SERMON NOTES FOR MARCH 20, 2011

MAKING SENSE OF SUCCESS
Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

We are continuing our study through the book of Ecclesiastes and in this passage Solomon is going to talk about two things in particular that have helped him become successful and is going to examine whether they have any value at all in the grand scheme of things.

These two things are wisdom and hard work. First let’s look at wisdom.

Solomon says…

THOUGH THERE IS SUCCESS TO BE HAD IN WISDOM…IT DOES NOT SATISFY

In this passage Solomon gives two reasons why wisdom, though better than being foolish, still falls short. The first reason is…

• THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH SUFFER THE SAME FATE

So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

Solomon, though he openly admits that wisdom is better than being foolish, realizes that wisdom has its limits. In v. 14 Solomon says, “The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.” He admits that though it is better to be wise than foolish, regardless of how intelligent one is and regardless of the great decisions one has made in life, the wise are going to die along with the foolish. Both have a similar end.

If you read the obituaries, they are filled with both wise and foolish people--different paths the same fate. What happens to really smart, educated, helpful, thrifty, wonderful, glorious people? They die. What happens to brutal, mean, nasty, uninformed, ill tempered, sick, wicked, crooked people? They die.

It begins to really hit home for Solomon in v. 15 when he says, “Then I said in my heart, 'What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?' And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.” It dawns on Solomon as he meditates on death that death is also coming for him. This then forces Solomon to ask, “What then do I gain by being wise? I said in my heart, ‘This, too, is vanity.'"

Solomon sees his life speeding to a quick end and concludes that though he is wiser than all, his fate under the sun will be the same as the fool. This causes him to ask, “What good is wisdom in the grand scheme of things?”

The second reason is…
• THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH ARE BOTH FORGOTTEN

For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Once again Solomon shows this upsetting similarity between the wise and the foolish and once again sees incredibly vanity in it. He basically says, “You could live an incredible life and make an enormous impact, find a cure for cancer and several years after your gone it will be like you never existed.” It’s like a rock falling into a pool of water—for a few seconds it makes a ripple and then the waters are as they were before and the rock is no longer. Death is the great eraser.

Solomon goes on to say in v. 17, “I hated life” and the reason why is because he truly understood the absurdity of it. The one who makes lasting and positive contributions in life will be forgotten like the fool. In vv. 18-23, Solomon transitions to talk about work and says…

THOUGH THERE IS SUCCESS TO BE HAD IN HARD WORK…IT DOES NOT SATISFY.

In vv. 18-23, Solomon gives three reasons why hard work, though it brings success, is vanity. The first reason is because...

• YOU CAN’T KEEP THE FRUIT OF YOUR LABOR

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. Solomon knew that a day would come when he would die and on that day all of the fruit from his labor would go to someone else, which caused him to question the reason for accumulating wealth in the first place.

Jesus also addresses this truth in the Parable of the Rich Fool, in Luke 12:16-21.

It reads,

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself.” Luke 12:16-21

Truth is you and I when we die have to leave the fruits of our labor to someone else. You can’t take it with you though some have tried. It's been said and rightfully so that hearses are not meant to pull U-Haul’s.

Second Solomon says…
• YOU CANNOT PROTECT THE FRUIT OF YOUR LABOR

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. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

Solomon is basically saying in this passage, “Everything I have worked so hard for is going to be left to my children and grandchildren and they are going to take my fortune and misuse it.” And Solomon’s words here, though negative are prophetic because his son Rehoboam, due to unwise decisions he makes during his rule, undoes all of the accomplishments of his father.

Third Solomon says,
• YOU DON’T ENJOY THE FRUIT OF YOUR LABOR

What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

Solomon says hard work does not bring lasting satisfaction because the workaholic spends his or her days, nights, days on, days off thinking about the job instead of enjoying the fruits that come from hard work.

The third point Solomon makes about success is...
THOUGH SUCCESS UNDER THE SUN DOES NOT SATISFY…LIFE WITH GOD DOES.

So far Solomon’s message has been pretty dim, which leads us to ask, “If there is no lasting satisfaction to be had in pleasure, projects, possessions, in wisdom and hard work how then are we to live?” Solomon gives a surprising answer in v. 24.

He says,

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God.

Is Solomon changing his tone by saying that there is nothing better for a person to do than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in work? No. In vv. 24-26, he doesn’t change his tone, but his perspective.

He says,

For apart from (God) who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

In these verses, Solomon for the first time in this book speaks of life from above the Sun. Though the low roads of pleasure, projects, possessions, wisdom and hard work don’t lead to lasting satisfaction, Solomon shows here that these pleasures can be enjoyed in and through a right relationship with God and a life lived for Him.

