like Solomon as we are teaching the wisdom of God we need to do it in such a way that we are honoring God and honoring one another.
The way we offer God’s wisdom to people matters
Ecc 12:10 “10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately.”
We need to speak the truth accurately, but also have a delightful way of saying them.
The truth is hard to hear.
In fact, at times it may even be painful to hear, so we need to make sure that as we are speaking the truth of God’s wisdom to the world we need to make them as palatable as possible.
We need to let the wisdom and truth do the work.
B/c again Wisdom and truth can hurt enough without our added snark.
Look at what’s said next.
11 The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.
12 But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
Wise Words
Wise Words
We talked about a few weeks ago about the importance of words.
How they can be both destructive and constructive.
They can build up and tear down.
And here we see something similar to that.
I love the imagery used here.
A couple are used here let’s look at them individually.
“The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods”.
Some other translations say that the wise words are like goads.
Do you know what a goad is or does?
It is a stick with a pointed end on it.
They are used by farmers and ranchers to help push the cattle or other animals in the right direction.
To move them down the road
It is a sharp stick that spurs the stubborn beast to move.
The goad or cattle prod isn’t meant to injure the beast, rather they are designed to inflict enough pain or discomfort to encourage them to move and cooperate.
Much like the stubborn beasts sometimes we need a poke in the backside to get us moving.
Sometimes we need to institute some wise words that are going to cause a little pain or discomfort.
The wise words are goads to the conscience.
They stick in our brains and force us to look at our life and make a decision on which way we are going to go.
An old church father said this about wise words, “The mind is roused and spurred by the instructions of wise people just as much as the body is by and ox-goad being applied.”
If nothing else, the words of the wise are like a pebble in the show.
Annoying us til we stop and do something about it.
We need wise words.
We need friends and family members that speak wise words to us that cause us to reevaluate if we are living wisely or if we are walking down the path of the fool.
Ecc has been that goad in our minds and hearts these last 20 weeks.
Forcing us to face the emptiness of our desires outside of Jesus.
Forcing us to look at the reality of death.
Forcing us to look up from the consumerism in our lives and ask the question is the important.
Forcing us to ask ourselves if we are living redemptively.
Is our life marked by the one we claim we serve?
Are we living for his kingdom or our own?
Are we building life on shifting sands or on the solid rock foundation of Jesus?
These words spur us on to living wisely rather than living foolishly.
Poking us in the ribs when we get content with the drudgery of life.
Goading us to follow after Jesus.
Solomon’s words force us to question what the world offers.
To weigh it. Measure it. and find it wanting.
And why is it that the Word’s of Ecc prod our souls so well?
B/c they come from the one Shepherd.
In this one phrase at the end of v. 11, we see that all these words in Ecc aren’t some made up musings of a frustrated cynic.
Rather these words come from God himself.
God is the One Shepherd who uses his own wisdom to poke, prod, and guide us to living wisely and in his service.
The truth is all wisdom comes from God above.
And though we may be uncomfortable and may even dislike what Solomon says in Ecc, we must know that it all stems from what God has revealed to him.
These words are like firmly embedded nails, symbolizing their permanence and fixity.
24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.
Everything of the world is going to fade away.
God’s word is the only thing that is going to endure forever.
Meaning that if we want to hold onto what is everlasting.
If we want to find meaning and purpose in life, we find it, not under the sun, but in the Eternal Word of God.
So if we want to fight back against what Solomon says in Ecc, we are fighting back against the very words of God.
The Good Shepherd.
It’s no accident that the epilogue uses both goad and the image of a Shepherd here in this verse.
God is called the Shepherd in Ps 23.
Furthermore, Jesus is the good and perfect shepherd in John 10.
Additionally, he’s not only the good shepherd, he’s also our savior.
He laid down his life for us.
He offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could be redeemed and then live redemptively.
And if we belong to him we can hear his voice in the pages of Ecc.
We can know that life only has purpose when we live for him.
We all want to find meaning and purpose in our life.
We all want our lives to mean something.
And I want to tell you that the only way you will find the fullness of purpose is if you submit to Jesus and follow after him.
You can look for purpose elsewhere, but ultimately purpose is found in following Jesus.
In submitting to God’s instruction.
This is found in the last 2 verses of Ecc.
13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.
14 For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
Fear God
Fear God
After all has been said and done.
After we have read, studied, and searched the world for meaning and purpose.
