Under the Sun
Notes
Transcript
Life under the sun
Ecclesiastes 1-2
Prayer
Through your word we might know you. knowing you we might know wisdom for life. I pray that you might give us ears to hear, eyes to see, and a softened heart to see the reality of our lives and the wonderful truth of your Word.
Introduction
Ah… another day. another day getting up at 5am. My 4th child grabbing my ear I’m so tired, I’m over it. This, after a 3am Blood nose from another child. another day, looking at the mellow matt – kids play matt thicker softer material – just covered with textas, this time one child has drawn on the matt, paper bits cut up, more paper stacked on top of each other, kids books upon book scattered. More cleaning. 45 minutes? 1 hour? How long does it take them to mess it up 2 minutes? I’m tired. I’m frustrated. Wondering if I should tackle the lack of texta lids situation. I’m really frustrated. Can’t be bothered. Ahhh what’s the point? Another day, dishes to clean, tomorrow more dishes to clean, a never ending cycle of dishes to clean. did I mention the floor? And the laundry. piles and piles of laundry to do, argh… I’m tired. I see my wife. She’s exhausted. Frustration. What’s the point of all this?
Normal life is filled with frustration isn’t it? If you have lived to adulthood and you don’t think that, you are not thinking. It’s not just about those who have children. It’s all of us. It’s even the rich. The celebrity. We think they have it all. One Korean Pop singer once said after she’s reached the top – thousands chanting her name in concerts she says in frustration, ‘my life is actually empty. I feel like I’m lying to everyone by pretending to be happy on the outside.’ Frustration. Emptiness. When you get to the top there’s nothing there. Life is filled with stories about kings and rulers who fought, schemed, carved out a dynasty, and then what? They found it life was empty. How frustrating. And no one remembers them. did you Alexander the Great, the man who conquered all this land wasn’t satisfied. When there was nothing else to conquer, he wept. life was futile. Frustrating. Empty.
And you know what, millionaires who, invested, saved, bought property, and had the world at their feet, but left it with their children who lost it all. because when they were children, they did not spend any time with their busy fathers, so they get disillusioned by the time they get everything, life is frustrating. It’s meaningless.
And life is filled with stories ordinary ones like us. There’s an elderly couple living near us. married in the 1970s. Married they had their children, grew up moved away. Sun came up sun came down. every week the guys mowing the lawn, doing his garden. wind blew north, wind blew south, parents got old, parents died, held a funeral, and some people came, they remembered for a while then they forgot. Life went on and on. Life seems futile. It leaves us all wondering, what’s the point of life?
We’ve all asked that question haven’t we? It’s a good question. In our world, the atheist says there’s no god. So there’s no real lasting meaning. We are evolved. We are not special. We’re like this picture. We live, do stuff, then die. Enjoy the moment because that’s all there is. You are nothing more than that.
Friends, the bible has a better answer. Frustration, despair, the sense of emptiness, things come and go, is exactly what you should expect now. This is what we find in the book of Ecclesiastes. It’s takes an honest look at life.
1. Context
I think it’s a fantastic book. We’re in a short overview this morning. And God tells us what life is really like. He does not sugarcoat it. Rather than think this book is all doom and gloom so just live, laugh and enjoy your life, no the author wants us to see life for what it is, and live a wise life full of meaning under God. We’re in the wisdom section of the Old Testament. It’s wisdom. That means this book teaches us by looking at God’s creation and living in line with the way God has made the world. And where Proverbs teaches us how to live a life that generally will help you to be fruitful and productive, work your way up, Ecclesiastes shows us what life is like from a rich person, looking down from above.
And he tells us what life is like through someone called the Preacher. Come to chapter 1 verse 1
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. This guy is the son of David, a king in Jerusalem. He could be Solomon. But we are not completely sure. See Proverbs 1:1
The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
Proverbs is clearly from King Solomon right. But here it’s the Teacher. But it’s not the most important thing. It’s more important that he is credible. We can trust his words.
Why? Look at verse 12:
Ecclesiastes 1:12 (ESV)
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Not just a King, he is a king with means. He’s rich. He’s got money. It’s one thing for a homeless guy saying money means nothing but it’s another thing if Elon Musks says it means nothing. this is a man who had it all. This means we can trust his words. Verse 14
Ecclesiastes 1:14 (ESV)
I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
He has done it all. Chapter 2 he's verse 4 made great works. built houses – high interest does not phase him, verse 5 made gardens parks, verse 7 had great possessions of herds and flocks, I just want a dog – joking – he’s loaded, he got singers, many concubines. you can trust his words.