Everyone in life gets to experience certain gifts from God such as life, good food, good drink, and the fruits from labor, but only the children of God who walk with Him and faithfully live for Him get to enjoy these gifts while still experiencing lasting joy, happiness and satisfaction that come only from God.

What spoils these simple pleasures of life is ones hunger to get more out of them than what they can give. This is the worldview that Solomon has been trying to shatter for the first two chapters. He affirms, though you can and should enjoy these blessings that come from God, lasting satisfaction is not found in His blessings, but are found in Him.

CONCLUSION

Like we've said already, God never intended for satisfaction to be had under the sun, but did intend for us to be satisfied in His Son. Jesus said in Jn. 10:10, “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus calls us, not to a grim, lifeless, miserable existence that squashes human potential, but to a rich, full and joyful life in Him.

"Quote" of the Week

Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply 'things.' They were made for man's use, but they were meant always to be extermal to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousands gifts which God had showered upon him.

But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul. Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and things were allowed to enter."
A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

SERMON NOTES FOR MARCH 13, 2011

MAKING SENSE OF ENJOYMENT
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

We are continuing our sermon series through the book of Ecclesiastes and in chapter 2:1-11, Solomon puts the pleasures of life to the test.

As we have said already, Solomon had it all and experienced it all and in this book writes about what he has learned from all his experiences. It’s like his life was lived as an experiment for us to learn from. In this passage he gives a report of what he has observed when it comes to the delights and enjoyments of life under the sun and here’s what he has to say…

PLEASURES ARE NOT THE ANSWER

2 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

In v. 1 Solomon says, “I gave pleasure a run.” And in vv. 2-3 he mentions that he sought pleasure through comedy and fine wine.

COMEDY

Solomon has already acknowledged that all of life is vanity and because this is the case he says, “Let’s see what laughter does—I’ll try laughter.” Some translators believe he means more than just comic relief--that he is referring to taking a light-hearted attitude about life.

Many people do this. They think, “Because life is filled with suffering and pain at least let me laugh a little.” You and I do this--“I had a horrible day, the circumstances in life stink—so I’m going to go home and watch a funny show or movie to get my mind off things.”

What we find, however, is that after the citcom or funny movie comes to an end, life is there waiting for us. At times escaping just makes matters worse because when we return the difficulties of life are waiting for us, which makes us more frustrated than when we left.

FINE WINE

Solomon goes on to say, "OK not laughter, how about wine?"

Now some read this verse and think that Solomon just got wasted and sinful--that he partied hard like spring breaker. Yet if you look closely at v. 3, he says while he was drinking his mind was sound guiding him wisely. He didn’t get drunk and sinful, but instead just enjoyed fine wine.

Solomon would have wine to calm his nerves and to lift his spirits, but what he found was that though it did that, it did not bring lasting satisfaction. Like comedy, though enjoyable, it did not ultimately satisfy.

At best comedy and fine wine are a break from the pain. That’s what we are after when we seek these things during difficult times—just an intermission from pain. Truth is no matter how many hit comedy movies we sit through or how many glasses of wine we drink, when the movie is over and the glass is empty life is still there waiting for us.

PROJECTS ARE NOT THE ANSWER

4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.

Solomon moves on from laughter and fine wine to being productive. He says in vv. 4-6 that he became known for his great achievements.

First, Solomon built incredible structures. He spent 7 years building God’s Temple with a work force of 153,000. He spent 13 years on his palace probably with the same massive work force. On top of that he also planted vineyards—made gardens and parks with all kinds of fruit trees that landscaped his palace. To say that Solomon had “better homes and gardens” is an understatement—He had “superior homes and gardens.”

A key phrase used in this passage is “for myself.” Solomon did all of these things because he sought to find fulfillment in work. What he found, however, was that accomplishing these projects brought about nothing but futility and emptiness.

No matter how impressive the projects, Solomon wants his readers to understand that they do not bring lasting satisfaction.

POSSESSIONS ARE NOT THE ANSWER

7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the children of man.

Solomon also sought to find joy and lasting satisfaction in possessions.

He had both “male and female servants.”

Solomon's entourage was impressive. He had at least 35,000 people whose job it was to make him look good, feel good, and to make his life good.

He had great herds of livestock. He says at the end of verse 7, “I also own more herds and flocks than anyone before me in Jerusalem.”

He had a ridiculous amount of wealth. He says in verse 8, “I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces.”

