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)
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.
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.
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,
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,
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).
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,
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