And so he asks in this book ‘what’s the point of life?’
And what is his summary about life?
Right up front in chapter 1 verse 2
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
This is a literary form common in the Old Testament. like in the NT it’s Jesus the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It’s like saying so very very very vain. the highest of vainness if that’s a word.
Verse 14 to emphasis the point
Ecclesiastes 1:14 (ESV)
I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Every thing is vanity. Everything.
it’s all a striving after win. It’s the image of a dog chasing it’s tail, just going no where. that’s life. It’s vain.
All of it. Aren’t you glad you came to church this morning? That’s the point of today’s bible talk. everything is vain. But let’s be clear, we’re not talking about being proud. Like the piece of furniture, the vanity. It’s designed to make you vain. You’re proud of what you see. No. vanity does not mean pride. But it’s that to which is done in vain. See the original word Hebrew Hevel – it’s 38 times in this book, vanity, or the NIV has meaningless, I’m not sure that’s helpful. Because it’s not meaningless, it means literally like a vapor, or fog, or mist or breath. Like you wear glasses, and you try to drink hot soup and your glasses fogs up. It happens to me all the time. It’s not meaningless in the sense of nothing, but it’s shadowy. It’s a mist. It’s fleeting and futile. You can’t pin it down. It comes and goes. The Preacher is saying; life you cannot find lasting fulfilment. Things might be fun for a while maybe, but there is no lasting fulfilment.
He says everything is vain. And he says this for everything ‘under the sun.’ notice that phrase in verse 3
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
The phrase under the sun it appears 28 times in Ecclesiastes. He is getting us to imagine life where all you believe are your eyes. Your senses. What the author does is he explores what life is like when it is cut off from the eternal God. it’s what we call big words humanistic secularism. ism means a way of thinking. at the heart of secularism, this is our world here, there is no God. it’s all about human reason. it’s only what you can see and hear and test. and so you only live one that’s the motto of life. just live it with gusto. do whatever you want whenever you want do what what feels good. that’s our world today. look where it has landed us, further and further away from the way God wants us to live. don’t be surprised.
So that’s the Teachers project in the following chapters. he wants to show us what life under the sun looks like. is there meaning and purpose?
1. Life under the sun
So broadly, he talks about a work, pleasure, money.
See what he says in verse 2 vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
This is what he says about work.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
What use is there for all the effort all the work of my hands? In the end we perish and our labor perishes with us. all you achieve is like the flickering picture on a television screen. It comes and goes.
It’s the cycle of life.
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
it’s very very pessimistic. It’s a cycle that goes over and over again. Ever wake up for work and wonder ‘why am I doing this?’ what’s the point of work? The implied answer is nothing. everything just goes over and over again. You’re a cog in a machine. There’s nothing new under the sun. and worse 2:18 he says about work
eccl 2:18 -19
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
No matter how hard you work, how brilliant you are, a brilliant surgeon, the best pharmacist, run a brilliant business, the work you pass on will get passed onto another person and you have no idea if they will be brilliant or a drop kick. You have no idea. and even if he is not. his son or daughter might be. there will be someone who is a drop kick. someone who will waste it all. So he concludes. Work is vanity. it’s a dead end.
But maybe pleasure is the place to find meaning. Maximise pleasure and minimise pain. we all understand that. That’s all of the chapter 2. Everything he wanted the Teacher went and got it. he did not hold back.
eccl 2:10
And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.
But the problem is you never have enough.
eccl 1:8
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
It’s a bit like giving my children easter eggs. It’s just never enough. actually I’m not that different am I. The eggs are there, the good ones, I’ll go for it. I always come back for more. Never satisfied. and you know what? This Teacher could pull it off. He was rich. He had opportunity. He was married, and he had concubines. He had wealth. He has the power. Wine, women, and singers and what did he conclude?
I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?”
What use is it? and after all he had done he concludes that pleasure is vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. Friends, if you are living for the booze, the party, the women, the men, whatever it is, the teacher tells you it will not satisfy you. it is vain. It is meaningless. might feel good at the time. but if you pursue pleasure and you succeed you will be bored. And if you don’t succeed you will be frustrated. It’s folly. It’s meaningless. We know this is true.
But you know, you may want to have pleasure, but you cannot control the time. that’s chapter 3. it’s like mist. You don’t know what the day will bring. And he explores the concept of time in chapter 3. Is today a time of laughter or mourning? Maybe you expect a birthday then get terrible news. Its not just the cycles, there are happy days but there are horrible days. How do you know which it will be? You can’t predict it. it is just like mist. It’s temporary. It’s fleeting. There one day and gone the other. Life is like that, says Ecclesiastes.
and Money isn’t all it promises. Ecclesiastes 5:10
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
Creating wealth is not fulfilling. Because you run out of time to enjoy it yourself (6:1-9) or you don’t have a family to leave it to. and you won’t be satisfied.