He was also frequently entertained by musicians. He says, “I got singers, both men and women.” In those days because they did not have the technology we have today, if you wanted to listen to music you had to hire the band. Solomon had musicians on hand to play for him whenever he wanted.

He goes on to say, “(I have) many concubines, the delight of the children of man.” Solomon had a lot of women and they were not just to help with the chores around the house. They lived to serve Solomon. Yet he could not get satisfaction from these beautiful women. The bottom line is that none of these pleasures brought him lasting enjoyment.

NOTHING UNDER THE SUN IS THE ANSWER

9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 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. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, ALL WAS VANITY and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

In these verses, Solomon gives a summary statement of what he has been talking about in vv. 1-8. In verse 9 he mentions that he had everything and more and on top of all that he said, “My wisdom remained with me.” In other words, “I have everything anybody could ever want, plus the smarts to go with it.” He has it all.

He also reminds us in v. 10 that he did not keep himself from anything that people think bring joy and happiness. He says, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure.”

Fill in the blank in your life. “I would be happy if…” or “I will be happy when…”, and know that Solomon had it and experienced it. He then says, “I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, ALL WAS VANITY and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
Many are wearing themselves out in this pursuit of satisfaction and naively think that one day all this labor being done is going to amount to something. Solomon, who had more than any of us tells us in this verse that he never came to that conclusion. Instead he says the opposite. He says, “ALL IS VANITY AND STRIVING AFTER WIND.”

Arriving at Solomon’s conclusion is difficult because each of us are living under the notion that there is something out there that is going to do it for us and make us happy with the life we are living under the sun.

Though we are the most affluent, educated, successful and wealthy society in the history of the world studies show that we are also the most depressed and miserable in th history of the world. From the 70s till now divorce rates have more than tripled, teen suicide has more than tripled and it seems that the more wealthy we are the more miserable we become.

May we consider the words of Scripture that clearly tell us that though there is enjoyment to be had from the things of this world lasting satisfaction is only found in God—in a relationship with Him.

"Quote" of the Week

"Pleasure is nothing but an intermission from pain."

SERMON NOTES FOR MARCH 6, 2011

MAKING SENSE OF A SENSELESS WORLD
Ecclesiastes 1:4-18

We are continuing our series through the book of Ecclesiastes entitled, "Lessons Learned Under the Sun." In our passage for today we are going to learn how to make sense of a senseless world.

NOTHING CHANGES IN LIFE UNDER THE SUN (vv. 4-7)

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.

Like we said last week, Solomon has already made the point in vv. 2-3 that this life is fleeting, futile, aimless, meaningless etc. And if his readers are not yet convinced, he is even going to illustrate it for them. He says, “Generations come and generations go.” Many of us see this every morning when we read the newspaper. On one page you have the birth announcements and on the next the obituaries.

Solomon continues by stating, "the things of the earth remain the same." In other words, people are born and then they die, but the sun continues to rise and set, the wind continues to blow, and the streams continue to flow and day after day after day nothing ultimately changes.

THERE IS NO SATISFACTION UNDER THE SUN (v. 8)

All things are full of weariness;

Not some things--ALL THINGS. All of creation--all of our experiences in life, it’s all empty, lacks fulfillment and doesn’t bring satisfaction.

Solomon continues,

a man cannot utter it;

This means that life is so disappointing--life under the sun lacks satisfaction to such an extent that man can’t even talk about it.

He says,

The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

In this verse Solomon is focusing on seeing and hearing. We should know this verse to be true because if our eyes were satisfied, we would not have cabinets filled with movies and would not be making frequent trips to Redbox. If our ears were filled with hearing we would not have ipods filled with music and itune accounts.

Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones said it best when he sang the words, "I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION...though I try and I try and I try and I try," There is good theology in that song--He adequately describes life "under the sun."

THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN (vv. 9-10)
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. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.

If nothing changes like we said in the first point, then isn’t it reasonable to conclude that nothing in this world is new. This logical conclusion was probably understood and better received in Solomon’s day than today.

Many today will read this and think that Solomon has finally shown his ignorance. One might say, "How could anybody who watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon agree with Solomon that nothing is new under the sun?” Some will say, “Look what we have done--we put a man on the moon!” In the words of Solomon, “See, this is new!”

This is where context comes in. Solomon here is writing about basic principles in life and not about the methods behind those principles. It’s been said, “Methods are many and principles are few, methods always change, principles never do.” That's Solomon's point. He is talking about life principles.