After we have plunged the depth of life and splendor of the universe.
After all the wisdom of the wise has been dolled out.
The conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep his commands b/c this is for all humanity..
The purpose of your life.
The purpose of all human life on earth is to fear God and keep his commands.
This isn’t the purpose of pastors, priests, moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas.
This isn’t the purpose of a few back in the ancient days.
This isn’t the purpose for someone else.
The sole purpose of humanity is to fear God and keep his commands.
What does it mean to fear God?
It means that we honor and revere him.
We worship him as creator, king, and savior.
We revere him b/c he is eternal.
As everything else fades away, God endures.
There is no caveat for humanity.
There are no exceptions.
Everyone, everywhere is meant to worship God.
Whether we have much or we have little, we are to fear God.
Whether we are young or old, we fear God.
You are without excuse, you were created to worship, honor, and revere God.
And Sin is when you don’t.
Don’t fear God.
Don’t honor him.
Don’t revere him.
Don’t worship him.
When instead we are selfish, believing ourselves to be the center of the universe.
When we are more concerned with our life under the sun than we are with giving God proper respect and worship.
When we carry the name of Christian, but we don’t live wisely or redemptively.
The greatest thing you can do in your life is to bow down and worship God.
It’s not make a lot of money.
It’s not build a bigger house.
It’s not survive inflation.
It’s not vote the right way.
It’s not to get married, have kids, and live a mediocre life.
All there is to man is to worship and love God.
Westminster Catechism:
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
And this may make you bristle.
It may make you angry.
You may be sitting there saying that, I don’t want to worship God with my life.
I am completely content coming to church, saying the occasional prayer, and listening to some praise and worship music in the car.
You may want to ask me How can the reason that I am here on the earth only be to worship God.
To obey his commands.
How is that fair?
I want there to be more to life.
I want something more.
I would point you back to all of Ecc.
I would then ask you what you think is more important than God.
If then you would say, oh that’s OT, and life is different now that Jesus has come.
I would then refer you to
Romans 11:36 “36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.”
1 Cor 6.20 “20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.”
1 Cor 10:31 “31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
So then, especially for those committed to Jesus, then we should be more diligent in living for God’s Glory.
That’s good for those who love Jesus, but why would fearing God be for all humanity?
The answer to that question lies in verse 14.
Ecc 12:14 “14 For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.”
Every person.
Is going to die.
And in death they are going to be judged by God.
Every thought, action, lie, every hidden thing is going to be exposed by God.
There will be no hiding.
There will be no escape.
There will be no second chances.
And that, my friends, is why this life matters.
This is why everything matters.
Every moment of our life.
Every breath we breath.
Every hour at work.
Every word we speak.
Every image we saw.
Every thing about our life may be a smoke or vapor under the sun, but this life isn’t all there is.
There is an eternity waiting for us.
And we will all be judged by God.
When that day comes we will either be judged based on what we did with our lives.
Based on our own good deeds.
Based on our own failures.
Based on our own actions.
The problem is, we can’t fear God and obey his commands perfectly.
And God demands perfection.
He demands 100% devotion, worship, honor and reverence.
And no matter how good you think you are, you will never meet God’s standard of perfection.
Your life will be weighed.
It will be measured.
And it will be found wanting.
Ecc ends with a warning of judgment.
But there is a better way.
The better way is to Fear God and keep his commands.
The better way is to give your life to Jesus.
The better way is to submit to him.
And gratefully we have more than just Ecc as God’s eternal word.
We also have the rest of Scripture.
Scripture that tells us about God taking on flesh and dwelling among us.
Scripture that tells us that God in Flesh, JC, lived the life that we couldn’t, died the death that we deserve, and rose again to offer us new life in him.
So the most important thing that you can do is give you life to Jesus.
Is recognize that you are a sinner.
That b/c of your rebellion and sin you are separated from God.
And that if you faced him today, you would be judged.
And in that judgment you would spend eternity separated from him.
However, through faith in Jesus you can be washed clean.
He has already taken on the judgement.
He has already defeated death and sin.
He has conquered the grave.
And you can be forgiven b/c he stood in your place.
Jesus came to bring life.
Jesus came to help us see the purpose and meaning of life.
That though this life may be short.
It may be a vapor.
We can live forever with him.
We can dwell in the Father’s house for all eternity.
Trust in Christ, believe that he died.
Follow after him and you will eternal life.
That is the end of the matter.