You can see all these dead ends. they do not give you fulfilment and meaning. they leave you frustrated.The teacher goes through all the paths we may find meaning under the sun – knowledge, wisdom, fame. And he comes to the conclusion that you know what, death comes to all. it’s the great equaliser. yes enjoy the gifts that God has given you, find enjoyment in toil – but know it’s from God but in the end chapter 12:7
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
we are like dust who will return to the earth. Death comes to all. death comes to the man like to the animal. it’s so real what he says. just blunt. i used to hate it when we would talk about things when i younger. i was aspirational. wanted to do all these things in life, have a car, holidays… and i remember a friend used to say you’re gonna die anyway. used to hate it. but its true. do all these things, you think you have time, which you can’t control. and even if you have some time, death will end it all.
We’re a mist today. Fleeting. Temporary. Here one day gone tomorrow.
You know the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray? He plays Philip Connors the weather man. Anyways, stuff happens and in the movie what happens is he gets stuck in the same 24 hours every day. And it doesn’t matter what he’s done. he hears the song I got you babe at 6am. That starts his day. He experiences the exact same events every day. it doesn’t matter what he did one day, there are no consequences for the next day. first he finds it fun. He pigs out eats everything. He sleeps around. He finds pleasure in the end to be a dead end. He gets over it. He gets so over life that he tries to end his life. he drives off a cliff. After he does that, the next morning the song I got you Babe comes on. It’s groundhog day. Then he helps people. he cares for his producer. He decides to do good.
Now in Groundhog Day there is no death. but in real life, there is death. You cannot find meaning under the sun. it is temporary. It will not last. You will die. That’s what Ecclesiastes says. Like a splash of cold water to wake you up. if we live life only under the sun, we are wasting life. even if you have everything under the sun. friendships, work, wealth, health, however wonderful these things may be, you are never truly satisfied. something is always missing. You are chasing the wind. So Ecclesiastes teaches us not to live life purely under the sun.
2. Life with the Son
But, we are to live life with the Son. God has given us His Son. And that’s my short second point. That’s the solution to the problem.
he says it right at the end in there in chapter 12. The final chapter. verse 13
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
That’s the conclusion. It’s the conclusion the Teacher gives. stop striving for a vain life under the sun. it’s meaningless. But fear God. keep his commandments.
In fact much later on, the Lord Jesus says in Mark 8:36
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
There is no point going down every road under the sun, be brilliant at work, have a great family, enjoy the world, tour the world, achieve a lot, but miss out on life everlasting. What gain is that? Nothing.
Why? Because God says your life will be evaluated. It’s serious. Our lives, everything we’ve done will be judged by the one who judges from an eternal perspective. And he has seen every thing. Everything. Everything. There are no secrets. we all think we can hide sin. But God will lay bare before our eyes. There will be no mistake. And he will judge you for eternity if you lived under the sun, but there is forgiveness with the son. what great forgiveness.
For the Son, Jesus came to show you life. Unlike the Author who looked at creation to find meaning, God revealed Jesus to us. And Jesus in John 11:25
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
He is the one who died and rose again. Jesus came to live. He came to die. He came to rise again. And by doing this, he has brought us forgiveness of sins. he has brought us back to a right relationship with God. This is the good news. This is the key to getting beyond and over the sun. this is how we gain a life full of meaning and purpose that God wanted for us.
For friends, Ecclesiastes teaches us that life is not to be lived under the sun, but with the Son Jesus by trusting in him. Your life is not vain. It’s full of meaning.
Ecclesiastes gives us the honest unashamed truth. If you want to be wise. Don’t make the mistake of living under the sun. don’t chase all that the world has to offer. It leads nowhere. It is but mist. Futile. And for you who have lived long enough, that frustration, even pain and suffering, that’s a real experience. Because that’s life in this world of sin, living under the sun. But do not go and think, therefore I’ll just do whatever. No, God has give us the diagnosis. But he has given us life through Jesus. Life with the Son. So come and trust in him. it doesn’t mean life will be happy clappy. no. there will be frustrations, we live in this fallen world under the sun. but it will be so joyful, for you find meaning and joy and peace knowing Christ, living for him, working for him, knowing with certainty that you have eternal life with God forever.
Let’s pray together.