So those who try and argue that Solomon is wrong because in his day they didn’t have Internet, email, and Facebook miss the point Solomon is making here. He would probably counter this objection by saying, “Man has always tried to come up with new ways to accomplish the same old things." Though there is technology today that helps us do things 10 times as fast as we could do them 10 years ago, mans desire to be more efficient as he/she labors under the sun has been a desire of ours ever since there was work to be done.

In other words, people are always trying to reinvent the wheel thinking that they are going to bring some kind of new improvement to life under the sun. Solomon's point is, "You may think you are bringing something new to the table, but you are not. It’s already been thought about and already been done and will continue to be thought about and continue to be done. It's just a recycling of old ideas."

THERE IS NO REMEMBRANCE OF YOU UNDER THE SUN (v. 11)

There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

There are people in our world today who are trying their hardest to leave their mark in history--people who are trying to make a lasting impact and leave a lasting legacy. Solomon says, "More than likely that's not going to happen."

“You mean what I am doing now won’t be remembered?” “Nobody is going to remember the life I lived?” Ask yourself this. "Do I know the name of my great great grandfather and if so, do I know his dreams? His goals? His accomplishments? No matter how important our lives appear, they are fleeting and will ultimately not be remembered the way we think they will.

‎NOTHING IS UNDERSTOOD UNDER THE SUN (vv. 12-18).

I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under Heaven.

As the king of Israel, Solomon had all the resources necessary for trying to figure out what makes life worth living, but despite all his intelligence—despite how hard he worked to learn new facts and figures-—to understand everything from philosophy to theology, from astronomy to physics, it amounted to nothing.

After all that, here’s what Solomon says,

What an unhappy business that God has given us to busy with.

Though Solomon had power, money, fame, wisdom and much more--he concludes,

Behold, all is vanity (and) striving after wind.

And just when you thought life could not get any more frustrating, look at what he says in v. 15. ‎

What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

What's crooked in our world cannot be straightened--you and I can’t fix our world. ‎Some will say, “Well, isn’t there another angle? Another option? Another possibility?" Look at verse 16.

I said in my heart, I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

Solomon says, “I tried it all--everything you can think of. I’m more powerful than you, richer than you, more famous than you and much smarter than you and am telling you that 'under the sun' all is meaningless.”

‎Some will then ask, “But, did he try this? Or this? Or that? Verse 17,

Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind.

The word madness in the Hebrew does not refer to a mental illness, but to foolishness or stupidity. Solomon says here, "Not only did I seek to find answers through growing in knowledge and wisdom, but I also sought to know more about the foolish and evil things that people do to see if there is any value to that." He finds it's the same on both sides of the street--neither made any difference.

He concludes in v. 18,

For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Solomon links wisdom with vexation and knowledge with sorrow. What he is saying here is, “What I have discovered is that the more I learn about life under the sun, the more miserable I become.” Similar to the saying "more money...more problems," Solomon says “More wisdom...more grief and more knowledge...more sorrow.”

CONCLUSION

So what Solomon has learned under the sun is that nothing changes, there is no satisfaction, there is nothing new, we will not be remembered, and all of the education and experience that the world has to offer still leaves us without aim and purpose and in a state of grief and sorrow. Now that's some bad news.

However, in the midst of a seemingly tragic set of circumstances who comes? None other than God Himself. He who is above all things comes into His created world as one of us. Jesus enters into this crooked, frustrating and fallen world and we are told in the Scriptures that he is tempted by the things of this world, but does not give in to the lie and is without sin. Everything that Solomon pursued, Jesus was tempted to pursue, but with wisdom much greater than Solomon, he resisted.

Though Solomon knew the problem, he couldn’t fix it. Though he knew the world was filled with sin, he couldn’t forgive sin and couldn’t remove the stain of sin. Though he knew that people were crooked, he couldn’t straighten them out. Though he knew that the world was ruined by sin, he didn’t have the resources needed to make this world the kind of place that was declared good by God.

Jesus, however, did. He came to right everything that Adam wronged and did much more than just inform us--He came to transform us. He also didn't just come to share in our sorrow and grief and suffering, but to die for our sin and rise and conquer it. Jesus is greater than Solomon because he is God.

"Quote" of the Week

"Life may be not only meaningless but absurd." -Thomas Nagel

SERMON NOTES FOR FEBRUARY 28, 2011...

An age old question that has been debated by philosophers, written by poets, sung by musicians, and ponder by people for centuries is this question...

"What is the meaning of life?"

Many have attempted to answer this question in a number of ways. Over the next few months we are going to be discussing and answering this age old question in a sermon series I have entitled, "LESSONS LEARNED UNDER THE SUN" taken from the book of Ecclesiastes.

Before we beginning this study some background info is needed.

AUTHOR
I believe Solomon wrote it (Ecc. 1:1) and deeper knowledge about him is needed to better understand this book.

Solomon had power
He was king. David chose him as his successor, passing over his older sons. In 1 Chronicles 28:5, David says, "Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel."

Solomon had fame
His fame was spread throughout the land. We are told that everyone was in awe of Solomon and came from all around to hear from Him.

Solomon had money
He ruled during the "golden age" of Israel. The magnificence and splendor of Solomon's court was unrivaled. He had vast stores of wealth and fleets of ships bringing him gold on a regular basis.

Solomon had women
He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Though they got him in trouble, especially the wife he married from another nation who turned him away from God, Solomon had women.

Solomon had wisdom
God gave Solomon wisdom that is unparalleled in human history. He is the wisest man to ever live outside of Jesus Christ. He studied numerous subjects and wrote three books of the Bible (Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and Proverbs).

In 1 Kings 4:32–34, we are told,"(Solomon) spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom."

Simply put, Solomon had it all, experienced it all and in this book writes about it all.

REASON FOR WRITING
Ecclesiastes is a book about the meaning of life and in it Solomon raises questions that the rest of the Bible was written to answer. Questions like, “Why are we here? What’s the point?”

In this sermon series we are going to look to Solomon to help us answer the age old question of “The meaning of life?"

INTRODUCTION
Like I said earlier, I believe Solomon wrote this book, and we have already discussed that he is a fascinating human being. You would think with all that he had and had experienced that he would be able to write this incredible book on how to live life to the fullest, how to get rich quick, how to become popular, how to be an influencer, at the very least, that life is good. I mean surely we are going to hear something like that from the man who had it all.

Solomon, however, begins this book by telling his readers that the whole world is a mess. He basically says, “If you are looking for meaning in this life only--in the here and now, you might as well hang it up, because 'All is vanity.'" In v. 2 he says, "Vanity of vanities...vanity of vanities! All is vanity."

The Hebrew word for vanity is the word hevel. This word is very important used 38 times in the book and 5 times in verse 2.

Hevel has a broad definition so to simply say that it means meaningless or vanity won't cut it. Although it does mean those things, it also means absurd, dissatisfying, futile, deceitful, temporary etc.

So when talking about life under the sun, Solomon is making the point that life is all of those things. What he means by using the word hevel 5 times in this verse is that life is the ultimate hevel. The point he is making is that life is ultimately meaningless, ultimately futile, ultimately absurd, ultimately dissatisfying and ultimatly short-lived.

After making this point, Solomon asks an appropriate question in v.3. He says, "What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" He is basically saying, “If that’s the case--if all of life is hevel, what is the purpose in the effort we are putting forth?" And the answer is, "There is no advantage because in the end we die." Talk about depressing. It can be overwhelming when we consider Solomon's mindset.

But before we get too depressed, we need to make sense of the phrase "under the sun" used at the end of verse 3. If hevel is the key word in the book, this is the key phrase of Ecclesiastes used 29 times in the book.

This phrase means "Life under heaven." When Solomon uses this phrase he is giving a horizontal and limited perspective. He is looking solely at life on the earth. No revelation. No God breaking in. No God revealing anything. No God speaking. He is just looking at life on the earth. If you just looked at life and asked yourself, “Why do I work so hard and then die--What is the point?" Solomon’s answer is "There is no profit, no benefit and no gain 'Under the Sun.'”

CONCLUSION
The reason Ecclesiastes is such an important book of the Bible is because it asks questions and addresses issues that the rest of the Bible was written to answer. And what we learn as we read the rest of the book is that the best way to live life under the sun is to live life in the SON.

The Scriptures are clear that there is purpose and meaning and significance in this life, but it has to be lived in the SON.

Verse 3 is the key question that all of humanity has to ask. "In all of my work, in all of my pursuits, in all of my endeavors in life--What is the profit?" Solomon says “There is no profit or advantage 'under the sun.'" Jesus says, “There is profit and there is advantage in me.” Solomon says “There is no lasting satisfaction in life under the sun.” Jesus says, “There is lasting satisfaction in me.” Solomon says, “Life under the sun is tiresome.” Jesus says in Mt. 11, “Come to me you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Solomon says, “Ultimately everything is meaningless.” Jesus says, "If you trust in me this short breath--this short vapor of life will be extremely meaningful."

THE BEST WAY TO LIVE LIFE UNDER THE SUN IS TO LIVE LIFE IN THE SON.